Looking for advice on 3 night DCL cruise + time at DW

[Mom2B&Z]

I'm posting this in the family thread on purpose, as I want diverse opinions on what we should do. The boys 7&4 yrs want to go to Disney over March break. This is my idea of a hell vacation, but hey, it's part of being a parent right :rolleyes: Right now we're looking at driving from Ontario, spending 2-3 days at a timeshare outside Disney (Kissimmee?) and seeing a few of the parks, then jumping on the 3 night cruise out of Port Canaveral. We would not use the kids club as the ship is in port both days and neither boy would deal with the large numbers of children well. But it would be a way to keep the "magic" going. Or should we spend a few days at the parks then try a different line? The 3 night cruise is $2200 for a balcony cabin, which seems fairly reasonable to me considering it is Disney.

Pros and cons? I'm really quite ambivalent at this point. Are the Disney people going to drive me crazy lol?

[cb at sea]

If you only have what essentially is 5-6 days total, I'd just stick with Disneyworld. 2-3 days really isn't enough time to see all there is! Get a book on Disneyworld....gives you a much better "plan of attack" than just trying to "wing it"! Between the Magic Kingdom, MGM (which is GREAT!), Epcot and all the other "parks", you really need a full day for each place! It can take about 45 mins. to get from the parking areas until you are actually IN each park!!! It's huge.

 

If you do decide to go with the Disney cruise, they offer LOTS of "adult" areas and time away from the "Disney magic"! You could probably find a cheaper cruiseline, tho. Any will give you a great time...they truly are more alike than different!

[newbiecruiser09]

If you all have been to WDW before and know the parts of the parks you enjoy and want to do then go for it along with a cruise (see my comments below on that). If you have never been, I agree with cb at sea--spend the whole time at WDW and do a cruise another time.

 

Personally, I would try another cruise rather than pay for the Disney cruise experience. We did a RCI 4 nighter out of Port Canaveral and had a great time. The private island was very relaxing.

 

Whatever you decide, enjoy your family vacation.

[marisa0324]

We did the 3 day Disney Dream for our daughter's 3rd birthday. The ship was beautiful but I would never do a 3 day cruise again. The amount of work that it took to prepare for such a short cruise wasn't worth the hassle. By the time you stand in all of the lines, wait to get on the ship, unpack, it is time to leave. I also didn't find that the food was good on the ship. Super long lines for everything...buffet, getting seated in the dining room, waiting for character greetings, etc. On the plus side, the ship was new, rooms are amazing and the staff was phenomenal. But 3 days just isn't worth it...especially for $2200!

[crusinmama06]

We did it both ways. On two different WDW trips we followed it up with NON-Disney ships. (RCI Freedom and CCl Sensation) and then on two other WDW trips we followed it up with the Disney Magic and the Disney Wonder.

 

I have to say it had to do with PRICE each time. When I first started looking at the cruise that eventually became the Disney Wonder - the prices between Disney and RCI were comparable for ships that were the same amount of days/itinerary.

 

So if you are looking at the price and you see you can do a Disney cruise for $2,200 in a balcony but a RCI cruise in a suite- then I would be jumping on a RCI cruise ;)

[mjkacmom]

The last time we did this, the kids (5) were between the ages of 4 - 11. We did 6 nights at WDW (living large - 2 bedroom villa at the Beach Club - rented points), and 3 nights on DCL. We've been to WDW before (I've been about a dozen times), and we could've stayed a couple more nights and done more. I'd never do a 3 night cruise again - way too short. And although DCL is now in NYC (a 20 minute drive for us), we cruise other, less expensive lines (NCL is our favorite). I think you will be feeling pressed for time your entire vacation.

[Mom2B&Z]

Thank you for all the comments, this is exactly what I was looking for :)

We never had any intentions of staying longer than 3-4 days at the parks, it's just not our thing. A day or two at MK, then a day at MGM was the original plan, then time with my parents who were going to be in FL after their cruise. But Mom and Dad are leaving earlier than we thought, so thus the cruise idea. This is supposed to be the year of the cheap trip :rolleyes:

Unfortunately RCCL's cruises our of Tampa and PC don't fit our time frame, but I do agree it would be the best option. For now we are going to book the time share week then we are going to see what we can do price wise for the DCL cruise and go from there. We can always opt out ofmthe cruise portion since we will have accommodations for the week. Our next cruise was planned for 2014 and I think they boys were going to be in cruise withdrawal waiting until then lol!