Opinion needed on WDW + Cruise vacation

Wow, lots of questions! I'll answer them as best I can.

1. I did cruise then parks and should have done it the other way around. We came off the cruise all relaxed and then had little patience for the heat and crowds at the parks. Would recommend doing parks first.

2. We love DCL. However, if you are set on leaving through Port Canaveral, your only other options are the RCCL Freedom of the Seas or Carnival. Of those options, I think Disney is a clear winner.

3. You can use DME from the airport to the resorts only. DCL transfers can be used to go from airport OR resort to/from port but you have to pay for it. $35 per passenger, each way.

4. Disney no longer books "land and sea" packages. You will have to book the cruise and WDW portion separately. You can take advantage of any discounts on either. Be aware that DCL discounts are rare but if you are planning for very early November cruise, you have a good chance at a last minute "GT" discount. Most last minute discounts are reserved for military and Florida residents.

We sandwiched a cruise between parks. We spent a couple of nights at Disney pre-cruise (only did one park); did a 7 night cruise; and then spent several days at Universal.

I've been on three cruises in my life. The first was years ago in Hawaii. The second five years ago on the Royal Caribbean; and the last 1-1/2 years ago on Disney. Each cruise was 7 nights. If you're unsure what sort of cruiser you are, you could opt for a shorter cruise. However, I find, it takes a couple of days to get into the flow of shipboard life so a 7 night cruise works.

Magical Express only goes from the airport to Disney resorts and vice versa. When we did our last cruise, we hired a private limo company to transport us from Disney to the cruise line; from the cruise line to Universal; and from Universal back to the airport. You could rent a car and park it at the terminal. The cost would have been about the same as the private transport but we couldn't see the advantage of having the rental sit at the terminal for a week plus the hassle of driving and parking. As noted, you could also do the Disney Cruise line transportation for which you will need to pay.

Your cruise reservation would be completely separate from any reservation you make for a Disney stay.

We only like 7 day cruises. It takes that long to relax and explore the ship IMHO. We have one Disney Cruise and really loved it. We have also done Royal Caribbean and two Norwegian Cruises and loved those too. I would definitely do parks first. They require a lot of energy and excitement- perfect for the beginning of vacation. Cruises are much more relaxing.

We are spending 3 nights and two days at WDW and then doing a cruise, from Fort Lauderdale, this spring. It will be our first Princess Cruise. Have fun!!!