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[wishingonastar]

Help!! What should I do? I have already paid the $200 deposit for a Disney trip, but I am thinking I would like to try a Cruise. I have been to Disney 5 times, but never a cruise. Help!! What should I do? Will I loose the deposit. I want to go Dec. 2006. Also it is a surprise. Will a cruise be harder to keep a surprise. My husband and I have passports, but my Children do not; which might make it impossible to keep as a surprise from my husband and children.

[Derek]

Do both!!! Depending upon your budget and how much time you have, do WDW for 3-4 days and then go on a 3-4 day cruise. My DW and I had done WDW several times, and then this past May we did a land-sea package and loved it! We couldn't skip WDW, but we also wanted to try out the cruise. (Having experienced both, next May we are just going to do a cruise.)

[Tink and co.]

If you can, do both! However, if I had to choose just one, it'd definately be a cruise. My whole family (kids are 6, 10, & 12) completely prefered the cruise to WDW. The kids even said, next time lets skip WDW and just do the cruise! I wasn't quite ready for that, but we're booked for a cruise next year!

[Lilianna]

I have never been to WDW. My son and hubby have never been on a cruise, so we are doing both. 3 days at WDW. 3 days on a cruise. If you have the time and $, I think it would be worth it.

About the passports...you will definately need them for the children. Is the surprise for your hubby too? If so, it might be harder to hide, but if it is just for your kids, you can just say you wanted to get a picture taken of them.

[dmpyron]

If you can swing it, the land/sea idea is great. You might investigate booking the two separately, as it may be cheaper.

I don't think you'll lose the deposit, particularly if you just rebook.

Keeping it a secret will be harder. You'll need your husband to also sign the paperwork for the passports. But you can always hide it from the kids. That's worth it in and of itself.

Of course, there's always the extravengant route. Book 7 days at WDW, then a 7 day Eastern cruise, then a 7 day Western cruise. I just did this for a client. They were all dithery so I joked and suggested it and the wife said "sounds good, let's do it". So off they go the week after MLK Birthday.

If you can swing it, I'd say do both in some way or another. You might find yourself looking forward to that 7 day cruise in 2007.

[dmpyron]

Two more things. Supposedly, Disney has priced things so that a 7 night stay at WDW, a 7 night cruise and a land/sea trip are all about the same. Of course, you can get a cheaper price by doing things like booking a Value resort instead of the Moderate that you get with the land sea package.

That's the second thing. If you book the land/sea, you get a Moderate resort. So, if you book them independently, you can pick and choose what you want.

I would recommend a category 11 room as the minimum if you can afford the bump in price. The split bathroom is worth the price, especially in the morning when you just have to shower and the boys want to sleep in just a little later and then suddenly "gotta go".

I guess that's three more things.

Talk to your travel agent about your options. With a cruise, particularly as a first timer, a travel agent is a wise thing to do. Interview first to make sure they understand your needs and how to navigate the Disney system.

[DISNEYGOOF]

[ QUOTE ]


About the passports...you will definately need them for the children. Is the surprise for your hubby too? If so, it might be harder to hide . . .



[/ QUOTE ]You'll need to fill out a form and the other parent has to sign it if they aren't going to be there when the passport application is turned in. The children have to be there as well. I just got my boys passports in the mail.

[graygables]

[ QUOTE ]

I would recommend a category 11 room as the minimum if you can afford the bump in price. The split bathroom is worth the price, especially in the morning when you just have to shower and the boys want to sleep in just a little later and then suddenly "gotta go".



[/ QUOTE ] I thought cat 10 was the lowest with the split bath

[wwaaww]

In terms of time off school and work, we made up our own 'land and sea' package which we are calling 'sea and land'! LOL!

A four day cruise on the Wonder followed by a couple of nights at the Pop Century. My daughter and I will only miss one week of school and work for this.

Good luck with whatever you decide!

[eeyoregirl]

I would check about the passport. We went and got my daughter's passport and then heard they were going to push back the time requirements.

[Dave Marx]

If your deposit is for a vacation in 2006, then you won't lose your deposit.

You have a while before you'd have to obtain passports for the kids. Wait and see if the cruise industry (which is still requiring passports for 2006) changes its requirements. If you decide to get passports there will be no keeping the passports secret from the kids, but I bet you can come up with a good explanation for them, such as "Daddy and I have them, and we think you're grown-up enough to have your own, too. You never know when we might want to visit a foreign country."

It'll be tough keeping your plans a total surprise, and there's something to be said for getting everyone excited for this new adventure beforehand. Between transportation arrangements, having to pack differently for the cruise, selecting shore excursions... Why not pop the surprise several months in advance?

There's a real difference of style between cruise and theme park vacations. Parks vacations are definitely focused on the parks - going everywhere and doing everything as a family unit, not getting lost.... Cruise vacations allow for a combination of "together" and "alone" activities - everyone can get more "me" time, yet the quality of the together times can be even better, as you're usually not chasing about amidst hundreds of acres and crowds in the tens of thousands. Cruise vactions also tend to be more stress-free.

As veterans of WDW, you can probably pull-off a land/sea vacation better than folks who have done little of either the parks or the cruise. You probably won't feel quite the same pressure to "do everything" at WDW. If you go this route, I strongly recommend the 4-night cruise over the 3-night. That extra night makes a huge difference in the quality of your experience. If you can do four nights at WDW, great, but if you can only swing three, you're in a better position than many - make it a "favorites" trip, rather than a "do everything" visit.

[wishingonastar]

Thank you all so much for your responses it has helped alot. I am saving without my husbands knowledge, so I think the surprise cruise will probally not work. I have done this twice in the past. What I think I am going to do is stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge for 7 nights and hope my husband falls in love with Disney. He has never stayed on property. Staying on property is sooo wonderful and convenient. He has only been to Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom once and both on the same day. Send some pixie dust he falls in love with Disney. I grew up with Disney. He did not. I use to have records with the follow along books of Disney stories. The songs still play in my head. I hope with this trip he can feel the magic.

[Lilianna]

[dmpyron]

The dates have been pushed back until Dec 31, 2006. However, it's never a bad idea to have one. It eliminates a lot of hassle with things like carrying birth certificates and marriage licenses and things like that. And a passport is absolute proof of citizenship. For instance, if you were to need any help from the US Emabasy, there might be delays while your paperwork is checked.