United pushed my flight back -- How late is too late for shuttles?

[kaseyC]

As someone who lives in the Chicago area, I would never book a flight out of or connects through ORD the day of the cruise. ORD is known for delays, closures and cancellations. November is an iffy month in the midwest- it can be nice and fall like or something extreme as blizzard like conditions.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Put another way: Is that extra day in the Dells worth maybe missing your cruise? On a relative cost basis, I'd say hard no, but only you know the emotional basis.

 

[polyqueen]

Lifelong Chicago resident who has never experienced an on-time departure from O'Hare: leave the day before, stay at the Hyatt (great experience) and take the shuttle. The Dells are always there--this is Disney and your honeymoon. My goodness, I sound like a Mom--sorry! Have a wonderful time!

 

[DisneyLove2015]

Another vote for leaving the day before the cruise. Even with the original 11:40 arrival, theres no way I’d want to risk missing departure due to delays that can and do happen.

 

[lklgoodman]

Congrats on your upcoming wedding. I have to agree with everyone else about flying in the day before your cruise. My dh and I nearly missed our Disney honeymoon cruise because of a delayed flight, we flew the day of our cruise. We flew out of Oklahoma in March, had great weather but had mechanical issues that delayed our flight. The stress of nearly missing our cruise was a horrible way to begin our trip. We now live in Ohio and we still take the very first morning flight out the day before when we cruise, we also get a direct flight to Orlando.

 

[mousefan73]

For me arriving that late is too late. People are getting on board while you are still on a plane.

Check out southwest flights from Midway to MCO. Book day before. Surprise wife with one night disney. Maybe there’s a Christmas party that night at MK. You get free luggage.

Hop in the car and drive the 3 hrs to Midway.

 

[Daisy'sMama]

Please consider switching to a flight on the 9th or even the 8th. With weather and ORD, you stand waaay to great of chance of missing the ship!

 

[TiggerBouncy]

After having ALMOST missed a cruise one time because our flight was delayed due to mechanical issues (one of the last to board) we now only fly the day before. We prefer to stay at the MCO airport hotel. They have a really smooth DCL transfer service - they take your luggage for you, so no need to stress. It's not expensive at all. I prefer this method to staying at WDW UNLESS you plan on getting your own transportation to Port Canaveral (the buses from the resorts often leave around noon whereas if you stay at the MCO hotel you can catch magical express at any time).

Either way, good luck! Glad you found an alternative flight, but still consider changing it up to get there the night before. You never know what can happen!

 

[Bonnie1222]

And don't forget the traffic.

The Orlando area can have horrible traffic. DH and I live 75-90 minutes from the port depending on the roads we take but leave at a minimum an hour earlier than we need to JUST IN CASE. One accident can back traffic up for hours, and if the road gets shut down... forget it. Last cruise we had a 12:15 check in but left our house before 9 because if we waited until closer to our boarding time normal weekend traffic could have added an hour to the trip even without an accident. Our roads are not know for their their ease of use due to the congestion and the thousands of tourist who drive and are unfamiliar with the area.

And if you haven't done it yet, please look into travel insurance no mater what day you arrive.

 

[southerngirl528]

And don't forget the traffic.

The Orlando area can have horrible traffic. DH and I live 75-90 minutes from the port depending on the roads we take but leave at a minimum an hour earlier than we need to JUST IN CASE. One accident can back traffic up for hours, and if the road gets shut down... forget it. Last cruise we had a 12:15 check in but left our house before 9 because if we waited until closer to our boarding time normal weekend traffic could have added an hour to the trip even without an accident. Our roads are not know for their their ease of use due to the congestion and the thousands of tourist who drive and are unfamiliar with the area.

I live here too, and this post by Bonnie1222, is TRUE folks! Super, super true. Take it from the locals.

Also agree very much with the rec for travel insurance. I never, ever had purchased travel insurance until a long time ago I worked for the Mouse. I heard so many stories from members having to cancel trips (especially cruises, since they are all inclusive and VERY pricey), last minute due to some type of urgent reason or emergency. And of course, the first question I had to ask was, "Did you purchase the travel insurance?". It was very rare that someone had bought the insurance. And seeing people lose large amounts of money and/or points was not fun. At all. Me? I pretty much always get travel insurance now for pricey trips because of my experience.

 

[meliscan]

Thanks!

Wedding's November 3rd. We planned on doing a week in Destin, Florida and picked our date based on dates Appleton flies to Florida. After looking at Destin a bit, decided we'd rather pay more for a Disney cruise to have less hassle and a better guarantee of a good time. Too easy to accidentally book an absolute dive or miss out on something spectacular -- at least with Disney, they're going to ensure we have a good time.

So of course, now we have a week between the wedding and honeymoon. Plan is to get married, spend the first two nights at the Radisson, then four or five nights in Wisconsin Dells, then Disney cruise, then a few days at home before Thanksgiving. Took off work from Halloween straight through Thanksgiving

She originally wanted to go to the Kohler Lodge because they have a fancy tub she likes. But it's a high-end room during a Packer game so they do a 3-night minimum at $500 per night. For that price, I could just buy the tub she likes so much!


So we should be all set. 11:40AM gives a bit of leeway for possible de-icing delays that can occur in Wisconsin/Illinois during November. Can't be any worse than the freak snowstorm we had earlier this year the day I had to fly to Washington! Close to 20 inches overnight in April!

Destin is one of my favorite places. I think they have some the best beaches, dare I say better than a lot of the Caribbean. If you need some restaurant ideas let me know. We go there every year.