First night MUST dos

[Victoriapeluso]

Hey! Coming down for my 40th This fall and also our 10th ani! YAY

We consider our anniversary our family birthday so we are coming with the kids.

We are DVC members and go a few times a year these days but now thats we consider ourself disney family, I was wondering what were everyone else's MUST do's for their first night on property?

We are staying at OKW if that makes a difference but we are VERY excited! The count down is ON

 

[goNsoon2WDW]

Congratulations on your birthday and anniversary. I am sure you'll have a magical trip celebrating.

Our first day must do's depend on the trip (length, type, who is joining us,...).
It's nice to start slow and not jump right in to the parks. We've done that in the past but we find it better to ease into things.
Here are a couple of thoughts from my perspective.

• Grab groceries (breakfast items, snacks, beverages, general items)
• Unpack and set things up to our liking so we can be comfortable the rest of the trip. It's nice to prep the room and items for our first day in the parks so we have a smooth start in the morning
• Take a relaxing walk around the resort or DS
• Grab dinner at DS (a few of our favorites are Enzo's, Jaleo, and the Boathouse) or one of the resorts (Steakhouse 71 or Yachtsman)

Looking forward to see what others do on their first evening.

 

[Lewisc]

OKW Take the boat to DS..Book dinner through Open Table. Pick a restaurant without a last minute cancelation fee. Your arrival might be delayed. A family member might be beat

 

[Forevermarypoppins]

#1 what time did I have to wake up just to "travel via airline" to get to WDW
#2 Is there a big event that only happens on my arrival night
#3 how long is my trip going to be
#4 am I getting up early (again) on my first morning's stay
# do I have a rental this trip

My answer: Every single visit has had a different occurrence

 

[NYCgrrl]

Normally our first night is spent at/or near whatever resort we’re staying at but with the current benefit of a free water park visit on day one, we’ll eat at Disney Springs as it’s close by. Currently, I’m thinking either Polite Pig or Paddlefish; apt to change between now and the end of July.

 

[Victoriapeluso]

I guess Im asking more about tradition for your family- we are driving down and staying for 8 days

 

[fla4fun]

If I am arriving late in the day, say, after five, I unload the car, get dinner at the resort, go back and unpack so I am ready to hit the ground running the next day.

If I am arriving in the afternoon, say, between two and five, I unload the car, go to DS for dinner and a little shopping, and then go back to the resort to unpack and have an early night so I am ready for an early start the next day.

 

[holden]

We always drop bags and go straight to a park!

 

[MabelM]

For us, it really depends on when we arrive. Since we buy multi day hoppers, we get a ticket for the day we arrive if we’ll have a few hours. When we took our kids when they were 4 and 6, we arrive at the Contemporary around 5 and walked straight to the Magic Kingdom before our bags arrived. The thought was to ride a few rides and have dinner. On our last trip, we arrived so late that we dove straight into bed. The next morning we got up and did a grocery run before we returned our rental car. The trip before we were able to do a grocery run the night we landed, but it was too late for the parks. We try to figure out what makes the most logistical sense for our family to make the rest of the trip run smoothly. The biggest tradition my kids have is getting a popcorn bucket and breakfast at Chef Mickey’s. Those are there favorites. Otherwise every trip looks a bit different.

 

[Victoriapeluso]

For us, it really depends on when we arrive. Since we buy multi day hoppers, we get a ticket for the day we arrive if we’ll have a few hours. When we took our kids when they were 4 and 6, we arrive at the Contemporary around 5 and walked straight to the Magic Kingdom before our bags arrived. The thought was to ride a few rides and have dinner. On our last trip, we arrived so late that we dove straight into bed. The next morning we got up and did a grocery run before we returned our rental car. The trip before we were able to do a grocery run the night we landed, but it was too late for the parks. We try to figure out what makes the most logistical sense for our family to make the rest of the trip run smoothly. The biggest tradition my kids have is getting a popcorn bucket and breakfast at Chef Mickey’s. Those are there favorites. Otherwise every trip looks a bit different.

do you usually stay at the contemporary?

 

[japanese maple]

Normally we go to the parks nearest the hotel we are staying at - Beach Club, we go to Epcot. Poly we go to MK, etc.
This time we are supposed to arrive at hotel around 6-7, so we didn't purchase a hopper for that day.

So we are trying Boardwalk for the first time. Hopefully our room will be ready, drop off our stuff, buy refillable mugs and snacks/wine for the room.
Then go to Cake Bake to get an iced coffee (maybe a small dessert for room).
Hop on the Friendship boats to take ride around Crescent Lake (just stay on boat for all the stops).
Then I think we are going to hit a lounge in the area for a dinner, whichever one has shortest wait.
Then probably a glass of wine at hotel, then to bed to start the next day!

At least that's the plan.

 

[2xcited2sleep]

We typically stay in the EPCOT resort area and the first stop is generally the France pavilion for a welcome to vacation toast.

 

[hardcorestitch]

Hey! Coming down for my 40th This fall and also our 10th ani! YAY

We consider our anniversary our family birthday so we are coming with the kids.

We are DVC members and go a few times a year these days but now thats we consider ourself disney family, I was wondering what were everyone else's MUST do's for their first night on property?

We are staying at OKW if that makes a difference but we are VERY excited! The count down is ON

I went to Disney Springs on my first night on property. A bit less stressful to just grab a quick dinner there and even browse the stores as well for Disney merch and that first taste of Disney. Earl of Sandwich and D-Luxe are my top picks for that night.

 

[NYCgrrl]

(maybe a small dessert for room).

It will be pretty large

 

[SKYYCAMEL]

We usually stop by Walmart on the way for supplies. Then we head to the resort. Smiling big as we drive under the welcome sign. Then we settle in…unpack…and head to Disney Springs for dinner.

 

[Brian Noble]

I was wondering what were everyone else's MUST do's for their first night on property?

We keep it very casual and unplanned, because I have no idea what kind of travel day we'll have. Some arrival days we are raring to go; others we need to retreat somewhere quiet.

Since you are staying at OKW, one of my favorite arrival days was: We got to OKW, and it was POURING. We had planned to go straight to a park (probably Epcot;' that's often our arrival-day spot) but decided to call an audible and sit down for lunch at Olivia's. The kids were smallish, so that's something we didn't do often.

It was LOVELY. To the point that now Olivia's is our go-to place when we need a break and to reset the trip. It works every time!

 

[liquid17]

We've done many different things! On our first trip, we had dinner at the castle (this was before they had Princesses at all of the meals). We were seated next to the window and they dimmed the lights/piped in the music for the fireworks. Not the best view, but a perfect first night experience for our crew!

We've done 'Ohana, Shutters (the old CBR restaurant that we adored), and The Edison If we weren't doing a park. If we were getting in early enough to do a park, we went to The Liberty Tree and sKipper Canteen.

All wonderful experiences!

 

[MabelM]

do you usually stay at the contemporary?

We recently have been staying in the Epcot area because my kids love Hollywood Studios and we like being able to walk there, especially in the mornings.

 

[nikmasteed]

Hoop dee Doo is our first day tradition, after settling into the resort and soaking in the Disney bubble. The show always gets things kicked off in fun fashion for us!

 

[glocon]

We always drop bags and go straight to a park!

Us too!

We always plan a morning arrival just for that reason.

Either a super early flight arriving around 9-10am or if we drive, we stay in ocala or a DS resort to get to WDW in the morning…. Specifically so we can go to a park!