Arrival Day Ideas...

[emsstacey]

I just booked our flights and we will land at MCO at 2:30. We are staying at CBR, so I'm hoping we will be there by 4pm.

We will have a short trip, only staying 4 nights, with each of the 3 days at a different park. Our arrival day is our "free day". What do you suggest as a great way to enjoy that first day? We have never stayed at CBR before and part of me wants to enjoy the resort, swim, eat at the food court. The other part wants to head to Disney Springs to find a QS and see all the changes. My kids will be 11 and 15, fwiw.

Thank you for your recommendations!!

 

[Mainemama]

With a trip that length and kids that age, I would likely plan to do something a little fun. I am not into Disney Springs, personally, but many are. Could you add a day of park tickets? I would likely book a dinner in Epcot and walk around WS and hit Test Track. Or MK, you would be able to visit after grabbing a bite somewhere. My non-park choice would be to swim and then eat at a TS.

 

[drysdaleo]

You don't need to go anywhere else. Unpack, get settled, explore resort, go to the campfire, swim at the pool, get something to eat, rent a surrey bike and ride around, watch the movie at the beach, go to the arcade, stop at resort market and get some groceries, go back to the room, watch Stacey, watch the cartoons, go to sleep.

 

[ChasingLeslie]

We are getting in at a similar time and planning to play the first night by ear. Most likely we will just swim, eat, and call it an early night since we have a PPO ADR the next morning.

 

[emsstacey]

You don't need to go anywhere else. Unpack, get settled, explore resort, go to the campfire, swim at the pool, get something to eat, rent a surrey bike and ride around, watch the movie at the beach, go to the arcade, stop at resort market and get some groceries, go back to the room, watch Stacey, watch the cartoons, go to sleep.

Honestly, this is what I am thinking will be best. I'm worried that going anywhere will eat up so much time in transit. We can really enjoy the resort and not be rushed. Thank you!

 

[pachanga5]

I just booked our flights and we will land at MCO at 2:30. We are staying at CBR, so I'm hoping we will be there by 4pm.

We will have a short trip, only staying 4 nights, with each of the 3 days at a different park. Our arrival day is our "free day". What do you suggest as a great way to enjoy that first day? We have never stayed at CBR before and part of me wants to enjoy the resort, swim, eat at the food court. The other part wants to head to Disney Springs to find a QS and see all the changes. My kids will be 11 and 15, fwiw.

Thank you for your recommendations!!

Wow I think I could have written this post. My kids are the same ages and we will be arriving at the same resort around the same time in November. I booked dinner at Shutters but I'm interested in reading other replies. This won't be a park day for us either.

 

[emsstacey]

Wow I think I could have written this post. My kids are the same ages and we will be arriving at the same resort around the same time in November. I booked dinner at Shutters but I'm interested in reading other replies. This won't be a park day for us either.

I have all of our TS credits booked but have free QS credits. Our big problem in the past has been shoving too much into each day! We are going to play it by ear but I really am leaning toward relaxing and enjoying the resort!

 

[pachanga5]

I have all of our TS credits booked but have free QS credits. Our big problem in the past has been shoving too much into each day! We are going to play it by ear but I really am leaning toward relaxing and enjoying the resort!

Same here. Even though we are flying our travel day ends up feeling so long because we have to drive over two hours to get to the airport. Epcot sounds tempting, but I know we will all be tired that night.

 

[loves to dive]

I agree with others, spend some time at the pool, grab supper, watch the movie and hit the sack.

 

[Sinderelly]

We are doing what the pp suggested. Dinner, exploring resort and relaxing maybe in the hot tub

 

[emsstacey]

We will have to leave around 6-7am to make it to the airport, too. It will definitely be a long day!

 

[disneyduonj]

You don't need to go anywhere else. Unpack, get settled, explore resort, go to the campfire, swim at the pool, get something to eat, rent a surrey bike and ride around, watch the movie at the beach, go to the arcade, stop at resort market and get some groceries, go back to the room, watch Stacey, watch the cartoons, go to sleep.

What or who is Stacey?

 

[NeuroCindy]

What or who is Stacey?

I think she's the woman on the WDW guide channel.

 

[Sue M]

With so short of a trip, I'd add on a park day and go to a park after you arrive. I'd want to maximize my time there.
3day hopper is $367.43, 4day hopper is $419.61 incl tax.

 

[SqueakyMouse]

Even though we go to WDW 3+ times per year (27+ days on-site) and my kids have been visiting since they were toddlers and are now 13-24 years old, we have only one time been on-site and not headed right into a park upon arrival. (This was over Christmas this past year when we made a totally unscheduled 4-day stop-over when driving home from the Keys and did not visit any parks at all! We had a lot of fun, but it felt very strange!!!) Dd and are I are leaving in a few hours for WDW. We hope to be at SSR by lunchtime. After that, we're off to MK. I can see the appeal of relaxing at the resort, but our personalities just won't allow it!

 

[Lvsdisney]

I personally would go to a park, because that's why I am there! But CBR is very relaxing (hello hammocks on the beach!) and the pool is great. The food court is normal Disney QS. We did a resort switch last trip and my kiddos (3 and 6) weren't to hyped on Disney Springs, but maybe your kids will like it because they're older.

ETA: In Jan, we landed at 2:30, arrived at AKL at 3:45 and, after settling belongings in the room, were at HS by 5pm (taking the bus).

 

[littledebbie335]

We stayed at CBR in January and our flight arrived around the same time as your flight will. If I were you, I would get settled in, relax, walk around the resort, hit the pool, and have dinner at Shutters, in whatever order works best for you! Some of the older reviews for Shutters are pretty bad, but we found it to be really nice when we went, so it seems like they've fixed some of the issues they'd been having. On our trip, we decided to take it easy on our arrival day so that we were refreshed and ready to go for our first park day. We actually went to DS, but I wish we had just stayed at the resort because we didn't have any ADRs, and I was kind of tired of hangry by the time we sat down to eat.

If you purchase park tickets for your arrival day, how upset will you be if you get unexpectedly delayed while traveling, and you're not really able to put them to good use?

 

[Lvsdisney]

If you purchase park tickets for your arrival day, how upset will you be if you get unexpectedly delayed while traveling, and you're not really able to put them to good use?

The way around this is to decide the day you arrive whether or not you want to go to a park. IF you decide to go, you can always add on another park day to your ticket. The difference in cost would be the same if you decided to upgrade your 3 day to 4 day now. An option for you, though you won't have the FP+ set up.

 

[disneydreamer781]

Disney Springs or dinner at a monorail resort. Maybe you even can catch Wishes.

 

[emsstacey]

True. We have conference tickets, though through our agent. Can I still upgrade those for an additional day?

I have looked at crowd calendars, too, and the Sunday we arrive on looks super crowded.