DCL Transport to WDW

[melissamm2]

I have a question. We will be sailing on the Disney Dream in November and then going to WDW after for a few days saying at the Pop. Does anyone know what time we will approximately be arriving back at the Disney Resorts taking the DCL transportation after we dock?
Thank you!:mickey:

[BrerGnat]

It depends on what time you leave the ship. As far as I know, buses are lined up and ready around 7am. Debarkation begins after the ship is cleared by customs and then people are free to leave. Everyone must be off the ship by 9am. Once off the ship, you still have to often wait in line at customs. Then, once you board the bus, you will have to wait for it to fill up, like at the airport DME. We actually were first on the bus and we sat for 45 min before we left. So, factor that in. I would say once you step foot off the ship, you will arrive at your WDW resort in the space of 2 hours, give or take a bit.

[melissamm2]

Thank you so much!!!

[BrerGnat]

You are welcome! When we did this last time, we walked off the ship around 8:45. We arrived at the Wilderness Lodge at around 11:30. We experienced a very long wait to just enter the baggage/customs area and then a very long wait on the bus. I don't think either is typical, we just had bad timing.

[melissamm2]

Thank you! I just want to plan ahead. I want to make reservations so I guess if I plan to get into the park around 1:00 we will be ok.

[BrerGnat]

You can definitely be in a park by 1pm.

[LoveofEVERYTHINGDisney]

We are cruising on the Dream in 2 weeks and then staying at POFQ afterwards. How does it work with your luggage after the cruise? We were given tags for our luggage when we fly into Orlando so ME can take our bags to the ship. Will we be given tags while on board the ship to put on our bags so they know to take them to the resort? Also -Do you put your bags outside of your room the night before? We cruised about 15 years ago (not Disney) and I think we had to do this. We have never taken a Disney Cruise and not sure how it all works. Thanks in advance!

[CanadianWDWFan]

Like you said, you put your bags outside your room the night before. You will get tags to put on them. These tags tell you where they will be staged for you in the customs hall. You need to have your bags to go through customs.

We have only arranged our own transportation so I don't know how the DCL handles your bags after customs.

[BrerGnat]

We are cruising on the Dream in 2 weeks and then staying at POFQ afterwards. How does it work with your luggage after the cruise? We were given tags for our luggage when we fly into Orlando so ME can take our bags to the ship. Will we be given tags while on board the ship to put on our bags so they know to take them to the resort? Also -Do you put your bags outside of your room the night before? We cruised about 15 years ago (not Disney) and I think we had to do this. We have never taken a Disney Cruise and not sure how it all works. Thanks in advance!

You can put your bags outside your room by 10pm the night before. You will get luggage tags for them the last day of your cruise. However, you will still have to claim your own bags in the customs area when you get off the ship, then go through customs with them. They will not be transported directly to your WDW resort.

My recommendation: as soon as you enter the baggage/customs area, get a Porter to help you. $20-30 (depending on how many bags you have) will get you someone who will fetch your bags, load them onto a cart, and then wait in line at customs with you, then walk you out to the DCL bus and hand them over to the driver to load. You won't have to do any work. It is TOTALLY worth it!

If you won't have too many bags, you can also NOT leave them outside your door the night before, NOT tag them, and then just walk them off the ship yourself. Then, head straight to customs and out to the bus.

Disney is different from other cruise lines in the way they debark. You simply walk off the ship anytime between the time the ship is cleared by customs and 9am. You can have breakfast in Cabanas (they don't tell you this is an option, but it is) and then just get off when you are done, or you can walk off super early, head to the bus and get to your resort early enough to have breakfast there.

[LoveofEVERYTHINGDisney]

Thanks so much for the info! Definitely using the porter idea!:thumbsup: