Welcome aboard planDisney, Amy,
If your cruise is coming up soon, this is certainly an important item to clear up as soon as possible. So I’m glad you have brought it up. Hopefully, I can offer some ideas to help get this resolved and get you aboard your Disney cruise for much-deserved relaxation.
Government regulations require all Disney Cruise Line passengers to have a
government-issued photo ID to travel internationally from the United States. (Depending on the itinerary, other documents may suffice for children 15 years old or younger.) The photo ID does need to be a
physical ID. Unfortunately, the paper printout for a temporary learner permit from our state would not satisfy this requirement.
If your daughter already has a US passport, my top recommendation would be to use that document as her photo ID. If she doesn’t already have a passport, I recommend acting as quickly as possible to obtain a US passport, a US passport card, or a Trusted Traveler card from the US Department of State or an identification card (without driver privilege) from the state.
If you are traveling within only a few weeks, the US Department of State may be able to allow you to schedule an appointment for an urgent passport application. Unfortunately, the planned US Passport Office for Salt Lake City, Utah isn’t open yet. However, there are other passport offices in nearby states.
We have requested photo identification cards for our children. But in our experience, obtaining the completed identification card from the Utah Department of Public Safety can take four weeks or more. Still, it might be worth asking the Driver License Division if they have an expedited processing option.
Amy, I hope this is something you can comfortably sort out soon. I too know the stress of getting travel documents ready for a cruise. My family had just settled in our Disneyland Resort Good Neighbor Hotel the night before a Disney Cruise Line
cruise out of San Diego when I suddenly realized I had forgotten to pack our passports! I spent a frantic night driving to meet my in-laws halfway between Anaheim and northern Utah to get our passports that they fetched from our house for us. I was relieved that I was able to get back to my family in Anaheim and continue our travel to San Diego for our cruise in the morning. Phew!
Good luck with your travel preparations, Amy. And may you have a magical cruise!
~Tony