1 Day stop Pt Canaveral-trip to "Magic Kingdom" ?

[GreenValleyDogWalker]

Our ship is due to arrive into Port Canaveral at 6:00 AM (departing at 9:00 PM)

Thinking of taking the ship's shuttle service (NCL) to the Park - then spending time at Walt Disney World, before taking the ship's shuttle back.

I know that doesn't allow a whole lot of time at the park - but - at our age (mid-70's) we don't want to be on our feet walking around for all that many hours anyway.

Does anyone have experience doing something like this ?  Comments or suggestions gratefully accepted.

Thank You

[iahawkfan21]

Depending on traffic, you could be looking at up to 90 minutes each way.  When are you going and what park are you looking at visiting?  That will make a difference in recommendations especially if you'll be traveling during a holiday period.  All the Disney parks are really never not busy anymore, so it's doable you just have to have patience with it.  Personally, I would want to wait until I could spend more than a day there and not be rushed, but if this is truly a one-off for you, just know what to expect.

[BNBR]

Totally doable.  I imagine you would get there around park opening at 9am.  Then stay until 3-4pm.  That's more than enough time for Magic Kingdom.  Was just at Disney all last week and we were generally done by 2-3pm at the parks. 

 

Make sure you buy your passes asap. Then 30 days out select your 3 fast passes on the phone app.  Very important.

Edited August 7, 2019 by BNBR

[GreenValleyDogWalker]

Thank you !

[lab_love123]

BNBR gives excellent advice. I agree; I think it's very doable - I've done it before at a couple of different parks before a late afternoon/early evening flight from MCO. Last time I was there, we arrived at MK around park opening, had breakfast at the Crystal Palace, and were still done by mid afternoon. If you're like me and don't need to ride all the rides, it'll be even easier. Try to book your fast passes for early in the day, and you can usually add more once you use all three. To maximize your time, if you haven't been in awhile just familiarize yourself with a park map ahead of time. You may feel rushed if you have to go on every ride and see everything, but otherwise you'll be just fine.

[GreenValleyDogWalker]

On ‎8‎/‎7‎/‎2019 at 5:43 AM, BNBR said:

Totally doable.  I imagine you would get there around park opening at 9am.  Then stay until 3-4pm.  That's more than enough time for Magic Kingdom.  Was just at Disney all last week and we were generally done by 2-3pm at the parks. 

 

Make sure you buy your passes asap. Then 30 days out select your 3 fast passes on the phone app.  Very important.

 

Thanks everyone, for the information - I just found out that the day the ship ports in Port Canaveral is on Easter Sunday, April 12, (2020)  - Any other feedback, comments, etc. now that I know this information ?

Oh - and forgot to add that we don't have a "smart phone" for the "APP" - so can go on-line to purchase fast passes ????

Edited September 19, 2019 by GreenValleyDogWalker
additional comments

[BNBR]

Duplicate

Edited September 19, 2019 by BNBR

[BNBR]

24 minutes ago, GreenValleyDogWalker said:

 

Thanks everyone, for the information - I just found out that the day the ship ports in Port Canaveral is on Easter Sunday, April 12, (2020)  - Any other feedback, comments, etc. now that I know this information ?

Oh - and forgot to add that we don't have a "smart phone" for the "APP" - so can go on-line to purchase fast passes ????

 

Never been on Easter.  But a quick search suggests Easter may be the worst time to go.  Big crowds and madness.  You can absolutely book your fast passes online ahead of time, no need for a smartphone.  Get your magic bands ahead of time, too.  So you can skip the ticket booth.

Edited September 19, 2019 by BNBR

[lab_love123]

I’ve also never been on Easter Sunday. But I was there once in the week leading up to Easter. It was absolute madness. Lots of schools are on spring break. But with the planning tips already in this thread, you should be ok. Just pack your patience and expect longer than normal lines. 

[nalrudaini]

19 hours ago, GreenValleyDogWalker said:

Oh - and forgot to add that we don't have a "smart phone" for the "APP" - so can go on-line to purchase fast passes ????

They have kiosks you can use to book your fast pass. But you will need magicbands for that. 

Edited September 20, 2019 by nalrudaini

[Pyrate13]

Easter week is the busiest week of the year for the Magic Kingdom and Disney World in general. Not to put a damper on your plan but it's not something we would do on Easter Sunday.

[BNBR]

1 hour ago, nalrudaini said:

They have kiosks you can use to book your fast pass. But you will need magicbands for that. 

 

If you try and book fast passes the day of at kiosks, you will be sorely disappointed since they are all booked by that point.  You need to book a weeks or a month ahead.

[GreenValleyDogWalker]

1 hour ago, BNBR said:

 

If you try and book fast passes the day of at kiosks, you will be sorely disappointed since they are all booked by that point.  You need to book a weeks or a month ahead.

Ok - I will purchase both the tickets on-line in advance - as well as fast-pass's

We'll just plan on it being more crowded than the last time we went (50 years ago !) and plan an itinerary that includes lots of places to sit !

[BNBR]

13 minutes ago, GreenValleyDogWalker said:

Ok - I will purchase both the tickets on-line in advance - as well as fast-pass's

We'll just plan on it being more crowded than the last time we went (50 years ago !) and plan an itinerary that includes lots of places to sit !

 

Good attitude. You'll still enjoy it.  You can book fast passes 30 days out. For a busy day, do exactly that. Disney is really good with the online stuff. It's easy to buy tickets and set fast passes online, super easy.  I would also request your magic bands mailed to you ahead of time.  Believe you can do that online. If not, call and ask.  When you arrive just go right to the entrance, no ticket booth. 

Edited September 20, 2019 by BNBR

[GreenValleyDogWalker]

On ‎9‎/‎20‎/‎2019 at 8:25 AM, BNBR said:

 

Good attitude. You'll still enjoy it.  You can book fast passes 30 days out. For a busy day, do exactly that. Disney is really good with the online stuff. It's easy to buy tickets and set fast passes online, super easy.  I would also request your magic bands mailed to you ahead of time.  Believe you can do that online. If not, call and ask.  When you arrive just go right to the entrance, no ticket booth. 

 

Thank, again everyone for all of the tips

Starting to work with an "authorized Disney vacation planner" from MickeyTravels

I guess we should plan on the transfer bus arriving at the Transportation Center at about 9:00 AM ?

And - can any confirm the departure time from the park - back to the ship ?

Just found out that it is recommended that restaurant reservations be made 6 months (!) out - hard to do when we don't have a better idea of the hours that we will actually be at the park

(guess we need to be FLEXABLE  !)

 

 

[BNBR]

12 minutes ago, GreenValleyDogWalker said:

 

Thank, again everyone for all of the tips

Starting to work with an "authorized Disney vacation planner" from MickeyTravels

I guess we should plan on the transfer bus arriving at the Transportation Center at about 9:00 AM ?

And - can any confirm the departure time from the park - back to the ship ?

Just found out that it is recommended that restaurant reservations be made 6 months (!) out - hard to do when we don't have a better idea of the hours that we will actually be at the park

(guess we need to be FLEXABLE  !)

 

 

 

You only need reservations if doing the fancier stuff. Which is way overpriced at Disney and not that special. There is plenty of other walk up restaurant options available day of. 

[lab_love123]

46 minutes ago, GreenValleyDogWalker said:

 

Thank, again everyone for all of the tips

Starting to work with an "authorized Disney vacation planner" from MickeyTravels

I guess we should plan on the transfer bus arriving at the Transportation Center at about 9:00 AM ?

And - can any confirm the departure time from the park - back to the ship ?

Just found out that it is recommended that restaurant reservations be made 6 months (!) out - hard to do when we don't have a better idea of the hours that we will actually be at the park

(guess we need to be FLEXABLE  !)

 

 

 

What time is your excursion scheduled to start/when does the transfer bus leave the port? I'd assume a Magic Kingdom arrival about 1.5-2 hrs after that time. As far as departure from the park, for planning purposes I would assume return transportation leaves at least 3 hours prior to ship departure. It might be later, but I always err on the side of caution.

 

Restaurant reservations open up 6 months out; whether they NEED to be made that early isn't necessarily true. Some restaurants book up quickly. Breakfast reservations are easier to get at some places than dinner reservations.

 

You can book your fast passes directly on the Disney website. Then you can use the in-park kiosks day of to book additional fast passes once you use your pre-booked ones.

[GreenValleyDogWalker]

The shore excursion desk is unable (at this early time) to tell me EXACTLY what time the bus will depart from the cruise-port at Port Canaveral - or the departure time from the park back to the ship.

 

The ship is scheduled to arrive at 6:00 AM - so my GUESS would be we would depart at about 7:00 AM (?) so am tentatively planning on the bus arriving at about 9:00 or 9:30 AM - then have to take the monorail over to Walt Disney World (I think someone told me that will take about 1/2 hour)

 

The ship is scheduled to depart from Port Canaveral at 9:00 PM - so my best guess is that our actual time at Walt Disney Park will be from about 10:00 AM to about 5:30 or 6:00 PM ????

 

Thanks (AGAIN) for everyone's great tips and information !)

 

 

[BlueHerons]

You may get stuck in the park closure since Easter is one of the busiest days of the year at Magic Kingdom.  I would either pick another park or skip it all together.  

 

We were there are couple of years ago and it was a miserable experience on Easter Sunday.

 

I would pick Epcot instead of the Magic Kingdom.

 

https://touringplans.com/walt-disney-world/capacity-closures

 

We are annual passholders and always stay onsite so this has never been an issue for us but the crowds can make it miserable.  And don't get me started on the lack of beer and the rude parents for the fireworks show in the MK.

[BNBR]

1 hour ago, GreenValleyDogWalker said:

The shore excursion desk is unable (at this early time) to tell me EXACTLY what time the bus will depart from the cruise-port at Port Canaveral - or the departure time from the park back to the ship.

 

The ship is scheduled to arrive at 6:00 AM - so my GUESS would be we would depart at about 7:00 AM (?) so am tentatively planning on the bus arriving at about 9:00 or 9:30 AM - then have to take the monorail over to Walt Disney World (I think someone told me that will take about 1/2 hour)

 

The ship is scheduled to depart from Port Canaveral at 9:00 PM - so my best guess is that our actual time at Walt Disney Park will be from about 10:00 AM to about 5:30 or 6:00 PM ????

 

Thanks (AGAIN) for everyone's great tips and information !)

 

 

 

You would have to check, but the Disney buses drop near the front entrance, not the transportation center.  However, I'm not sure about the bus from Canaveral, which may very well drop at the transportation center.  Generally speaking, if at the T&TC, it's better to take the Ferry than the monorail. The ferry is faster than it looks and holds a ton of people.  The monorails kind of suck and are awful when it's busy.

 

And again, just keep in mind that it may be VERY busy and crowded.  To people like us who visit often, this is no bueno. But for you, it may not be the end of the world.  That's for you to decide.  If this is the only option you have any may not ever get to visit again, then go in with a good attitude and enjoy yourself.  We sometimes go in the middle of summer when it's super busy and it's still generally bearable, even if quite busy.  I try to avoid that, but I'm not sure I'd call it miserable either under the right circumstances.

[legaljen1969]

Go to Disneyworld.disney.go.com  and set up a My Disney Experience account.   We are frequent Disney visitors, so I make good use of ours.  It's the easiest and most centralized way to book anything- dining and fast passes.   Just know that you can go ahead and book dining even sooner. Lots of locals dine at Disney parks and Disney Springs so people are all the time making reservations for dining.   If there is something you truly want to do as far as dining, go ahead and book it. It appears dining reservations are being accepted through March 23rd, 2020 as of today.
You could always book something and cancel it later if you are not interested or find that you are not going to be able to go.  I would probably not book anything until well after 10:00 a.m. as it appears that most cruise shuttles are dropped at the Ticket and Transportation Center and have to catch a bus to another park or ride monorail to EPCOT or monorail or bus to MK.   Seems like most of the shuttles run a little later arriving and a little earlier departing than they advertise. I know we met several people at Animal Kingdom who had come over on a shuttle from a Royal Caribbean excursion that said their information was the bus would be leaving the port around 7:30 a.m and departing to go back around 7:00 p.m.    They didn't leave port until about 9 a.m. and were told to be back at the Ticket and Transportation Center by 5:00 to go back.  That's still a reasonably full day, but much shorter than planned for them. They were very disappointed.

As to Easter Sunday, I think I might avoid the Magic Kingdom/Disney excursion on that day.   Any holiday or the couple of immediate surrounding days are CRAZY and  you don't really get to ride rides or spend that much time doing anything but fighting crowds.  If you do feel strongly about going, You CAN see if a particular park has Extra Magic Hours that day and AVOID that park.  Sounds counterintuitive, but it's exactly what you want to do. 

There is a LOT you can research on the Disney website and lots more info you can get with a My Disney Experience account.

Best wishes for happy cruising AND potentially a great time as Disney.

[GreenValleyDogWalker]

Thank you - I want to make Breakfast reservations at the Plaza (can do that for our date starting tomorrow) -

 

When just practicing on the web-site - when I fill in "breakfast" as desired time -usually only 2 times always appear (8:30 and 9:25) -

However - if I fill in the desired time of 10:30 - I will often get 10:25 or something else, close to 10:30 -

 

My question is - if I select the 10:25 time for example, will we still get breakfast ? (I realize we may have to wait outside for some time before being actually seated) 

 

[lab_love123]

Breakfast is usually served until 10:30. I wouldn't expect too long of a wait if you have a reservation, so you should still be able to get breakfast.

[GreenValleyDogWalker]

Thank you for replying to my (really stupid) question !

 

I just booked reservations for 10:25 AM  - and it says right on it ":Breakfast"   😀

[disneyochem]

I did this excursion on a cruise a couple of years ago.  Glad I did—numerous folks told me it wasn’t long enough, too crowded, etc.  But it was my first visit to Disney World (just spent two weeks there so I’m happy!), and though it was a long bus ride, I’m glad I did it!

 

The ship had a couple of buses that went to the resort and dropped off people depending on which park they were visiting.  I went to the Magic Kingdom which was the first pickup in the afternoon and then spent about an hour driving to the other parks. We spent about 7 hours total in the park which was enough time to have a nice meal (Cinderella’s Table) and ride a number of rides.  I just wanted a taste of the park and that’s what I got.  It was fun, hot and crowded, but it was the Magic Kingdom!

 

Enjoy your planning!