Just wanted to come back and update our experience sailing out of NOLA on the Disney Magic!
I had purchased parking from Fulton Place garage before we left and had my paper printed and ready to go.
Purchased here The attendant scanned it and we headed to the 6th floor to park in the covered lot. We parked right near the elevator and another attendant helped us with our bags (small tip). From there we took the elevator down to the street level and got on a shuttle bus that was waiting (with more people helping). We waited/rode no time at all and were dropped off right at the port terminal. We left our bags on the street with the worker, tipped the people handling our stuff, and got in line to enter the terminal. There were bathrooms on the street level before going into the terminal. Our PAT was 11:15 and it was about 11:30 so we walked right in (well, we made our way through the queue without stopping!) It was SUCH an easy experience... honestly, I couldn't believe there were no waits or hiccups!
We decided to do Express Walk Off on Debarkation Day and WOW was it fast and easy! We didn't set our begs out at night and just took them to Cabanas for one last breakfast at 6:30. There weren't many families there when we went so space wasn't an issue. I believe we were finished with breakfast around 7 and just waited for the call to be made that we could leave the ship. Once that was made, we rolled our suitcases out with us and never once stopped for anything - I think we were off by 7:30? No wait for the shuttle back to the parking garage (even though it only had 2 families on the bus. I was afraid they would wait until it was full) and back to Fulton Place to get our car. I had heard stories about break-ins so I was happy to find our car safe and sound.
In the past, we have waited hours in line to get through customs, get our bags, etc at Port Canaveral. This was LEAPS and BOUNDS easier and faster, even if it did mean we had to handle our own luggage for a little bit and get off the ship earlier. We preferred breakfast at Cabanas over the MDR, so wins all around!
We sailed the week before Easter on a full-capacity ship and still had such a great experience. I hope to cruise from NOLA again in the future since it is closer than PC for us. Hope this was helpful!