What to do on arrival day?

[mprice823]

We will be arriving at WDW between 10 and noon on Sunday April 20, staying at POFQ. We will be completing a 12 hour drive. We always drive all night for vacations, so we will be tired, but we are used to it. We know that the smart thing to do would be to check in and relax by the poll until our room is ready and then go take a nap. However, this is our first trip to WDW so we also know that we are going to be eager to get started and the kids (ages 7 and 5) will be too.

What would you do? If you decided to go to a park, which one would it be? Our tentative plans are for 1 day in each MK, Epcot, AK and DS and possibly adding a half day either Sunday aftenoon (after arrival) or Friday morning (before departure).

Here are the options that we are discussing...

add a half day at Epcot, have dinner there and leave the park around 6 or 7 pm for an early bedtime.

add a half day at DS and see Fantasmic!

shorten AK to half day (arrival day) since I have heard that the crowds thin out in the afternoon. Use the other full day to add to Epcot MK.

Are there any options that I am missing?

Thanks!

 

[JAG]

We have always done MK the first day. It has become tradition for us.

 

[mprice823]

Really? A few people have told us to avoid MK on day 1 with little kids on a first visit. They said that they will get bored with Epcot and AK if they have already seen MK, basically that their expectations will be too high...

Do you think this is true?

 

[wendypooh]

We usually check in, then head over to downtown disney, let DS look around and buy a few souvies. Then we like to tour the resorts on the monorail. We hop on the monorail, go to the different resorts and look around and explore. Then we head to our traditional arrival night ADR - Chef Mickey's!!!! We ALWAYS eat here on arrival night. Then we head back to our resort and either swim or just hang out. We don't worry about hitting the parks that first day, we just try to relax and get into Disney mode without completely wearing ourselves out!!

Have Fun!!

 

[wendypooh]

Really? A few people have told us to avoid MK on day 1 with little kids on a first visit. They said that they will get bored with Epcot and AK if they have already seen MK, basically that their expectations will be too high...

Do you think this is true?

I think your kids will LOVE Epcot and AK - also MK, but our DS LOVES Epcot, it's his favorite park. Your kids can do the kidcot stations at Epcot, DS really enjoys that. They can also get the passport to do at the kidcot stations if they want too. A lot of people don't realize that Epcot is a GREAT place for kids. I guess I'm saying don't be too sure they'll be bored at Epcot or AK.

 

[sbell111]

If I was making the long drive to WDW, I wouldn't go to a park on the first day. I might go to Downtown Disney for a few hours, but I would try to make sure that I had dinner and returned to the hotel early enough to get settled and in bed.

 

[LISAMWDW]

I wouldn't and don't waste a park day on a first partial day. Relax and emmerse yourself in Disney! Check out your resort, go to Downtown Disney or go to the Boardwalk. One thing we really enjoy is having a fun dinner on our first day! I would highly recommend going to the Hoop Dee Doo Review dinner show or the Luau at the Poly. If you are on a budget, you could have dinner at Ohana's at the Poly or WCC at the WL, or Chef Mickey's at CR. Those are really fun and a great way to start off your trip! That way you'll all be rested up and in the right frame of mind to enjoy the magic!

Trust me, you'll need your rest, you'll be doing alot of walking!

 

[Pembo]

Take the boat to DTD from POFQ, shop a bit, go swimming, and relax. You want to be refreshed to hit the parks first thing the next morning. That is our general plan every trip.

 

[shefellnl0v3]

We always do DS the first day and see fantasmic that night. Its a great way to get into the Disney spirit!

 

[pickles]

I like the dinner at HoopDe Doo, that is a good way to get started and it is close to MK

If you just have like 5 days at the park, then i certainly would plan extra time at MK so a half day there extra would help I don't think your kids will be bummed at the other parks. It is all new and exciting

just a few days time to do it all, and while I like DTD I wouldn't waste my first day there. We do there the day before our last day and get souvenirs. How can you get stuff in the start of your trip if you haven't walked by all the booths and seen the stuff at all the parks?