Go into park on arrival day?

[firefly1010]

Hi -

DS (17) and I are going to WDW for a long weekend at the end of April for my b-day trip. We are arriving on a Wednesday, and leaving on Sunday. Our plane lands around 11:30 at MCO. We are staying at the Contemporary. So, is it worth it to go into the parks by the time we take ME and get to the resort? Or, should we go to DS and/or hang out by the pool? Normally, I hit the parks as soon as I arrive!
Right now, I have our park reservations at HS. Do we need to be in HS at 1 to try to get onto ROTR? Or, since we can walk to MK, should we just go there, if we do go into a park??
That also leads to a question of should I get 3 day or 4 day passes??

TIA!

 

[auntlynne]

Is a half day of Park time worth a full day’s admission? However, If you are doing EPCOT this trip, you would barely miss of the open hours. And it is usually one of the later closing parks.

A lot of people are recommending midday pool breaks after doing the early morning pre-opening arrival at the Parks.

If Rise is a goal, I would save it for another day - and go if you have a BG secured at the 7 am logon.

Have a great parent-son trip.

 

[scrappinginontario]

You can try for a BG at 7am but most likely it would be called before you arrive. You need to have checked into the park by 1pm to try for a BG at that time.

Determining if going to a park is worth it is personal. For us it would be but for others not. You may wish to check park hours for your arrival day and help that guide your decision.

 

[Gehrig1B]

I avoid making vacation decisions based on $$$ now. So often I would return home and lament how many things I failed to do/purchase and for what, to save a few dollars. Reverse buyer’s remorse?

We would hit the parks as soon as we get there, skip checking in and head over to MK while Bell Services takes care of your luggage. For us it is “worth it”.

Definitely save DHS for another day...

 

[Farro]

By the time we normally arrive and are settled at the resort, it's after 1:00.

We always go to a park! Epcot, even just for a couple rides and dinner because it's open until 9. Last trip we went to Epcot just to ride Living With the Land and then hopped over to MK for dinner at Skipper Canteen and to enjoy being there at night!

Next trip we have reservations at DHS for arrival day - no real plans other than to be there and see everything - it's all new to us. If we are lucky, get on some rides in Toy Story Land. But we may hop to Epcot later in the evening...

 

[NickC]

We would check into the room and then walk over to MK. We are rope droppers, so when we get a chance to stroll into a park in the afternoon, we tend to take things a little slower and just enjoy being there.

 

[Forevermarypoppins]

If it was my vacation, based on those times, I would:

Either choose MK because you are literally next door to it
or EPCOT, since that park opens later than the other and you're really not missing much park time.

****BUT, factoring in my decision is the time I had to wake up and travel to WDW. If it's a 3 am alarm to get ready to drive to airport etc, then I'm exhausted no matter what. Taking it easy and getting to bed early would be the game plan for Day 1

 

[gharter]

Do you have any other time planned to do DS? If not, arrival day may be a good choice.
Otherwise, I would walk to MK and enjoy.

 

[DebLovesPooh]

We always go to Disney Springs on the day of arrival with shopping and a dining reservation. We are rope droppers, so late entry is never worth it to us.

 

[JenBush]

If you want to do a park I’d do MK or Epcot like other posters have suggested. I wouldn’t do HS that first day if you want to ride rise. Getting there that late might cause you to miss your boarding group if you get one at 7am.
Usually I don’t do parks on arrival day because if I’m paying for admission I don’t want to pay full price for half a day. I typically spend arrival day at DS, resort hopping, a nice dinner, then an early night so I’m rested for a park the next day.

 

[StuckInKS]

For us, yes. I get passes for every day that we can possibly go, including arrival and departure days if we are staying less than 10 days. I would do MK, just because it is close. However, the expense is more going from a 3 to 4 day pass rather than a 9 to 10 day pass, but for only two passes it might be worth it.