Do you go to parks on arrival day?

[lustergirl]

Earliest flight in and enjoy the rest of the day at a park. My flight for upcoming solo trip lands at 8:50am

 

[aretha30]

We drive (about 8 hours) and just want to relax on arrival day. We check in and wonder around the resort and then head to DTD for dinner and shopping. We always hit the bed early and are at rope drop the next morning ready to go!

 

[Dacky619]

I have a nonexpiring 10-day park hopper and I'm trying to decide if I should go to the parks after waking up at 8am (normal time) and landing at MCO at 12:30. I'd have to be back at AKL to meet DH for dinner at 7pm... Would y'all go to a park in the meantime? Do y'all generally use park tickets on arrival days? I can't decide if it's worth it for my short 3-night trip!!

We almost always do, but I wouldn't in your case. If you have a NE ticket, those days are too valuable IMO to burn for maybe 4 hours. If you had a 6 day ticket I would spend the extra $10 for that day.

 

[nooneshome]

After our 10.5 hour drive we usually check in, unpack and then head to DTD for a sandwich at the Earl and some light shopping. This next trip we are going to MK to get some extra park time. We are taking a newbie and we want them to get as much park time as possible. Plus we want to ride the new Mine Train Ride and see A&E as much as possible..

 

[Jennasis]

Sometimes (particularly if MK or Epcot are having EMH hours in the evning on our arrival day). This year we aren't though. We are arriving around 4-4:30, having dinner at the resort (at Boma) and then heading to DTD after taking time to enjoy AKL with our friends (who've never been to WDW).

 

[C-CMom]

We also use 10-day non-expiring tickets, and we don't go for a partial day on arrival. Personally, I think the value is better used on a whole day (particularly for that type of ticket as the "non-expire" premium cost can be thought of as split over the entire ticket). On a regular ticket with whatever number of days, the extra partial day ends up costing very little extra money (at least after a certain number of days - which I can't immediately recall).

Besides, on arrival day, we like to get settled at our resort, prepare what we need for the park days, and usually go to see the MK fireworks from a distance (outside the park) the night before.

 

[lovesdumbo]

On a 3 night trip I can't imagine not going to the parks on arrival day to make the most of the short trip.

 

[louis11]

We usually try and go the first day after the flight. Gotta maximize our times in the park!

 

[ZehnJahren]

We always do, regardless of what time we get there.

 

[supergoofy]

I would if we could leave at a normal time and land mid day.

Flying from the West Coast makes it very difficult.

 

[Missymouse18]

We have done it once. Our norm is to go to DTD on arrival day, catch a bus to Epcot for the sole purpose of riding the monorail, catch a bus back to our resort & get back to the room for a semi-early bedtime.

 

[ThumpersMommy]

We usually arrive around 2 or 3 in the afternoon, check into our hotel, and head to Epcot. We can take our time and stroll around, get good food/drinks and watch Illuminations. That is a nice way to get the vacation started for our family. We stay 7-9 days usually so the "extra" day ticket doesn't really amount to that much extra cost. But with a shorter stay, it might not be worth it. Good luck and enjoy your trip!

 

[jeffbear]

We generally stay for a week when we come down and typically arrive in the mid to late afternoon. Thus, I don't really mind blowing a park ticket on an evening visit that first night, so we generally schedule an ADR in the Magic Kingdom area and hang around until after Wishes before heading back for some rest. I like getting a couple of rides knocked out right away and really enjoy MK at night. It's a great way to jump right into the deep end so to speak.

 

[michsig]

For me, it depends on when I arrive, and if I've been doing anything taxing before I arrive. I always take an early flight (around 6am) from NY to MCO. This year, we will be going to HS on our arrival day.

Last year, I was on a weekend cruise which involved lots of non-stop going (no relaxing!), so our arrival day was not a park day. We just relaxed, ate dinner, and the next day we went to MK.

 

[wcurry66]

Definitely park first day

We land at 10am in Orlando. As we purchased a multiday ticket, adding the extra day costs approx $10 pp, so its not a waste ($10 for up to 8 hours in the parks)

Plus, with 2 kids.. not sure about other people's kids, but i cant imagine telling them "we're here, but you need to wait another day"

 

[minnie mum]

We always go to the parks on our arrival day. If we drive (its a LOOOOOOONG drive over 2-3 days) we stay offsite the night before and check in before breakfast. When we used to fly, we always arrived before noon. And we never visit during crowded times of the year (at least, not intentionally) and never stay for less than a week. So our routine is set: check in, hop on the bus, and hit the ground running (or at least walking briskly ).

 

[Aurora0427]

Definitely park first day We land at 10am in Orlando. As we purchased a multiday ticket, adding the extra day costs approx $10 pp, so its not a waste ($10 for up to 8 hours in the parks) Plus, with 2 kids.. not sure about other people's kids, but i cant imagine telling them "we're here, but you need to wait another day"

Exactly. We arrive in Orlando at 9:30 in December, and since this will be my 3 year olds 3rd trip, there's no way she's going down for a nap. She will know exactly where she is! So we'll head to MK and an early ADR dinner and then do an early bedtime.

 

[jiminykrikkit]

Yes, we go both on arrival and departure days. We try to schedule flights in order to do so. We can usually only make it down for 5 nights, so we have to squeeze as much as we can out of those days.

This trip we land at MCO at 10:50 am and figure we can be to MK around 1 pm, and we plan to leave MK after the parade. It's a short little MK trip, but it allows for us to get Tomorrowland toured and to view the parade, so that our full MK day isn't so jam-packed.

Our departure day has us boarding the Magical Express around 3 pm, so again, lots of extra hours to get in one last ride in a couple of parks.

 

[maddiebee]

Yes, we go both on arrival and departure days. We try to schedule flights in order to do so. We can usually only make it down for 5 nights, so we have to squeeze as much as we can out of those days. This trip we land at MCO at 10:50 am and figure we can be to MK around 1 pm, and we plan to leave MK after the parade. It's a short little MK trip, but it allows for us to get Tomorrowland toured and to view the parade, so that our full MK day isn't so jam-packed. Our departure day has us boarding the Magical Express around 3 pm, so again, lots of extra hours to get in one last ride in a couple of parks.

This is almost exactly what we do timing wise!

 

[Sparkly]

We would, but we arrive too late! We usually land about 4:30pm and last time didn't get to the resort until 7pm. Plus we have such a long flight, we prefer to just relax and hit the parks the next day.