First half day at Disney, WHAT TO DO?

[nuge67]

Well, we will be checking in on Saturday November 4th around 12 or so, after check in and settling down, I would guess it would be around 1 or 1:30.

What would you DIS pros recommend my party of me, wife, mother in-law and two boys, 5 and 2, do?

I consider this a day almost a toss up because we still have 7 more days in Disney. Should I do MK, Epcot, MGM, AK or one of the water parks? I mean, I know it's a Saturday and there will be crowds regadless of what park I go to, just looking for some ideas?

 

[cleo]

I would skip the parks altogether and make it a relaxing day (calm before the storm?) at Downtown Disney. You could also play around of mini-golf at Fantasia or Winter-Summerland, maybe visit Fort Wilderness and the petting zoo/pony rides, then cap the evening off with a trip to the Boardwalk Resort.

If you really really want to go into a park, I'd make it a day at Magic Kingdom, but with the idea of just soaking up the atmosphere, taking in the new entertainment, and riding the attractions that don't requre long waits. You'll have enough of that in the coming days.

 

[kldmom2000]

I think it depends on how long your trip is for-you said you're there for 7 days, so I too would probably relax a bit-perhaps go over to DTD for a little while and then have a "fun" meal for dinner that night (ie. Chef Mickey's or another dinner at a resort so you don't have to enter the parks?)

We went earlier in the month and we only had 4.5 days to spend, so we DID go to Epcot around 1:30pm upon arrival @ the YC just because we had such limited time... if we had the 7 days, we would have hung out by Stormalong Bay and then eaten dinner at the YC/BC and prepared ourselves for the first full day

Have fun! Enjoy your trip!

 

[Mickeefan]

I agree! I'd make it a relaxing day and go to Downtown Disney. If you want to get a glimpse of the castle, take the bus and ride the monorail around the resort loop, maybe even switch to the Epcot loop, too. Have dinner at Downtown Disney (Earl of Sandwich is great) and get to bed early. Whatever you decide, have fun and enjoy it!

 

[pooh2001]

Lots of choices- but depends on your family ,tickets and your resort.

#1 item to do
Make an ADR for a character or fun dinner -
Chef Mickeys @ CR
1900 Park Fair @ GF
Whispering Canyon Cafe @ WL
Hoop Dee Do @ Ft. Wildnerness
If you have been traveling since 4 am to get to WDW - do an early dinner around 5 PM.

#2 item to do
Let the resort store your luggage (bring a change of clothes, if needed and change at the resort bathroom before storing all the luggage)



If you do NOT want to use a Park ticket day and you are not tired
- You can rent a boat at some resorts, you can play mini golf, explore DTD, ride a bike on the Boardwalk, go to the petting zoo at Ft. Wilderness.

If you can use a Park ticket and you are not tired
- Go to EPCOT. Explore the countires. Let the kids get a 'passport' and do some kid stops. Let the adults savor the foods and gift shops of the countries. Amercia has food for kids (counter service).
Germany has pretzles and hot dogs (counter service).
Save MK for the next day (full day - do early entry if it is available)

If do not want to use a park ticket and are tired
- explore the resort, eat lunch at the resort counter service. let the kids play in the pool, check with the front desk to see when the room will be ready, take naps and then go out to a character fun dinner.


I hope I did not ramble too much. Enjoy !

 

[phisigprincess]

I agree with the PPs. At that point, I would either go to one of the resorts for dinner or go to Downtown Disney. That will keep it relaxed, but still entertaining for everyone.

 

[Praying Colonel]

We were in your shoes in August and went to Epcot, for a couple of reasons: first, TourGuide Mike and the Unofficial Guide recommended Epcot for that date (BTW, UG's crowd calendar says that your arrival day's a good day for Epcot, too), and second, Epcot gives you a lot of flexibility. If you're tired from your trip and want to be more laid-back, you can just hang out in WS and do some browsing and shopping, then hit one of their restaurants for dinner and catch Illuminations. If you want to experience some attractions, a lot of the early-arrival crowd should be in WS by the time you get there and FW attractions should be doable.

Have fun!

 

[holcomb-mania]

We're doing this in Dec and hitting WDW around 11am. My plan is to hit MK to activate our APs, get Photopass started, and actually visit MK in daylight since our short trip won't allow it any other time (MVMCP is happening, though). Maaaaaaaaybe squeeze in a ride or two, if possible.

We may do CS for lunch at MK, but we'll leave there and either resort hop to see the Christmas decorations, or go to Epcot. Or both. I'm trying to build in some flexibility.

Then back to Poly to maybe swim and relax before our 7pm ADR at WCC. Pummeling of the skillet will then ensue.

 

[dixiedizfan]

Check into your room, unpack, tour the resort, swim in the pool. Head to Chef Mickeys for dinner, then ride the monorail around for awhile. Back to your room early enough for the kids to wind down and get to bed, so as to be ready for an early start the next day.

 

[saschab]

We're coming in the same day and hitting DTD, although mostly because we won't be in until a few hours later than you.

See ya there!

 

[tinkersmama]

Well, we will be checking in on Saturday November 4th around 12 or so, after check in and settling down, I would guess it would be around 1 or 1:30.

What would you DIS pros recommend my party of me, wife, mother in-law and two boys, 5 and 2, do?

I consider this a day almost a toss up because we still have 7 more days in Disney. Should I do MK, Epcot, MGM, AK or one of the water parks? I mean, I know it's a Saturday and there will be crowds regadless of what park I go to, just looking for some ideas?

Your 5 year old if probably going to be dying to see Mickey. So, I would do dinner at Chef Mickey's the first day. I probably wouldn't go into the parks on that day, just because a lot of the "good" touring time is first thing in the morning, and most people show up around 10-11 am. So the lines will probably still be pretty long. Also, (just thinking about my own daughter here) your kids will probably be ready for a nap about the time that you get settled. What do your kids enjoy? Do they love animals, then I would go to Ft. Wilderness's petting zoo and see the horses. If the weather is good, I would take a dip in the pool.

 

[DisneyDad in PA]

Our approach was to get settled in the room and then headed to MK. We took our time and didn't rush anywhere. We just rode Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mtn and then got a bite to eat. Then took in the Spectromagic Parade and Wishes that night.

It was a nice start to the vacation.

 

[01Sweetpea]

We were in the same boat as you...arrive around noon and trying to decide what to do...although my kids are 13,11,11 so they would be raring to go somewhere.

At first we were going to hang around the Poly relax and swim. Then thought maybe DTD for the afternoon.

In the end, it was the ONLY day I could get an ADR for LeCellier...so we are going to Epcot! Hopefully we can get Soarin, TT and MS done that day, and see IllumiNations in the evening.

The only other Epcot day we have planned in the Friday after Thanskgiving, and I'm sure it'll be very busy that day.

 

[Caitsmama]

We are somewhat in the same situation. We will be arriving at our resort on Sunday 11/19 about 12noon.. I hate paying for a whole day at the parks and just going for a few hrs... since we also have 5:50pm dinner ADR's at our hotel (Cape May Cafe). I was thinking we will probably just hang out and go swimming and walk over to the boardwalk or something..
I also DON'T want to do DTD on the first day, cuz i will end up broke!! LOL I am saving that for the day after TG .. no where else i would rather be shopping on Black Friday! LOL

 

[kparc]

This is what we do! We usually arrive about the time you will and we have always been able to get into our room at that time ( we go during the summer months). We usually head straight to a convenient park ( MK when we stayed at Fort Wilderness/ Epcot when we stayed at Coronado Springs). We grab a late lunch or snack and just wonder around and soak in the atmosphere. We'll meet characters and hop on rides that don't have a long wait. We usually head back to the resort in the late afternoon and take a swim if our luggage has arrived and grab dinner by the pool. Or we head to MGM , see the evening parade, grab a light dinner, or ride uncrowded rides if time. Then we go to see Fantasmic! ( great way to officially start trip) We usually get alot done during that half day at least in the summer when the parks are open later!

 

[mousebit]

We like to hang out around the resort a little, have a light counter service lunch, shop in the gift shop, maybe even a swim if it's warm. Then it's off to a fun dinner &/or show to kick off our Disney vacation - Whispering Canyon, Hoop Dee Doo or Chef Mickey's.

 

[mickeysgirl17]

There's lots of stuff you can do. Hit the parks, go to downtown disney and have lunch, then maybe nap before a late dinner, explore your resort until dinner, go to a dinner show or cirque du soleil (if you don't mind the extra expense). Go to the parks at night just and see the parade or fireworks. I'm going to go to AK until closing at 5pm, then nap in my room until dinner at Chef Mickeys at 9pm. You could also check out the boardwalk or the other resorts. Hope this helps!

 

[Bill From PA]

I wouldn't burn a park day that starts as late as yours. We're arriving at Boardwalk around 2 pm next Feb. 28 and our plan is to stroll the boards, hit the ESPN Club , the BellVue Lounge and Big River Brew Co that afternoon and PI that night. That way we get immersed in Disney Stuff right away and still have full days to use our Hopper Passes on.

Bill From PA

 

[01Sweetpea]

The OP said he is going to be there for 8 days...including his arrival day. The price difference between a 7 day park hopper & a 8 day park hopper is $2!...Yep...$2!

For $10 the OP and his family could go to any park, even if it is just for a few hours.

My vote...go to a park.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

Oh, the dilemma...

Personally, I wouldn't get my heart set on anything in particular - like making ADR's for your favorite place. You never know, flights can be delayed, traffic jams, etc.

On our last trip, we had early morning flights and we thought we'd be there early enough to hit a park. We were, but none of us had slept much. Also, the ME bus took onger than we thought, since our resort was the last stop. The kids who were with us had never been before and were excited with the idea of hitting our resort pool as soon as they saw it. In retrospect, we should have stuck with their idea. On the flip side, these kids only had five full days, and we had six day tickets, so we encouraged them to go to MK. We gave the kids their choice, and in the end they decided to go to the park.

I can't say it went badly, but we were only able to hit a few things before we had leave for our dinner ADR- and after dinner we were all too tired. Their first view of the castle was priceless, but in retrospect, the kids would have been quite happy just taking things in slowly and hitting the pool. These are kids who LOVE swimming.

On other trips we've gone to DTD. Another great area to explore that first day is the Boardwalk/Swan/Dolphin area. It depends where you are staying. any of the resorts/resort areas can be a nice starting point that first day. Committing to hitting a park that first day, is too much. A relaxing lunch is a good idea. If you get there early, and feel up to hitting a park, then do, but committing to it is too much.

Another good idea for the first day, if you have a car, is to take your time getting to WDW. A drive down I-Drive is great. Just driving around Orlando, taking in the idea of being there is great, too.