Help: What can we do the 1st Night?

[lowepg]

We will be arriving at Wilderness Lodge about 5PM this coming Saturday. I'm in a quandry for what we can do with our little ones (4 and 5 yrs old) since we will NOT be going into the themeparks until the next morning?

I tried booking a character dinner at Chef Mickey's but the earliest available is 9:10PM. Also tried for a sleigh ride (which I found out about far too late) and they were all booked...

This is their first trip to Disney and I want to do something fun!

We will not have a car if that factors in to the options...

Thanks!!!

 

[ironz]

What about the movie/campfire at Fort Wilderness?? See the Camping forum for details on what movie and maybe more info...haven't done that myself.

Or, just chill, swim a little, get some food, and rest up for the first big day in the parks!!!

 

[tarheelmjfan]

Hop the boat to Fort Wilderness. You can eat the buffet at Trails End or order a pizza to go and eat it on the porch. There's a playground between the marina & Trails End. There's also a petting zoo. Catch the campfire sing-a-long, & movies. Chip and Dale are at the sing-a-long, and you can purchase kits to roast marshmallows or make S'mores. This starts at 7pm. At 7:40 they will be showing "Home on the Range", then at 9:15 they're showing "Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas". The campfire & movies are free. If you would prefer you can go to the marina and watch the Electrical Water Pageant at 9:45pm, from the beach. After that, you can catch Wishes. This could be a wonderful beginning to your trip. Have a great time!

ironz,
You type faster than I do. I forgot to mention that the campfire & movie are at the Meadow's Trading Post. You can catch an internal bus there. The bus stop is on the far left of Trails End.

 

[ironz]

tarheel....maybe not typing faster...you gave way more info!!!
Thanks...

 

[Luigi's Girl]

You could just eat dinner at The Whispering Canyon Cafe(be sure to ask for ketchup) and then take a dip in the pool. By then you would probably want to get to bed and rest up for your first day at the parks.

 

[Aimeedyan]

*I* would take the bus down to Downtown Disney, have dinner at Rainforest or someplace equally exciting, and SHOP! Downtown Disney is a great place to start a Disney vacation, with lots of Disney merchandise, LegoWorld, boat ride to the West Side, a movie theater, Disney Quest, etc. PLENTY to do = mostly free! You could get a ice cream at Ghiradelli, too!

That's how we start our trip =)

 

[aubriee]

Take them to Beaches and Creme and tell them you're starting the vacation off right. You're letting them have ice cream for supper, the only catch is they have to eat it all (then surprise them with a Kitchen Sink). Afterwards take walk on the Boardwalk watching the peformers and maybe rent a four wheel surrey bike.

 

[lowepg]

Thanks- I guess I saw DD as mostly shopping- which isn't really going to excite a 4 and 5 yr old ready for DISNEY!

It sounds like there's a lot more to do...

*I* would take the bus down to Downtown Disney, have dinner at Rainforest or someplace equally exciting, and SHOP! Downtown Disney is a great place to start a Disney vacation, with lots of Disney merchandise, LegoWorld, boat ride to the West Side, a movie theater, Disney Quest, etc. PLENTY to do = mostly free! You could get a ice cream at Ghiradelli, too!

That's how we start our trip =)

 

[SyracuseWolvrine]

Take them to Beaches and Creme and tell them you're starting the vacation off right. You're letting them have ice cream for supper, the only catch is they have to eat it all (then surprise them with a Kitchen Sink). Afterwards take walk on the Boardwalk watching the peformers and maybe rent a four wheel surrey bike.

Ooh, I like that idea ... I'm going to try and have to remember it for when I have kids of my own.

 

[Stiff]

on our first night last may, we went to ohanas for dinner

my 4 YO loved it, it has a festive spirit...and if you time it right, you can stroll out to the beach to watch the water parade

 

[mjmcca]

Our first night back in October we went to Boma for dinner. It was good nothing special for kids, that changed however when we walked through the resort after dinner. We went to the areas you can see the animals they really loved this. We got to hear the story at the firepit. They were playing cartoons on a TV in the lobby. My kids were in heaven. They are 4 and 2 and a half.

 

[DBC]

Funny, we have the same issue in March. We ended up booking an Illuminations cruise for that night.

You may want to try and hook up with someone that has open space on their boat in the December cruise thread.

 

[WDW LOVR]

I would agree with the posters who say go to Ft Wilderness. With young children it's a really great place and the Campfire and Movie are a blast. What could be better to your kids than some quality time with Chip and Dale the first night you're there?

 

[crisi]

We are always so exhausted from our travel day that we end up taking it easy - regardless of our "great plans." We generally get in about 1:00 and eat - a big snack. Then, assuming warm weather, swim for the afternoon. We try and schedule something for an early big dinner - personally, Chef Mickey's would be a difficult choice as once my kids see the castle (which isn't viewable from WL) its all over and they want to know why we aren't in the parks. (Ohana has the same problem). So, unless we WANT to go into the MK, we avoid anyplace from which you can see the castle. But WC and Boma are good choices (we have a RFC at home, so don't bother with that at Disney). Then we are all in bed by 9:00, exhausted from our long day of sitting around (we get up at 4:30 to make a flight).

 

[Minnie824]

How about try to get dinner at Ohana at the Polynesian, then take a monorail ride around? We're going next year for the girls first time (age 4 and 1.5 then) and we're going to go to Chef Mickey's then do the monorail ride...for them I think that will be exciting, not having been to the parks before. Or, as someone else said, eat at Beaches and Cream or even the Spoodles take out window (good pizza if its still there) and hang around the Boardwalk.

 

[Princess Tink]

We're planning on going swimming then doing the Hoop De Doo Musical Revue.

 

[middlega]

I don't think I've got any suggestions that haven't been mentioned already, but having been through the same situation more than once, I'll add my endorsement of a few of the ideas FWIW.

1) Make it movie night at DD. We've done that 2-3 times & it's been so successful that my 6 y/o now seems kinda disappointed when we don't manage to work at least one movie into the trip. This is a good time of year for it too, with The Incredibles, and Polar Express both among the kiddie currents.

2) My disappointment with our upcoming (12/18-12/20) trip is not being able to fit a meal at Ohana into the schedule. It's just a fun experience, the food is good, there's something for just about everybody among the selections. One of the best dining experiences I've had at WDW.

 

[kaybird]

I second the Campfire, always a big favorite, but if that doesn't do it, you could also go to the Boardwalk, have Ice Cream, and watch the entertainers. Lots of fun!!