Land/Sea or Sea/Land - Which would you choose?

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Sat, 06/21/2014 - 11:50

KenJ

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Land/Sea or Sea/Land - Which would you choose?

When planning a cruise and a resort stay with Disney, which order would you prefer? Cruise first or WDW first? Would be interesting in hearing your opinions, especially if you've done both!

After going on our first ever cruise a couple of months ago (albeit non-Disney) and enjoying it immensely, we'd like to do a combo trip someday (depending on good ol' $$$ of course).

I'm thinking I'd probably lean towards the cruise first, then WDW. I think one gets much more exercise at WDW walking around so that would help burn off the calories from the cruise!

Also, after being on a ship for a few days, it might be nice to have solid ground under foot and the "freedom" of the sheer size of WDW afterwards.

Hmmm....

Sat, 06/21/2014 - 13:26

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I haven't been on a cruise. I think I would do the parks first and relax on the cruise.

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Sat, 06/21/2014 - 16:12

scrappy

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I would go with the cruise first followed by WDW. I am afraid that if I did WDW first I would spend the whole cruise thinking I could still be in WDW.

Sat, 06/21/2014 - 18:52

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jw24

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scrappy wrote:

I would go with the cruise first followed by WDW. I am afraid that if I did WDW first I would spend the whole cruise thinking I could still be in WDW.

I was thinking the exact same thing! A cruise is good and all but there are certain things you can't experience on a Disney cruise that you'll experience in WDW. Of course, the converse may be true, as well!

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Sun, 06/22/2014 - 00:50

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Kris1971

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I'm a fan of the cruise first and then finishing with the parks! The cruise gets you in the Disney mood and the parks are the grand finale! Plus I like the idea of burning off the cruise calories, Ken!

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Sun, 06/22/2014 - 12:45

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Magic Mirror

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I would do the cruise first than the parks...but when I sit here to try to explain why I would do it that way, I can't seem to come up with an answer, it just seems to be the way it should go.

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Sun, 06/22/2014 - 12:57

KenJ

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Great thoughts everyone! It's interesting to hear others' opinions on this.

I think I like the idea of doing the cruise first even more now. It's likely WDW would be the best way to finish off the trip rather than begin it for the reasons mentioned.

Sun, 06/22/2014 - 13:21

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We're doing a similar trip in March, but in Disneyland with a CA cruise. We'll be doing parks first for several reasons.

1. The cruise returns to port just before Easter. I'm not trying to do Disneyland for the first time ever on a major holiday weekend.

2. DH refers to my method of Disney planning as "the baton death march through the parks" (no pity parties for him--he totally loves our trips together. He just likes to give me a hard time), so doing to cruise second gives him some down time and relaxation before we make the long trip home.

3. We're meeting my parents at the cruise ship and the cruise is to celebrate their 60th birthdays. We don't want to send them home on the plane and stay behind to play after we get home from the cruise. We felt like that was rude.

So I would say that the most important factors to consider are crowd calendar for the parks, Whether you need some relaxation from the real world to better enjoy the parks or you'd rather have some down time before you travel back to "real life", and whether there are any plans with others to consider. Another consideration might be cruise itineraries/price. Depending on when your cruise departs, you might have the opportunity to go to different ports or you may be able to get a better deal on your sailing by going at the beginning of the week versus the end of the week. Either way, I'm sure you'll have an amazing trip!!

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Sun, 06/22/2014 - 13:23

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Eeyore

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We actually did WDW first, then cruise. I really did not have an opinion about it, but my husband's rationale was: he wanted to relaxing portion of the vacation to be towards the end. We do plenty of running around at WDW and he wanted to chill and relax on the ship. It worked out well for us, but I could honestly do it either way.

It is worth paying for Disney transport to/from the port though. It was fairly pricey in my opinion, but totally worth it!

We enjoyed our combo trip so much! Next time we cruise, we've talked about staying in the world too!

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Sun, 06/22/2014 - 15:36

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KenJ wrote:

When planning a cruise and a resort stay with Disney, which order would you prefer? Cruise first or WDW first? Would be interesting in hearing your opinions, especially if you've done both!

I'm a Land/Sea advocate. For me, doing the parks can be exhausting. Putting the cruise after the parks allows me a chance to rest and recover before heading home. I never feel like I need a vacation after a cruise, but I do after just hitting the parks.

Sun, 06/22/2014 - 22:24

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jw24 wrote:

scrappy wrote:
I would go with the cruise first followed by WDW. I am afraid that if I did WDW first I would spend the whole cruise thinking I could still be in WDW.

I was thinking the exact same thing! A cruise is good and all but there are certain things you can't experience on a Disney cruise that you'll experience in WDW. Of course, the converse may be true, as well!

Me, too. Anyplace but Disney I would want to do the running around first and the relaxing later, but with Disney I would want to save the best for last, and as awesome as Disney cruises are reported to be, I'm sure the parks would be the best part of a Disney land/sea vacation.

Mon, 06/23/2014 - 00:53

nhshorty

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I've done both Land/Sea and Sea/Land. I prefer Land/Sea....after being on the go at the parks, it's nice to sit back and relax on the cruise before heading home. We are spending 5 days at AKL before our cruise in October. Last cruise we did the parks after the cruise and we were really tired the first day at the parks after getting up on disembarkation day really early.

No matter which version you choose, it will be magical!!!

Mon, 06/23/2014 - 22:55

KenJ

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Wow! Lot's of great points for both options. Thanks for your replies everyone!

Sounds like either way it would be fun!

Tue, 06/24/2014 - 10:45

amouse9

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I did cruise first, park second last year, and I'll be doing the opposite this year, only because of the timing. I love Disney parks, but I was so relaxed and happy on the cruise that I didn't want to get off. Having parks to look forward to meant they did not have to pry me off the boat kicking and screaming (well, maybe a little). A friend of mine has done this multiple times and will not go any other way but parks first, cruise second. She swears by it, saying she comes home relaxed and her sore muscles from running around the parks have been melted away by a massage at Castaway Cay.

Tue, 06/24/2014 - 13:22

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Run around the parks then enjoy the cruise. Because you get up so early on debarkation day trying to go to the parks is even more exhausting. I like running around the parks then cruising. You'll be walking off calories onboard the ship too

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