Getting into MK without reservation

[Liz Z]

Hi all. Not sure where to post this. So please move if need be. We’re going on a cruise in April and one of the excursions is to Disney world. You’re dropped off at the TTC. I don’t know if the cruise line has an agreement with Disney to let the excursion people enter the park of course after buying a ticket. Or
we have to buy a ticket first and make a reservation? do you think the park will let us in if they’re not at capacity if we don’t have a reservation ? I’m an annual pass holder but have never taken a cruise where the excursion goes to Disney.

thank you for any help

 

[SkyGuy]

If this is through NCL, their info states you must have a park reservations as well as a park ticket and those are not included in the excursion. Depending on the week in April, it’s pretty bold of a cruise line to offer a trip to Magic Kingdom without specifically letting people know they have to have the ticket and park res before hand, or they may be driving over there for nothing. I would think it would be extremely hard for a cruise line (besides DCL) to have any kind of agreement with Disney to hold park reservations for people with no tickets who may or may not be arriving with the tour. Ultimately, you should call the cruise line for a definitive answer.

 

[KVH]

Interesting. My first assumption would be to treat the shorex like any other. IOW, if you were going to anywhere else requiring a ticket, that would be covered through the excursion price. I would verify that first. I would think any reputable company handling this would deal with getting their group into the park appropriately.

 

[SkyGuy]

I guess the price of the excursion could be a major clue. Does it seem like the price of the ticket is included? If so, the park reservation would likely be as well.

 

[Liz Z]

Thank you!! I did eventually call the cruise line (Royal Caribbean) and they said they just bring you there and back. It’s up to you to get a ticket and then make your park reservation. They really need to specify you need a ticket first then you can make your reservation. Why are things so difficult these days. The transportation cost us $12.99 r/t

 

[dwg]

A little off topic but we had previously taken 7 day Bahama cruises out of Manhattan on the Disney Magic that included a stop at Cape Canaveral where Disney took you to WDW and gave you park tickets that included 3 fast passes for any ride. We really miss those cruises as it gave us a chance to go to the parks while on the cruise. For us it was the bet of both worlds. Unfortunately with the current changes in the parks I do not expect Disney will have that cruise option any time soon.

 

[CMontheseas]

Thank you!! I did eventually call the cruise line (Royal Caribbean) and they said they just bring you there and back. It’s up to you to get a ticket and then make your park reservation. They really need to specify you need a ticket first then you can make your reservation. Why are things so difficult these days. The transportation cost us $12.99 r/t

I've cruised out of Bayonne with a stop in Port Canaveral for the Disney Excursion through Royal Caribbean - I would definitely recommend not doing this excursion, it's simply not worth it.

A little idea of the timeline of how it went -
We got our tickets and had to wait in the theater at 7:00am until our group was called to disembark. A lot of families were also going on this excursion "Disney World Express Service (Transportation Only)". The ship didn't get clearance to disembark til a bit later and our group wasn't called until about 9am. Factor in we had a few guests with mobility and some families with Seapass card issues and they hold ALL the groups on that excursion on the busses until all accounted for (Mears was the bus company). We left the port at 9:45 and arrived at the TTC by 11:00. Where they dropped us off was a solid 15-minute walk to the monorail or ferry. If you can believe it some families were still trying to buy tickets.

We had a meetup time of 4:00pm with an all aboard time of 5:30 for guests. They had a "zero-tolerance" policy for people who were late, but we still ended up waiting until 4:30 for a large family from Puerto Rico who were staying on the same Deck as us. A lot of grumbling guests, some who didn't go to the Magic Kingdom barely had 3 hours to get into the park, ride one ride, eat a snack and buy souvenirs before having to come back resulting in a line at Shores when we got back but they didn't refund anyone citing everything was written on the excursion when they booked it.

Definitely don't recommend to anyone unless:
-it's a very mobile couple/group that doesn't need extra time/can move quickly
-is their only chance to visit WDW
-will only go to the Magic Kingdom
-have tickets and reservations and most likely Genie+ and know exactly what they will do and no popular/long line rides.
-Or of course if your ship has late arrival or overnight in Port Canaveral.