First Day question

[cathyny]

Hi! We are taking the kids for the first time on May6th (DH & I have not been to Disney in 25 yrs). We are getting into Orlando at 10am, staying at the Coronodo Springs & plan to go to Magic Kingdom for our first day. I am trying to figure out how the first day will work
1 - What time can we check in?
2 - Do we HAVE to go to the hotel to get our Park Passes (we bought a package)
3 - What do others do when they get in early & want to go straight to a park?


Thanks! Getting real excited!

Cathy

 

[lovetoscrap]

Are you driving in or flying and taking Magical Express? I ask because if you are using ME then you will be taken directly to your resort anyway.

The great thing about staying onsite with Disney is that you can check in to the resort at any time, but your room may not be ready until later. There is a baggage storage area where you can drop off your bags and they will keep them safe until your room is ready. If you used ME and they have your bags they will brought to your room sometime after it is ready. You will get your room key, which is also your park tickets when you check in, but you most likely won't find out where your room is (and have your key activated) until around the normal check in time of 3pm. They will give you a number to call so you can find out if your room is ready and what room number you have.

So yes, you do have to check in with the resort to get your tickets but since you can do that anytime just head there first, get checked in and then you can be on your way!

I usually don't arrive early enough to do much but get dinner and get settled in the room. Maybe tour the resort or visit Downtown Disney, but you will be there with plenty of time to enjoy a day at the parks. Just check the closing time-- you may not want to arrive at Animal Kingdom around noon and then find out it closes at 5pm. Also check out if the Fireworks will be at MK that night, or Fantasmic at DHS, and maybe plan on one of those for your first day since you won't have been in the parks since early morning.

 

[cathyny]

Thanks for the info! We are flying in & using ME. Sounds like we will just stop at the hotel real quick to get our key/passes & then head to Magic Kingdom. We will pack what we need in our carry-ons. We have a 4 yr old & 7 yr old so not sure if they will make it to the parade/fireworks since we will be up at 4-5 am to get the flight but it would be great if they could. Hopefully they will sleep on the plane but that is probably wishful thinking!

 

[Metro West]

 

[Disn3y]

Welcome! Enjoy your first family trip to the magic!

 

[disneyworldaddict]

We too will be arriving early. Our plane lands at 9:30 am.
By the time we arrive at our hotel it will probably be about 10:30 am. When we've done this before we are always settled by 11am. (meaning checked in w/ parkpasses and luggage stored). Twice we were actually in our room by 11am.

My plan for this trip is to relax at the resort when we arrive. I'll probably wear my bathing suit under my clothes. I plan to take a nap on a hammock and go for a swim. We have an ADR for Ohana the first night, so after we unpack and get settled we will go to MK for the evening.

Whatever you decide to do, have a Magical vacation!

 

[Disney Crazy Debbie]

We usually arrive early, too, in the morning. We always check in, etc. but our first day we spend exploring the resort, going to DTD and end with dinner at HDDR! We don't hit the parks until our first full day at WDW!

 

[Disneynut71]

We have arrived early in past trips....

normally we go to the hotel and drop off our luggage and check in. They will give you your room cards and then we head right to the parks.

I usually just call later and they will bring my bags to the room.

Easy!!

Have fun!!

 

[ID_tooth_fairy]

I would not try to go to the parks on the arrival day, here's why:
June 2009-We made the mistake of trying to do too much on our arrival day, and we paid the price a couple days later (exhausted). We took a red-eye flight so we got no sleep, arrived at 10 AM and took ME to our resort (CBR), got our park tix, our room wasn't ready yet, so they held our luggage and we were on our way to Epcot. Arrived at Epcot around 1:00, most Fastpasses were gone, it was really hot, & crowds were insane. Only did a couple things. However, the highlight was dinner reservations at LeCellier, which was AMAZING! By the time we got back to our room that nite, it was pitch dark and we couldn't find our room in the rain & sprawling layout. Plus we had to unpack. over 24 hours of excitation and go go go....needless to say the next 2 days were exhausting due to lack of sleep. We pooped out on day 3 and had to scrap our itinerary to take a midday hotel room nap which was good for us all-we were crabby. A rest rejuvenated us for the rest of the trip.

Next trip (June 2011) we plan to arrive around 2 or 3 then hang out at our hotel and unwind. Then get a good nites sleep so we are energized for the rest of the magic! Enjoy!!

 

[jlhill4444]

We have dinner reservations at HS on the day we arrive. We don't get to Orlando until 1:00 but choose to do the Fantasmic package at HS that same evening. We don't plan on doing much else at the park other than eating and watching the show, so we won't be too exhausted for the next day's activities. I would recommend going to DD if you don't want to use a ticket to a park. Enjoy!