Port Canaveral Excursion - Disney Springs

Frozen2014

DIS Veteran
Joined
Jan 12, 2014
When we first booked our Anthem cruise, I was super excited as it has a stop at Port Canaveral. Yah, we could go to Disney for the day. But then...I did the math (and worse as we are Canadians so convert to CAD) and the day would cost us over 1K CAD if we went to the park. Sadly it ain't happening.

So we thought we'll at least go to Disney Springs to get a Disney fix. A few points:
  • I know it isn't time efficient and we are stuck on Royal excursion timing, but we are not comfortable going ourselves there and thus, would only do this via a ship excursion
  • For other Port Canaveral possibilities, we have 0 interest in the Kennedy Space Center (as it is often suggested).
Royal has an "Orlando Premium Outlet and Disney Springs Shopping" 8 hr excursion that we have booked for now (got it on sale awhile ago). Perfect as it will take us there. The main downside is that from the description, most of the time is spent at the Outlet (3hrs vs 2 hrs at Disney Springs). Also I know that our DS won't be pleased as he doesn't love shopping (but DH is strong in that this trip is for all of us so sometimes we have to give an take IYKWIM).

There is also just a "Disney Transportation" 10 hr excursion. I'm not familiar with the location/logistics of the Magic Kingdom Transportation Center (drop off/pick up location) to Disney Springs. Would this be a better option? Can you easily get from the Transportation Centre to Disney Springs and back (and if so, how)? And any other Disney ideas if we went with this option such as a resort to visit that you can get to easily by say monorail? This option is actually cheaper but we need to ensure we could get back to the meeting spot in lots of time as this is a bit riskier in terms of not missing the bus.

The hours are off main meal times for both options as we don't leave until 12:30pm but we could have a late lunch somewhere (if any suggestions at Disney Springs or somewhere we don't need a park ticket such as a resort).

Would love advice on logistics if we switched to Disney Transportation, or if we're better off with Disney Springs excursion plus any other suggestions of what to do when there.
 
From TTC you can take a walk over to POLY, from there you can monorail to the other resorts on the monorail if you wanted to resort hop. From a resort, there is always a Disney Springs bus
 
From TTC you can take a walk over to POLY, from there you can monorail to the other resorts on the monorail if you wanted to resort hop. From a resort, there is always a Disney Springs bus
Thanks. Do all monorail resorts have a bus to Disney Springs? What would timing be like (e..g 30 min bus ride).
Any recommended resorts to visit? DH loved Boma breakfast when we went but don't think Animal Kingdom Lodge is easy to get to, right?
 
Yes all of those resorts have the bus to Disney Springs. Personally I like to travel on my own schedule so I would like your second option over the outlets. I would do the monorail and explore Poly and GF for sure. You can also boat over to WL. Then bus to the Spring. If time permits, you can kill plenty of time at Boardwalk afterwards.

I don’t know when u are going, but from now until Xmas the trees are very cool. We did a resort hopping afternoon and visited many of them.
Uber and Lyft can get you back to TTC or Poly if you worry about timing to get back,
 


Yes all of those resorts have the bus to Disney Springs. Personally I like to travel on my own schedule so I would like your second option over the outlets. I would do the monorail and explore Poly and GF for sure. You can also boat over to WL. Then bus to the Spring. If time permits, you can kill plenty of time at Boardwalk afterwards.

I don’t know when u are going, but from now until Xmas the trees are very cool. We did a resort hopping afternoon and visited many of them.
Uber and Lyft can get you back to TTC or Poly if you worry about timing to get back,
Our trip isn't until March but I'm sure it's all very pretty now.
Thanks for the suggestions of resorts and order to get form one to the other.
 
Another thought...how about renting a car; this way you're not at the mercy of the buses and the Disney bus system.

Most (but not all) Royal Caribbean ships dock at Terminal 1 in Port Canaveral. This is important in that the Alamo/National/Enterprise office is just a short walk from the ship. If you're docking there (see below), you could take the quick walk over to the office, rent the car and less than an hour later you're wherever you would like to be on or off Disney property: AKL for a Boma breakfast (parking would be free since you'd have an ADR), Disney Springs, the outlets, etc.

I have to think this would be less expensive than the excursion buses, the drive isn't bad and gives you a lot more flexibility.

If you're interested, the master schedule for Port Canaveral for early 2020 is here:
https://www.portcanaveral.com/PortC...naveral-Cruise-Schedule-8-1-19-to-9-30-20.pdf
I eyeballed a couple Anthem arrivals and they appear to be using Terminal 1 (CT1). If you look at a terminal map, you'll see that Terminal 1 is close to Mullet Rd, where the Alamo office is located. Also if interested, check the Alamo or National office hours to see if the pick up and drop off works for you. If your ship is NOT using CT1, walking to the Alamo/National office is NOT an option. You would have to cross a bridge that is not available to pedestrians.
 
Depending when in March, the resorts may have the Easter Eggs on display!
 


nd less than an hour later you're wherever you would like to be on or off Disney property: AKL for a Boma breakfast (parking would be free since you'd have an ADR), Disney Springs, the outlets, etc.
We would love to be able to make Boma breakfast....but....we aren't docking until 12:30pm so unfortunately it's a no go. I even looked at lunch or dinner as an option, but the hours don't work as I'm sure we'll need to start heading back not too far from when it opens up again (no lunch hours).

Yeah...I know renting a car is optimal and more flexible but we are not comfortable. Disney is too far out and a risk of traffic delays, etc. We're rather use a ship excursion to get us there. Thanks for the suggestion though.
 
We would love to be able to make Boma breakfast....but....we aren't docking until 12:30pm so unfortunately it's a no go. I even looked at lunch or dinner as an option, but the hours don't work as I'm sure we'll need to start heading back not too far from when it opens up again (no lunch hours).

Yeah...I know renting a car is optimal and more flexible but we are not comfortable. Disney is too far out and a risk of traffic delays, etc. We're rather use a ship excursion to get us there. Thanks for the suggestion though.

I hear ya...only thing I can respond with is that if you had the car you likely would have time for that Boma dinner. The drive on 417 to 528 is usually pretty quiet, even at rush hour and is the route that Disney and I'm sure the cruise buses would also take. Heading back to the ship, once you get past the airport area, there really should be no traffic at all. I totally agree with staying out of the I-4 traffic, which can really get nasty. Anyway, I understand the desire to be car-free on vacation...whatever you decide, enjoy! (BTW, we did a cruise from Bayonne on RCCL that had a day at Port Canaveral and we opted for going to Kennedy Space Center instead of Disney...that was good too!)
 

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