6 or 7 days?

[MrPunem]

So we fly into MCO on Nov 13th. The expected arrival time is 2:20pm. After reading some I figure that at best we won't make it to WDW until 3:30-4. Our flights with layover are about 6 hours. I will be traveling with my wife and 3 daughters 3,5,7 and am debating whether adding tickets for that day. As it stands now was just planning on visiting downtown disney that evening and maybe playing in the pool if its warm enough and starting fresh the next day, Should I maybe consider hitting a park that evening or save on a day of tickets which is like $70?

 

[tink9702]

I personally wouldn't add the day because of your little ones ages. Starting fresh and well rested the next day would be my priority after a long flight and late afternoon arrival at the hotel.

 

[RustManFan]

We have never done a park on arrival day and you original planning looks ideal!

 

[Lucius Best]

I always do a park on arrival day, and FP+ makes it easier to get to a park in the afternoon and get 3 headliner rides done.

However, with your 2:20pm plane arrival, and the ages of your kids, I would probably advise against it. It's certainly possible, but depends on how late your kids typically stay up, what resort you're staying at, if you're renting a car, plans for the next few days (rope drops? any late nights planned for fireworks/parades?), how commando you want to be, etc. Having a car makes a huge difference in minimizing travel time between parks and resorts.

 

[RookieLady]

Previously, we always hit a park first. Last August, I didn't have the extra day, and I cannot emphasize enough how much we enjoyed the evening. I had a CMs reservation and then we played in the pool. The kids loved it.

 

[nalajms]

13th is a party night at MK. AK would close early so that leaves you with Epcot or DHS. I may consider DHS and go for a FP for F! if that's something your family likes. Otherwise, it's not worth it.

 

[Jimsig]

I'd agree with skipping the parks too. With about 6 hours of travel time it sounds as if you will be getting up early to begin with. Don't forget to factor in being at the airport early enough for what I'm guessing to be a flight of around 830AM. By that time DTD and/or the pool sounds like a great idea. Sounds like a long enough day with out a park for every one especially the littles.

We arrive the same day as you only later.

 

[GillianP1301]

We always do a park on day 1 and our flights usually get in about 1pm. We do rental car and have always been checked in by about 3:00 and then head to a park for a few hours. We don't make it a late night, so we get a couple hours of touring and then a meal and then back to the resort for rest. We are usually just so anxious, it would honestly drive me bonkers to go to DTD first knowing I could be in a park. And to me walking around DTD is no more relaxing than walking around a park. We have always done MK first day, but this year we are doing Epcot because we want Garden Grill as our "welcome" meal.

 

[trivial]

I'm no expert, but I'm thinking your family is going to be getting up quite early, and I suspect that hitting a park by 4:00 is optimistic. If it were me in your situation (with 3 young kids), I'd probably pocket the money and hit the pool and/or Downtown Disney and/or the BoardWalk instead. Early to bed and up in time for rope drop.

 

[jrt1176]

I have to agree with everyone on skipping the parks because of your kid's ages, etc.

I'd relax and check out DTD.

 

[DexLabDeeDee]

I agree with the other posters about just relaxing and checking out a pool. Maybe going to DTD for dinner. We went to a park once on arrival day and never again. It wasn't worth the money and it just set us up for a long line of long days for the rest of the week.

You can also play it by (mouse)ear and see how your family is feeling after traveling. Just get the 6 day pass for now and if you need to, you can add a day sometime during the week if you do end up going to a park on arrival day.

 

[Tomh]

We have always done DTD on our arrival day, but how about you just play it by ear. If, when you get there, you feel up to hitting a park, go ahead. The cost of adding the extra day there is exactly the same as the cost of adding it now, so nothing lost. If you get there and don't feel up to hitting a park, then go with your original plan.

 

[Lucius Best]

The only problem with winging it and deciding last minute to hit a park the first day is FP+, ideally if you're only going to a park for a few hours you want those 3 FP.

 

[Disney Kidd]

I always go to a park on arrival, sometimes just to have dinner! It depends where you're coming from. If you're coming from the West coast and arriving at 2pm is 11 your time, then you might be fine. If you're staying at a Disney World resort, one of the parks might have Extra Magic Hours and will be open late. Then again, traveling is tiring, especially with little ones. It could be fun to save money and energy by just visiting Downtown Disney and your resort pool. There are tons of other things to do as well, such as miniature golf! To me, however, every day counts and I would want as much time in the parks as possible!