Magic Kingdom via RCI

[shoegal24]

Hi all 

 

We will be on a 7 day cruise from New Jersey to Florida and Bahamas in October. 
 

A few questions...

 

1. We dock in Port Canaveral at 1pm. Is it worth the $400 for the 4 of us to take the RCI transfer to Magic Kindgom? 
 

2. Is the $500USD for magic kingdom worth it for just 6 hours? Our RCI transfer would pick us up at 6:30

 

3. How crowded would Magic Kingdom be in October? Would it even be fun for a 5 and 3 year old? (They’ve never been to a theme park)

 

thanks! 

[breezy_carol]

If you dock and 1 you probably wouldn't be into a park until 3.  It's a one hour drive.  So you'd have 3.5 hours.  I don''t think that is worth the $$.

 

My 2 1/2 year old granddaughter went to Disney Land this summer.  She liked Dumbo and the Tea Cups but was scared of the characters.  She was exposed to an amusement park before her parents took her.  I would wait and do a WDW trip later.

[BeachChik]

IMO no.
 

If you dock at one, even if you get off the ship immediately it’s a 45 minute to hour drive to MK. Once you are dropped off you still have a 15-20 minute trek via boat or monorail to get to the entrance. That means you won’t be in the park till about 2:30 pm. That leaves only four hours in the park. Hardly time to do anything. And constant clock watching so you don’t miss your return. 

[BNBR]

1 minute ago, BeachChik said:

IMO no.
 

If you dock at one, even if you get off the ship immediately it’s a 45 minute to hour drive to MK. Once you are dropped off you still have a 15-20 minute trek via boat or monorail to get to the entrance. That means you won’t be in the park till about 2:30 pm. That leaves only four hours in the park. Hardly time to do anything. And constant clock watching so you don’t miss your return. 

 

The bus picks up at 6:30.  So not even 4 hours as you don't want to miss that bus.  Figure 3+ hours in the park.  I'd say not worth it for sure for most people.

 

If it's a bucket list item, just seeing the place, then could be worth it.  But not under normal circumstances.

[SarahD112]

Agree with above posters. Also, October can be busy, especially if it’s the week of Columbus Day. We were there this past October and got up very early to get things done. By mid afternoon rides had 1-3 hour waits. Early October could be very light crowds. But afternoon is most crowded time of day to visit. Also, we’re exhausted when we disembark. If for some reason you decide to try it, Disney is now selling tickets for late entry at a discounted rate. Not sure what the entry time is though. 

Edited January 6, 2020 by SarahD112

[Gatordad815]

It’s definitely not worth that cost for such a short visit late in the day (and during the most crowded hours of the day).  It will be difficult (even with fast passes) to get on more than 5 rides before you have to leave. Plus, at Magic Kingdom you have to count on an extra 30 minutes entering and exiting the park depending on where you’re dropped off because of the ferry boat/monorail.

 

We have young kids and have been many times to MK as annual pass holders (and we love taking them to Disney), but it can be stressful/frustrating with the crowds even for people who know the park well and have plenty of time.  For a first visit, I definitely wouldn’t recommend spending so much for a short visit. Your kids would love the park at their ages, but I’d save it for a time you can really enjoy the park. 

 

I hope your family enjoys your cruise! 

[taglovestocruise]

We did it last Nov. on our Symphony cruise.  Bus left late waiting for everyone to show up, got to the park and the bus driver told everyone that the return trip would be 1 hour earlier than scheduled,  bus driver said to be sure to give yourself 1 hour to get back to the bus from the center of the park.  Spent $60 on the excursion, about $225.00 to get into the park and were there for 3 hours.  So many complaints when we returned that everyone got a 100% refund of all monies spent. I even got back the $13 I spent for a turkey leg.  To your question the answer is ... total waste of money, and a big disappointment for the kids.  Oasis will be awesome, happy cruising .  

Edited January 6, 2020 by taglovestocruise

[Tee & Chilli]

No

[WeLuvVacation]

My wife and I did this trip a number of years ago with RCI and we found that after the fact it wasn't worth it. 

[Clarea]

Would not be worth the money or time for us.

[atricks]

1PM?  Nope, especially if you run into any traffic issues getting there.   Closest Theme Park to the port time/distance wise is Sea World, followed by Universal, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, Magic Kingdom, then Animal Kingdom.  But none of them would be worth it with those times.  

[Iamcruzin]

3 hours ago, shoegal24 said:

Hi all 

 

We will be on a 7 day cruise from New Jersey to Florida and Bahamas in October. 
 

A few questions...

 

1. We dock in Port Canaveral at 1pm. Is it worth the $400 for the 4 of us to take the RCI transfer to Magic Kindgom? 
Absolutely Not

2. Is the $500USD for magic kingdom worth it for just 6 hours? Our RCI transfer would pick us up at 6:30

No it isn't.

3. How crowded would Magic Kingdom be in October? Would it even be fun for a 5 and 3 year old? (They’ve never been to a theme park)

 

thanks! 

Disney needs to be it's own trip or split between 3 days in Disney and a 4 day cruise.  A ships excursion to a theme park where most of the time you are standing in line would not be worth the entry fee for the park.  

[zeppgirl]

3 hours ago, shoegal24 said:

Hi all 

 

We will be on a 7 day cruise from New Jersey to Florida and Bahamas in October. 
 

A few questions...

 

1. We dock in Port Canaveral at 1pm. Is it worth the $400 for the 4 of us to take the RCI transfer to Magic Kindgom? 
 

2. Is the $500USD for magic kingdom worth it for just 6 hours? Our RCI transfer would pick us up at 6:30

 

3. How crowded would Magic Kingdom be in October? Would it even be fun for a 5 and 3 year old? (They’ve never been to a theme park)

 

thanks! 

 

[zeppgirl]

Not really possible.  We just came back from a cruise and spent time in Orlando.  While doing excursions, we saw where the port is- it's no where near Disney!  I would say with traffic, it might take you an hour to get there and another to get back.  If you only dock at 1, but the time you get off, etc. you'd get there past 2.  Then if you need to board the ship by 7, you'd need to give yourself more than an hour and don't want to risk it so I'd say leave by 5...that's about 3 hours.  Not worth it- make it another trip.  Not sure about Magic Kingdom in Oct but have been to disneyland then and it was great, but also was midweek early in the day- things get crowded later in the day.  Hope this helps.

[cruisegirl1976]

No.. you won't have enough time to enjoy the park at all.

[cb at sea]

Nope...the trip THERE will take about 1 hour...and the trip back to the ship, about the same.  It takes a GOOD 20-30 mins to get FROM the parking area INTO the park.....

Disney is best done on a land vacation over multiple days.

[LMaxwell]

$900 for maybe 3.5 hours tops in the park.  Unless you are a Disney Maven and know exactly what you are doing you may only get on one or two rides.  

 

If you want to grab quick service food at Disney for a family of 4 it's going to be another $80-100 also 

Edited January 6, 2020 by LMaxwell

[marci22]

No, it is not worth it. October tends to be extremely crowded, as well. 

[matj2000]

Don't mix the theme parks in the middle of a cruise stop.

 

It is a complete separate trip unless you got a lot of $$$$ to waste for a short visit.

 

For me, I have finally broke down and decided to take the family to Disney for 1 week this year.

 

So my kids can't say I never took them anywhere.....

 

 

Edited January 6, 2020 by matj2000

[marci22]

14 minutes ago, matj2000 said:

Don't mix the theme parks in the middle of a cruise stop.

 

It is a complete separate trip unless you got a lot of $$$$ to waste for a short visit.

 

For me, I have finally broke down and decided to take the family to Disney for 1 week this year.

 

So my kids can't say I never took them anywhere.....

 

 

Go on Disboards for trip planning. Very helpful.

[kruzerci]

17 minutes ago, matj2000 said:

 

 

For me, I have finally broke down and decided to take the family to Disney for 1 week this year.

 

 

 

 

 

A week... That sounds like hell.

[matj2000]

Just now, kruzerci said:

 

A week... That sounds like hell.

 

I agree...

 

 

 

[marci22]

16 minutes ago, kruzerci said:

 

A week... That sounds like hell.

Depends on how you plan it. Don't try to do everything and plan before you go. 

 

*Plan before you go*

 

PLAN!

[matj2000]

19 minutes ago, marci22 said:

Go on Disboards for trip planning. Very helpful.

 

Checking it out now..

 

Thank You.

[LorraineP]

Thinking of taking RCL transportation but only planning on touring hotels & dine & shop at Disney Springs. Would there be enough time for that? Our port stop is 7:00AM to 7:00PM.