Arrival Day, Deception, Distractions, Dessert and "Da Land"... Need Help Yet Again

[KJeff90]

I bet you're pretty confused by that title, but I think we can all agree that [almost-] alliterations are awesome. See what I did there? Like in my previous post about second guessing ADRs, you'll want to grab yourself a snack and turn on some Pat Benatar to help keep you motivated and awake for this journey of a post; it's going to be a long one. Then by the end of reading all this, you can hit me with your best shot at an answer. I promise we'll get relevant in the next paragraph.

A series of poor life choices, and a major lack of respect for the concept of sleep has my party of 8, from California, arriving at MCO via a red-eye at the most magical time of the day of 6:30am-ish on our arrival day. The sheer excitement of our child-at-heart... hearts will probably keep us wide awake on our flight. Once we get all situated and hop aboard the Magical Express and arrive at Bay Lake Towers, check-in(I like talking with front desk cast members the old-fashioned way), we're hoping to casually make our way to our 10:00am reservation at Garden Grill.

I know some people would love to push the limits and try to make some sort of effort to make an EPCOT rope drop, but we're most likely going to be groggy. Coffee and characters will be a bigger priority for us when we arrive.

So here's where things get a bit tricky, we're doing this regardless, but I was planning to do a Behind the Seeds tour right after breakfast at Garden Grill. It'll keep my party distracted from the surprises brewing quicker than a Starbucks barista can keep up with Pumpkin Spice Latte orders when school just let out for the day in October. The times listed for the tours are currently:

• 10:30 AM
• 11:15 AM
• 12:00 PM
• 12:45 PM
• 1:30 PM
• 2:15 PM
• 3:00 PM
• 3:45 PM
• 4:30 PM

I have a delivery of a custom-made cake to be delivered to our room. I told the cast member who took the order, that it would be great to have it delivered as early as 1am, but 4pm would be fine as that's normally the regular check-in time. All I was told that as long as we're checked in and have a room, the cake can be delivered.

I want this cake to "magically" show up in our villa; so I want to give enough time for it to arrive. When would be the best time to schedule the Behind the Seeds tour, and to allow our cake to arrive in the room, and have time to enjoy breakfast at Garden Grill? I'm open to hearing suggestions for moving things around, and life style changes to prevent poor decisions like a red-eye from California from happening again. Whether you have a contribution to make to my little post or not; go ahead and treat yourself to another snack, and keep rockin' to that Pat Benatar.

 

[sharonabe]

While I LOVE this tour, I'm not sure it's the best answer to your need to "kill some time." One, it only lasts about an hour, maybe an hour and a half, so you're going to have to find something else to keep everyone awake and going. Two, the enjoyment factor is very dependent on the group's interaction with the CM doing the tour. It's slow moving with lots of teaching going on. There's no way I would have the mental capacity to stay engaged after a red-eye. In fact, I can see some of your crowd falling asleep as they SLOWLY walk around. There's nowhere to sit down; it's all standing.

But if you're determined to do it anyway, I'd schedule the noon or 12:45 tour.

 

[Jewel3k]

I think I would plan for it at 2:15 or 3 pm. This way everyone feels the pressure to keep having fun until you are ready for a big cake reveal. To early and someone may head back early. Make sure you know which movies you can sit down in to enjoy in the world showcase.

 

[Best Aunt]

(a) What are the ages and sleep patterns of your group? Nappers or non-nappers? (That question includes the adults.) All adults who can do what they want, or kids who have to stick with you?

(b) Hidden travel agendas can be problematic. People in your group won't know why you want them to do certain things at certain times that day, and may balk.

(c) PP mentioned movies in World Showcase. The nappers are going to fall asleep if you sit down in a dark theater. I think the movie in France has seats. But the nappers also are going to fall asleep if they are sitting for a long attraction even if it's not a movie. American Adventure comes to mind. My nephew and I both fell asleep in the now-closed Ellen's Energy Adventure and that wasn't even on our arrival day.

(d) As PP mentioned, do you have anybody in your group who is likely to say, "You guys can stay in the park and have fun, but I'm going back to the room?" That would ruin the cake reveal.

(e) The cake person said "as long as we're checked in and have a room, the cake can be delivered." But did they specifically say that they will deliver the cake even if you are not in the room?

(f) Behind the Seeds tour is great if you like gardening. If you don't like gardening, I think it would be boring. If you don't like gardening and you're exhausted from traveling, I think that tour would make you cranky.

(g) If you land at 6:30 am, won't people be starving by the time the food arrives at a 10:00 am restaurant reservation? I probably would have people eat at the Contempo Cafe in the Contemporary before heading to the park. I would book Garden Grill for later in the day -- make that be the thing that people look forward to, and the reason they stay in the parks, not the Behind the Seeds tour.

(h) Try to get fastpasses for Test Track at a time you think your energy levels will be waning, because that ride will perk you right up.

 

[Alesia]

In addition to the excellent points made above, one more thing to consider is that booking anything for your arrival day that's prepaid is risky. If you have a major delay and you don't make it, your money will not be refunded. With 8 people, that's a lot of money.

I understand wanting to start the trip off with a bang, but you should really think about what the other people in your travelling party are going to be up for. Prepare yourself for the very real possibility that this isn't going to go according to plan.

We typically drive 15 hours and still go to the park for a few hours before heading to the hotel, so I completely understand the idea of hitting the ground running. Your plan is more like hitting the ground crawling.

 

[Eastern]

I agree about (not doing) the Behind the Seeds tour. I've seen people on it and they are standing in a group listening to someone talk. If people are sleepy, I think it will be hard to focus.

I think the 10am ADR at GG is ok as you will probably not get there until that time anyway. Reconsider online checkin. You can still go to the desk and ask for maps/daily activity sheets. It is so convenient to get a room ready text no matter where you are.

I've done overnight flights before and even if everyone is ready to go in the morning, by afternoon they will start to lag. That's when you can head back to your room, wait for your cake, and hopefully have a bed to crash in.

 

[Best Aunt]

Another thought - if your group is exhausted and needs to go back to the room before the cake gets there, it would still be fun to have someone knock on the door and deliver a cake. Not a disaster if the cake isn't in the room.