First-timer needs advice about planning first day

[TerriGW]

I'm planning my family's first trip to Disney. Our trip is just a couple weeks away and I'm starting to get down to the details. Right now I'm working out the logistics of our first day and I have some questions.

We (me, DH, DS7, DD5, and DD2) are driving down from Ohio. My mother is flying down. Her flight arrives at MCO at 10:25 a.m. We plan to drive most of the way the day before, spend the night en route, then drive the last few hours and arrive approximately the same time as my mother. We are staying in a Ft. Wilderness cabin. If I understand it correctly, the Magical Express will take my mother to Ft. Wilderness where we can pick up our park passes. So my first question is, if her plane lands on time at 10:25 a.m., about what time will she arrive at Ft. Wilderness?

Then for the rest of the day: My plan is to visit Epcot the first day (hoping the kids will enjoy it more if they visit it before MK). I was planning on doing only the World Showcase on Day 1 because I have another morning later in the trip allocated for Future World. Since check-in isn't until 8 pm, we'll plan to go to the park when we arrive, then come back later and check-in. We'd like to stay for Illuminations and would prefer to have already checked in before we get back at night. So the two options are to check in before or after dinner. We have ADR's at Le Cellier at 5:30 p.m. If we planned to check in after dinner, would we have enough time to go around the World Showcase (starting with Mexico) and end up in Canada at 5:30? If so, would we have enough time after dinner to go back to Ft. Wilderness, check in, and make it back to Epcot in time for Illuminations at 9? The other option would be to start going around World Showcase, leave at some point (there are boats, right?), go back to Ft. Wilderness to check in, have dinner at Le Cellier, then finish going around World Showcase before Illuminations. Which one makes more sense?

Lastly, I have a question about transportation. We will have our own car since we are driving down. Is driving the best way to get to Epcot from Ft. Wilderness? There are no boat launches from Ft. Wilderness to Epcot, right? So we can't use the back entrance, right?

Thank you in advance for your help. I really want to make the most of this trip and want to have a good plan before we arrive. (And the Touring Plans website didn't have a plan called Epcot World Showcase with Small Children and Grandma, Leaving in the Middle to Check into Your Hotel. )

 

[Lora]

Others may be able to better answer your transportation questions for you, but , in general, it looks like a lot of back and forth to me. You can either take a bus to Epcot or drive. Since you have a car, you may find driving easier. Again - look for more experienced Wilderness Cabin DISers to anser that. I do know that, as you thought, the water access to the back entrance of Epcot is only from the Epcot resorts and Disney Studios. Maybe someone can say whether a boat to TTC and then monorail to Epcot would work.

You said check-in wasn't until 8pm. I'm assuming that's an error and that you meant 3 or 4 pm?? I would check in as early as possible and then take the rest of the afternoon/evening in Epcot. If you have a few hours free before check-in, then you may find it worthwhile to go back for your check-in. Count on a couple hours for check-in and back and forth travel time. You may have to change your direction around WS a bit if you want to be in Canada at 5:30. We usually cover WS over more than one evening because it's so much walking, etc. Depending on the length of your entire trip and the things you want to see in WS, one afternoon/evening could be enough.

 

[erikthewise]

You don't say what day of the week you're arriving or how long you plan to stay. You can check in when you arrive, even if your cabin is not yet ready. Going back between dinner and Illuminations is possible with a car, but I would not recommend it. It might work if only DH did it.

Only you know your children, but I would caution against planning to stay for Illuminations on your arrival day with such young children. Sounds like they're going to be getting up early that day, and travel can be very tiring. If they actually get through dinner without a breakdown, I would be grateful.

Since you're staying at Fort Wilderness, a good alternative is to go to MK anyway the first day. September is slow enough that it shouldn't be too crowded. The boat ride from FW to MK is quick and fun in itself. Stay as long as it's fun, grab some dinner at MK, and head back when it stops being fun.

If you're there for a week or more, this will work fine. If you're only there for a few days, you may be tempted to try and do everything. That's a recipe for a miserable trip.

 

[DaisyLou2]

I agree...that's a busy day for the kids after a long drive.
Maybe just relax in your cabin (if it's ready) and catch your breath for a couple of hours then head over to Epcot.

 

[DisneyWisher]

Since you're staying at Fort Wilderness, a good alternative is to go to MK anyway the first day. September is slow enough that it shouldn't be too crowded. The boat ride from FW to MK is quick and fun in itself. Stay as long as it's fun, grab some dinner at MK, and head back when it stops being fun.

Since you are having dinner at LeCelliers I would suggest going ahead and going to Epcot.

I have never stayed at FW but have stayed at other resorts a lot. When you arrive at FW go ahead and check in. If you are on a package you will need to check in to get your tickets, plus your Resort parking pass, this will allow you to park at the parks without being charged. You never know your cabin might be ready. Plus why not check out FW til grandma arrives. By checking in early when you come back from the park tired you at least know the cabin is waiting for you.

I suggest reading the following site. Don't forget to read about the reviews, photos and fact sheet. Its also a great site if you want to check out some of the menus.
http://allearsnet.com/acc/faq_fw.htm
Good Luck

 

[TerriGW]

Thanks for the quick responses!

You said check-in wasn't until 8pm. I'm assuming that's an error and that you meant 3 or 4 pm??

Oops, yes that was supposed to say 3 pm.

By checking in early when you come back from the park tired you at least know the cabin is waiting for you.

That's exactly what we're trying to do. We want to be not only checked in, but somewhat unpacked/settled. If the cabin is ready when we get there, great. If not, we need to do something.

You don't say what day of the week you're arriving or how long you plan to stay.

We're arriving on a Sunday (driving all day Saturday). We are doing the dining plan, so I had to make all my ADR's a while back and had to figure out which parks we'd go to each day. Here's the whole plan: Sunday - Epcot World Showcase, dinner at Le Cellier, Illuminations; Monday - Animal Kingdom in the morning, downtime in the afternoon, campfire in the evening; Tuesday - Magic Kingdom, CRT for lunch, LTT for dinner; Wednesday - sleep in, down day, go to my cousin's house for dinner; Thursday - Epcot Future World in the morning, Garden Grill for lunch, DS in the late afternoon and evening, try to catch Fantasmic; Friday - free day to revisit whichever park we want to spend more time at, Hoop Dee Doo for dinner. I've tried to plan it so we have some scheduled downtime and don't totally overdo it. Unless this looks like a really bad plan, I'd prefer not to change days now because I have all the ADR's set up.

 

[jennymouse]

You can check in when you arrive at FW whether you're on a package or not and have that out of the way. If your room isn't ready, they'll give you your key cards and a card with a number to call to find out your room number. You won't have to interrupt your day going back to check in.

I would guess your mother should arrive around noonish.

Epcot WS is a good first day park, and yes, you should be able to get around from Mexico to Canada by 5:30. If not you can skip some countries and go back after dinner.

Have fun!