Arrival Day help prettttyyyy pleeaassseeee!

[denanbob]

Ok, I've talked this over with my travel agent (Laura - MFL), and I just can NOT decide what to do!!!!! We are arriving on Saturday, May 6th at 3:16pm at MCO. Probably will not reach POR until around 4:30 using ME. I know the kids will be excited and probably will want to visit a park (I don't think we'll be tired from flying since our plane doesn't leave until 10:00am and we have a 2 hour layover in Atlanta which we will relax and have lunch). Epcot is open until 7pm (FW) and 9pm (WS) BUT it is also during the Flower and Garden show and it is a Saturday night which I'm sure will be crowded because of the locals. But we do have park tickets for this day that would be wasted if we didn't go anywhere. I also considered taking the boat from POR to DTD and doing some shopping and letting the kids go to Disney Quest (which I'm sure is also a no-no on Saturday evenings). But we have MYW plus WaterParks and more tickets so we have 6 admissions to DQ, TL, BB and we only plan on going to TL one day, so we have plenty of admission to "waste" if we only go to DQ for a couple hours. OR, we could stay at the resort and wander around, swim, rent surreys, carriage ride, etc..................but would my kids be happy to get to WDW and stay at the hotel????? Here is the rest of our week:

SundayAM - AK (EE here we come!)
SundayPM - MGM - ADR 6:30 50's Diner - Fantasmic at 9pm

MondayAM - Epcot - ADR 10:00 Princess Breakfast Norway
MondayPM - Magic Kingdom - ADR LTT 5:15 and see Spectro and Wishes

TuesdayAM - Magic Kingdom (finish up what we didn't see night before)
TuesdayPM - MGM - ADR 6:15 Sci Fi

WednesdayAM - Epcot - this could be changed if we don't want to go here (maybe TL?)
WednesdayPM - Epcot - ADR 6:00 Coral Reef

ThursdayAM - MGM - this could be changed if we'd rather do MK or AK again
ThursdayPM - ADR 7:15 Hoop Dee Doo Show

FridayAM- left open to do favorites again or fit in what we didn't see or go to TL
FridayPM - go to DTD and get our souveniers/eat at Earl of Sandwich/DQ again?

SaturdayAM- leave resort at 7:30AM for home......boohoo

Any thoughts? Mainly I need recommendations for arrival day! Thanks!!!

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[Kapp]

and we usually arrive about the time you will is to just get in your room, unpack, swim, eat dinner and than explore the resort! You are at a good one for this and you could even head over over to POFQ. Do all of this and you can probably get to bed at a reasonable time. Than, you all be ready to go the next morning while feeling like you "did something" the night before. We have done this twice and really appreciate it about day 3 when you are starting to wear down!

You could do DTD but we have found that Saturday nights there are PACKED! Just walking around can be a chore as would Epcot.

Have a great time!

K

 

[nicolemarie]

I am in the same boat right now! I have decided (and your children are a little older than mine - DD7, DD3) that we will plan on a nice dinner somewhere the first night and be ready for early bedtime and fresh start the next morning. I think you might be underestimating the tiredness from your travel time. We drive in the car doing nothing for 6 hours and I still feel tired when we get there. You'll be navigating airports, getting bags, watching for the kids...I think you should take it easy the first night. Maybe even schedule a character dinner somewhere that will give you the Disney feel without the Disney exhaustion!! You have many more days and are getting lots of good stuff in all week. It will be fun to check out the resort then head to dinner - that's my suggestion! And what I plan on doing on our upcoming trip.

 

[shafke]

You may not be tired from flying but you will probably be getting up around 6am I would guess. Need to leave enough time to get everybody up, dressed fed, trip to the airport to arriver 1.5 to 2 hours before flight. By the time you are checked in to the resort and in your room, probably around 5, its dinner time. You would pobably be better relaxing at the resort after dinner by taking a quick swim and just walking around and starting fresh the next day.

 

[DVCLiz]

No matter what we do first, we always end up wishing we had started at the Magic Kingdom. It just doesn't seem like we have "arrived at the magic" until we see the castle, etc. Plus, it doesn't look like you've really allowed a huge amount of time at MK - only one night and the morning of the next day, right? We always spend at least a full day and part of another, depending on crowd levels. I'd go into MK, have a chance to just wander around a little and absorb the excitement, have dinner at a counter service, and choose a few rides, etc - either ones that you might otherwise skip, like Carousel of Progress, or really popular ones if you find a line smaller than expected. Or choose one "land" and do everything you want there - get a FastPass for the Jungle Cruise, see the Tiki Room, ride the Magic Carpets, do POTC (if it's open when you go) and walk through the Swiss Family Robinson treehouse. Are your kids going to want character meetings/autographs? This might be a time to try and see some of them.

We're always glad we've oriented ourselves during this "extra" time so we can hit the ground running the next day.

Enjoy your trip!!!

 

[jennstew]

Our plan for arrival day is to ride the monorail around the resorts, stop and explore some of the Christmas decorations at the resorts and then dinner at Chef Mickey's.

 

[MommaluvsDis]

I think I would plan the evening to stay at the resort and swim and explore. Let the kids have some arcade money and you and hubby relax by the pool. I don't think I would plan a fancy dinner but would do something casual at the resort. By all means if you feel revved and ready to go after relaxing for awhile, take the boat to DTD and do DQ. Just keep these plans between you and DH incase you find that you're too tired or the flight is delayed so that the boys aren't disappointed.

The evening relaxing will get you ready for the parks the next day.

 

[Pop Daddy]

the first day is always a fog, no way around it

 

[MommaluvsDis]

Denanbob,

I noticed by your schedule that you only have 2 half days set back for MK. Have you been before and this is a return trip and you only want to ride certain rides and that's it? Then you're good to go. Otherwise, I'd suggest, JMO, that you plan a full day and at least 1/2 of another day for MK. There's so much to see and do that you may be rushed and leave feeling that you didn't get to do everything you wanted at MK.

IMO, I like to go at least a full day, AT LEAST, to MK with 1/2 days at the other parks. But as I said that is JMO.

 

[Ghost]

If I would have tickets anyway I would go to EPCOT to see the fireworks Illuminations and grab something to eat there. Maybe a ride (or two), but no priority on the first (late) day...

 

[WaltD4Me]

I was going to say that maybe you should go to MK, even if just to see Wishes, but Saturday May 6th MK is closing early for Grad night, so that won't work and because MK is closing early it might make Epcot and MGM even more crowded than even a normal Saturday night. DTD will probably be more crowded too, but depending how tired you really are, it might be fun to head over there for a little while, just walk around, soak in the Disney atmosphere. If you guys are more tired than you thought, hanging around the hotel and pool is a good bet, relay, enjoy and get rested up for the next day.

Also I agree that you might to think about planning more time at MK. At least a full day and probably another half day.

 

[thelionqueen]

I would Definitely go to MK and watch Wishes. No better way to welcome you to the world than that IMO.

Also, as others have posted, you need more time @ MK IMHO. 2 half days is not nearly enough. We usually spend 3-4 full days there, just my .02

 

[mrsmom]

Hi, We are going the same dates as you, But we arrive at MCO 11:07am and arrive at POR around 12:30 , we are planning on checking out the resort maybe heading to MK for a couple hours before we go to Chef Mickeys. Then off to Epcot for the evening.Maybe we will see you around the resort .
HAve fun!!!
Kim

 

[Straitlover]

Yet another suggestion. You could have a brief look around your resort, then take the bus over to MK, take a whirl on the monrail if you wat, then thake the boat over to Fort Wilderness. have dinner at Trails End and then take in the campfire w/ Chip n Dale (don't forget to bring marshmallows!). If you're not too tired, stay for the movie.

 

[PlutosFriend]

Hey there! We will also be at POR that very same week! I have kids 6 & 8 also I suggest going to one of the parks for a few hours, maybe grab a Fast Pass! See you there!

 

[lillygator]

on arrival day we like to check out the resort and go out for a nice dinner...we usually head into one of the parks for dinner and then make an early night...or try to anyway!

 

[maxsmom01]

Thanks for this post!! We will be arriving on the same day and also staying at POR!! I am trying to figure out what to do for the late afternoon that day since MK is closed early for Grad Night.

u

 

[NurseGodwin]

Have you considered doing a 7:00 Hoop De Doo on your arrival night instead of Thursday? Afterwards, since you are at Fort Wilderness, you could roast S'mores at the campfire with Chip and Dale, and then view Wishes. That way your family could enjoy some Disney magic at a relaxing pace without using up a park admission. I agree with the other posters - MK is definately at least full day and a half (or 2 days if the crowds are moderate) experience, and we even skip all the shows, parades, and lines for characters! Just a thought!

 

[denanbob]

Thanks for all of the suggestions everyone!! I left Friday open for this exact reason - incase we want more time at MK. I was thinking (for OUR family), we would enjoy Epcot and/or MGM more than MK, but I may be very very wrong. I only planned for 1/2 day at AK too so I hope that's enough. We may take advantage of the EMH for Magic Kingdom on Sunday night from 10-1 if we're up for it. We are seeing Fantasmic that night in MGM, but when it's over, we may head over to MK. I feel like 6.5 days just isn't enough and that's why I wanted to make use of our Saturday. I'm really bummed that MK closes early that night. I almost wish we could have got an earlier flight (but had limited choices for the $79 one way tickets I nabbed from AirTran). I thought about Hoop Dee Doo for that night, but was informed that if our flight got messed up and (God forbid) we didn't get in until late, we could not cancel those ressies same day and we would lose the TS credits (and it takes 2 so that would stink). I guess we will just play it by ear and see how tired we are and go from there. I'll have a few available plans and we can all take a vote when we get there! Thanks for all the suggestions!

 

[mommyofthreeboys]

Have you considered doing a 7:00 Hoop De Doo on your arrival night instead of Thursday? Afterwards, since you are at Fort Wilderness, you could roast S'mores at the campfire with Chip and Dale, and then view Wishes. That way your family could enjoy some Disney magic at a relaxing pace without using up a park admission.

Are you able to see Wishes from the campfire?