WDW then 7 day W. Carib - too much for one vacation?

[isk8]

Hello...looking for some input from other parents...

 

We (me, my husband, my son who will be 4 at the time of the trip, my mom, and my sister) are taking a 7 day Western Caribbean on the FOS next September. The boat leaves from Port Carnaveral, which means we'll be flying into Orlando from San Francisco. The boat leaves on a Sunday. Although my son has travelled a lot, this is our first real vacation since he was born in 2005. Needless to say, we are very excited about it.

 

As my son gets older, he is getting easier to travel with. For example, he recently did fantastic on a cross-country flight. He pulled his own mini-backpack with toys through the airport, he sat in his seat the entire flight and watched a DVD, he took a nap on the plane when he got tired without being forced to. He also did fairly well at our destination. For example, he ate well, he actually went to bed and stayed asleep most nights, he took a nap a few of the days we were gone, and the days he didn't nap, he was OK.

 

We were living in LA up until a few weeks ago, and we frequently went to Disneyland. Again, as he gets older, he does better at Disneyland.

 

My family loves Disney. I am a former cast member (not with theme parks), and we've been to Disneyland and Disney World quite a bit. We haven't been to Disney World with my son though. But, since we've been to the parks so much, we don't try to do everything anymore. The last time we went to DL & DCA, I think we only rode 5 rides and saw 1 parade, and we thought that was an extremely productive day.

 

Given this information, here is my question: Is it too much to go to WDW for two days and then go on a 7 day cruise with a four year old?

 

This is the proposed itinerary:

 

Thursday: Fly to MCO from SFO. Check into hotel on Disney property.

Friday: Go to the parks.

Saturday: Go to the parks

Sunday: Check out of hotel. Drive to Port Canaveral and board FOS.

 

I appreciate any insight!

[cb at sea]

I don't think so, given your son's past travels! While the parks can be frantic, you'll have a whole week to "decompress"--on the ship, you can do as much or as little as you want.

Sounds like a plan! Enjoy!

[JCSM-Mom]

Hi -

 

We travel quite extensively with our children too. We went on a land sea vacation in 2006 at WDW (they were 2.5 and 4) and it went fine. My only complaint is that since I only had 4 days at WDW it wasn't enough. We would have liked to have time enough to enjoy the parks and the hotel property. We plan next time to take a two week vacation and spend 1 week at WDW and then 1 week cruise. You have the right idea about not trying to do everything, that was probably our problem. Even though I've been there before....I always try to cram it all in.

 

Anyway, to answer your question, doesn't sound to me like it will be too much for him. Sounds like he does well eating and sleeping. My kids love when we travel.

 

Have a great time.

[ChristieK0310]

We are just back from holiday and did something similar with our little one who had her first birthday while we were away.

 

We arrived in Orlando on Fri - boarded Freedom in Miami on Sunday for 7 night eastern and then returned to Orlando for 6 nights after the cruise.

 

We flew from UK so had to justify the long flights!

 

All had a ball you really can do as much or as little as you want.

[Homosassa]

Your son should be fine as he is an experienced traveler.

 

We did combination trips when our daughter was small.

 

When she was 3, we did 1 week at Walt Disney World followed by a week in Bermuda.

 

At 5, we did 4 days in Walt Disney World followed by a cruise.

[sunrise&set]

We are doing the same thing except a different ship and my son will be 23 months. We are flying into Orlando on a Thurs afternoon and driving to Miami on Sunday morning for our 7 night cruise. Initially our plans were a cruise out of Port Canaveral but for several reasons, we chose a different one. For us, I think it's a great way to take a short visit to Disney. We plan to do a longer visit when DS gets a little older. We are cruising with my parents and older DD (she's 20!) and her BF, but they are not going to Disney.

 

I am a big planner, it drives some people crazy but they thank me in the end LOL! I am going to plan our 2 full days at Disney to make the most of it for our DS and since he is so young, there's ony so much he can do. We'll save the rest for another visit.

[crusinmama06]

Nope, no problem at all. We do the same thing for pretty much every cruise we go on. This last one was 6 days at WDW, 3 day cruise then 1 day sea World.

 

I do everything I can to extend those vacations. :D

 

I can help you with the transportation arrangements if you need some advice.

 

The best way to get that to work

--Take the free Disney Magic Express from Airport to Disney Resort

--Have a private driver pick you up (even a towncar is cheaper than cruiseline transportation for that many people) - the driver will pick you up at the hotel, then drop you off at the port.

--On the way home, they will pick you up at the port and take you to the airport.

[Dr_DNA]

It's vacation! As long as there are entertaining things to do for your 4 year old, it can never be too long. Now, a vacation that is not kid friendly can get old really quick.

[Julienatul]

I would do it! Your son will be so thrilled with all there is to do he will thoroughly enjoy it. You can rest on the sea days. I dont think it would be too much at all.

 

Julie

[Julienatul]

I would do it! Your son will be so thrilled with all there is to do he will thoroughly enjoy it. You can rest on the sea days. I dont think it would be too much at all.

 

Julie

[All4fun1]

We are doing a similar trip, except we'll be doing an Eastern Caribbean (7-day) itinerary, followed by 10 days at WDW. We also live on the west coast, just further up north from you. Hope you have a great trip (I think you will) :)

[isk8]

Thanks to everyone who replied! We're pretty sure we're going to do it.

 

And thanks to Michelle - you are a genius! I didn't even think of using the Magical Express bus. My husband really liked the idea of not renting a car.

[mcfam5]

Obviously, you know your child best and know how much he will tolerate in a day. My suggestions would be, don't veer too far off his normal routine and he should do fine.

 

Have fun planning your trip!

[crusinmama06]

And thanks to Michelle - you are a genius! I didn't even think of using the Magical Express bus. My husband really liked the idea of not renting a car.

 

Awww thanks. :D

 

Yeah renting the car was not one of the highlights of my cruising experience. Just too many shuttles...too much loading and unloading of the bags. I was worn out from the whole experience. ;)

 

The private towncar from Disney Resort to port (and then port to airport) is $200 round trip. I always use Florida Towncar Service. Some others have used Tiffanys. Others have mentioned Mears and Arts Shuttle. I know Arts Shuttle recently was bought out by another company. They charge per person.

 

And I used Florida Towncar Service when there was 8 of us too. They sent a van. I think the passenger van for 8-12 people was $220 round trip.

 

They pick you up where and when you want. Since check out time is 11am, that's the time we set for pick up. And by the time you arrive at the port (by noon), the ship is boarding. :)

 

We even had them stop at a store for some MtDew...lol. My hubby was sick of coke products after 6 days in Coke filled Disney.

[nothriver]

Sounds like he'll be just fine! Your child sounds like such a good travler and you've got the Disney touring down, relax and enjoy.

 

Your son must be the about the same age as my daughter and mine is still a miserable traveler! Mine doesn't nap when we travel and rarely sleeps at night. Fortunetely, she is good natured during the day, and she is go go go all day long, I can hardly keep up with her. She can do day after day at Disney and never get tired of it. We arrive super early at the parks and tour until around 3pm, then have an early dinner at our resort, and try for early to bed not that my little one actually falls asleep, ugg. Anyway, she is a handful but we take a couple trips every year anyway! We do WDW once a year and I'm planning our first cruise for next summer over my DD's 4th birthday. Not that I'm expecting her to sleep any better on the cruise than she does at WDW, since it will be summer solstice in Alaska when the sun never sets, I fully expect I'll be chasing her around the jogging track every day at 5 or 6 am!

 

Our towncar service at WDW is Sunray Transportation. We love those guys.

[katyjeka]

We love Disney World and have visited more times than I care to admit. It's funny, we are planning a cruise from California, next year, and my 1st thought was, yes, we get to see Disney Land.(We live in Pa. so we've always done Disney World) I think your plan looks great. After a busy couple of days at the parks, you'll have time to relax on your cruise. Looks like a fantastic time for your son, enjoy. Janice

[katerkat]

We did a 7-day Mexican cruise followed by two days in Disneyland. I don't think my three-year-old stopped moving the entire ten days. He had a GREAT time on both. The only thing I don't recommend is Disney after a cruise - being charged $35 for two sandwiches two hours after getting off the ship is a little depressing! :p Do Disney first. Take it slow, hit the attractions you haven't done in DL. We don't do Disney commando style any more - considering the little guy has been to WDW twice and DL three times, we will manage to see everything eventually without wearing him down.

[isk8]

Hi Everyone,

 

We did go ahead and book some time at WDW before our cruise. We are staying at the Dolphin. Our first time there, but they have some really great rates. The only downside is they do no participate in the Magic Express. We are just going to get a private driver from MCO to the Dolphin. No big deal.

 

Thanks again for everyone's two cents!!