Has anyone taken the Disney World Cruise and WDW visit?

My wife and I have never done the land and sea package but we have been on MANY Disney Cruises. First, Polynesian Resort~~ Great choice, beautiful location and easy access to Magic Kingdom. Perfect for your four year old. I do not believe that you can request a certain section of the hotel, unless you stay in concierge. Next, we believe that you can decide what you do first, cruise or the theme parks, however you need to keep in mind which day your cruise departs. Not flying? I am most certain that you can catch a Disney Cruise Line bus from either a resort or one of the parks, you do not necessarily have to fly in on the day of your cruise. Little ones enjoy the cruise? Mickey Mouse is on the cruise with you, how can a child not enjoy it? There is almost a whole deck devoted to the children. My wife and I get jealous every time we cruise because we cannot go play with them. They have a wonderful staff to take care of the little ones and set up games and activities. We usually see the kids not want to leave the Oceaneer's Club because they are having so much fun. There are Disney stage shows, movies, activities and much more devoted to all ages on the ship. If your child does not enjoy it, I would be shocked. Now, make sure you and your husband get to get an evening out at Palo's for dinner. There is an extra charge (about $10) but it is definitely worth it. While your son is having fun with his new friends you can enjoy some quiet time at the adult pool or take your son with you to the family pool. The characters are always hanging around. But make sure you all get a nap in the afternoon since the fun doesn't end until late!!! When you get off of your 3 or 4 night cruise you are going to be addicted like myself and my wife are!! It is, I think, better than the parks! Be ready to want to book a 7 day! I hope I was a little helpful. While you are enjoying it, we will be jealous! Have fun!

Yes! I went on the Disney Cruise a few years ago and I can't wait to go again. The staff was friendly and professional. The food was delicious (I can't believe I gained 5 lbs.). And the tour is great. The cruise ship has a place where the little ones can go, and I felt very comfortable leaving my child there. I believe our ship left after we had already spent a few days at WDW. I give the Disney Cruise 2 thumbs up!

Wow, congrats on the cruise choice! We have done the DCL for both the 3 day and 7 day cruises with and without kids and really loved it both times. When we did the 3 day cruise/4 days in the park we went to the parks first, then the cruise. This worked out well for us. We had never been to WDW before, so by the time we got to the cruise portion of the trip we were way ready to relax. We stayed at the Port Orleans resort which I believe is now referred to as Port Orleans French Quarter. It was a really nice setting and since it was smaller than some of the other WDW sites, we never had problems with the buses being crowded, etc. And we had a blast taking the little boat to Downtown Disney every day! I would imagine your travel agent could put in a request for a specific section of the resort, but I would suggest calling the resort front desk directly the day before and the day of your arrival to request it again and verify that they can do it. And if you aren't traveling at high season they should be able to help you out. If you don't fly into Orlando I guess you would have two options to get to the port. One, you could drive yourself to the port and park there for the duration of the cruise. Or if you have flown into a different city and are driving a rental car from there just return your rental car at the Orlando airport and pick up the bus from the airport. The bus is really a great deal and makes the whole experience even nicer. The little ones love the cruise! I suppose if your child is extremely shy there is a chance they may be overwhelmed and not enjoy it, but our daughter loved it! She was almost 4 when we went and she still talks about it. The kids program is amazing! Parents are given a pager so you can be reached at all times, but you can also go into any of the activities that you want at any time. You can drop them off at 9am and not have to pick them up until 1am. We had a good mix of time apart and together and our daughter loved having so many kids to play with. She also loved the Mickey pool and slide! The waiters doted on her and she loved having her own bed. And you will enjoy having a curtain between the beds! Castaway Cay is amazing and the kids can have a ball there as well. There are movies, shows, dancing, characters, swimming--I could go on and on about it. Needless to say we have tried other cruises but Disney has them beat hands down. I hope you enjoy your cruise. E-mail me if you have any more questions and I'll try to help you out! Happy Sails! svstreutker

Polynesian: Great choice! First you should go to DW and then take the cruise, cuz that is what my family and i always do and it works well! If your taking the bus, not to be mean or anything, but the buses suck! Thats why my dad rents either a towncar or a limo(mostly a limo). The cruise is for ALL ages! There is a club that your son can join and they do daily activities from like 7 to midnight. He will have fun! also, there are 3 pools, but he can only go to 2 of them cuz one is a kid pool, another is the family pool and then comes the adult pool. The kiddie pool has a waterslide too! Have fun!