1st Day Plans - Help!!!

[WDWorld2003]

We're arriving on a Friday and not planning to go to the parks until Saturday. The only time we can see Spectro is Saturday night as we have reservations for Hoop Dee Doo on Monday. Spectro is not shown again during our trip I know Saturdays are very busy at MK. We're planning on going there in the evening only.

My question is what park should we go to on Saturday AM? It's early entry at MGM that day..... is this worth taking advantage of? We haven't been to WDW in 9 years and kids barely remember it so we want their 1st impressions to be memorable.

Also, any suggestions on where to eat before Spectro would be appreciated - should we eat in MK or will it be too crowded?

Sorry so long, thanks for any suggestions.

 

[LizL]

How old are your children? This might make a difference in what will make a wonderful first impression for them. When are going?

You didn't mention where you are staying or what time you will be arriving. One thing you might consider doing Friday night is taking a nighttime monorail ride around the world - perhaps with a stop or two at a resort. Seeing the parks lit up at night can be a wonderful way to start the trip.

If your kids are younger, MGM has lots of fun things for them to do, but the big mickey hat might not make as good a first impression as cinderella's castle. BUt if your kids are a little older than early entry at MGM is probably worth it. If you are going during a busy month, both parks will be busy on a Saturday. You could go to MK at opening, ride a couple of rides before it gets really busy and then hop the monorail to Epcot.

 

[WDWorld2003]

Our DD's are 12 and 15 and we are staying at POR from March 28 - April 4. Our first day we are just planning on settling in, using the pool, maybe taking the boat to DD and doing dinner at Ohana's - we have 7:30 PS's.

 

[BrianD]

That's funny, I was going to recommend 'Ohana for dinner on Saturday, but obviously that would be a bit redundant.

I would recommend MGM for Saturday.

Do you think your daughters would enjoy a character dinner? If so then Chef Mickey's in the Contemporary would be good. It includes the normal gang (Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto, etc) or you could try the Crystal Palace, which is in the Magic Kingdom and features Pooh and that gang. One word of caution though about Crystal Palace, even with a PS it is not uncommon to wait 30-45 minutes to get seated on a Saturday. It's still a good time, you just need to be prepared for the wait.

 

[mad4themouse]

Your kids are at a great age to enjoy MGM and appreciate all the subtle details of the park. Since you are staying onsite and Saturday is an Early Entry morning at MGM, I would recommend going there. There is so much there for teenagers that it may just be their favorite park!

As far as where to eat before SpectroMagic, I would avoid an MK restaurant and try eating at one of the monorail resorts. If you dine at Chef Mickey, California Grill or the Concourse Steakhouse (all at Contemporary), you can walk to the MK after your meal and avoid any crowded transportation.

When viewing the parade, either choose a spot near the train station on Main Street (if you want to beat the crowd to the exit when its over) or steakout a claim in Frontierland (if you want to wait for the masses to exit before you leisurely stroll out at closing.

 

[dahess]

Same thing is happening to us for our June trip. We are hitting EE at MGM in the am and then around 4pm switching to MK & we will (Hopefully) have PS at Crystal Palace & then stay & watch fireworks.