Ahoy there, Melissa! Welcome aboard planDisney! I'm so excited for you and your crew to be embarking on one of the most magical ships on the seven seas!
When it comes to arriving for your Disney Cruise Line vacation, there are always two schools of thought: arrive the morning of, or do as you're planning and build in an extra day or two into your plans! While the former has a time and a place for impetuous adventure like that of Robin Hood, you likely know as much as I do that arriving from the Midwest can be subject to some crazy weather at any time of year! So your plans to leave a day early are definitely planDrew-approved!
There are few places more convenient for an arrival than staying right at the airport! In fact, my family has the exact same plans for our sailing on the
Disney Wish this September! When you arrive and settle into your hotel room, you'll have nothing to worry except when to catch your transfer to Port Canaveral! Since all Guests will have a Port Arrival Time assigned, I'd suggest doing just one bit of simple "reverse Imagineering" to know when to head to the moto coach!
"If bus one leaves Orlando International Airport headed due east at 55 miles per hour..."
Whoops, wrong textbook...
Kidding aside, the trip to Port Canaveral from Orlando International Airport is about an hour, so I'd take your Port Arrival Time and subtract an hour and a half from it to give you a rough estimate of when to check in with the
Disney Cruise Line ground transportation area crew members! That way, the crew members will know you're there, and will be sure to get you on the right transfer!
Thinking back to some of the embarkations when I used to arrive the day of the cruise, I almost shudder to think about some of the close calls I would have had even a minor delay! Call it what you want, fate, destiny...fatherhood (a horse?) but I've made the decision never to trust a flight schedule on the day of a Disney Cruise Line vacation!
Well, Melissa, I hope that helps put you at more ease around catching the right transfer to
Port Canaveral! In no time, you'll be sitting back, relaxed, and having a few practice rounds of Disney Trivia on the motor coach! I'm so jealous that you'll be seeing the ship come into view as you enter the Port Canaveral area! Please have an amazing time, and say "hiya" to Captain Minnie and all her pals! Thank you so much for your question, and if you think of any others as your sail date gets closer, please drop me another line here at planDisney!
Until then, I wish you fair winds and following seas!
Andrew