Pre-planning Land and Sea

[disney junky]

I'm in the very early stages of planning a land and sea vacation. Looking at 2022.

The cast of characters. Two families of four, each two adults and two children under 10, and DW and I (Grandparents, kids, grandkids).

We would like to do four days in parks and three day cruise, but I'm open to any and all suggestions.

For those of you who have done this, what are my best options from both an economic perspective and from an overall ease perspective?

Additionally, we are vacation club members and by 2022, we will have points available for use (currently we are running on empty). I'm also willing to rent room(s) if necessary.

 

[ahain]

From an economic perspective - for parks and for cruise - focus on "off peak" times/dates. When we do land/sea combos, we prefer to do the park first, then the cruise so we can unwind. One time, we did the reverse and it felt like we were finishing our vacation on a "manic" note.

 

[chirogrrl]

We have done several land and sea vacations and we always love it! I think we have tried most combinations. Our favorite combo is a 4 night cruise and 3-4 nights at WDW. We are also DVC members and here is how we typically break it down:

1 night before the cruise in a deluxe studio at WDW (we always arrive at least 1 day before embarkation). We usually only visit a park if we have a current AP. Otherwise we go to Disney Springs or relax at the resort.

4 nights on the ship (typically the Dream)

2-3 nights back at WDW after (we prefer a 1 BR afterwards, especially with the laundry situation!) We hate having to leave the ship and head straight to MCO. It is so much more fun when you have more magic to look forward to! As DVC members, we don't feel the need to do everything in the parks, so we tour at a relatively relaxed pace and try to hit our favorite attractions. There is nothing better to beat the post-cruise blues than a Grey Goose slush at Epcot.

Packing for a land/sea is slightly more complicated, but totally worth it!

 

[Cruising Engineer]

Like @ahain wrote, we (2 adults) fly in the day before WDW and stay one or two full days at the park then take the cruise line bus to the cruise port. SSR is our home base (DVC).
For Sept 2020 we have a big family trip planned - DH and me, DB and DSIL, DN (brother's son) and his family (DW, 7, 5, 4 yo). Staying at SSR 3 bedroom for 2 days at WDW. This is a first for my nephew and family. Then to the port for a 3 day Bahamas Cruise (another first for the nephew family).
Looking for private transportation to the port for the group because it (according to many posts) is cheaper than the DCL bus at $39/pp one-way.
For us, WDW is like running a marathon every day. Cruise is pure relaxing vacation. Oh, after they get off the ship, we're staying on for 5 additional nights to the western Caribbean. Can't have enough relaxation.
I've been sending my nephew and family Disney gift cards for birthdays and Christmas (they don't want or have room for any more toys).

 

[MomOTwins]

We did four park days (one each park) followed by the 3 day cruise last summer. It was perfect. You'll have a great time!

 

[mmouse37]

Personally, I would do a longer cruise...at least 4 days. The 3 day cruise just go by so dang fast...no real time to relax....that my 2 cents. Oh, we prefer to do WDW first and then relax onboard the ship. We also save any character interaction for the ship...much easier and more readily accessible than at the parks.

MJ

 

[AuntieKels]

I will assume with your DVC membership that this isn't a once in a lifetime visit to WDW for your kids/grandkids?

We just did 5 days, 7 nights at WDW followed by a 3 night cruise. 2 adults, kids 5 and 2. I agree with the previous poster that land THEN sea is the way to go. If I were to do it again I would have done 4 days in the parks and at least 4 days at sea. Doing the parks is a lot of work mentally and physically. Having such a large group will be fun but challenging too. You will be so happy to get on the cruise ship after your park time.

I've also done multigenerational trips to Disneyland. From that perspective I would say it would be helpful to have realistic expectations ahead of time. Will one family need to take a midday break? Will grandparents babysit in the evening? Can everyone afford to make reservations at Be Our Guest? I also really liked having different things throughout the day as meeting points. Maybe everyone will race to Peter Pan first thing together then on your own until lunch. It is also nice to have an idea of who will want to go on intense attraction and who would rather go to shows and stick with the littlest family members. I knew I didn't want to ride some stuff so I gladly took the under 40inches crowd after lunch for a couple hours while the big kids (and kids at heart) did their thing. That helped the big kids get through the morning when we were doing "group" rides knowing they would have the afternoon to go wild.

I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time! We are obsessed with getting back on another Disney Cruise!

 

[ladyofthetramp]

Our very first trip was a land and sea. We are not DVC members, and at the time, the Polynesian was not DVC, and that is where we stayed. We are a family of 4 and at the time my kids were young-7 and 9. We did 4 days in the parks, followed by 3 days on the Wonder. We were pretty tired by the time we got on the ship, and it was our first cruise, so we tried to do everything. I got home from a vacation needing a vacation-lol. I think, and for us, to end with the cruise was best. The parks are so busy and the ship, is not that busy, unless you want it to be. We chose this combination of time as it was our very first cruise and we were not sure we would or the kids would like it. Plus a week's vacation, economically, fit our budget.

It was all very easy. Pick up at the Poly, drop at the ship. Bags taken care of etc. At the time, it was the trip of our life. Since then, and now 10 cruises later and on the verge of Platinum Castaway members, the cruises have gotten longer, destinations different as the kids have grown and become more adventurous. I think whatever combination your budget and time off allows, you will have a great trip!

 

[disney junky]

I will assume with your DVC membership that this isn't a once in a lifetime visit to WDW for your kids/grandkids?

I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time! We are obsessed with getting back on another Disney Cruise!

Correct. In fact, we just got back on Monday from a week there. The youngest two grand kids are four, so we want to wait a bit to make sure they can remember and appreciate it. Thus the wait. Plus, I'm starting to save for it in both points and cash for the cruise.

 

[StargazerNova]

From an economic perspective - for parks and for cruise - focus on "off peak" times/dates. When we do land/sea combos, we prefer to do the park first, then the cruise so we can unwind. One time, we did the reverse and it felt like we were finishing our vacation on a "manic" note.

what would be considered "off peak"?

 

[jdb in AZ]

what would be considered "off peak"?

When kids are in school. You want to avoid summers and holidays, especially Christmas, when rates are much higher.

 

[DisneyAndrew]

My DW, DD 9, and I did a Land & Sea (unofficially because we booked them separately) in January/February this year. We did 4 days at WDW first, and definitely think that was the right choice. Unfortunately, since our first family trip in September 2013, our last two trips to the World (December 2015 & January 2019) have not been as great as I had hoped. Don't get me wrong, the worst days at WDW is better than the best days at home/work/chaos. But...I just felt like everything was more crowded, people were less friendly, and overall it was more stressful. So, the 3 nights on the Dream after was a big vacation booster. The food, the amazing service, the great shows, Castaway Cay...just everything was perfect for us.

In hindsight, I wish we had just skipped WDW or maybe just did a day at MK to get a little fix and spend more time on the cruise.

That being said, our next cruise is booked for September 2020 on the 5 Night Double Dip. My wife, who fought me for years about cruising, loved every minute of the cruise (even with mild sickness on the first day due to some ROUGH seas). We can't wait!

Hopefully you guys will catch the bug too! Regardless, there is no wrong way to Disney (WDW, DL, Cruise, Adventures, or anywhere)!

 

[Cruising Engineer]

our next cruise is booked for September 2020 on the 5 Night Double Dip.

We're doing one day at MK then a B2B in Sept 2020. Definitely just enough time at the park to remember why we love cruising.

 

[DisneyGirlMI]

I would agree with two main points.
1. Book WDW first. While fun, it is so stressful and busy that if you do it at the end you end up needing a vacation from your vacation.
2. I would definitely look at booking a 4 night cruise. You would be amazed at how much more relaxing the cruise is with that extra day, usually a sea day.

All of our cruises have been out of Port Canaveral, and since we come so far we always do a land/sea combo and really enjoy it!

 

[Dug720]

No matter what cruise length you pick, just know going in you cannot do it all. You will make yourself miserable if you try.

 

[speicher46]

I would certainly do a longer cruise. I will be doing two land/seas this year. My wife and I and three of our four children went in June. The day we got back the son that did not go said he wished he and his family(he, wife, three kids) had gone with us. Bottom line we are going to do another land/sea in September. On the one in June, we spent five nights in a two bedroom villa at the Grand Floridian followed by a seven night Western Caribbean cruise. For September we are going to spend two nights in a 3BR Grand Villa (all ten of us), followed by a seven night Western Caribbean, followed by 3 more nights at WDW after the cruise. You wonder how we stay at such nice places? I have been DVC since 1997. Of course I have depleted my points for this year....lol.

Typically you can find some reasonably price cruises in September, January, and May.

Four night would most likely be enough at WDW if you plan ahead, get Fast Passes, dining reservations, etc.

 

[Glenn3484]

My DW, DD 9, and I did a Land & Sea (unofficially because we booked them separately) in January/February this year. We did 4 days at WDW first, and definitely think that was the right choice. Unfortunately, since our first family trip in September 2013, our last two trips to the World (December 2015 & January 2019) have not been as great as I had hoped. Don't get me wrong, the worst days at WDW is better than the best days at home/work/chaos. But...I just felt like everything was more crowded, people were less friendly, and overall it was more stressful. So, the 3 nights on the Dream after was a big vacation booster. The food, the amazing service, the great shows, Castaway Cay...just everything was perfect for us.

In hindsight, I wish we had just skipped WDW or maybe just did a day at MK to get a little fix and spend more time on the cruise.

That being said, our next cruise is booked for September 2020 on the 5 Night Double Dip. My wife, who fought me for years about cruising, loved every minute of the cruise (even with mild sickness on the first day due to some ROUGH seas). We can't wait!

Hopefully you guys will catch the bug too! Regardless, there is no wrong way to Disney (WDW, DL, Cruise, Adventures, or anywhere)!

We cruised last year on it's own and loved every minute. This year, wife wants to go to WDW, I think we're just going to do one park day and then cruise 4 nights. More than one day at WDW sounds very stressful, lol.

Was it cheaper to book it separably on your own?

 

[Karin1984]

I'm doing a Land & Sea with 4 full days at the park, arriving Wednesday evening, park Thursday - Sunday, Monday 4 night cruise.
We are doing it like this because we have been on holiday for about 2 weeks before going to WDW, which we have visited before so we can take a slower pace. And then the cruise is for absolute relaxation before going home.