The Disney Excursion Process (shuttling, etc)

[moopdog]

Read several threads here about the Disney excursion, and though the general consensus is "don't do it", I'm still considering it for a few reasons.

 

For one thing, we've been to WDW twice before and know exactly the lay out and what we want to do & want to avoid, so the time at the park should be adequate. Our kids are not preschool age ( 7 and 9) and can keep up okay with busy-ness of this excursion. Another plus is the fact that our family did the "give a day/get a day" promo and volunteered together as a family, thus earning free passes for one day at the parks. So.... now my question:

 

Is the boarding the shuttle process a nightmare? I've heard that the bus needs to fill up before leaving (makes sense) and that it can be a very long process. Any truth to that? Also, how accurate are the times at port? In other words... if we are due to arrive in Port C at noon, is there any chance we'll actually arrive at 10:30 AM and our time at WDW would be longer???

 

TIA;)

[moopdog]

anyone??

[omc329]

I don't know the answer to your question, but I wonder if you might be better off renting a car for the day to get to and from Disney. Just a thought...

[njhorseman]

I'll answer one of your questions. There is virtually no chance of the ship docking 1 1/2 hours earlier than scheduled.

[philatiger]

Read several threads here about the Disney excursion, and though the general consensus is "don't do it", I'm still considering it for a few reasons.

 

For one thing, we've been to WDW twice before and know exactly the lay out and what we want to do & want to avoid, so the time at the park should be adequate. Our kids are not preschool age ( 7 and 9) and can keep up okay with busy-ness of this excursion. Another plus is the fact that our family did the "give a day/get a day" promo and volunteered together as a family, thus earning free passes for one day at the parks. So.... now my question:

 

Is the boarding the shuttle process a nightmare? I've heard that the bus needs to fill up before leaving (makes sense) and that it can be a very long process. Any truth to that? Also, how accurate are the times at port? In other words... if we are due to arrive in Port C at noon, is there any chance we'll actually arrive at 10:30 AM and our time at WDW would be longer???

 

TIA;)

 

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[IWORK2CRUISE]

It isn't likely that you would have a very early arrival.

With 4 of you a car rental might be more economical than paying for the transfers.

The only thing is you really do need to be careful about allowing enough time to return.

[DMH15]

That's nice you all volunteered. I would do the NCL shuttle. Because I would be nervous as heck driving back.

[Terrafreaky]

I'm interested in the answer as well. I know everyone says not to do it, but also we're getting free passes for the volunteer thing, we've been there before & are mostly going to hit the Tower of Terror as many times as possible. :D

 

Has anyone here done the NCL transfer-only to WDW? What's it like - do they have a bus for each park? Or does it stop at each park? One set departure time?

[zqvol]

I'm interested in the answer as well. I know everyone says not to do it, but also we're getting free passes for the volunteer thing, we've been there before & are mostly going to hit the Tower of Terror as many times as possible. :D

 

Has anyone here done the NCL transfer-only to WDW? What's it like - do they have a bus for each park? Or does it stop at each park? One set departure time?

 

 

Let me say, being a semi Disney expert, that Disney's Studio (or whatever name it is this week) is the one park that can be done in a short day, without any trouble.

 

My guess is that the bus from Port Canaveral goes either to the TTC or the Magic Kingdom, which means that it is another 30 minutes or so to the studio.

 

A rental car will be much cheaper and easier if more than one person is going.

 

One thing to make sure of is that your "reward" tickets do not have a black out date when you want to use them.

[tinker]

Having done the Port Canaveral itinerary three times before, but not the Disney excursion, I can say that we saw all the buses load when the ship docked at 12 and it went very quickly and actually those were the first buses to leave. I would assume that the first buses to load were out of there quickly but may be a wait for the last one to load. We sat in our bus for a local excursion for almost 45 minutes waiting for the other passengers and joked at how fast those Disney buses loaded and got out of there.

 

We also met people who rented a car to drive to Disney and it was a slow go waiting for the shuttle buses to take you to the rental companies. We rented a car last time there to just drive around locally, and waited almost half an hour for the Budget van. We saw them later that day and they had no problem getting back but I would be nervous as heck in Disney knowing I had to locate a rental car in those vast parking lots at the end of the day and make the hour or so drive back to the rental car location and then their shuttle back to the ship.

 

With all this said, we are on the Jewel on 4/24 and still debating if it is worth over $500 for three of us to do the Disney excusion. It is expensive for the short time you have in the one of parks but if you have free admission I would say go for it and I would do it in a heartbeat because as I stated, they seem to really make an effort to expedite the buses once docked in Port Canaveral. You just walk out the of the front of the terminal and a nice covered area to the left with all the excursion buses and signs on the poles for the various tours.

[Terrafreaky]

Very helpful information, thank you!

 

And for anyone else interested, Disney's still doing the free passes for a day of volunteering. Perfect for anyone cruising to FL this year.

[tinker]

Please explain the details of volunteering as I would love to help someone out and to get Disney passes would be wonderful.

[Pebbs48]

Please explain the details of volunteering as I would love to help someone out and to get Disney passes would be wonderful.

 

http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/disneyparks/en_US/WhatWillYouCelebrate/index?name=Give-A-Day-Get-A-Disney-Day-Terms-Conditions-FAQs

[geegee1]

Read several threads here about the Disney excursion, and though the general consensus is "don't do it", I'm still considering it for a few reasons.

 

For one thing, we've been to WDW twice before and know exactly the lay out and what we want to do & want to avoid, so the time at the park should be adequate. Our kids are not preschool age ( 7 and 9) and can keep up okay with busy-ness of this excursion. Another plus is the fact that our family did the "give a day/get a day" promo and volunteered together as a family, thus earning free passes for one day at the parks. So.... now my question:

 

Is the boarding the shuttle process a nightmare? I've heard that the bus needs to fill up before leaving (makes sense) and that it can be a very long process. Any truth to that? Also, how accurate are the times at port? In other words... if we are due to arrive in Port C at noon, is there any chance we'll actually arrive at 10:30 AM and our time at WDW would be longer???

 

TIA;)

 

We did in 2008 and we're planning on doing it again in a few weeks. As someone else posted, the Disney excursion is the first one off the boat and they load you on the bus and to the park asap. Coming back, they do wait for the bus to be somewhat full, but they do tell you when the first bus is scheduled to leave. Since you know the lay of the land you should not have a problem hitting what you want to.

[PreciousPetal]

Has anyone here done the NCL transfer-only to WDW? What's it like - do they have a bus for each park? Or does it stop at each park? One set departure time?

 

Took the transfer only to WDW last year and again doing so next Monday on my Gem cruise. NCL gets you off the ship very quickly, you board one of the many buses they have waiting at the terminal. The ride is long, but exciting with the anticipation. All buses go to the Ticket and Transportation Center (TTC), where you either get on a Disney bus, boat or monorail to the park of your choice. You are told a designated time to return to TTC to get on the return bus to the port. Last year we were late getting back, but of course the ship waited for us, and within minutes the gangway was up and we were off. An exhausting but great way to spend about 8 hours or so at the park.

[travelloverontario]

We would love to take advantage of the Volunteer Program, as we volunteer quite a bit. Unfortunately it's not available to Canadians. I understand why, but it would've been nice.:rolleyes: