Hello, Melissa,Welcome back to planDisney! My family's next Disney Cruise Line vacation is also going to be sailing out of Fort Lauderdale. I'm happy to help as you plan a magical sailing.Yes. What you are proposing is perfectly fine. If you'd like the convenience of having Disney book your pre- and post-cruise hotel stays, they can certainly do that for you. But if you prefer taking advantage of other offers or programs such as a personal frequent traveler account when booking those hotel stays, that is certainly an option as well. Whether or not you book your hotel stays through Disney, you may still purchase Disney Cruise Line ground transfers between the hotel and the Port Everglades Cruise Terminal. Ground transfers may be added to your cruise reservation up to three days before your sail date, subject to availability.My family did nearly the same thing when we sailed on the Disney Treasure out of Port Canaveral last year. We booked our own stay at the Hyatt Regency Orlando International Airport hotel and then separately purchased Disney Cruise Line ground transfers to the port. It was an amazingly smooth and seamless experience. Our most recent cruise was on the Disney Wonder, sailing out of Honolulu, Hawai'i. If we didn't have a rental car during our stay on the island of Oahu, we definitely would have booked a ground transfer to the cruise ship port straight from Aulani, A Disney Resort & Spa in Ko Olina, Hawai'i. But since we had the car, we ended up booking a ground transfer from the airport instead. After dropping off our rental car at the airport, it was a breeze to meet up with the Disney Cruise Line representatives inside the airport and follow them to the bus pickup area just outside. Whether from the airport or from a pre-cruise hotel, Disney Cruise Line ground transfers make starting and ending our cruise vacations as stress-free as possible. And, as you might infer from our examples, Disney offers a ton of flexibility for booking options.I hope you have an amazing cruise, Melissa. If you think of any more questions as you continue planning, please don't hesitate to stop by planDisney again.Bon voyage, Melissa!~Tony
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