Flying in the day before... What to do?

[luxlvr]

We are planning on flying into MCO the day before our very first cruise. I'm of the mind set that once I step on the plane it's vacation time and we should enjoy every moment. So I've been looking at fun things to do the day before embarking. We have some options but just can't tell if I'm trying too hard here.

Our family includes me, DH, DS 9, DS 7 and DD 5. We are spending 5 nights after our cruise in WDW.

some of the options I have been looking at have been:

1. Go to Legoland. Both DSs LOVE Legos and have asked a number of times to go here. I looked at the website and it looks a little cheesy to me but hey who am I to judge a kids dreams?!

2. One day at Universal. Kids love Harry Potter but have only read the first two books and barely got through the second movie without some serious nightmares. Kind of afraid this will be too much for them and way too much for DD. Height restrictions prohibit the kids from riding a lot of the rides too.

3. One chill day at Disney Springs. We don't have any plans to go there on our trip and I'd love to try Morimoto's new place and my kids love Reglan Road (DH is Irish and even he likes it there!)

4. Take it all down a notch. Stay at a simple hotel the evening before. Order some pizza. Swim in a pool and get ready for the big day of arriving on the ship.

So, my question is what would you do here? Is there anything I'm missing or should try?

Thanks!!

 

[Sarah O.]

Personally, we chilled the night before and it was perfect. We did Disney Springs the day we came back and that was really nice - definitely not stressful and really fun. The folks who do the parks right after disembarking amaze me! I was so totally wiped after the cruise (in a good way) that I was so thankful to not "have" to do anything. A park before could be a fun way to "ramp up" though. Anything will be awesome!

 

[TrySomethingNew]

Depending on your timing and the length of WDW tickets you bought, maybe check out a few things in the parks. Once used, your tickets are good for 14 days (for the number of days you purchased). Adding one more day to a 5 or 6 day ticket would not add to much cost. You could stay later that night depending on your kids temperament since you could sleep in a bit the next morning. Have fun, whatever you end up doing.

 

[luxlvr]

Depending on your timing and the length of WDW tickets you bought, maybe check out a few things in the parks. Once used, your tickets are good for 14 days (for the number of days you purchased). Adding one more day to a 5 or 6 day ticket would not add to much cost. You could stay later that night depending on your kids temperament since you could sleep in a bit the next morning. Have fun, whatever you end up doing.

That's a great idea! We just happen to have an extra day on our tickets too!!

 

[mevelandry]

I'd go for 50-50 with Disney Springs: you chill at the pool until dinner time. Dine at Raglan Road.

 

[RedSox68]

Since our vacations never include sitting around the pool relaxing, we tend to pack in as much as we can with every spare minute. We've done Universal for a day simply because their one-day tickets are cheaper than Disney and you can pretty much get your money's worth between the parks as there is not as much ground to cover as at Disney and you don't have to decide on which park to see as they are both walkable and a park-to-park pass allowed you in both. Besides Harry Potter, they also have a Minion section and ride based on Despicable me and the characters come out several times a day on floats and come down for pictures. They also had (not sure if they still do) a Sponge Bob float and musical that does the same thing. The whole Seussland is great for younger kids (and older LOL), and once a day in the hero section Marvel characters and super heroes come out for pictures and autographs.

On the other hand, many friends with young children loved Legoland, too.

 

[GatorMomInNC]

Your kids are a great age for Legoland, you can usually find deals that make it fairly inexpensive, and although it would be cramming in a lot in one day, you have the whole cruise to relax.

If your not up for that, I would hang at Disney Springs, maybe play miniature golf at one of the fancy courses in Orlando.

 

[MUN]

We have stayed at a hotel in PC and gone to the beach. We love Coco Beach.