Arrival day - what do you do?

[Picabo]

Just wondering what other famalies do on their arrival day to Disney World! Our flt won't land till about 1245p. So my guess (this is our first visit) is to not plan on being to the Poly till at least 230p. So I'm thinking first of all, I need to make sure I pack some kind of lunch for the kids to eat on the flight - right? (Flt leaves at 10am so too early to eat before then!)

The girls are 2 and 3 - and normally the younger one naps around 1pm. Although she often does OK without a nap. But the older one often can get VERY cranky by 3-4pm if she has a busy day and doesn't nap. I am assuming when we get to the Poly that neither one will be ready to settle down for a nap - too excited from the travel, etc. Is this a safe assumption? Or do little ones get so exhausted that once they get to the hotel they ARE ready for a nap? Or maybe (I'm probably dreaming) they'll sleep on the bus from the airport to the hotel! OHHH how I wish!

So once you arrive, do you hit the pool or just explore your hotel or do you immediately drop off your 'stuff' and head to a park? (Rremember, my kids are 2 and 3 so I just don't know what to expect in terms of their temperment from a day of traveling)

Is it a bad idea to make an ADR for arrival night? I have a dream of their first monorail ride over to the Grand Floridian for dinner at 1900 PF! But I'm terrified to spend $30 each on the chance that they're going to be an absolute MESS in terms of crankiness! And then nobody (not US or those around us) would be too happy! Also, what happens if the flight is delayed and we miss our ADR?

Thanks for ANY tips you have or words from experience!!!! I need all I can get!

 

[la79al]

No experience here but I would vote for making no plans for your arrival day. Traveling to a new place is going to be stressful enough, no reason to spend that day worrying about trying to stick to a schedule too. I would get there and let the kids take the lead. If they need to nap, try to make that work. Otherwise explore your resort, maybe even do a test run on the monorail or a bus. Get to bed early for a fun filled day the next day.

 

[dana1003]

we dont plan anything either on our arrival day..we usually head to the hotel, unpack a little, then head off to downtown disney for food and just to get ourselves into the disney mode with out all the presssure. we like to hit goofys candy and get some goodies for our room .we have 5 year old twins so going into the parks isnt a option. thats a long travel day already. if they look too tired well usually eat right in our hotel and explore for a little while.

 

[crisi]

If I were you - pool for a swim. Eat from Captain Cooks. Try and get the girls to nap. Watch Wishes from the beach if they have napped and are awake.

 

[MeeskaMooshka]

i would suggest exploring your hotel and maybe other near by hotels (time permitting). I think it is better to ease into it and save the money on the tickets for that day. The hotels are and adventure in themselves.

 

[Baloosgirl23]

I totally agree with the PP -- use your 1st day as a day to get adjusted and let the kids ease into their new environment. It's going to be a long day from getting up in the morning and getting to the airport, traveling to Disney and checking in, etc.. by the time you are finally there it will be nice to be able to walk around and have a relaxed evening (if you can) before hitting the parks in the next few days. You don't want to add any stress to your day by worrying about ADR's either, there will be plenty of time for that during the remainder of your vacation The Poly is awesome and watching Wishes (the fireworks show from the Magic Kingdom) from the beach is a great idea!!! Good luck and have a magical time!!!

 

[monorailsilver]

On our arrival day we check in & hang out at the pool until about 4, or a bit earlier.

Then we shower quickly & head to Chef Mickeys for dinner.

When I took my oldest for the 1st time she was 15 months. She still napped but she wouldn't nap on the plane but fell asleep on the Magical Express bus.

The same thing happened when we went the 2nd time but my then 22 month old ds fell asleep on the bus.

The third time with kids, none of my kids napped & they were all up just shy of 6 am for our 8am flight. We checked in, had lunch at the Poly & then swam & went to Chef Mickey's.

I for one could never do a park on the day I arrive or the day I leave. My sister did that last year & I told her not to. She said they were tired for the rest of their vacation since they did not have an off day (they went for 5 days).

 

[DonnaBoo]

take it easy. Maybe explore downtown disney.

 

[momofrrr]

WE always go to Hoop De Doo on our first night. With the ages that you have I would do a little swimming then rest and head over for an early dinner then maybe a ride around on the monorail then off to bed for an early start. Have a great trip!

 

[mmcphee]

Pool and then to bed early to hit the parks first thing in the morning. The travel and an afternoon in the pool really tire the kids out. We eat an early dinner, baths, stories and bed at the regular time. They are well rested and ready to go for our first real day at the parks.

 

[ChristusG]

We usually do not arrive until 3 or 4 PM. So we check in, unpack our luggage, walk around the resort a bit, then go to our ADR's at Chef Mickey's for dinner. Chef Mickey's on arrival day has become a tradition for us....kind of a "kick off" to the vacation. Then we try to hit the sack at a decent time for our fun to start the next morning.

 

[Tinkerbell3014]

We usually arrive around 3 or 4 in the afternoon. We drive so we eat lunch on the road before we get there. We settle into our room, maybe go for a swim then head to DTD to shop and get dinner. The next morning we usually do a Character Breakfast to start our trip!

 

[james'mommy]

We head to the parks but we get there really early in the morning. Just remeber that you may not be able to get your hotel room right away. Check in is 3pm. Usually we get our room before 3 but I never count on it. With young ones I would recommend heading down to DTD for something to eat and then touring the hotel. Traveling will most likely throw off the little ones schedule so I wouldn't count on naps and be prepared for the grumpies.

 

[5boyz]

With 2 babes that age I would make no plans and go with the flow.......then start your next day fresh.

 

[lmc318]

We are getting there around noon-ish and I'm sure the room won't be ready then. The whole family is going and I have a 10mo daughter who will just nap when she can with all the travel, then there are 5yo twins, a 10 yo and 13yo. The twins can usually get by without a nap, but we're doing dinner at Chef Mickeys that night so we'll probably hang at the pool for a while and rest up, then get into our rooms and unpack and let the kids relax before dinner. I want to make sure everyone sees the castle the first day, so we're going to go to MK and walk up and down main street (only!) before dinner, then hop on the monorail. No big park plans other than that, though!

 

[abirdd]

We fly in from Canada, and normally our departure time has us up and moving from the house by 6am. By the time our flight lands at MCO, we get settled on the ME and finally show up at the resort; it's usually 4:30pm.

While a lot of families like to start off their trip with a meal at Chef Mickey's or Crystal Palace - we stopped doing this on our last trip. Found it was easier to arrive with no plans in mind for the first day and we let DS3's energy level dictate the flow. In January, he INSISTED we go to MK and watch the fireworks. Instead of a big heavy meal, we grabbed some counter service; and saved our usual character meal for later in the trip. So while it made for a long day for Mom and Dad, the sheer excitement of being at Disney kept Duncan going.

 

[meanmom121]

well we'll be there in the morning so we plan on pool, unpack, explore downtown disney and 1900 dinner - and then maybe spectro parade