4 night cruise with DISNEY land package?

[sandy toes]

Has anyone done this? We are thinking the children would like the mixture instead of just a 7 day cruise...please, all comments will be appreciated. Traveling with two 4 yr olds

[Inspcramer]

We are going on a Land/Sea package in January. We opted for the 3 day WDW, 4 Day cruise. We also added a day to the WDW portion so we now have a 4 day WDW and a 4 day Cruise. Some of the people going haven't been to WDW before so we figured this would allow the best of both worlds and enough time to see all 4 parks.

 

Bob

[wendykbr]

my daughter and I did the land/sea last year (animal kingdom lodge is the best!) and I am so glad we did the parks first and cruise last. Had a great time at AKL and the parks but the highlight was the cruise! The only downside was that by the time we had rested up from the marathon park fun and really got into the cruise it was time to go home!! CC Island on the last day was the best day ever!

We are doing the 7-day Western in 2 weeks!!! Which ever you choose you will have a blast! Blessings

[ajcolorado]

I agree completely with the above poster - do the land first, followed by the cruise. You'll get back from your vacation more relaxed. Travelling with four year olds gives you the advantage of avoiding school holidays but if you do go during the summer or holidays, please get a good touring plan for seeing the parks - it makes all the difference in the world in avoiding long lines and doing the attractions. The Unofficial Guide to Disney World (book) and www.tourguidemike.com both have touring plans for families with small children. www.buildabettermousetrip.com does custom touring plans for you at a reasonable cost and will make your dining reservations at Disney World. We've used no plan and we have used all of the above - I would never do Disney without a plan again.

 

If you want the Classic picture of the kids on Dumbo, be at the Magic Kingdom gates at least 20 minutes prior to park opening and ignore the characters along Main Street (they're there all day). Go straight past the castle into Fantasy Land and go right to the Dumbo ride. This is the slowest loading ride in all of Disney World and the lines get long fast. Also, Fantasy Land is surrounded by cement and gets really hot as the day goes along.

 

Buy a double umbrella stroller even if you don't use strollers any more. The parks are large and little legs get tired. You can also rent strollers at the parks but you might enjoy having a stroller along at the Ports of Call.

[Host Mick]

I was considering what it would be like if one were to take the cruise before WDW. Conventional wisdom dictates WDW before DCL but is that better?

With DCL before WDW, you'll be rested for the cruise which IMHO is the best part of the vacation. If you're exhausted from charging around WDW, the cruise will be less enjoyable. I'd rather add two days to my vacation at home to catch up on my sleep after WDW than to do it on the cruise.

But that's just me. I'm not big on relaxing vacations. I'd rather be getting up early, doing and seeing things and going to bed late. Lounging around the pool? Forget it, wasted vacation time. If I want to relax, I'll spend a Sunday at home watching movies and lazing around home.