WDW - Tampa before Cruise ?

[sbnuggie]

(Forgive me, this was posted on another WDW Discussion Board and I cut and pasted it here for other ideas)

Howdy All,

Been busy over on Cruise Critic message boards researching my wife and I's (Is that grammatically correct, I was never good at knowing when to use I versus Me) cruise to the Carribean. We will be on the Carnival Legend out of Tampa on 5/10/09 for seven nights. This will be for our 10th Anniversary and we will be without the kids.

I am starting to research Hotels in Tampa and what to do as our Preliminary plan right now is to fly in on Friday May 8th (most of the flights get us there in the evening) spend all day touring Tampa on Saturday, then cruise Sunday. This will also help us get adjusted to the Time Zone.
I had a thought pop in my head. My wife is a huge Disney Freak...err...Fan. In May 2007 we took our 3 kids, my disabled mother and mother in law to WDW for the first time for 8 days (Whew, u wanna talk about planning, planning a cruise is easy cheesy compared to WDW) and I used these boards for research. However, despite being there for 8 days we missed the World Showcase area of Epcot. You know the place where adults like to go but the kids are bored. It's a long story about how we missed it that I wont bore you with.


I was thinking instead of touring Tampa on Saturday, perhaps just flying direct to Orlando on Friday (there are great deals out of San Francisco), going to EP Saturday then going to Tampa on Sunday for the Cruise. Sounds Easy doesn't it? I'm not to familiar with Florida but just eyballing it on the almighty Google Maps it doesn't look more then an hour and half drive or so.

So....how easy would it be to implent that plan and not make it too expensive (WDW prices excluded). Some ideas i've had:

1. Fly Direct to Orlando, stay at WDW Friday and Saturday nights, find a shuttle/Bus/Train from WDW to Tampa on Sunday Morning.

2. Fly direct to Tampa, rent a car, drive to WDW Friday (after travelling cross country) drive rental car back Sunday Morning to airport, catch shuttle from Tampa airport to cruiseport.
Any other ideas out there for me to research.

Thanks all for your help.

[mikeland]

Going to WDW before your cruise sounds like a great idea. Personally, I would fly into MCO and rent a car to return it in Tampa. The drive should take you about 90 minutes.

Let us know what you decide!!!

[SummerInFL]

Originally Posted by mikeland

Going to WDW before your cruise sounds like a great idea. Personally, I would fly into MCO and rent a car to return it in Tampa. The drive should take you about 90 minutes.

Let us know what you decide!!!

What he said, enjoy WDW, then go relax on your cruise!

[Xharryb]

Originally Posted by mikeland

Going to WDW before your cruise sounds like a great idea. Personally, I would fly into MCO and rent a car to return it in Tampa. The drive should take you about 90 minutes.

Let us know what you decide!!!

I would agree with this, however if it takes you 90 minutes to drive from WDW to Tampa you're either driving too slow or caught in a whole lot of traffic. That drive shouldn't take more than an hour.

[aimster]

Originally Posted by Xharryb

I would agree with this, however if it takes you 90 minutes to drive from WDW to Tampa you're either driving too slow or caught in a whole lot of traffic. That drive shouldn't take more than an hour.

Agreed. It's an hour from Tampa to WDW (and vice versa). It's 90 minutes from Clearwater to WDW. If you drive like a maniac, it'll be a little less. Speed limit on most of I4 is 70mph... I'm usually doing 75-80. Though one time I caught myself doing almost 90 (eep!). But watch out for the speed trap that's sometimes between Auburndale & Lake Alfred (near the rest area). I've seen at least 3-5 state troopers snag people on more than one occasion.

[sbnuggie]

Are one way rental fee's outrageous like they are here in CA??

[mikeland]

Originally Posted by sbnuggie

Are one way rental fee's outrageous like they are here in CA??

They shouldn't be very high. Try getting a quote from National Rent a Car or Enterprise. They usually have good one way rates, but you must compare with the others as well.

[Disney Dave]

Go to WDW and pick up a rental car and return it in Tampa. Even a 90 minute car ride without the kids is fun.