Best first days ever

[mmmk]

If we get things settled and are free by say 11:00-12:00 what would you do on your first day? What made your first day special? I don't really want to stay around the resort because I have been waiting too long for this trip to happen and I want to start as soon as I can! Thanks

 

[MessyJ]

If you don't want to use park tickets that first day, there is still plenty to do at WDW. We like to go to Downtown Disney Marketplace. We eat at the Earl of Sandwich or Wolfgang Puck's Express. Have dessert at Goofy's Candy Company (we love Goofy's Glaciers, which you can dress up as Disney characters). Shop at World of Disney and Once Upon a Toy, where you can find most of the stuff merch. you can find in the parks. Walk through Pleasure Island to Downtown Disney West Side, and see La Nouba, or for less of a budget-breaker, see a movie at the AMC theatre.

 

[jonimce]

Our first trip, we had length of stay passes, but we did not plan on doing any parks the first day. We were staying at Fort Wilderness and by the time we set up camp it was after 3:00. We had reservations fot HDD at 9:00 so we had a few hrs to kill. Rented water mice and explored the campground on our bikes, when I suggested we take the boat to the MK to just take a ride on the Monarail. When the monorail stopped at Epcot the kids (13 & 14) begged to go in. A sweet man sitting across from us said "oh comon mom, go" so we rode spaceship earth and bought audagragh books. it was great.

 

[Family Fun Mom]

Our first day was without a doubt the most magical day of our entire trip and we never set foot in a park. Like you, we planned forever for the trip and I had been waiting my whole life for it. I was so excited I couldn't see straight and my kids (ages 7, 5, and 2 at the time) were the exact same way.

Once we were settled in our room I started to itch. I HAD to get out there and see something. My husband was exhausted from the long drive down and our youngest wasn't feeling well. Our original plan was to just hang around the resort until dinner but I couldn't take it, lol. My hubby laughingly told me to take the older two and get lost. So, we were outta there!

First thing we did was take the bus to Epcot so we could take a spin on the monorail. Once there we were mesmerized at the sight of Spaceship Earth. That was the moment we realized we really were at Disney. It was so special.

Next thing we did was ride the monorail all the way around, then we hopped on the other one and rode it all the way around. I'll never forget the moment we got our first glimpse of Cinderella Castle. My kids were squealing and I started to cry. A few of our fellow monorail riders teared up at our reaction. Another moment of pure Disney magic.

We had dinner ADRs at Chef Mickey's so we decided to go to the Contemporary early to explore. We had so much fun! Who would have thought browsing through gift shops and hanging in a hotel lobby would be so great? Duh! It's Disney! Of course it was!

Next was dinner. Chef MIckey's! The vibe was incredible that night. We had pretty late ADRs so it wasn't terribly crowded and we had amazing interaction from the characters. Each stopped by our table more than once and they stayed and "played" with my kids for long periods. My daughter told Dale he was her favorite so each time he walked by he stopped to give her an extra long hug, and Goofy's antics were so silly my son nearly fell off his chair laughing. It was wonderful!

After that great dinner we took the monorail back to Epcot and managed to catch the very last bus back to our resort. The bus driver was the best one we had the whole week. He had the entire bus singing, chanting, and cheering all the way back to POR. We didn't want it to end!

My husband said we sounded like the chipmunks when we got back because we were squealing so much and talking so fast. The kids have proclaimed that from now on our arrival night tradition will be a ride on the monorail and dinner at Chef Mickey's. I cannot wait to do it again.

I will never, ever forget that night. It was not only the best night of the trip, but one of the best nights of my entire life. In those few short hours, Disney proved to be every bit as wonderful as I always dreamed it would be. I now understand the term "Disney Magic." That's exactly what it is... magic

 

[cwnhokie]

We also did Chef Mickeys with a late ADR on our first night. We arrived got settled and then went over to the contemporary. We rode the monorail all the way around, ate at Chef Mickeys and then watched the fireworks from the observation deck. I was talking to my DS4 the other day and mentioned a ride and I said, "I think that was the first thing we did at Disney World last year." He said "No, the first thing we did was eat at that place with Mickey and Goofy, Can we do that again?" Well of course we are, how many days left? I gotta get packing!

 

[Twinklee]

We usually arrive and check in about noon and then head to Epcot. This year though we've decided on an afternoon of shopping at Downtown Disney and dinner at Chef Mickey's. My dd is a teenager this trip so our priorities have changed. She desperately wants to go to the record store at Downtown Disney and will probably end up spending most of her money there.

Toni

 

[AStamm]

We usually end up doing the Downtown Disney thing, too. My son loves to go to Once Upon a Toy and build Mr. Potato Heads and we usually end up with a box full of new pieces. Plans are really starting to shape up for our Christmas trip this year and I'm still planning on heading to Downtown Disney first, hopefully followed by the Spirit of Aloha dinner.

 

[mhingher]

In the past, we always had an early flight into Orlando, which would get us there and settled by lunchtime. We would usually go to DTD for lunch and shopping, and maybe some resort hopping. During our last trip, we made PS for Chef Mickey's dinner that night which really got us excited for the parks the next day!

We had to take later flights for our upcoming trip, so we won't be in and settled until 6pm or so. My parents have APs and DH & I have 7 day passes (we won't need all 7 days), so we're going to the MK first thing! I'd like to catch Spectromagic that night also

 

[airtime]

Our best first day ever was on our first major WDW family trip in April 1997. It was the final day of spring break hours, and MK was open until midnight. We were only going to do 4 park days, not visiting on that first Saturday, but we changed our minds and went. We got there at about noon and did light traffic attractions in the afternoon. The kids (then 4, 5, and 7) got to participate in the afternoon parade, which they LOVED. We left to check into our resort at 4:00 and took a nap, had a quick fast food dinner, and got back to MK about 7:30. We saw SpectroMagic (in its first run) and after that, the park became deserted. Every ride was close to a walk-on by 10 pm. We all adored having the MK rides practically to ourselves for two hours.

Sure, everyone needed to sleep late the next morning, but so what? It was the greatest visit to MK ever!


Tim, who loves to visit MK in the late evening. It's like a whole different place then.

 

[Wendy31]

Last May, DH & I took our 2 kids to WDW for the very first time - it was also our first time back since 1991 (when we had been there for our Senior Trip in high school).

Anyway, we stayed in a cabin at FW & had park passes for our length of stay. So, after we checked in, we rode the resort boat from FW to the MK - absolutely magical! Our first sight of the castle from our boat...

We had an ADR at LTT, so our first meal was a character meal - so fun!!! After dinner (which was marvelous), we rode Haunted Mansion, Dumbo, & It's a Small World - our 3 most favorite rides.

Then, we found places for Spectromagic & Wishes. While we waited for Spectromagic, we shared a couple of Mickey Bars. Sitting there on Main Street watching Spectro & Wishes w/ my family was just so perfect... Seeing the fireworks reflect in DD's & DS's eyes for the 1st time was beautiful!

We had a perfect "first night"!! And, this year, we have the exact same thing planned for our first night - dinner at LTT, a couple of rides, & then Wishes!

 

[mmmk]

I really like the ideas about riding the monorail and renting a water mouse. We have some character meals planned for later in the stay so maybe we might go somewhere like Whispering Canyon. Family Fun Mom your post made me choked up and excited about going--all at the same time!!!

 

[byoung]

In December all we did was go resort hopping. It was great to see all the trees and other decorations.