Arrival Day with Small Kids

[AnnabelleTheTalkingTree]

Those of you who’ve done WDW with small kids, I’d love your input. This next trip will be our third as parents (took oldest at 2.5 and took both of them this past spring when oldest was 5 and youngest wasn’t quite 2), but it will be the first time we’re doing this on our own without the benefit of a large travel group.

My general plan for any arrival day is pop into the resort and then head to the parks, and plan a 1ish table service for lunch so that we have a cool place to sit and regroup while we wait for our room to be ready.

We are arriving to BWV for one night only before transferring elsewhere for the rest of our trip, so I am heavily leaning toward Biergarten since my kids loved it last time and I felt less pressure for them to sit still. The entertainment was great for them!

Other than that though, what tips might you have for arrival day with a barely 3 year old and a 6 year old? We’ll be sticking in the Epcot area as our “main” resort for the trip is a MK area resort.

 

[kittercats85]

Are you driving or flying? How early are you getting there? Our 4 year old was kind of a hot mess on arrival day. We had a super early flight so he was super overtired. Tip is just to be ready for anything and follow the kids lead. Some moments will be great and others… will eventually be overshadowed by the great but aren’t fun in the moment. Basically expect that for the trip. Lol

 

[ears2BWV]

Our grandkids always love to just have some fun at the resort pool and dinner at Beaches and Cream on arrival day. If you really have a lot of time you could walk over to Fantasia putt putt, but we usually save that for another night.

 

[MamaMermaid]

Probably an unpopular opinion: I'd skip parks on day 1 unless your travel journey is an easy one.

 

[DisneyDillyDally]

Probably an unpopular opinion: I'd skip parks on day 1 unless your travel journey is an easy one.

This is what we have done in the past - arrival day is a great pool day.

 

[lanejudy]

We do the resort pool on arrival day. Maybe Disney Springs for dinner - or maybe just dinner at the resort. Very low key.

 

[julie-o]

Totally agree with mellow arrival day. No parks. But if I could walk to a park and our travel was smooth and everyone was in a good mood I might. Lots of ifs

 

[MamaMermaid]

Totally agree with mellow arrival day. No parks. But if I could walk to a park and our travel was smooth and everyone was in a good mood I might. Lots of ifs

Agreed. Arrival day is always pretty much "play by ear" for us but we are FL residents with annual passes and have the flexibility to do so!

 

[sponica]

A) Are you driving or flying?
B) what time did you wake up in the morning to get there?

We got there mid afternoon last trip, and just hung out by the pool. It was what we all needed. Kids were 20 months and 5.5 at the last trip.

 

[AnnabelleTheTalkingTree]

Probably an unpopular opinion: I'd skip parks on day 1 unless your travel journey is an easy one.

Not unpopular at all / if it weren’t for the kids this is exactly what I’d do, but past trips with them have proven it’s actually better for us to distract them in a park

 

[AnnabelleTheTalkingTree]

A) Are you driving or flying?
B) what time did you wake up in the morning to get there?

We got there mid afternoon last trip, and just hung out by the pool. It was what we all needed. Kids were 20 months and 5.5 at the last trip.

We’re flying. Typically our flights get in very early so we’re looking at a full day to busy ourselves without a room. If we were at a resort with a splash pad I’d just do the pool all day but due to my kids ages and the set up at the BWV pool, I think Epcot will be better. We are transferring to GF the next day and that was actually the plan when we were arriving directly there, but we added a night so we could spend some time with friends who will be down there at the same time.

 

[_19disnA]

If flying and leaving home very early in the morning likely means an already long day of travel for everyone. Some children don't react well if their normal routine changes. Our last trip included some small children and we spent part of the first day at a park that was convenient to where we were staying. Just never know how the children will react/adjust to travel and everything that involves. Hard to predict ahead of time. Sometimes they would just nap in their stroller and other days we took a break for naps back at the hotel. Just have to see how everything goes with them.

 

[ktlm]

From the time DD was very little, if we got there early enough, she always wanted to head to a park the minute we got there. We didn't have direct flights, so sometimes we would have time for one ride and dinner. My DH and DD would both have been thrilled if they got to go to Biergarten right after arrival. (In fact, I think we might have done that- with DH's only requirement that we have it booked another time as well in case we had flight issues). I think your instincts are good.

The only thing I would consider is if you are talking about a Saturday during food and wine. EPCOT can be crazy busy those days. We actually have come in on a Saturday and done it--- but it was evening and we were glad we were going straight to a restaurant and then out of EPCOT. We stay in the EPCOT area during food and wine time and have been in and out of EPCOT on a Saturday many times (back when you could hop any time, so we might pop in and grab some food or a drink in the booths), and it is crazy pretty much all day on Food and Wine Saturdays.