Arriving in Orlando late afternoon

[brockodile88]

My best friend and I are flying into Orlando in the late afternoon. Our flight lands about 3:15pm and Disney's Magical Express will be picking us up and taking us to our resort. By the time we get checked in is it worth it to head into a park for the remainder of the evening (Parks all close at 9 that night) or is Downtown Disney a better option? We had already planned for 5 days in the park so adding a 6th would only amount to about $10. Just not sure how much time to allot for travel and check in. What say the experts?

 

[olecow]

My family usually heads to Downtown Disney when we arrive late in the afternoon. There are a lot of dining options and it's nice (for us) to browse the stores and get us even more excited for our days in the parks.

 

[km3jones]

We always fly in and take magic express. I've got 3 kids so everything takes a little longer but that said... From landing to getting on bus I say takes about an hour, sometimes bus lines are longer/shorter. Then from airport to finishing check in at hotel is about an hour. So you could be ready by 5:15-5:30 to head to parks. We always pay the little bit more to have the extra time for the park.

 

[Zing72]

My best friend and I are flying into Orlando in the late afternoon. Our flight lands about 3:15pm and Disney's Magical Express will be picking us up and taking us to our resort. By the time we get checked in is it worth it to head into a park for the remainder of the evening (Parks all close at 9 that night) or is Downtown Disney a better option? We had already planned for 5 days in the park so adding a 6th would only amount to about $10. Just not sure how much time to allot for travel and check in. What say the experts?

We basically arrived at the same time. We were in the MK by 5:30. We lucked out and a CM was waiting outside the resort and checked us in. My kids had never been to Disney so they were very excited about seeing the castle. It worked out great for us.

 

[brockodile88]

Thanks for your tips! Very helpful in the decision making process