First night plans after check in question....

[kerry34]

We are planning on staying at the Poly in December. I was thinking about going to Trails End over at FW for dinner and maybe letting the kids do the campfire thing and possibly the movie afterward. Has anyone done this before? I dont want to overwhelm the kids on the first night there, but I thought it would be a fun start to our trip. I was also wondering if there are any boats that go from the Poly to FW or would we need to drive over? Thanks.

 

[MissionMouse]

It's your first time staying on site you might consider doing things around the Polynesian Resort especially if this has already been along day getting to WDW (i.e., arcade, Luau, tropical drinks, pool, fireworks, electric light pageant 9pm, etc.)

The yacht goes to the Magic Kingdom then to the Grand Floridian then back to the Polynesian Resort in one direction only.

Deb's site reports the Fort Wilderness (Hoop Dee Doo) can be reached by taking a launch from the Contemporary's marina which is located on the Bay Lake side of the resort.

So it sounds like you could take the monorail to the CR then a boat to FW but you may want to research further to see if this is valid information or if this information lacks detail like hours of operation.

 

[JrsyDebs]

On my first night of vacation, our family will be having dinner at Chef Mickey's.
I was thrilled that my DH said yes to the suggestion that we book this dinner, but I really think he may have agreed just to shut me up, LOL!!

I figure, we have to eat anyway, so why not a buffet? And to see The Mouse and his friends will be a good way to feel that we are really there (at WDW) at last!

Dinner and exploring the resort community and our lodgings will pretty much fill up our first day, and if this is your first time at Poly, I would imagine this might just be the best things to do with your kids, too; then they will be used to the place before they have to go to sleep there...

 

[the kabuki]

What time do you arrive on your first day? If it's in the early morning, you may want to consider a park. Late afternoon/evening, I'd probably take the monorail over to CR and do Chef Mickey's , then head back to the POLY for some exploration, swimming, maybe even watching the fireworks from the beach.

 

[Hugpug]

This is a great way to spend your first night. You can monorail over to CS and take the boat to FW. Trails End is a great place to eat. You may want to skip the movie as the last boat back to CS is 10PM I believe. The camp fire is real nice. Iy may be to cold to sit through the movie.

 

[nluvwithmickey]

We ate at Trails End and went to te campfire during our vacation this past July. We left from MK and took the launch that drops guests off to WL and FT wilderness.

The buffet is good and the campfire is lots of fun.....Nice way to start a vacation. Ft Wilderness has a charm that makes you forget where you are...until you see the Chipmunks appear and you start singing Disney tunes around a campfire!!!

My kids just loved it!

 

[Brina]

We are also going to ft wilderness our first night - for the backyard bbq

 

[kerry34]

Thanks for the info. We should be arriving in the world around 330pm, so we should have enough time to settle in before dinner. If we do decide to do Trails End, I think we will forgo the movie and just do the camfire and then head back to the hotel. I cannot make ADR's for another 3 1/2 wks, so I have some time to figure it out. Thanks for all the info everyone.

 

[jann1033]

i think the campfire is a great idea..it's really fun ( they had a sing along with Chip and dale once when we were there, last time we were late so not sure if that still takes place) they also have hayrides at FW that are fun. you can take the mono to the contem and get boat there to FW


edited cause oops...sorry! guess i should have read the thread before i posted so i second the above ideas!

 

[ZIPBAGS]

We arrive at the WL around 3pm this Thursday. We have reservations at the Rainforest Cafe in DTD for that night.

 

[erinz]

I think it's a wonderful idea!

But have a back up plan just incase it rains.

 

[WDW1st-timers]

We should be arriving around 12 *noon* and we prob. can't check in yet; so we will either go to downtown disney or we will stcik around the resort and check it out and do some swimming and then after we are checked into the room we have the rest of the time upto around 8 to do whatever. We have to leave at 8 to be at the HDDR for 9:00 for our first night. I think that should get us in the disney spirit.