Anyone combine a cruise AND a trip to Disney?

[March Cruiser]

Just pondering my plans for 2008 ;)

 

Looking at Carnival Freedom - great prices for 6-8 day E Car. cruises out of Ft Lauderdale- maybe rent a car one way up to Orlando and hit WDW for 4-5 days.

 

Anyone do this or am I just crazy? We would be flying out from California, not sure if it would be better to make it two different trips.....?

 

TIA!

[bonniemari]

Depending on what month you are planning it for. We did it in July and I swore I would never to that again. Long lines, heat and humidity. But then the other grandkids wanted to go so we did it again in March. I would recommend March. Lines at WDW are not as long and the weather is great.

[AZPam]

About 3-4 years ago we flew from Phoenix to Ft Lauderdale, rented a car and drove to Orlando. Spent the entire next day at Epcot, closed the place down. Following day drove back to Ft Lauderdale on boarded the Grand Princess. We were so tired! And it was only one day at Epcot. I personally think you need to make Disney a separate vacation, but that's just me.

[JerseyGem]

Yes, we've combined the two vacations, but we go to WDW frequently, so we "know the ropes." From WDW, the drive to Port Canaveral or to Tampa is a well-marked & an easy drive- even the drive to Ft Lauderdale/Miami isn't bad, just longer and a little more confusing to go through Miami to the docks. We usually park at the dock.

 

Why? Why not? We live in NJ, so if we're driving down to FL, we like to make the most of the drive-a few days at Disney, then a relaxing cruise. However, certain times of the year are crazy at WDW- so do your research and plan accordingly! There's a great website for all-things- Disney at INTERCOTdotcom; they can help you plan your trip- this is not a TA (although they do have a good TA as one of their sponsors)- this site is the "Cruise Critic" of WDW! (regular people helping each other)

 

If you do the reverse- cruise from FLL, then rent a car and drive to WDW- I recommend that you don't plan on going to a park on that travel day, unless one of them is open late (and you have the energy!). By the time you disembark, find your luggage, go thru customs, find the rental car, find your way to the highway, drive to WDW, check in- whew! It'll be time to grab a drink and lay by the pool! Then start conquering WDW the next day! If you've never been to WDW- give yourself enough time! There are four different parks at WDW, not including the water parks, Downtown DIsney, etc. If you try to do all and see all in just a few days, you'll never get to appreciate any of it!

 

Finally, I do not recommend going to WDW as part of a ship's shore excursion! By the time you get off the ship, onto buses, off to WDW, you've lost too much time- you're actually in only one of the parks for a very short time! Just enough time to frustrate you and make you realize what you're mising by having to get back on the bus to return to the ship. WDW is not on the coast of FL, which apparently surprises some people.

[Jacky4]

My husband and I along with our two kids ages 9 and 11 just drove on a Thursday night from MA to FL, straight through, and checked into a cheap hotel Friday night. Saturday morning we went to MGM and spent the day there. Sunday morning we went to Chef Mickey's for breakfast and drove to Port Carnaveral for our 4 day Carnival cruise. Our cruise ended on Thursday. We drove back to the same hotel and dropped off our luggage and headed over to Epcot for the day. Friday we spent another day at Epcot and Saturday morning we drove home. Some people think we are crazy but we think since we have the weekends free and we are in FL already how can we not make the most of it. Were we tired when we got home Sunday morning? Sure... but we can sleep in next weekend.

[realtreebar]

we booked a 4 day cruise from port canaveral. then we are going to WDW for the remaining 5 days. not such a bad thing to do if you have kids it is a must! you could go 1 day take a day off then go back to the parks after you rest a day! try it and see, that is the true way to know if you want to do it. our trip is booked for january but thats how we ROLL!

[Goofysgreat]

:) We are actually leaving on the 18th of April to spend 4 nites in Disney and then we are going on the Mariner for 7 nites. Do Disney first, you'll be all worn out and ready to relax on the ship. We did 3 nites in Disney and then the Disney Cruise in 2004, it was awesome!! Have Fun.

Just pondering my plans for 2008 ;)

 

Looking at Carnival Freedom - great prices for 6-8 day E Car. cruises out of Ft Lauderdale- maybe rent a car one way up to Orlando and hit WDW for 4-5 days.

 

Anyone do this or am I just crazy? We would be flying out from California, not sure if it would be better to make it two different trips.....?

 

TIA!

[vijoge]

We're going in Feb. 5 nights on the Navigator, 2 nights visiting friends in FL, and then 5 nights at WDW.

[Tannersgramp]

I combine a cruise and Disney every time..........The Jungleland cruise :D

[squuggy]

I'm combining my upcoming Mexican Riviera cruise with a two day visit to Disneyland, especially since one of those days just happens to be my birthday! I'd suggest that you check out mouseplanet.com for some great planning advice about a trip to WDW. Have a great time and say hi to Mickey for me!

[beachbum6264]

I've done it with 3 kids and dh. One thing I would do different than what we did.... I would do WDW FIRST, then you can relax on the cruise! Time of year makes a difference, too. Spring or fall for sure, summer - maybe not.

[sept10dsm]

We did this many years ago. We drove to Disney World from NJ, stayed about a week and then did a 3 day cruise to the Bahamas. Then we drove back up toward Daytona and made a few stops. It was a lot of fun and I would do it again, maybe a week cruise and a week in Disney!! So much more in Disney these days. They have a meals included deal offered this Aug/Sept for under 500 pp if you have one of their Credit cards. A great deal everything is included.

[bigwally]

I'm with beachbum (and others) - WDW first, then cruise. In fact, Disney has their own program that does just this. Ours was 4 days WDW, 3 days Disney Magic (I think they have it the other way too).

 

Oh, and I also agree on the time of year. Do it prior to Summer, when the heat and humidity become opressive.

[Peregrina651]

 

Anyone do this or am I just crazy? We would be flying out from California, not sure if it would be better to make it two different trips.....?

 

TIA!

 

If you are coming from California, it only makes sense! Especially if you can avoid an open-jaw flight plan.

[vowsatsea]

If I did it...I would do it through Disney's new Land and Sea Packages. I think you could do 4 days in Disney and 3 days on Sea, or visa versa.

 

Don't know how expensive it is, but I know I would definitely wanna try it.

[Seago2]

One thing I would NOT do is go to Disney as a Pt. Canaveral port excursion. We were on a cruise last year that left NYC and stopped in Pt. C. and a bunch of people went to WDW- for the DAY. Not even a full day! I'm taking the kids on the same cruise this summer and we will enjoy the empty ship...

[dck12ga]

This would be a dream come true!!!! We went our first cruise in Feb. and was not able to go on our yearly trip to WDW because of this, but to do both a cruise and WDW...... DO IT!!!!!!!!!!!! except in the middle of summer! Sept/Oct best time my opinion.:D

[Maryutah]

It's been 10 years, but that's what we did! We flew to Orlando, spend a week (first time staying on a Disney property - loved it!) and then drove down to Miami for what was then the pretty new Imagination on the Western Carribean. Flew out of Miami after the week long cruise -

 

Fantastic memories fun then sun! :)

[MaddyMom]

We did the Disney land/sea combo about 20 years ago. We stayed in Orlando for 4 nights and then sailed on the Big Red Boat for 3 nights to the Bahamas. It was a great trip!

 

We are planning a similar trip next spring with extended family. This time we will spend 3 nights in Orlando and take a longer cruise, possibly E. Caribbean out of Port Canaveral.

 

 

A cruise is a great way to wind down after several exhausting days at Disney World!

[Lorij91]

We did both Disney and a cruise in 2005. It was great! I would definately recommend the parks first, then the cruise. We were tired from the parks and it was great to relax on the ship. Flying from California is a long process and I would definately combine the two if you have enough time.

[wtevrfltsurbt]

I did a sorta b2b when we went: flew to Fl from So California and went right to the ship and did a 4 day cruise, docked did 3 days at WDW, them went back on board for another 4 day cruise-same ship. I would always do the cruise afterward rather than before as most posters have said, you will be very tired when you are done seeing WDW. We went the end of Dec, were at WDW for the New Year celebrations, and then back on board 1st days of Jan.

[schoolmom]

Flying from California to Orlando pre-cruise by 4 days for Disneyworld. Driving to Ft. Lauderdale for a 10 day Panama Canal princess cruise. Child is out of school the week of Thanksgiving + 1 so will only miss 4 days of school for a 14 day vacation of a lifetime.

 

I don't see any issues with this schedule as it is very doable.

[ali07]

We just did one last month. We took a cruise out of Port Canaveral, which is an hour or less drive to WDW. You might want to target cruises from there...also, it would be worth looking at cruises out of Tampa, also not too far away.

[citcatt1]

We did Disney and a cruise in 2005. We stayed at Port Orleans Riverside for four days then we went on the Carnival Triumph for seven days. Definately do disney first and get a parkhopper pass. With the parkhopper you can go from one park to another in the same day and only use one day of your ticket. I went to Disney this past Sept. I brought my son and his best friend and we went tothe halloween party, it was a blast!!:D

[perthgirl]

I think kids can handle alot if the trip is all about them! Christmas before last my family (husband, and then 8yr old daughter) plus my sister's family (2 adults plus child 4 and 11) flew from Perth Australia to Austria (16 hours in total), toured 4 days, then flew to Florida (12 hours including travel to my Dad's house in Port Orange) arriving 1am Christmas Day. We had 2 days down time then a Disney cruise for 4 days over New Year, two days down time then a week in the World before flying home (26 hours). All the kids had an absolute ball but- if they were tired, we stopped. We spent a couple of extra days at Disney so we could to a park go for 4 - 5 hours rather than try and do it all in one day. And we didn't nag or stress out, just went with the flow.

 

The result, tired kids who had a blast. suggest if you want disney specific info try their discussion board - disboards.com. We found it really useful