Do excursions really sell out?

[portport]

Hi all,

I was planning on booking the magic kingdom excursion with my son really close to the day we get there (I am not paying $300 if there is a thunderstorm, rather spend the money in the Bahamas). But this won't work if they sell out, has that ever happened to anyone? Or should I not worry cause it's Disney and they would never say no to $300 for 2 people!

thanks for any info! (and yes I know I could rent a car but I really don't feel comfortable enough to drive by myself)

[txmom11]

The popular ones really do sell out. We've been lucky as far as the weather goes so far. You could book it and then cancel before if the forecast shows bad weather. But even so, usually the storms are hit and miss--rains for an hour or so and then stops. Good luck.

[snc_cam]

$300 for both of you for the day is not a bad deal... the day tix for disney alone are at least $100. Plus transportation, where a rental car would cost you at least 40-50 plus gas, parking fees at Disney, and tolls along the road. So, though you may save 30-40 (if that), having it done through the cruise line for this excursion would be worth it.

 

Having lived in that area for a number of years and my parents and sisters still do, the storms rarely last a full day. And the park does stay open with the storms. Also, you don't mention what time of year you would be going, so some months, the storms really don't show up.

 

 

Steve

[surfjock27]

I'm not sure about the Disney excursion, but excursions do sell out.

We normally do one excursion (through Carnival) per port.

We pick which ones we want to do and pay one at a time, as funds become available.

On our last cruise we wanted to do Atlantis in Bahamas and it was the last excursion we paid for.

When it came time to book (about 3 months prior to the cruise), it was sold out.

 

I do understand not wanting to shell out all that money on an excursion and the weather be terrible.

You said you don't feel comfortable driving, but that is a great option.

Either way, best of luck.

 

We live in Central Florida and are annual pass holders to Disney.

We are there 2-3 times a month..

It truly is a magical place. :)

[portport]

Thanks everyone! We will be there at the very end of March. I guess I am so used to this bad weather up here in NJ lasting for days I forget how the rest of the country is.

[surfjock27]

Thanks everyone! We will be there at the very end of March. I guess I am so used to this bad weather up here in NJ lasting for days I forget how the rest of the country is.

 

Like SNC said, storms never last a full day here in FL.

That time of the year storms aren't that common, but they happen.

If it does happen, it's normally only 30-45 minutes of rain, with sunshine.

[golfadj]

Lot of money for an excursion that does not give you enough time to really see what is there.

 

Some excursions sell out and often they will add more capacity given how profitable they are.

[kathy884]

Yes,

 

Let me give an example of an excursion that was sold out though. DH, DS, and I booked a dolphin experience in Jamaica (Ocho Rios) two months before the cruise. My brother and his kids decided the first day of the cruise that they would like to do it too. This was sold out for the dolphin swim part. There was, however, room to go to the place for the same day as a beach day. We went to the excursion desk, changed the DH and my dolphin swims to beach days, and put down two of my brother's kids in for the dolphin swim and got a beach day option for my brother. Our preference would have been dolphin swims for all six. // The excursion desk told us that there was a waiting list for the dolphin swim part too.

 

If you aren't ready to commit on this particular one, you could probably do it on your own, but as others have said you'd have some logistics to deal with. March is great in Orlando usually, and I'd personally go for the MK day. Unlike the beach or something it's not as much of a weather dependent place for having a great day.

 

-- Four cruises under my belt since 1982 (one more coming up in March)

-- Thirty-four trips to Orlando/WDW since 1971, the year the park opened. (Last trip was a mini trip this past October)

Edited February 15, 2014 by kathy884

[sandij]

Book it, the worst that could happen is the kids end up with a rain poncho with Mickey on it.

[TheCalicoCat]

My Tracy Arm excursion in Alaska sold out... There was only 1 small boat to put people on for the excursion...

 

I am guessing but if the demand was high enough, they could probably find another bus to ferry you to Disney World.

 

So yes, they do sell out.

[Rosethorn40]

Thanks everyone! We will be there at the very end of March. I guess I am so used to this bad weather up here in NJ lasting for days I forget how the rest of the country is.

 

I feel your pain regarding this year's winter . It's been brutal hasn't it. We had 18" on Thursday, just got dug out and now another 4" is falling today. Good news is that we are suppose to warm up and be near 60 by Saturday, so hang in there!

 

Only went to Disney once and it was in late March and had wonderful weather; sunny every day, very comfortable temperatures.

 

As far as excursions selling out, they do, but usually they are the ones that are limited for obvious reasons; Animal encounters such as Dolphin Swims, or space limitations such as Float Plane rides in Alaska. I would think that for Disney they could just add another bus IF they had enough people to fill said bus. Why not give Carnival a call and find out how many spaces are left on the excursion you wish to do?

[TheCalicoCat]

DSCF8161 by aviva_hadas (Amy), on Flickr

 

I was hoping that I had a picture of the excursion boat...:rolleyes:

[kathy884]

Thought I'd add too that March and April are my favorite months to visit Orlando for weather. The weather is usually glorious that time of year.

 

One previous poster said that's not enough time to do the MK, but I'm personally quite fond of the MK mini trip and just have to pick and choose what to do.

 

We did a short day there this last October and I subscribed to the touringplans.com website for something under $15 for the year (This is a subscription website by the folks who write the very popular guidebook, the Unofficial Guide to WDW). On the website we reviewed all the MK ride descriptions and rating by age with my son who is 18, started with one of their adult highlights touring plans that gives some of the best rides and a good order to do it, copied it to their customized plans sections, subtracted what we were least interested in, and used their optimization option to get a customized plan that worked like a charm for us for a short 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. day there. They give you an efficient order to do things, approximate wait, walk, and ride times, allow you to include parades and things like that. Just wanted to share this in case your a planner and would be interested in this. I'm a huge fan of this site and subscribe every year I will be doing even one day at WDW.

[OCruisers]

Book it, the worst that could happen is the kids end up with a rain poncho with Mickey on it.

 

Funny! :D

 

Seriously, do go ahead and book! The popular ones really do sell out!

 

LuLu

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