Do you visit MK your first park day?

[Fivemuggles]

As we are considering moving our dates, I have been trying to make plans on which parks to visit on which days. I had originally planned on MK being our first and last day park- but with the new dates looks like a party on our first day, which doesn't interest us.

So is MK a must-do for you on day 1? Worth the shorter park hours?

Our last trip we actually hit Epcot first- but it really "felt" like Disney that second day when the castle came into view!

 

[Robo]

So is MK a must-do for you on day 1?

Nope.

 

[Dannek]

Nope.

^^

I go by crowd estimates when planning my park days.

 

[disney_girl125]

I have always done MK the first and the last day. I was debating on doing another park this time first because on the crowd predictions it says MK is going to be the least recommended park of the day. My kids don't seem thrilled with the idea of MK not being first again. So, we'll probably do it first. It just doesn't seem like we're really there until we're in MK!!!

 

[princesslover]

We are currently planning our second trip, this December and our first day is going to be MK, but I don't think it necessarily has to be. The reason we are doing MK first this trip is because we have very limited opportunities to see wishes and the electrical parade during the remainder of our trip. Other than our arrival day, the only other day is when MK has EMH in the evening, and right now the plan is to be in a different park that day. I figured that after we settle in (should be arriving around 1:00) we'd hit MK for the remainder of the afternoon and stay to see Wishes and MSEP. Then, we got those two things "done" so to speak, so we can then enjoy MK on days when it is less crowded for the remainder of our trip. So there is a method to our madness with MK, in other words.

On our first trip in 2009, we visited Epcot first, and that worked out well. However, my girls had never seen the castle or MK at that point, so they didn't know what they were missing.

 

[Fivemuggles]

^^

I go by crowd estimates when planning my park days.

I do too- and MK is actually recommended that day in EWDW. But the 7:00 close on our first night gives me pause- we are definitely of the crowd that likes to tour late!

 

[PrincessMe]

Yes. I can't settle down and really feel like I'm at Disney until I've seen the Castle and ridden Haunted Mansion, Pirates, and Big Thunder Mountain.

We usually arrive on a Saturday, which is not great for MK. So we go to Epcot for the afternoon and evening and then run over to MK for an hour or two before close to ride my big three and have a Dole Whip.

That said, MK is awesome on party days. So many people avoid it because of the early close that it can feel like you have the park to yourself. People start to flood in about 4:00 but by then we've usually managed to do everything we want to do, often two or three times.

 

[Pakey]

Only once in 25 WDW vacations has MK been first park. I pick based on crowd calendars.

 

[The Original~Mad4mky]

We go by crowd estimates...

AND--since we live in California--and go to Disneyland often (my girls live 10 minutes away. I live in Nor Cal)---MK is one park that we don't feel the need to rush to...

 

[OKW Lover]

No, the MK isn't a must do on our first day.

I can see how it would be on somebody else's list though. Especially those with small children who have been looking forward to the trip for a long time.

 

[Julie711]

MK is a must do park for our first & last day except last November it closed early for MVMCP so we started out at HS, felt weird, lol but we managed!!

 

[WantToGoNow]

We have never gone to the MK on our first day...it's usually scheduled for the 3rd. Usually our first day is shorter due to arrival so we go to AK and then we go to Epcot the next. This trip we had to drop our first day since we will be driving instead of flying so we will be going to Epcot on our first day an Mk the second.

 

[wdwmom0f3]

We normally do, but one year we arrived around lunch so we headed to Animal Kingdom since we can see and do it all in half a day. While it was fun, it just wasn't magical. From then on we have planned to go to MK on our first day. I don't know what it is, and it probably sounds silly, but I just don't feel right until we have walked down Main Street!

 

[bumble]

No. Especially if we aren't staying nearby.

 

[disd55]

Definitely the last day, and usually first but this time planning on doing Epcot first due to EMH but possibly MK for a bit before EMH.

 

[darkwing818]

^^

I go by crowd estimates when planning my park days.

 

[DisneyBelle27]

I've always done MK the first day, since to me, that just says, "Welcome to Disney World!!!" I might give it a shot starting with another park on the first day, but I honestly don't know how I'd feel.

However, in your case, I would still do MK the first day, if you have hopper tickets. You could enjoy the low crowds at MK due to the party, and then hop once it closes and do a late night at another park.

 

[monty]

Until I see the castle I'm not at Disney

 

[adrummond262925]

Of Course! We've been six times and hit up MK the first day every time. It's the perfect start to such a magical trip!

 

[disneylovin24]

Maybe its because we've been so many times (at least I think 15 is a lot) but we never feel it a must to get to the MK quickly. One trip we don't go to the MK until the last day of our trip.

We definitely look at crowd calendars to decide. I can kind of understand not feeling like you are in WDW until you see the castle, but I think my family is just at a point where we don't do the parks a lot and just enjoy being on WDW property.