How soon can we be at MK?

[twitterpated31]

After getting off the ship we will need to bring our bags to the Hilton at Disney Springs.
We'll be excited to get to the parks but I don't want to stress about rushing too fast (have 3 kiddos to wrangle). Moving at a chill pace, what time should we safely assume we can be in MK?
TIA!

 

[Maggie'sMom]

Will you have a car parked at the port? Since you don't want to stress about rushing, I'm assuming you don't want to do express walk off (and I could see that being a challenge, wrangling your own bags in addition to 3 kids).

With a chill pace and a car parked at the port, you could easily be on the road by 8:30-8:45. I'd plan an hour to get to the hotel. Then another 30-45 minutes to drop your bags off and drive to the MK. So, my guess would be 10:30-11:00 arrival at MK.

 

[twitterpated31]

Wow! That's WAY earlier than I was expecting.
My parents are arranging for us to get from port to hotel (there are 16 of us in total) so something will be set up ready to transport. I was hoping for 1 or 2. Great to hear it should be earlier than that.

 

[lanejudy]

It depends what you do for breakfast that last morning. If you do Express Walk-off, you could be off the ship and headed to Orlando as early as 7:30. That may not be a feasible option wrangling little ones. If you have early dinner, which then equates to early breakfast the last morning, as PP mentions you can probably be at MK by 11am. If you have late dinner and opt for the MDR that last morning, you may not be headed towards Orlando until closer to 9:30am, but still could probably be at MK about noon. With a large group, it may be a little longer (there's always a straggler or 2!) but I'd plan a late lunch at MK. Cabanas is another option for debarkation breakfast if you don't want to do the scheduled MDR; Cabanas serves until 8am and I think you can hang around eating until 8:30am.

Enjoy your cruise!

 

[Maggie'sMom]

To expound just a bit further, you are supposed to be out of your staterooms by 8:00 and I guess I assumed with 3 kids, you would be doing the early dinner seating which would translate to the early breakfast seating. @lanejudy is correct that if you have the late dinner seating and go to the MDR for breakfast, your time to get off the ship would be closer to 9:00. When I've done the late breakfast seating, I've still been off the ship and through customs, and waiting for my pick up by a few minutes after 9:00.

 

[apathetic]

Last month, we drove to the port. We had breakfast (early seating), leisurely walked off the ship and drove to WDW. We dropped our bags at bell services (didn't want them in a hot car) and got to the park well before 10. And that isn't rushing at all. If you take the bus, you should expect closer to noon.

 

[Dug720]

Yeah, just so you know what "Express Walk-Off" entails...that means YOU are responsible for all your luggage - there is no one to assist you, and you cannot put it out the night before. I would not want to try it UNLESS you have all your clothes in one bag or the kids can each handle their own bags.

 

[BLTtinkerbell]

On our most recent cruise, we had main seating which meant early breakfast in the MDR. We had a car service pick us up around 8:00 and we pulled into Polynesian around 9:15. We did not go to the parks, but we're in the pool by 10:00.

Enjoy your vacation!

 

[apathetic]

Yeah, just so you know what "Express Walk-Off" entails...that means YOU are responsible for all your luggage - there is no one to assist you, and you cannot put it out the night before. I would not want to try it UNLESS you have all your clothes in one bag or the kids can each handle their own bags.

Agree. At Port Canaveral there is no need to carry off your bags unless you are in a serious rush or the ship is running really late. On all of our cruises through PC, they opened the terminal with baggage about the time 1st seating ended. That's before 730 and not long after people dragged their bags off. Getting through the terminal is exceptionally easy, at least on our 5+ trips through there. They are very efficient. We grabbed our bags and still got to the park about 930 without rushing at all. That includes a stop at the resort to store our bags.

 

[twitterpated31]

Amazing! Thanks everyone.

 

[csgarner2015]

On our last cruise, my husband and I took our time and ate breakfast in the main dining room on debarkation morning. It was just the two of us, and we drove our own car, so that might have sped up the process. But we headed straight to Port Orleans Riverside from the ship, checked in, dropped off our luggage, and took the bus to Epcot. We got there before the World Showcase even opened. I was a little worried about paying so much for a park ticket when we might not get in a full day, but I was worried for nothing. We got to the park plenty early enough to enjoy everything.