Help with arrival day

[Ilovemyprincesses]

I am taking my 2 girls and my mom to Disney in Sept . My girls will be 2 and 4 and we are flying. I really want to go to 1900 park fare for dinner but my mom says after traveling all day and being on the plane I should just let them hang by the pool. I can't fit park fare in any other day. I don't have the flight info yet so I am not sure what time we will get to WDW but I am thinking if we check in around 3 and play a bit and I make a 5:30 ADR they could still swim after dinner. Help! They have never been on a plane or a vacation so it is a big deal.

 

[Kim1964]

It really depends on how early your flights are. We get up at 4:00 am for ours, so our 1st day is a non-park, hang by the pool kind of day. We do an early dinner at the hotel and go to bed early. My kids are 10 and 4. I don't book anything really special for that night because I don't want overtired, cranky kids not enjoying it.....and a DH who's cranky about paying for it when it isn't being enjoyed.

That said, you know your children better than anyone else does, so do what feels right.

 

[mericletwins]

You could do one of two things here. First I say definitely book the ADR becuase you can always cancel it. Then decide whether you want an early ADR, say 5:00 and then pool and early bed. Or whether they will nap as soon as you can check into the room and do a little later ADR, like 6:30 or 7:00.

If you really want to do the restaurant I say go for it.

 

[susykt4]

If you have time for other character meals on other days it would probably be best to take it really easy on travel day. We went in 2005 when our kids were 4 and 2 and all the excitement of the plane trip really wiped them out. Also, it is really fun to explore your resort. Unless you're already staying at GF I'd skip it. If you're staying there, ya gotta eat somewhere... If not, it will be stressful enough just moving into your room without worrying about getting to a restaurant by x time.

I just thought of this- DS (2 at the time) was scared of characters (especially face characters like the princesses) for a while. By the time we did the Norway princess lunch on our 3rd or 4th day he loved it and had a great time. I don't think we would have even gotten him in any pictures with the princesses on the first day of our trip.

 

[solgent]

I say Less is More. You're travelling with young children. Getting to airport, flight, getting to hotel are exciting and stressful. The pool will be relaxing and fun. If you try to pile on more thrills like a character meal at a noisy and visually stimulating restaurant, you can end up overloading the kids. Another poster recommended making the ADR in case, but you won't know that you've crossed the line until you've crossed it. The kids might seem fine and then melt down at the restaurant. I say keep it simple the first day, you want everyone rested and cheerful to enjoy the trip to the fullest.

1900 Park Fare will still be there another time when you go.

 

[disneyfan2]

if you arrive enough time to get a rest or nap in, leave a relaxing day, but IMHO at least fit in the dinner. The kids will be so excited and pumped, that at least they have something to look forward to in the day, otherwise try to see if you could get an earlier dinner and go to bed early??

 

[momtoBrandon&Jacob]

I am taking my 2 girls and my mom to Disney in Sept . My girls will be 2 and 4 and we are flying. I really want to go to 1900 park fare for dinner but my mom says after traveling all day and being on the plane I should just let them hang by the pool. I can't fit park fare in any other day. I don't have the flight info yet so I am not sure what time we will get to WDW but I am thinking if we check in around 3 and play a bit and I make a 5:30 ADR they could still swim after dinner. Help! They have never been on a plane or a vacation so it is a big deal.

I am in the same boat. Our flight gets in at about 2:00 (if all goes well and no delays!). I was stressing about making reservations somewhere but I think we're going to play it by ear and take it easy that day. Hang by the pool, maybe take the boat to DTD for a quick bite to eat. I want the boys to be well rested for the rest of the week. I do think it's a good idea for you to make the ADR for 1900(?). That way you won't be saying "what if" the whole day!

 

[TheDizMom]

I would not do it the same day either. We got in at about dinner time so we just decided it was easiest to hit the CS restaurant at the hotel and explore the resort and then get in early to rest and be raring to go the next day. Depending on when you are going trying to go swimming after dinner may not work, because even Florida gets cool once the sun goes down in the fall, winter, and even spring. I say let them enjoy the excitement of just being there and in a hotel and save the character meals. Your first night there will be exciting and special to them whether it's low key or hyped up, especially at their ages . Either way I can't guarantee they'll be any better behaved, after all dinner still comes at the end of an exciting day at the parks. If it's not your kids it'll be someone elses . All I can recomend for that is that you pray for the best.

 

[belle&beast]

I may be in the minority, but I say go for the dinner. When we arrived after traveling all day we headed to MK for Spectromagic and Wishes. This was a great way to start our vacation. Plus, both kids wanted to see WDW- the little one turned 2 on the trip and was asking for Mickey when we got on the plane! If you think they can handle it, go for it! Plus you will need a good dinner after a long day of travel.

 

[Ilovemyprincesses]

I am hoping to leave here around 11 so they won't have to get up eariler than normal. My little one naps and we will be flying during nap time. I hope&&&&& she naps on the plane but she is a very good girl so she will be ok if she misses a nap. My only concern is how hyper they will be from traveling and the excitement. Thanks for all of your feedback.

 

[ksloane]

I took my daughter (then 5) last summer. We flew out at 7ish (got to airport at 5:30) and arrived in Orlando I want to say around 10:30/11. I had planned to take that day easy and not do much but a dinner at Chef Mickey's and my daughter couldn't stand it! She was so excited she just had to go to a park. So I ended up adding a day to our tickets and we went ahead and went park exploring too. My point? I know common sense says to take traveling days easy, but if yours will be as excited as mine was, you might as well plan activities because they may not be able to stand staying at the hotel.

 

[PollyannaMom]

You know your kids best. Are they the type that get cranky-overstimulated, or happy-excited?

Last time we went, my DS (then 5, not usually napping) slept on the plane by his own choice, and we went to MK the first night and stayed until the fireworks! We did a lazy next morning instead - explored the resort, then he and DH rented a boat while I unpacked.

I'd say book the dinner. As another poster said, you can always cancel (which you should not feel too guilty about - there is always someone looking for a last minute spot, and you will pixie dust their day if you decide to give it up! - Just call as soon as you determine things are not playing out for it.)

.... One other question, though - is it really that your mom thinks SHE will be exhausted, and just doesn't want to look like a wimp? If that's the case, you don't want your "co-pilot" starting the vacation out already dragging.

 

[suffolkprincess]

our daughter is pretty easy going, but both times our first night dinner ended up being a bit of a waste. When she was 3 we did Park Fare the arrival night and she fell asleep at the table-- twice. The pictures of her with Cinderella? She looks like the undead. Its sad. We had been up since 4 am and she was Just Done. We had gone to the MK for the parade and that was totally fine-- if we had stuck with that for our arrival day and just had CS and gone to bed early it would have been just as well.
Then, this past fall, she was 4 and same timing issues-- 4 am wake up for the flight, no napping (are you KIDDING? ITS DISNEY!!!) and then an obligatory quickie visit to MK for lunch and a couple rides. All of that was fun and fine, but dinner that night at Ohana was a waste. She was too tired to care about the activities and had no interest in the food. We liked it, but it was hardly the trip highlight that Ohana could have been on another night.

Just our experience-- but there you go. You asked.

 

[bellarella]

Make the reservation!!!

There is no demand that you show up. If you check in and find that you have two over-tired kids who just need to crash, call up and cancel.

When we traveled with my DDs at 2.5 and 4.5 we did Chef Mickey's for dinner our arrival night. They had a blast. It was a great way (other than the food being terrible) to start off the vacation.

Sometimes with little ones it is better to get them out and doing something rather than contained in a hotel room.

Leave your options open by making the ADR and make the call once you get there

 

[MamaOfTwoPrincesses]

Well, that is exactly what we did. We arrived @ 3:30, and had a 6pm reservation for Chef Mickey's. We had plenty of time to check out the resort and see what was what. We opted not to swim, as I didn't want to deal with all of that wet hair!!

To be safe, I packed special dresses for the girls in my carry on for dinner. But our bags arrived from the Magical Express within an hour and we would have been fine.

I thought dinner at Chef Mickey's was the perfect way to kick off our trip. And my dd's very first autograph was from the Mouse himself! Oh, I had the girls in Gymboree Cherry Pie red and white polka dot dresses. Minnie noticed right away, and kept comparing polka dots with the girls.
picts

 

[louise']

We usually arrive at the Polynesian about 1. My kids were 4 and 6 when we started this routine. We spend the afternoon at the pool and then back to the room to relax. We take the monorail to Chef Mickey for dinner at 7:30. The kids are in bed by 10.

 

[Ilovemyprincesses]

I have another issue that I should have mentioned. We will be doing the DDP and if we don't go to park fare we will have an extra TS meal that I don't know what to do with.

We are doing 1 park per day and not hopping.
MGM day hollywood and vine late breakfast
MK CRT lunch
AK /DTD - ?
Epcot Lecellier

I know there is no TS at AK other than Donalds and I don't want to do that. I figured CS would be best after being at AK and DTD that day. That is why I wanted to do PF on arrival day.

 

[TheDizMom]

I have another issue that I should have mentioned. We will be doing the DDP and if we don't go to park fare we will have an extra TS meal that I don't know what to do with.

We are doing 1 park per day and not hopping.
MGM day hollywood and vine late breakfast
MK CRT lunch
AK /DTD - ?
Epcot Lecellier

I know there is no TS at AK other than Donalds and I don't want to do that. I figured CS would be best after being at AK and DTD that day. That is why I wanted to do PF on arrival day.

No big deal use it for a character breakfast instead. You only really have 2 meals a day and you don't have to use 1TS, 1CS and 1 snack every day. You can use them however you want. If you want to use 3 TS in one day go for it.