Do you arrive at WDW late at night? Is it worth it?

[frannn]

I'm trying to minimize the time we pull DD8 out of school in Sept, but maximize our trip time. I'm considering flying out Thurs after school, or the first flight Fri morning. The earliest Thurs flight we could make would probably land 9-10:30 pm, so by the time we get to WDW, it would be just to sleep. Normally I would hate to pay for an extra night without being able to do any parks, but I'm wondering if I'm looking at it the wrong way. We'll be on free dining (upgrading from CS to reg), and can use the credits from the first day towards something we would've paid OOP for (like a lunch at LC). Looks like the cost for the extra night at AS Movies (per Mousesavers info) would be 85+tax, plus the 22 DP upgrade cost, plus minimal if any rental car difference. Do the single weekday/weekend resort rates apply in a package, or is it broken down differently? We could get an early start the next morning...as opposed to getting up at 3:30 AM Fri for an early flight. Just hate the thought of being there without hitting the ground running. Do the flight prices with Jetblue tend to be less on Thurs night? Thoughts/experiences???

 

[englishteacha]

I would go the night before...it's what we always do, actually. Then we wake up on our first day of vacation and go to the parks. We stay offsite, though, so adding an extra night doesn't affect package prices or anything. Park tickets are so expensive that we want a full day to enjoy the parks, and don't want to pay for a full day ticket and only get to use an hour or two. I'm a teacher so we're stuck traveling during school vacations. Most of the cheaper flights from Maine land in Orlando after 8 PM.

 

[DisneyMomma81]

When we visited WDW my mom & DS took the Red Eye - they visited DHS on the day DD & I flew out, we had a late morning flight but didn't make it to POP till early evening. My & DD's 1st park day was the following day - no big deal - my kids had school the day before ~ so DS left that evening *not missing any school.

 

[pamrob]

We always get there and sleep the first night. That way we are rested and can take full advantage of the park the next day from opening. I love the first few hours of the park - we can usually get in all our "importants" in the first half of the day and then take in anything else that suits our fancy.

 

[cluvsdisney]

Looking at the times you posted, I'd rather get there at 9:30-10:00 so I'd be ready to hit the ground running on Friday morning. I don't see the need to get up in the middle of the night to start a vacation.

I am not sure how the pricing works for the room but it would be nice to have the extra meal credits to use while you are there...you could add a dinner show or signature meal to your ADRs.

 

[mousebymarriage]

I personally have never done this because we are early/late morning arrivers. However, a friend of mine did this last spring. She went last April (I think) but, didn't want to go during Easter week due to crowds so she chose a regular week which meant pulling her kids out of school. Her DS was in 3rd grade and her DD was in 6th so she was trying to minimize the time they missed (especially the older one). Anyway she had flight for a Friday evening that arrived in Disney around 10pm and she said it worked out great. They all had a full nights sleep before hitting the parks bright and early the next morning.
She could have left on Saturday morning instead of Friday night but, she wouldn't have landed in Florida until approx. 11am Saturday morning so by the time she took ME and checked into the resort etc. it probably would have been early afternoon before she got into the parks. She chose the Friday evening flight to maximize their park time and she said she would definately do it again.

 

[leadfootlevi]

I don't think you'll be able to add a Free Dining day to your existing reservation since that promotion is over. You might be able to get a less-expensive room though with a room-only discount (you'd have 2 separate reservations).

I would leave Thursday. After getting up at 3 AM, travelling, checking in, etc, you'll be tired and probably won't make it to the parks until noon. We landed around noon and didn't do a park our first day - just relaxed by the pool, went to DTD, unpacked/organized our room, etc.

 

[Soon2B4]

Few things to find out first. Is FD offered the day you want to add on? We added a day to our package for the same reason as you. We originally booked FD for 1/9-1/16. It was cheaper to add a day to the front than fly out on Sunday. FD was not offered until 1/9 so I was unable to "add" a FD day. I booked a room only ressi for 1/8 so we then had to check back in in the am to get our package, (tickets, dining, ect.) Also, our room was going to be more money for the Saturday night. I ended up taking advantage of the 25% off for the first night to bring the cost back down to around $80 for a standard room at Pop. Hope that all makes sense!

That said...I am all for going down the night before. This time was our first time doing it and it was well worth it. We didn't get in as late as you would, we landed at 6pm. We used ME so it made it more of a hassle with young kids and luggage arriving late, but renting a car you wouldn't have that hassle. I say do it if you can!

 

[Crystal824]

That is what we generally do. It is nice to wake up and have a full day of vacation instead of being tired from traveling and only get a 1/2 day or so. We usually get to our resort around 8-9pm have a late dinner, maybe swim and then hit the parks the next day.

 

[deezeealum]

when DD was 4 we took the first flight oit of Newark and arrived ~9:30 AM. We felt we spent the entire vacation (we were there for a week) catching up from having to be at the airport at 5:00 AM!! THe other thing we had not thought of and encountered was how busy ME was. It seems everyone had the same idea. we waited in line for ME for 1.5 hours, so we didn't make it to the parks till almost lunchtime. We said next time we go we would rather take a late flight out and pay for the extra night. Disney vacations are not the most relaxing but anyway to help it along and start on the right foot always helps. Have a magical time whatever you decide!

 

[Marionnette]

I'm trying to minimize the time we pull DD8 out of school in Sept, but maximize our trip time. I'm considering flying out Thurs after school, or the first flight Fri morning. The earliest Thurs flight we could make would probably land 9-10:30 pm, so by the time we get to WDW, it would be just to sleep. Normally I would hate to pay for an extra night without being able to do any parks, but I'm wondering if I'm looking at it the wrong way. We'll be on free dining (upgrading from CS to reg), and can use the credits from the first day towards something we would've paid OOP for (like a lunch at LC). Looks like the cost for the extra night at AS Movies (per Mousesavers info) would be 85+tax, plus the 22 DP upgrade cost, plus minimal if any rental car difference. Do the single weekday/weekend resort rates apply in a package, or is it broken down differently? We could get an early start the next morning...as opposed to getting up at 3:30 AM Fri for an early flight. Just hate the thought of being there without hitting the ground running. Do the flight prices with Jetblue tend to be less on Thurs night? Thoughts/experiences???

The value of one night's qsdp is about the same as one night at a value before taxes when you have 2 adults and a child. If your daughter is older than 9 then it's an even better deal.

I've done both early morning departures and late night arrivals. With the late night arrival, we did not get up in time for park opening the next day. But we were still in the parks earlier than we would have been if we had taken the first morning flight. OTOH, when we have done the earliest flight into mco and our room was ready on arrival, all my family wanted to do was sleep. So much for hitting the ground running!

I guess that if I could save money on the airfare by flying in the night before (and everything else being equal), I would choose to do that. But it really the decision really rests on how your family handles early morning or late night traveling.

 

[frannn]

Thanks for all the great thoughts! Luckily, I booked the FD package with the extra day, so I don't have to worry about adding it. I would just have to cancel a day if we arrive Fri. DH loves the idea of arriving the night before, relaxing, and having a snack in the room. He thinks a vacation should be about relaxing ... go figure!

 

[drinkme]

We usually get to our resort around 8-9pm have a late dinner, maybe swim and then hit the parks the next day.

We did this one trip, too. The kids had a 1/2 day of school and PT conferences. I made the conference times for the first appt as soon as school got out. We then headed to the airport and made it to AKL by 8pm (and received a FREE upgrade to a savanah room!!!). We got a CS meal at the resort, ate at the pool, and swam for a bit. We went to sleep by around 10-11pm and got up early for rope drop.

We picked up our luggage ourselves instead of having it delivered. It was a breeze!

HTH

 

[bigbabyblues]

We usually arrive between 6:00 and 7:00 am, but we drive. In your situation, I would opt for the evening flight and do a room-only reservation for that night.

 

[abeyst]

We usually go the morning of, or early in the day, to maximize our time on vacation. But we always have a rough time the first day because everyone's exhausted from traveling. Since you're on a short time schedule, I'd suggest the night before, that way you can start Friday and the weekend off first thing in the morning.

Now mind you, we've had flights that arrive at MCO at 11pm, and by the time you get your luggage and get to your room it's almost 2am, and that will ruin the next day as well. So if you're flying out late, try and get as early a flight Thursday as possible to ge t enough sleep.

 

[rdevine10]

We have done this both ways before. I much prefer getting in late in the evening than getting up at the crack of dawn. Quick notes: love the extra day of "free dining" we get for another meal- but last time we got smart and picked up own bags instead on the way down (it took 3 hours once for our luggage to arrive with our toddlers pjs, etc the time prior using the disney luggage tags) and it was very late for all of us! (after midnight before our luggage arrived at the room!)

So, this last time, we grabbed our own luggage at the airport and used the magical express (brought on our suitcases). Worked out perfectly!