adg06
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jul 5, 2012
We are booked on the Fantasy for a 7 day Western Caribbean from Port Canaveral on Sat 10/14, returning Sat 10/21. We are flying in to MCO on Fri 10/13, scheduled to land around 10:30 AM. We are flying home very early on Sun 10/22. We have a hotel in Cocoa Beach booked for the night before the cruise, and we were planning to relax on the beach, and we thought we would see some Orlando sights the day we got off the ship (not necessarily WDW). But now I'm trying to fit in a day trip to Magic Kingdom - but struggling with the logistics.
1. Which day makes more sense to go? Fri 10/13 we would get a much later start, but could stay out later, as our PAT isn't until 11:30 AM. But this night, MK closes early for the Halloween Party - no need to attend since we will have that on the ship. Sat 10/22 we could get to MK earlier from the ship, but would need to call it a night sooner to get to MCO for early flight.
2. Where to stay? We will literally need a room only to sleep, and I definitely don't want to pay premium prices for that. But considering transportation and logistics... it may make sense to stay on Disney property. We will have a rental car. But how much of a pain is it to drive and park for MK? And then get back to your car at the end of the day? Driving straight from airport or PC we would need to go straight to the park, as it would be too early to check in. Would it make more sense to go park the car at the resort and then hop on Disney transportation to the park, even though we can't check in yet? And if so, how does that work with getting Fast Passes or Magic Bands, etc? We might check in at 10 PM only to check out at 5 AM the next morning.
I debated putting these questions on the WDW board, but I thought you guys might have done something similar and have insight for cramming a park day in before or after a cruise. All advice is appreciated, you guys are always helpful!
1. Which day makes more sense to go? Fri 10/13 we would get a much later start, but could stay out later, as our PAT isn't until 11:30 AM. But this night, MK closes early for the Halloween Party - no need to attend since we will have that on the ship. Sat 10/22 we could get to MK earlier from the ship, but would need to call it a night sooner to get to MCO for early flight.
2. Where to stay? We will literally need a room only to sleep, and I definitely don't want to pay premium prices for that. But considering transportation and logistics... it may make sense to stay on Disney property. We will have a rental car. But how much of a pain is it to drive and park for MK? And then get back to your car at the end of the day? Driving straight from airport or PC we would need to go straight to the park, as it would be too early to check in. Would it make more sense to go park the car at the resort and then hop on Disney transportation to the park, even though we can't check in yet? And if so, how does that work with getting Fast Passes or Magic Bands, etc? We might check in at 10 PM only to check out at 5 AM the next morning.
I debated putting these questions on the WDW board, but I thought you guys might have done something similar and have insight for cramming a park day in before or after a cruise. All advice is appreciated, you guys are always helpful!