Welcome aboard, Jonna! Hooray for your very first cruise with your son on the Disney Dream! He is at such a great age to really soak in all of the magic onboard! My son and I took a mother-son cruise with Disney when a few years ago and we made so many special memories together. Of course, we love sailing with our whole family, but those individual cruises, just one-on-one, are something so special!
I love that you're adding some extra Disney magic to your cruise by staying at the Polynesian Resort before you set sail! Disney makes it really easy to transition from land to sea and back again, especially when you enjoy a Walt Disney World Resort before heading out on the high seas. You've already booked your
Ground Transfers, it sounds like, so now you just get to show up and enjoy! The night before you set sail, you'll receive notice in your resort room about what time your motorcoach will pick you up at the Polynesian the next day. Usually pick-ups are between 11:00 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. It varies each cruise, based on how many guests are staying at which resorts before setting sail, so you'll find out an exact pick up time the night prior. That notice will also let you know what time they'll be by to pick up your checked luggage from your resort room. When we use the Ground Transfers for the cruises, our luggage is usually picked up around 8:00 a.m. We don't need to be in the resort room, as long as the bags are tagged with our DCL tags and ready just inside the door. We keep our day bags with us so we can continue enjoying a leisurely morning at the resort before our motorcoach pick up time.
Then, you'll board the motorcoach and enjoy some Disney Cruise Line videos and classic Disney cartoons on the hour long ride to Port Canaveral. Before you know it, you'll be pulling up to the cruise terminal and it'll be time to board the ship! Have a wonderful cruise, Jonna!
Marcy