WDW and cruising together

[xrayvin]

DH and I are starting the research on taking our 3 y/o (he will be 5 at time of sailing) on his first cruise. We had originally planned to go to WDW in 2009, but DH and I LOVE to cruise so now we are trying to combine this vaccation. I can plan a cruise with the best of them, I love finding independant tours and spending hours on the computer researching. With that said, I am at a loss with planning WDW especially when I want to combine it with a cruise. I have looked into Disney cruise line, but I am not sold on it. Although we love our child the thought of a disney cruise where majority have kids does make us worry (we also like the idea of babysiting and enjoying some night life.) Now my sister and her family (husband and 2 kids 5 and 9 in 2009) want to join us. Looking into different cabins then the basic rooms are not easy online. I want to make sure we have enough room and the set up. We are on a budget also which makes it harder. I was wondering how others go about setting up two seperate vaccations and merge them into one. I am not sure about the itineraries out of Orlando, and we are looking for a 4-5 day cruise and spending 4 days in Orlando. Any tips?

[cruisinqt]

Our kids were 3 and 5 when we first took them to WDW. We spent 6 days there but after the first 3 days we were all worn to a frazzle. It's sooo much walking for little kids and they tire easily. And when they're tired and fussy, you don't enjoy yourself either. :( With your little one only being 5 I would suggest maybe 2 or 3 days at Disney. Two full days at the Disney parks is more than enough time to enjoy a taste of Disney without getting worn out and starting your vacation on a bad note. If your little one was older I would advise differently, but at 5 yrs old, a couple of days is all you need.

 

That being said, we are doing just what you mentioned, WDW and then a cruise. Except our cruise is 7 days instead of 4 or 5. We all love cruising so much that we've got to have at least a week to cruise. I would die if I had to get off of the ship after only 4 days.:eek: We've gotten airline tickets to Orlando pretty cheap, only $682 final price (taxes, etc. included) round trip for a family of four. Orlando is one of the cheapest places to fly to, there's always sales going on. We've gotten a budget WDW resort for only $82 a night, the POP CENTURY hotel is the newest Disney budget hotel. It's on a lake and has 3 heated pools, an arcade, a playground with Goofy waterfeature, and Disney characters are always around. Great bang for the buck! After a couple of days there we're headed to our cruise. We rented a car that we pick up at the airport and we leave it at the Port Canaveral location the day we leave for our cruise. Most of the rental car places in Port Canaveral have a free shuttle to the ship.

 

Most of the cruises out of Orlando (Cape Canaveral) are eastern or western caribbean. There are some southern caribbean and bahama cruises, but I found them to be much more expensive than the eastern or western caribbean cruises. You have enough time to order cruise brochures which are very helpful. They tell you what the itinerary is for each ship, how much the cruise costs, the layout of each ship, and the layout of the various cabins. Just go to the different cruise lines websites and order the brochures for free. You can also order free vacation planning guides and dvd's through Disney. That's probably the best place to start.;)

[tricialee]

The best place to start for planning a Disney vacation is another forum that I sometimes visit. Not sure if I am allowed to post it here, but it is www disboards dot com. Lots of helpful people there, and there is a board for families where you can get lots of planning and touring advice from those with little ones. My youngest has been to WDW 4 times and he is only 6. We have done both long and short trips with him, the trick is just to pace yourself.

[DJ1VIKES]

We are big Disney fans (big is an understatement actually) so I will say go to Disney as many days as you can afford. There is so much to do that if you are only there a couple of days you will try to do too much all in the short period of time and THAT will be tiring!! Take your time if you can and try to visit some Disney boards out on the web to plan your attractions based on your family and what-not.

As for a cruise, don't forget Tampa is just an hour or so away as well and there are cruises out of there. I do not remember which ones have 4 or 5 days but it another option to look in to. Cape Canaveral has the Soveriegn (RCCL) which is a great ship that has been renovated recently I believe. I am a very big fan of RCCL so that is why I recommend this ship.

Whatever you decide to do it will be great I am sure, good luck!!

 

Alyson

[CNDKanga]

We just booked out family vacation for 2008. We are doing WDW for 12 nights and we are camping at Fort Wilderness (we could have done a hotel but we love camping and find it relaxing with the kids). We have three children who will be 8,5 and 4 when we travel. I've been on a cruise but my husband and children have not so we decided to go for a "taster cruise", 4 days on a carnival ship, sensation. I figure we can do WDW with 10 day park hopper passes and get lots of relaxing time away from the parks as well as we won't be rushed to do everything. We have visited Disneyland in California many times so we kind of know what we are getting ourselves into. The cruise at the end of our holiday is going to be the icing on the cake. WDW can seem overwhelming but just figure out what is most important and go from there (ie. type of lodging, proximity to parks, pools etc.)

[xrayvin]

Thanks for all the advice.

I think we are leaning toward 3 days in Orlando..magic kingdom,Seaworld, and Animal Kingdom. Now we are just finding that itinerary that we want. We are even considering driving the 3.5 hours to FLL if it has the cruise we want. We basically want the time to equal 10 days at the most.

I have the DVD for disney, and I will definatly check out that website. I was just wondering what most people do..plan on their own or go with a ready made vaccation with Disney.

Thanks again

[BethCarp]

The website that was suggested is awesome for disney trip planning. For me, Disney is sooooooo complicated. I've booked two separate trips there only to cancel them because it was too frustrating. And trip planning is my thing. I am constantly researching travel to various places. Now we are planning on a Southern CA trip to include Disneyland for a few days. If that goes well, then maybe I'll tackle Orlando sometime.

 

So I might suggest going through a TA for the Disney part of your trip. DISboards has a Disney-only TA as a sponser, so you'll see that link on the site. They are highly recommended over there.

 

I don't know that you'll find a good 4-5 night cruise out of Port Canaveral. The Sovereign has a 4-night out of there, but I think they only stop at Coco Cay (which is great BTW) and Nassau. Enchantment sails out of Ft. Lauderdale with 4- and 5-night cruises and is supposed to be awesome.

 

As far as merging the two vacations, that would be pretty easy. You'll have to plan the cruise first and then just tack on a few days before or after in WDW. If sailing from Port Canaveral, you could get a car service or a shuttle to get to Orlando. If sailing from FLL or MIA, you would need to rent a car.

[crusinmama06]

We are Disney fanatics too (but not Disney cruise fanatics...lol)

 

I bought a book called "The Unofficial Guide to Disney" and I swear I read it from cover to cover. It talks about all of the resorts, their pros/cons, each park, the food, the transportation, everything.

 

We always try to do a Disney World back to back with a cruise so I have lots of info on this subject.

 

And in 30 days, we leave for another one. We are taking a group of friends with kids. Some are staying budget, some are staying deluxe. And even on the cruise, some have a budget to keep, some don't. And it's been pretty easy to organize both together.

 

I REALLY don't think you wanna do Disney and Seaworld all in the same trip if you have never been to Disney. We usually get hopper passes and let the kids' schedules guide us. We may do a character breakfast and some rides at Magic Kingdom in the morning early afternoon, then head back to the resort to swim and relax and give the kids a chance to recharge. Then we head out to another park for dinner and spend the night riding rides at a different park within the Disney system.

 

You could honestly spend 3 days at Magic Kingdom. And with having a 3 year old, you might wanna check out the Playhouse Disney show at MGM. That's something not to miss for that age. ;)

 

We love taking the ships out of Port Canaveral. It is one of the best ports to sail out of. So I recomend doing that. We fly into MCO Orlando, take a taxi to the hotel. Then we have a private driver take us to Port Canaveral after our stay at Disney is over. You can also do a shuttle service for cheaper than cruise transfers.

 

You have RCCL and Carnival both leaving from Port Canaveral and either one of those cruiselines would cater to your child.

[rebeccalouise]

Every family is different and every child is different. When we go to Florida we don't do a park the first day- just enjoy the pool and then head over to the Disney boardwalk at night. The second day we do Magic Kingdom and get there bright and early. We stay there thru lunch and then come back at dinner time- so we can see the fireworks in front of the castle. Then next day we do Seaworld- because there are no lines and everyone just loves it. I think Seaworld is better than Disney.

[xrayvin]

Thanks again!

 

Cruisinmama~have you done the Sensation itinerary before? I don't know about all the time the bahamas. What do you usually do with kids. I have never been to freeport before, but Nassua did not have a lot to offer us the last several times we have been there. But then again we had short stops here and maybe there is more to do away from the pier? :o

 

Actually my husband wants to do a 7 day cruise along with a few days in Orlando so I am switching gears now and beginning to look at longer cruises. Good thing I have over 2 years to plan this thing!

[powelweb]

Last fall, we took our 3 yr old on a 7 night cruise out of port canaveral (RCCL's Mariner- a voyager class ship), and then were at disney for 3 days- I had to attend a conference but still managed to squeeze in Magic Kingdom one night and again for Mickey's xmas party which was great.

 

I agree with previous posters that you need to pace yourself especially with small kids.

 

This Dec, we're booked to spend 2 days at Disney (value resort- all star movies for $82 per night) and then a 4 night bahamas cruise.

 

I plan to buy tickets to the xmas party again, but that's it- we'll enjoy the pool, playground and maybe minigolf.

 

If your DH wants to do a 7 night cruise, check out the mariner- I'm not sure when it will be repositioned to the west coast.

 

happy sailing and have fun planning,

Wendy

[Travelitis]

We are Disney freaks! We live 150 mi. from Disney and go monthly. Before we lived down here I'd been to Disney several times. The Unofficial Guide is really good, but get the most updated copy - not whatever outdated copy is at the library. An excellent website is www.allearsnet.com. To keep the little ones from getting worn out and grouchy, rent a stroller. My 9 yr. old is very small for her age, and we put her in a stroller. At Disney the usual stroller ages just don't apply. Secondly, go early, take a mid-day break around noon, then go back about 4:00.

 

I'd really suggest hopper passes and skipping Sea World. With a hopper you could go to MGM and catch just those things that appeal to younger ones like Playhouse Disney, Voyage of the Little Mermaid, and Honey I Shrunk the Kids play area. You could do the baby swap at Star Tours or any of the rides that don't work for the little one. Epcot has the Living Seas with the Finding Nemo ride and Turtle Talk with Crush. There's a play area in air conditioning at Mission Space, and you can baby swap there. The Imagination pavillion and Innoventions are also good for younger kids. I could certainly go on, but you get the idea. You'll pay less for admission doing a 3 day hopper than you will doing 2 days of Disney and 1 of Sea World, and you can see manatees, dolphins, and a coral reef at Epcot. No, you don't get dolphin shows or Shamu, but you do get Nemo. We've gone to Sea World, but for my kids a little goes a long way. There's not as much to do, and if it rains, the shows might be cancelled. Disney can operate rain or shine.

[crusinmama06]

Thanks again!

Cruisinmama~have you done the Sensation itinerary before? I don't know about all the time the bahamas. What do you usually do with kids. I have never been to freeport before, but Nassua did not have a lot to offer us the last several times we have been there. But then again we had short stops here and maybe there is more to do away from the pier? :o

 

Yep we did the Elation in December and it was the same itinerary. BUT, if this is your one big cruise (we have taken 3 this year) then I would go for the Mariner and add Disney to that.

 

We did 2 four dayers this year and one 7 dayer on Freedom of the Seas. The Freedom was the big cruise of the year.

 

When we do the 4 day cruises, like Sensation and Elation, we are docked overnight. We get a room AT Atlantis Paradise Island and spend the day as guests at Atlantis. The kids LOVE the water park. When at Freeport, we do the dolphin encounter or some other type of excursion. This time we are going to Our Lucaya in Freeport. And we added the Pirate/Princess Party at WDW (August 18th)...so there is ALOT crammed into this trip.

[xrayvin]

Thanks again for the information.

 

I think we have decided on the cruise part..Carnival Legend out of Tampa. Now we just have to wait for dates to open for it.

 

As for Disney, I was 100% positive that Seaworld would be a stopping place but TRAVELITIS made some good points. Thats why I love this site, you may think you have it all figured out and then someone will show you there may be a better way. I am still unsure about giving up Seaworld but I am definatly not 100% sure anymore.

 

Anyone have anything to say about Tampa as a departure port or the Legend for a 4/5 year old?

 

Cruisemama~I love the idea of staying at the Atlantis and we will difinatly keep that in mind for a future cruise. Why do you think PC is the best port to depart from?

[drewsmom4405]

Just thought I would add my two cents since everyone here has been so helpful to us.

 

We are combining both of these trips and leaving tomorrow! :D We are flying into Orlando and going to Disney for two days prior to our cruise, Carnival Glory out of Port Canaveral. We choose to do Disney first so that we could arrive before the cruise and make sure we were there with plenty of time for that depature.

This is our first family trip to Disney, so we are taking it easy so we are not all exhausted when we get on the ship. My son is only two, so he'll love whatever we do, but won't be dissapointed if we don't get to everything. I too used the Unofficial Guide. I checked out the book from our library, but I also subscribed online for a year (7.95 I think) and was able to print out some cutomized touring maps for our days at Disney. I think the tips are really going to help us.

We are traveling with my parents so we are renting a great 3br condo with private splash pool for $110 a night. We are staying at Windsor Hills Resort (about 7 mins from MK). I heard about it on disboards and found our unit on vrbo dot com. We are renting a car b/c I want to have my son's car seat and we are using it as our transportation to the pier. So staying off property wasn't a big deal to us. Definitly check out Windsor Hills and I'll give a report both here and on disboards when I get back.

BTW - we are renting a SUV through Thrifty for $106 for two days and that includes dropping the car off at Port Canaveral. It would have been $35 pp each way if we used the cruise transportation. We also booked a minivan (as there will be 6 of us returning) to the airport. We will pick up in Cape Canaveral and drop off at MCO. $67 from Thrifty again. I hope it all works out well. I'll let you know. Good luck and have fun planning your trip. These boards are great!

 

Kathleen :)

[littlestars]

I would agree that every child is different...

 

The last time we did Disney my kids were 2 and 5. We did one day Magic Kingdom on the first day after we arrived (big mistake as we flew in from the UK and by lunchtime we were SO tired!!) So we had a couple of days off then a day at Sea World (this was by far all the kids fave ~ we were there with friends who had a 5 year old and an 8 year old). We went back and did half day at MK and half day at Animal Kingdo... That was enough for us...

 

This time we are going to Florida for 7 days before our Cruise and staying at Bahama Bay Resort... mainly because we can really relax there and just chill out by the pools. No parks at all... Kids aren't really that bothered! We are doing some character meals so we get the interaction but without the craziness of the parks...

[jmhermen]

Hello,

We did Disney and a cruise in 2006 (just my DH and I for our 10 year anniversery). I also am a Disney fanatic!! We were at Disney a few other times with the kids and I went to Disney a lot growing up. I agree that you need to pace yourself and take afternoon breaks for the kids. Also travelitis is right www.allearsnet.com is a great resource and www.mouseplanet.com and www.mousesavers.com. Anyway we did a RCCL Majesty of the seas out of Miami. I know the drive is long, but it stops a Nassau, Cocoa Cay and Key West. Which is mainly why I chose that one. Good luck and remember to not try to do it all. The main thing is take everything in stride and have fun. There is nothing worse than exhausting yourselves on vacation and everyone becomes grumpy. No magic there.