Arrival night, Disney Springs or MK?

[maryj11]

I'm not crazy about DS or actually it was called DTD last time we went. But I would like to go and see what all is new since it became Disney Springs.

 

[Parker Clan]

For a family with small kids I would say MK, but for me and the hubby DS is our yearly tradition for the first night. We buy our yearly Xmas ornament, get a sundae from Ghiradelli, shop at the World of Disney! It's a nice first night to kick off Disney. But seeing that castle for the first time on Main Street can't be beat & definitely screams "Welcome to Disney!!"

 

[nautical05]

I think it depends on the time your arrive. My boys loved the swimming pool. It is a good way to recharge after traveling. Unless your kids like shopping I would stay away from Disney Springs.

 

[AllieBoo]

For our trips, we normally arrive around Noon. We check in, swim for a bit and then head to the MK for a few hours. Last trip, I was able to get 7DMT, Peter Pan and Splash fast passes lined up starting at about 6:00, so we did those, walked around a bit and then headed in early.

 

[Micca]

I don't think your kids will be especially impressed with DS but some dinner and strolling around might get them to unwind enough to get to the resort and a reasonable bed time. You'll probably be up & out early the next morning, best for kids(and their parents) to start with fully charge batteries.

 

[ArielSRL]

Last year, in June, we chose to do MK. We did split the drive and stayed in Lake City the night before. We thought we would arrive fairly early to SSR but everything seemed to take us longer. We still arrived early afternoon but by the time we got in the room, ate a late lunch at the resort, then drove over to MK, it was closer to 5pm. We did stay until about 11 which made us late to bed that first night and already getting up late the next day (we missed rope drop completely). So....this trip coming up in June, I added a night onto the ressie (we did 7 nights last year with 7 day PH, we are doing 8 nights this year with 7 day PH), we are just going to leave at 6am (we are in Atlanta), hoping to arrive between 1-3 and we are doing a resort/pool/DS afternoon/evening. Getting to bed early and hitting MK for rope drop the next day.

I thought I would prefer arrival night at a park but I am thinking I am really going to enjoy starting out a little slower this time.

 

[loves to dive]

Last year, in June, we chose to do MK. We did split the drive and stayed in Lake City the night before. We thought we would arrive fairly early to SSR but everything seemed to take us longer. We still arrived early afternoon but by the time we got in the room, ate a late lunch at the resort, then drove over to MK, it was closer to 5pm. We did stay until about 11 which made us late to bed that first night and already getting up late the next day (we missed rope drop completely). So....this trip coming up in June, I added a night onto the ressie (we did 7 nights last year with 7 day PH, we are doing 8 nights this year with 7 day PH), we are just going to leave at 6am (we are in Atlanta), hoping to arrive between 1-3 and we are doing a resort/pool/DS afternoon/evening. Getting to bed early and hitting MK for rope drop the next day.

I thought I would prefer arrival night at a park but I am thinking I am really going to enjoy starting out a little slower this time.

We drive down from Athens, which is at least a hour above you and leaving at 6, stopping at Chik-fil-A in Madison and going in and eating breakfast, stopping once at a rest stop for a potty break and once at a gas station to fill up, we get there around 2 - 2:30 (depends on who is driving the last leg, my son tends to drive a little faster than me). We take snack type foods in the car, things like peanut butter crackers, grapes and cheese, trail mix, and lots of bottles of water (we don't drink soft drinks that often) so we don't need a huge lunch when we get there. We check in and if our room is ready (rarely is) we just dump our bags and hop a bus to a park (we don't decide which one until we are at the bus stop). If the room isn't ready, we leave our bags in our car and hop a bus to a park. We normally get to a park around 3 or 3:30 and grab something to eat there. Gives us almost a whole day at a park, especially if it's a short park for us (which MK is) and we never stay to park close that first night. Even though we have a car, we never, ever, never, ever, never drive to the parks.

 

[ArielSRL]

We drive down from Athens, which is at least a hour above you and leaving at 6, stopping at Chik-fil-A in Madison and going in and eating breakfast, stopping once at a rest stop for a potty break and once at a gas station to fill up, we get there around 2 - 2:30 (depends on who is driving the last leg, my son tends to drive a little faster than me). We take snack type foods in the car, things like peanut butter crackers, grapes and cheese, trail mix, and lots of bottles of water (we don't drink soft drinks that often) so we don't need a huge lunch when we get there. We check in and if our room is ready (rarely is) we just dump our bags and hop a bus to a park (we don't decide which one until we are at the bus stop). If the room isn't ready, we leave our bags in our car and hop a bus to a park. We normally get to a park around 3 or 3:30 and grab something to eat there. Gives us almost a whole day at a park, especially if it's a short park for us (which MK is) and we never stay to park close that first night. Even though we have a car, we never, ever, never, ever, never drive to the parks.

Sounds like a good plan. Me, personally, I just work better if I get a chance to get settled in first. And we are at WL for the very first time this trip, so we are definitely going to want to explore around. Plus my 2 boys want to hit up the Lego store at DS and I'd rather do it on a short day than a full one.

 

[columbusdizfan]

I would say NOT DS. DS shopping prior to making memories on the trip is not super fun. And it is crowded!

 

[Lesli Terzo]

For our trips, we normally arrive around Noon. We check in, swim for a bit and then head to the MK for a few hours. Last trip, I was able to get 7DMT, Peter Pan and Splash fast passes lined up starting at about 6:00, so we did those, walked around a bit and then headed in early.

sounds pretty fantastic!

 

[Lesli Terzo]

I don't think your kids will be especially impressed with DS but some dinner and strolling around might get them to unwind enough to get to the resort and a reasonable bed time. You'll probably be up & out early the next morning, best for kids(and their parents) to start with fully charge batteries.

That's what I'm thinking. I know they will not be interested in shopping but I think Trex would be big hit for my boys.

 

[Lesli Terzo]

Last year, in June, we chose to do MK. We did split the drive and stayed in Lake City the night before. We thought we would arrive fairly early to SSR but everything seemed to take us longer. We still arrived early afternoon but by the time we got in the room, ate a late lunch at the resort, then drove over to MK, it was closer to 5pm. We did stay until about 11 which made us late to bed that first night and already getting up late the next day (we missed rope drop completely). So....this trip coming up in June, I added a night onto the ressie (we did 7 nights last year with 7 day PH, we are doing 8 nights this year with 7 day PH), we are just going to leave at 6am (we are in Atlanta), hoping to arrive between 1-3 and we are doing a resort/pool/DS afternoon/evening. Getting to bed early and hitting MK for rope drop the next day.

I thought I would prefer arrival night at a park but I am thinking I am really going to enjoy starting out a little slower this time.

This would be my fear. Plan a quick trip to MK for the arrival night and it goes long and tiring. I just don't know what to expect at DS. I need to research what all is there better.

 

[maryj11]

I'm kind of in the same boat. Not sure what to plan the first day. We arrive at the Poly around noon after getting up really early to make our flight. I'm not sure if we should eat dinner at Ohana , go to a park or DS or what. That is the one day I'm not sure what to plan.