Ahoy, Renette!
How exciting that you are planning a Walt Disney World Resort vacation combined with a Disney Cruise Line sailing!
You will need to make two separate Disney Resort reservations, one for before your cruise, and one for after. You will be able to purchase a 5-day ticket and use it for both parts of your Walt Disney World vacation, since your tickets are active for up to 14 days after the first day that the ticket is used.
While you will be able to purchase a
Disney Dining Plan for each resort stay, I have found that for our family, this is not always the best deal. We purchase Disney gift cards prior to our vacations, and then use them to pay for our food. It's like our own dining plan. The reason for this is that we often don't eat enough at a meal to justify the cost of the Disney Dining Plan. Be sure to explore all options for your family. This might mean checking out menus and prices on My Disney Experience or at allearsnet.com.
Also, you will need to arrange for transportation for your family to and from Port Canaveral to board the Disney Dream. We have found that our family prefers to rent a car for this purpose. Disney Cruise Line transportation costs $35 per person, each way, and you are at the mercy of when they tell you that you are getting picked up. If you are like me, you will want to be at the port as early as possible, to soak in everything and explore the cruise terminal.
I hope you have an amazing land and sea vacation! Please visit us here at the Disney Parks Moms Panel again with more questions as you continue planning.
Happy Cruising, Tracy V.