Ahoy, Betty! Welcome to planDisney and thanks for bringing us your question about the logistics of transitioning between the land and sea portions of your upcoming Disney vacation.
Since you will be staying at the Walt Disney World Resort prior to your cruise, arranging
ground transportation through Disney Cruise Line is definitely the most convenient option for a stress-free transition. You should receive more details about your transfer to
Port Canaveral by email or by letter in your Disney World hotel room prior to embarkation day. There will be directions about when and where to meet the Disney Cruise Line representative, plus additional information about exactly what to do with your luggage.
Usually, you are directed to leave the luggage in your hotel room that you want transferred directly to your stateroom onboard the ship. You will receive
luggage tags from Disney Cruise Line in the mail for your particular sailing that already has all of your stateroom information on them. Do not forget to pack those luggage tags because you will need to attach them to all of the luggage you want transferred.
Although you can attach one of those tags to your stroller (preferably in a stroller travel carry bag for protection), I would not recommend doing it for a few different reasons. First of all, if you leave your stroller, then you won’t have it to help your family on embarkation day because it won’t get delivered to your stateroom until much later that night. Since you will be going from your hotel room to the meeting spot to catch the bus and then will be navigating the whole check-in process once you arrive at the port, you may wish you had kept your stroller depending on the age of your kids. The buses that take you to the port have storage under them, so you can easily fold up your stroller and bring it with you. Additionally, keep in mind that all of the tagged luggage is going to get thrown all over the place as it makes its way to the port and is then loaded onto the ship. If you don’t want to risk a broken stroller, then keeping it with you may be your best option.
I hope you have an incredible vacation filled with double the Disney magic. If you have any other questions about Disney World or Disney Cruise Line, then your friends here at planDisney are always ready to help. Happy sailing!
Catherine