first night in disney...

[Mommyof2]

hello all,
I recently was able to add two nights onto our October trip, meaning we will be there for 9 nights! We are getting into Orlando around 4:30 on Fri afternoon, due to the fact that my daughter has nursery school in the morning, and my DH wants to work half a day. Our problem is trying to figure out what to do on the first night. We don't want to do to much, since I know everyone will be exhausted...but here are the 3 ideas we are considering so far...
- going to dinner at Spoodles or ESPN Zone, walking around the Boardwalk, than watching Illuminations
- dinner at Crystal Palace or Liberty Tree Tavern, than watching Spectromagic & Wishes
OR
- swimming, dinner at Ohana (we are staying at the Poly), and than watching the Electrical Water Pagent from the beach.

We really want our DD, 3, to have a magical trip, and we dont want to wear her out our first night! DH wants to go swimming and than get room service pizza and just hang out in our room. Do you guys have any suggestions?

Thanks!
Christine

 

[pinkdiamonds1007]

So, yeah for your trip! You guys are going to have so much fun!
I opt for swimming and dinner at Ohana. Then just go back and go to sleep! Get rested up for your full week ahead.

Have a great time!

 

[cwnhokie]

I thought my DS4 would want to see characters as soon as we got there, so I booked Chef Mickeys for our first night. Well as soon as we got off the plane he asked where the characters were. But once we checked in, we had to take him kicking and screaming from the pool and resort. Of course once we got to Chef Mickeys he was pretty happy about that too. We rode the monorail loop, had late PS at Chef Mickeys and then watched Wishes from the Contemporary. Your DH may have the right idea though. Have fun whatever you decide!

 

[shellynn24]

I like going to the Boardwalk on the first night. I just LOVE it there! The atmospere of the place just makes me think, ahhhh, I'm in WDW. We do not go to EPCOT though, we eat, walk around (by walk around I mean shop!) and then head back to the hotel for some swimming or sleeping depending on the mood of the kids. This time we are going to try ESPN Club, I think DH will like it.

 

[ash&abby'smom]

We did Chef Mickey's our first night. My 2 dd's loved it. It put everyone in the mood and we went to bed after that. Whatever you decide, it will be fine.

 

[Mommyof2]

thanks everyone! DH is now wanting to do the boardwalk our first night, so we will just pray that DD naps on the plane. Thanks for all the advice!

 

[MickeyMacks]

We rode the monorail loop, had late PS at Chef Mickeys and then watched Wishes from the Contemporary. Your DH may have the right idea though. Have fun whatever you decide!

I have a late dinner at Ohana and a monorail ride planned for my DS8, but we're arriving shortly after lunch and most of the afternoon will be spent at the resort and pool. I agree with your DH that just relaxing at the resort, swimming and turning in early may be the best bet with a 3 year old. Maybe eating at a resort restaurant or riding the monorail if she's not too tired or overwhelmed.

I definitely don't recommend trying to go into Magic Kingdom the first night to eat - that's too much stimulation for a tired child. It may be asking too much from an excited preschooler to eat at a restaurant and then only have a short time in Magic Kingdom before having to leave. That's one meltdown you can avoid!

Whatever you decide, and you know your child's limitations best, have a great first day at WDW and a wonderful trip!

 

[lillygator]

I like the pool and pizza idea...you can get to know your resort....walk around and relax....sometime's when Ohana's is busy it is really loud and can be quite a lot for a littel one especially when traveling all day...
last month our first night ps was Ohana's and we were a little slow getting there so we had to rush and we were all tired and DD 2 1/2 probably would have done better had we just stayed in our room or ordered take out the first night.

 

[rt2dz]

When we were there recently we spent the day at the resort (did stop by Epcot guest relations to pick up our DDE card), then had dinner at Chef Mickey's and went to MK afterwards were we rode 2 rides & saw Spectromagic. It was a perfect beginning for us. The kids (4 and then 15 months) thought it was a great start too. However, I do like the boardwalk idea an awful lot.

 

[Karalynn]

Do you need to make reservations for Chef Mickey's?

 

[newholidayx2]

yes - especially now with the MYW dining