Disney cruise or Disney World

mousesavers.com [mousesavers.com] is the best place to start

Disney cruise lines are great from what I hear. Just remember your paying a MASSIVE premium to go on that cruise line. Personally, I would get a cheap room in Orlando, near disney(sometimes their rooms can cost 500-1000 a night for the very nice disney resorts.

I've been on a few different cruise lines but not disney. I prefer cruises over disney world - more exotic, interesting.

maybe see if you can afford both, few days at a disney and a short 3 day disney cruise. We love both, depends on if you want to do a lot of rides at the parks, or want to relax on the cruise

Another thing to consider is if you have ever done either trip before. If you have been to Disney World but not on a Disney Cruise, try to take the Disney Cruise. If you have been on a Disney Cruise but never been to Disney World then plan a visit to Disney World. If you have never been to either, then it comes down to personal preference. On the cruises, you will generally get a much better deal if you can go when most kids are in school. Might be tough to pull your kid out of school for a week, but that would probably save you 25%-50% on the cruise cost.

If going to Disneyworld I would advise AGAINST staying off the property. Make sure you stay at one of the Disney resorts. Many have the wrong impression that all the Disney resorts are too expensive and that all the savings are to be had at hotels in Orlando and this is false (maybe was true in the Early 80's). They now have built resorts on property for every budget level. Great service at all, just not marble in the bathrooms, not as close to the parks etc. However, you get extended park hours, bus service, delivery of purchases to your room, priority meal reservations etc no matter what resort you stay in.

As for the rest, I agree with the above: www.mousesavers.com disboards.com is good too.

Being in Florida, I absolutely LOVE staying off property to save money . . . but if this is a once in a generation trip, I agree, do your best to stay on property. It just makes the experience that much more memorable.

I have never done a Disney cruise, but I know one of the big perks is you can bring your own alcohol on board and you can consume liquor you buy in ports. Also the entertainment is top notch as well as the service. I'd still go with going to Disney World over the cruise . . . it's something you have to experience. You can always do a cruise.

If you stay away from the super premiums (The disney 5 star resorts, and disney cruise line in particular), you'll find that you can do as Flmom was saying, and do both. I have done 9-10 cruises now and havent had a chance to try a Disney one yet because they are so expensive. I know they are GREAT if you are bringing along younger children though, so thats something to consider. I prefer Celebrity cruise line (They have good food, and less screaming/partying at the pool). They are generally a step up from carnival for not much more. You could find a good deal on a cruise and pick a more affordable disney resort (Which I recommend as well if you have children, it really has more of a disney/vacation atmosphere, it doesn't have to be one of the 5 stars 500 dollar a night resorts.

I wasn't aware Disney let you bring your own booze on. That IS a big plus. The majority of cruise lines let you bring a bottle of wine per guest, and we usually just drain it and fill it with our rum/liquor of choice and reseal it with some superglue. Never had a problem.

Hope I helped a little bit

Since you are on a budget and still want a good experience, I would recommend 1 of 2 options. Skip the cruise, stay with the basic model for your first trip. Visit Disneyworld.

1. Stay in a value resort at Disney - All Stars or Pop Century, Some have small sized frigs in the room - eat breakfast in the room, bring your own snacks, and purchase meals from the counter service (character or sit down restaurants are pricey). If you want to travel with a friend and their child (or with other family members), you could also stay in the Art of Animation.

2. Stay off site with a rental car. The money you save in food and hotel will probably more than make up for your rental car.

Your local library should have a book called The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World (there's a version on traveling with kids and one version without). It gives you a good idea about staying on site vs. off site.

Best deal on tickets is for 5 days or more, no park hopper, and no water parks. You can sign up for disney e-mail (disney destinations) which sometimes sends out promotional codes for free dining or discounts.

www.disboards.com is also a good resource but there's a lot of info to glean through.

OP We own DVC and visit disneyparks a couple of times every year and try to do a DCL cruise every two. There are many tricks if you need to stretch your budget. imo if it's your first visit the values are indeed a great value. Art of animation just opened and it looks to be great in the price range. Disney provided magical express (bus) service to and from MCO and within the parks which saves on needing to rent a car if you're flying.

The 2 sites listed above are great for info and passporter is another good one, but don't forget to create an account on disney's website and request the planning DVD, that way you'll receive notice of special offers.

Not sure if the free dining offer for late summer is still available but several friends/family who haven't visted in years are taking advantage of it.

Congrats on doing either. Both would be a great experience. Having been on many cruises, I have sailed Disney 4 times with the last in recently. We will be sailing with RCCL again this year on the Freedom.
First off, rates have really increased since the new ships took over in Port Canaveral. I always check the rates a few times a day as they can change that often. I would consider getting a disney visa rewards card, it will give you a $50 OBC , 6 months no interest on any disney vacation package or cruise along with other perks along with a $40 credit after first use. They have a plus card with a $49 annual fee that gives more perks. Secondly consider dreams unlimited, they will give good OBC(on board credits that can be used for tips, excursions, photos, souviners, alcoholic drinks, etc that is not covered in your cruise). I recieved $200 from them for 7 night superior balcony room, along with my $50 from my disney visa, and have them book online(on Disneycruise site) for another $25 OBC. After they booked me I had no furthur contact(by my own making) as Disney cruise is always there for questions. Consider a inside room to save money or a guarentee room. We have saved hundreds this way. We have always received upgrades but this may not always be the case either way you are guarenteed that cat. or above. These rates do have restrictions as you don't get a room assignment until sometimes the week prior, and you can not change your room, they are only sometimes offered. Its a gamble but worked for us on 3 cruises, including a suite guarentee on the RCCL Mariner in 2006 where we paid only $799 and got a hump(best location) jr. suite and saved over $1800.
We find Disney to be the best cruise line , but it is the most expensive, they do have free soda, which other lines make you pay for, the shows are by far the top notch, the pirate parties are great with fireworks, the only cruises that can do this. They have first run movies in the theatres and newer ones in your stateroom. Food is good, and Castaway Cay is beautiful, and its the only cruiseline that will take you there. I personally found that Disney has the best royalty program also, this you get on just your second cruise. Consider going to Disboards or cruise critic for lots of info. You can also sign up for the fish extender exchange, which is cool, its like secret santa where you give gifts and get some also. Disboards will have more info, just google fish extender. You can also sign up to talk to your future cruisers before your trip(if you know your date).
We have done a cruise/sea package also, and it was a very stress free vacay, as Disney handled everything. Disney world is great to, you do get extra perks for staying on property, transportation, extra hours in the parks, etc.. mousesavers is a good site.
You could also consider Disney world and a 3 or 4 nt Carnival cruise, as a 4 nt could cost as low as $179 per person, thats great value and that way you could get a taste for cruising. Things to consider is parking at the port is high, but you could stay at a few cocoa beach hotels that offer free parking and shuttle to the pier. Tips are high, but they work hard and deserve it. Passports are not needed on a closed loop cruise but you may want to consider one, otherwise you need your DL and certified birth certificate. Either way have a great time if I could help, let me know I have also sailed multiple cruises on RCCL and Carnival, been to many ports and know some great excursions, been to all the theme parks in Orlando, and even Hawaii, so if you or anyone has questions, just pm me. I love to talk travel! Too bad I live 800 miles away from FL, or I'd live on a cruise...lol.

Quote from flmom08 : depends on if you want to do a lot of rides at the parks, or want to relax on the cruise

I think these would be two completely different types of trips.

I've only been on one disney cruise, and it was maybe 10 years ago at this point. I don't remember it being very entertaining for a teenager, but out of the other cruise lines I've been on, the Disney Wonder was definitely the cleanest and nicest looking.