MK - where to start when arriving mid-day

[sdd1841]

We will not be arriving until around 12pm on Wednesday, Sept 17. Since we will not be there first thing in the morning....should we still head straight for fantasyland (we have 2 boys, 3 and 5) or is there a better time later in the day to do fantasyland?

[wildeoscar]

fantasyland will be busy, and the lines long pretty much any time past noon

[calypso*a*go-go]

I'd look at the information board located to the left of Main Street (as if your headed towards Adventureland, in case you're not familiar with it) and hit whatever attractions show the shortest wait times.

[Applemomma]

My suggestion is don't "head straight" for anywhere. I did that and the kids were in melt down-countdown with in a pretty short period of time. Once I decided that we would just explore we had the best time and found so many unexpected things and experiences. If this is your first trip just take it all in at a comfortable pace, explore as you go. Taking your time will help you not be overwhelmed by the crowds but DO know as much as you can about the park so that when something isn't going right you can switch directions. And of course if you haven't eaten yet make that your first priority. You can sit down with the map and a burger at Cosmic Ray's and let the boys pick out where they want to go next.

Have fun!!

[disneyholic family]

DD arrived on sept 3rd midday - she said there were no lines anywhere in the MK EXCEPT in fantasyland....so perhaps you should start someplace else other than fantasyland...

[robind]

If you don't have your heart set on MK, a walk around the World Showcase, doing the kid-cot stations would be a good use of an afternoon.

Then you can hit MK at rope drop the next day.

[disneyholic family]

If you don't have your heart set on MK, a walk around the World Showcase, doing the kid-cot stations would be a good use of an afternoon.

Then you can hit MK at rope drop the next day.

we ALWAYS go to the MK first, no matter what time of day we arrive....

the truth is, the lines really don't matter when we first arrive...
we just like to inhale the magic...

the world showcase just doesn't fall into that same universe..

[mickeylr]

We did something similar on our first trip to Disneyland (hadn't been to WDW yet either) - We arrived, checked into the hotel and walked across the street. We ended up on Main Street sometime between 1:30 and 2:00. People were already sitting on the curb. I didn't know very much at all about the events there, but I did know about th 3:00 parade and the lining up early for the parade. There was open curb so I found a spot and sat with the kids (I think DH and DD#1 then went and found some food to bring back to us).

DD#2 was 3 years old at the time. A couple characters waved at her and she was SO VERY excited. You would have thought the parade was just for her.

To this day -- she is my Disney kid....

That was the BEST first day of all of our trips.

Mary

Mary R. in Maryland, USA