Transfers from WDW to port and then to airport?

[Joy2theworld]

What would you recommend as the best way to get from WDW to the port and then the port to the airport? I am surprising my mom with a three day cruise when we are down there in fall. Last time we had a car, so, it was pretty easy. This time we won't and I looked at the price to rent one for the week from the national car rental at Disney and it was almost $300. Not worth it in my opinion. However, I heard that the cruise transfers often don't get you to the ship early and that it depends on what resort you are staying in at the time.

[Donald_Quackers]

I'm scheduled to be on a 4 night cruise Dec 7-11, and the DCL Ground transfers (right now about $69 r/t) will pick you up at select resorts to take you to port. I don't know about the timing, but I wouldn't imagine they would be late.

Myself, I'm coming in a night early, staying at the airport hyatt, then taking DCL ground transfer to port. When I get back, taking DCL ground transfer to the Pop Century, and then Disney's Magical Express home.

If you're booking the land/sea package, I think they'll take care of everything if you want.

Enjoy your trip! I just have 230 sleeps left for mine!

[ElenitaB]

Rather than try to find my way to Port and pay for parking while at sea, I've always chosen to use DCL transfers (we also are a party of 2). It's nice to sit back on vacation and let someone else do the driving for once! And yes, you're not getting to Port when they open, but that's fine for us. We enjoy a leisurely breakfast at our resort and by the time we get to the ship, our room is ready or almost ready.

[Joy2theworld]

Can you tell me about what time you arrived at the ship by taking the transfers? Personally, I'd like to make it the easiest way possible and renting a car, returning a car, etc... sounds like too much trouble for one day.

[RobWreck]

I've used the DCL transfers both times we cruised and I was pretty happy with that. The video they play on your ride to the port gets you really excited about starting your cruise vacation, and not having to worry about a car rental or driving or anything like that keeps things nice and relaxed. As for when we got onboard, I believe it was before 1 pm... we certainly weren't the first onbaord, but there was plenty of time to grab some food over at the buffet while we were waiting for our stateroom to be ready.
Rob

PS: For Donald_Quackers - staying at the airport Hyatt the night before was GREAT. We put our bags out in the hallway before we went to sleep and the next time we saw them was in our stateroom. Plus, the restaurant up at the top of the hotel was REALLY good... one of the best meals of the trip (including all the ones on the cruise).

[laguna]

Hi--We were at WDW over Easter. The WDW transfers from the Animal Kingdom to the port were excellent! We stayed at the POR and had the option to leave from the Animal Kingdom which turned out to be an excellent choice. We were picked up around noon at the Animal Kingdom and got to the port by 1:30. We had plenty of time and got right on the ship when arriving. I would recomment WDW transfers in a heart beat!

[TammiMcMan]

If you want to make it special, convenient and select your own pick up time, you might want to look into a private town car from Quicksilver, http://www.quicksilver-tours.com/. It's $145 from Disney to the Port and then you can simply purchase a DCL transfer from the Port back to MCO. We've done the town car on one of our trips and it was wonderful.

[Joy2theworld]

Hi--We were at WDW over Easter. The WDW transfers from the Animal Kingdom to the port were excellent! We stayed at the POR and had the option to leave from the Animal Kingdom which turned out to be an excellent choice. We were picked up around noon at the Animal Kingdom and got to the port by 1:30. We had plenty of time and got right on the ship when arriving. I would recomment WDW transfers in a heart beat!

How did you get to AKL from POR with all your bags? a taxi? Just curious. If we can pick which resort to leave from, I'll just pick the one with the earliest pick up.

[laguna]

As far as getting from POR to the Animal Kingdom, with Disney Transfers, we were told to leave our luggage inside of our POR rooms and it would be picked up that morning and then we would see it again in our staterooms on the ship. Indeed we did & it was wonderful. We took the normal Disney buses to the Animal Kingdom and any carry-ons such as medicines, etc. AK has a cruise services counter that holds your items for you until you leave. You even get priority seating at shows if you are leaving for a cruise that day. You absolutely cannot beat this service

[Donald_Quackers]

I've used the DCL transfers both times we cruised and I was pretty happy with that. The video they play on your ride to the port gets you really excited about starting your cruise vacation, and not having to worry about a car rental or driving or anything like that keeps things nice and relaxed. As for when we got onboard, I believe it was before 1 pm... we certainly weren't the first onbaord, but there was plenty of time to grab some food over at the buffet while we were waiting for our stateroom to be ready.
Rob

PS: For Donald_Quackers - staying at the airport Hyatt the night before was GREAT. We put our bags out in the hallway before we went to sleep and the next time we saw them was in our stateroom. Plus, the restaurant up at the top of the hotel was REALLY good... one of the best meals of the trip (including all the ones on the cruise).

That's also partly why I chose to stay there. That and my MJ TA Debbie found me a way to save some money on the room.

[Dsnygirl]

If you want to make it special, convenient and select your own pick up time, you might want to look into a private town car from Quicksilver, http://www.quicksilver-tours.com/. It's $145 from Disney to the Port and then you can simply purchase a DCL transfer from the Port back to MCO. We've done the town car on one of our trips and it was wonderful.

Tammi, that sounds like a great idea - how much is the DCL transfer from Port to MCO, and about how long does it take? Thanks!

[TammiMcMan]

Tammi, that sounds like a great idea - how much is the DCL transfer from Port to MCO, and about how long does it take? Thanks!

The round trip cost is $69 per person, so I would think it would be somewhere near half that. I know a few people here have dont that, so hopefully they'll post the exact amount. The trip takes about 50 minutes once you get on the road.