Our usual trip is to go to the World for a week, tour the parks each day, with a day of Universal thrown in somewhere. This year though hubs throws out the idea of Disney cruise…INSTEAD of going to the parks in September, but we can go to MK one (ONE??) day before cruise. DS11 was all in as soon as he heard the words “tween club”
I get one trip to the world a year…the parks and planning the trip are my bliss. Have any of you done the cruise (4 day on Dream)? Were you disappointed to miss the parks if you did? Debating if I should try to divide and conquer to get them to change their minds.
There’s an awful lot of love for Disney Cruise’s and I suppose there is something to be said about coming home from vacation not totally worn out lol. If it were me I’d probably try to split the difference and get a few days in the parks and take a cheaper cruise line lol.
OOh that’s a great idea!! Do a cruise, but not necessarily Disney…have the cake and eat it too. Lol Thanks! I knew Liners would have a win/win solution!
the shorter Disney cruises get lots of love because of how it can be combined with a few days in the parks. Also, DCL may have transportation directly to/from the resorts for even easier planning.
We are going on the Dream for the first time in April. I have a DS11 and a DD13 and they are very excited. They have been to the parks a lot, but this is an all new experience for them. We live in WA and since plane tickets are high and we travel a long way, we tend to stay in Florida for longer than if we lived on the East Coast. So we are actually doing 4.5 days at WDW before the cruise. I am looking forward to the cruise, but I also need park time. I would have a hard time giving up park days, the kids didn’t care they just want to cruise. The prices for the Dream are all over the place, depending on dates. You could easily combine the 3 or 4 night Dream with 4 parks days during a less busy time (when kids are in school) for the same price as the 4 night Dream during a holiday or busy time. Also book 1 year in advance. I am paying much less for our cruise than those who booked in the last 6 months (I booked last April). September should be way cheaper than my day after Easter cruise!
I’m with you - it would be so hard to be that close to WDW and only go for 1 day For the past two years we have done a split parks/cruise and I think that is that best vacation! In 2014 (took us 18 months to save) we did 7 days WDW and 7 day DC on the Fantasy. We knew we were coming back to WDW in Jan 2015 so when we got home from our 2014 trip I began obsessively checking how much a 4 day would be on the Dream. Safe to say we are hooked on DCL!!! We won’t be doing another cruise till at least 2017 but in my opinion it’s worth it to save a little longer for the awesome experience that DCL is.
We’re from the west coast as well - so we usually do between a 10 - 15 day trip.
I’d be curious to know what you feel makes DCL superior to less expensive options. I mean I know Carnival and some of the other budget alternatives will have fewer options and the food probably won’t be as good but I just can’t seem to wrap my head around DCL pricing compared to the other lines when I’d probably spend most of my lounging with an umbrella drink and a book or … well eating lol.
I have been on other cruises, though not in the last 15 years. They were all good! If the Dream commercials hadn’t started in 2011, and been on replay non-stop since, we might have chosen another line! It’s the same reason people pay $500-$1000 per night to stay in 1 hotel room with 2 queens and a daybed at the Grand Floridian, when an offsite 4 bedroom house with a private pool is $150. Disney tugs at our heartstrings and makes us spend crazy amounts of money!
ETA: my kids have been asking about the Dream since the commercials started. Not any of the other Disney ships, not any other cruise at all, just the Dream. They would pick the 4 night Dream over a 2 week amazing cruise with tons of ports. The commercials brainwashed them!
I get that. I think that’s a pretty good explanation. I think for the next few years if we were to do a split vacation would have to be a different line that isn’t quite as expensive and I’d hate to have missed something really awesome and end up regretting it.
We selected Disney Cruise because of the amenities, wanting to spend the day at their private island, and for all the good reviews as well. We were extremely impressed with the food quality, service, cleanliness (SO important on a cruise ship!), and we loved cruising to Castaway Cay and having an “island resort” day where all was taken care of for us and there were chairs and Disney fun all around us. From fireworks at sea to the amazing kids club, the lovely shows to watching Big Hero Six the day it released - we felt it was 100% worth the money.
But then again - we are people who believe the deluxe MK area resorts are worth the money to be so close/not have to drive to MK and for monorail access. If you really love the deluxe Disney resort experience you will love the cruise. If I went to WDW every year (vs the average every 3-4 years if lucky we seem to be at now) I would 100% skip a year and do the Disney cruise.
Oh maybe I misspoke, I myself prefer to cruise only Disney(I’m one of those “loyal to the brand” type of people ) but I know quite a few people who love different options and that’s great. I myself would prefer saving a bit longer and cruise Disney because I believe that they have a superior product (from speaking from my friends who have cruised several brands).
It’s just my husband and myself so we don’t have to pay for a family of say 5 (or so) which makes a huge difference, also we can cruise in the “off season” making it cheaper.
Full disclosure: I’ve only cruised Disney so I have nothing to compare it with - just our personal preference.
DS11 was all in as soon as he heard the words “tween club” 
For the past two years we have done a split parks/cruise and I think that is that best vacation! In 2014 (took us 18 months to save) we did 7 days WDW and 7 day DC on the Fantasy. We knew we were coming back to WDW in Jan 2015 so when we got home from our 2014 trip I began obsessively checking how much a 4 day would be on the Dream. Safe to say we are hooked on DCL!!! We won’t be doing another cruise till at least 2017 but in my opinion it’s worth it to save a little longer for the awesome experience that DCL is.
