Disney Cruise vs WDW?

[Ceryssa]

We just came back from our first trip to WDW and I think our next trip will be in 2016. I'm debating between the cruise and the parks. We've done the parks, obviously, but I'm wondering if we'd find the cruise enjoyable. We loved the characters in the parks, but I'm concerned we (my husband and oldest daughter especially) will miss the rides. Of the 4 of us I'm the only one who's done a cruise, and it was a long time ago, and not a Disney one. So I don't really have enough info to compare the two to decide which would be best. What are some of the perks of the cruise vs the parks?

 

[wajones2]

We have done 3 Disney cruises and have gone to the parks regularly since before DD 4 was born. With DD 3 cruises and WDW 3 times - We all enjoy both tremendously but agree the cruise is our first choice when we can't do both.

 

[crystalk]

We did a 4 night cruise on the dream and 9 nights in WDW in 2011 and my kids still agree that though they loved the parks they loved the cruise more.

My kids loved meeting characters and going on rides and all the other fun at WDW but the walking and the walking and the standing and the heat were exhausting to them.

On the other hand on the cruise the kids loved the Aquaduck, the kids clubs, getting to watch stage shows and first run movies in the theatre. Also meeting characters all over the ship, the detective agency, mini golf, etc. We never got around to checking out the family game show/karoake but its on my to-do list for our next cruise.

Also while the kids are doing fun stuff in the clubs, there is a bunch of adult only areas on the ship and adult only activities to enjoy. But again, we hardly had time to enjoy them as there always tons of stuff to do as a family. And that's not even counting port adventures!

So *I* think you'd enjoy a cruise. but if you're still unsure, book a few days at the parks before or after cruise to get your fix!

 

[Skrabadoo]

We just came back from 5 night at AKL at WDW and a three night cruise on the Dream.

I wish we would have just done a longer cruise.

It was our first and so awesome

 

[Lorajo]

We are from Canada so our vacations are usually two weeks or close to it, so we can usually squeeze in both.

I would probably alternate each year if I had to choose just one. The cruise is relaxing and special. And with my third child on the way - the childcare is valuable!!

Last year we took our two on a two week Disney/southern Florida vacation with no other family with us. By the time we got home -we felt tired! Wished I had at least had a 3-4 day cruise in there to have a tiny bit of adult time.

 

[mlayton14]

You are posting on a disney cruise board, you should probably know what kind of opinions you are going to get in advance

Perks and advantages
- most things like food are prepaid. This is a convenience point vs wdw
- Not far to walk for anything if that is a concern, even though modern ships are large they are tiny in comparison to WDW
- You can watch the ocean go by which is cool
- live entertainment very good
- excursions if destinations appeal to you
- Castaway Cay !!!!!!!! Nothing like it at wdw

To be fair as we did our first disney cruise last year, along with a park stay ,and faced same decision as you, some cons:

- They stuff people in like sardines. Everything is smaller and compact vs WDW. Think of 4000 people confined to a place the size of yacht & beach club with everything built in. Crowds are really felt at pools and restaurants, elevators, nighttime shows. absolutely no place to spread out. This last point is why we will never do a cruise-only vacation
- very Limited entertainment vs such a huge place like WDW. If things like bingo, game shows, and mixology appeal to you then no prob. All other entertainment like shows/parades/fireworks, pools, food options, golf, etc far superior at WDW. Obviously no rides on cruise

A 3 night cruise is a perfect starter cruise, you get a taste of the best things DCL has to offer. If you love it then book longer next time. Just my 2 cents

 

[Kenny1113]

I used to prefer the parks because of the cost and the rides. However with recent changes and not being able to do the rides the way we used to, I say cruise. We LOVE the service we get on a DCL cruise, and love how relaxing it is. My phone gets turned off and goes in the safe, I don't see it again until we get back home!!!!

 

[Funky Chicken]

Thèy are totally different experiences.
The thing about the parks that gets me down is that the experience can be really inconsistent-so dependent on crowd levels, hotel capacity, time of year.
I would cruise any week of the year. I am at the point where I only want to be in the parks at the lowest crowd levels possible.

 

[mjbradeis]

As you can see in my signature we have done both; as already stated they are completely different vacations. We had thought we would alternate WDW and DCL for our annual trips however our family enjoys DCL so much we do not have any plans to return to WDW in the forseable future. While we love WDW, we love the relaxation that DCL affords you.

 

[Ceryssa]

You are posting on a disney cruise board, you should probably know what kind of opinions you are going to get in advance

Perks and advantages
- most things like food are prepaid. This is a convenience point vs wdw
- Not far to walk for anything if that is a concern, even though modern ships are large they are tiny in comparison to WDW
- You can watch the ocean go by which is cool
- live entertainment very good
- excursions if destinations appeal to you
- Castaway Cay !!!!!!!! Nothing like it at wdw

To be fair as we did our first disney cruise last year, along with a park stay ,and faced same decision as you, some cons:

- They stuff people in like sardines. Everything is smaller and compact vs WDW. Think of 4000 people confined to a place the size of yacht & beach club with everything built in. Crowds are really felt at pools and restaurants, elevators, nighttime shows. absolutely no place to spread out. This last point is why we will never do a cruise-only vacation
- very Limited entertainment vs such a huge place like WDW. If things like bingo, game shows, and mixology appeal to you then no prob. All other entertainment like shows/parades/fireworks, pools, food options, golf, etc far superior at WDW. Obviously no rides on cruise

A 3 night cruise is a perfect starter cruise, you get a taste of the best things DCL has to offer. If you love it then book longer next time. Just my 2 cents

This is exactly the kind of info I need, thank you! A 3-day is what I'm leaning toward. I have a feeling we'd prefer the parks, but I'm curious about the cruise too. My husband isn't big on long vacations, and I just don't think 3-4 days is enough time in the parks, especially given crowd levels recently.

 

[mlayton14]

This is exactly the kind of info I need, thank you! A 3-day is what I'm leaning toward. I have a feeling we'd prefer the parks, but I'm curious about the cruise too. My husband isn't big on long vacations, and I just don't think 3-4 days is enough time in the parks, especially given crowd levels recently.

Smart move, you get all of the things that you know you will love at the WDW resort , along with a test drive of the cruise line. The 3 night cruise gives you all of the most desirable things that the longer Disney cruises give you.
- all 3 stage shows productions.. This is the same number that 7 night and longer cruises give you.
- there are 3 main dining rooms , you get a dinner at each one
- one full day at castaway cay, same amount of time as longer cruises

have a great time

 

[Melissa S]

My manager and I both took vacations the same week this year. She went with her family to WDW (our daughters are the same age). I went with my family on the 7 night Southern. She came back exhausted and miserable. I came back so relaxed. In my opinion, the cruise is a vacation and the parks are a trip. Both are magical and memorable in their own ways. Our 4 year old loves rides and we visit parks throughout the year. For me it's my "good mom" obligation. I have to deal with waiting in lines, paying a fortune for poor quality quick service, dealing with crazy people shoving my child, and tired feet. On the cruise it is a true vacation. There I something for everyone to be entertained. I don't have to worry about meal planning, we can take a nap if needed, send our child to the kids club if we need a break (she LOVES going so we don't feel guilty) and we get to see the world with our child. Plus the biggest perk for us is the character interaction. We was waited 3minutes for Anna and Elsa on the ship while our friends waited 5+ hours in the parks.

 

[goofyintoronto]

I think you really need to try the disney cruise, at least once. At least a short trip (3 nighter). Its so awesome. We took a 7 night eastern caribbean cruise in august on the Fantasy, our first one, and let me tell you, its fantastic. Soooo relaxing. I loved the rotational dining. There is always food available....the pizza station is open pretty late. there's an abundance of ice cream available on the pool deck. Its such a peaceful and relaxing cruise. My DS14 had fun with the pool, watching movies, live shows, the teen club, mini golfing and basketball. There's never a dull moment. And the best part is we get to explore the ports of call together!

The pp that had said the cruise ship is packed in like sardines....compared to wdw, I honestly dont think so. I never felt the dining rooms or the live shows to be too packed. Its truly a magical vacation.

Since you've never tried a disney cruise, as another poster mentioned, i think you need to at least try the 3 nighter. Its pretty affordable, you can do 2 or 3 days in wdw first, then go to the cruise after (thats what we did, only we did 7 days at wdw and 7 nights on the cruise). That way you get the best of both worlds.

Have fun!

 

[SarahKate]

We just got back from our vacation a few weeks ago. We started off with a 3 night cruise on the Dream and when we returned we spent 6 nights at WDW. It was our first cruise, but 7th WDW trip. Did the cruise first since we just weren't sure what we would like and felt like WDW was what we wanted to "end" with.

It sounds like you're thinking right in doing a half and half trip! Since you maybe wouldn't be in the parks as many days, definitely invest in Park Hoppers!

There are so many things about the cruise that I loved. But even with that, I don't think that we'll do it again anytime soon. There's not even really one thing about it that I detested, except maybe the crowds. Yes, WDW is crowded but at least you're OUTSIDE and there's always a way to get through it. But sometimes on the ship it just got really loud and crowded. But there were some really relaxing times, we had excellent service, the ship is amazing....so many great things. And Castaway Cay, need i say more?

But by the end of the cruise, we were ready to get off the ship and start round 2 of our vacation! Even though there are the changes with MDE and FP+, we still had a wonderful time and the Disney magic is definitely alive and well.

We are definitely WDW people, but every family has to learn for themselves what their "happy place" is!

 

[zulemara]

DCL, hands down in my opinion.

The service is better

The quality of the product is better. They don't take away crowd favorites and replace with lumberjack shows! (ok, just a little bitter)

Even on the Dream and Fantasy, you can still navigate around the crowds quite easily. It's the little things - if the show gets out, don't wait for the elevators by the theater, go to the mid or opposite end of the ship and take them. It's all the same in the end! Little things like that make it very manageble.

The character interaction on the ships are awesome! Every cruise I have gone on, I have had a random character action as they are moving about the ship. Unlike the parks where they absolutely can't stop and interact, I've had extended interactions randomly with no one else around.

Oh yeah, did I mention the product is better? DCL is TRULY a premium product. You pay for it, but it's worth the price. Personally, I will not pay for WDW parks. If I don't get in free through a friend, I won't go in the parks. By contrast, I'm about to get on the Magic and willing to pay full price for it.

 

[bumbershoot]

With a short cruise, we do both. With a longer cruise, or two cruises in a row, we're content to not go to parks. (well, we say we're content, until we're driving to the airport and want to go to Epcot) Although when I say "parks", I should note that we keep a Universal AP going (3 renewals now), but we don't keep a WDW AP going. So "parks" doesn't necessarily mean WDW for us.

I would just start with a 4 nighter. The 3 night cruise is too short. Blink and you'll miss it. You hardly have time to feel like you can take the time to read the Navigator, so you miss even more. 4 nights. Way better.

 

[KBinCO]

I've been to WDW numerous times and we took the kids to Disneyland a couple years ago. We took them to WDW after our cruise and they HATED it. They are 4 and 5 and thought it was pretty much the same as DL and were very "why are we doing this again??". They just wanted to be back on the boat. I'm not sure we'll ever do WDW again now, the kids are obsessed with the cruise and thought going to WDW was some sort of punishment.

 

[kapoof]

We love love wdw. But with the mayhem with fast pass plus, magic bands and park hoppers, dining plan etc. It really is getting not only confusing but costly.
We love the cruise, no park hoppers and dining to worry about and we still get our disney fix. This feburary we are doing one night at the cr no parks, then hop over to port to the dream.

 

[Ceryssa]

Thanks so much for all the replies and advice! I think we're going to try to do a 3 night cruise/3 night WDW stay, *possibly* adding on a night to one of those. Sadly, it won't be until November 2016 (I want to see all the Christmas stuff at the parks, and my husband refuses to take the whole family back next year, so that's the absolute soonest that'll work). But that gives me time to learn everything there is to know about DCL, right?