Ideas for 1st day in Orlando instead of parks?

[Corey]

We will be arriving late at night on Wednesday and will need to spend Thursday recuperating and lounging around the pool. I would like to have something planned for later in the day, but am not sure exactly what. Possibly just hanging around the boardwalk? Anyone have any better ideas? It is my husband and I, and 3 girls ages 12,8, and 6.

 

[fanofpan]

Our first day there, we also avoided the parks and just hung out at the hotel. We were staying at All star movies and the kids had a great time swimming, then that evening we went over to Fort Wilderness and did the free campfire movie. It was really fun, and we took our own supplies for smores, which saved us money.

 

[lisa0477]

We are just going to hang out at Downtown Disney. Then we will eat at Planet Hollywood.

 

[bicyclemark]

Ride the monorail. We are always tired after a day of travel and have found taking a tour of all of the parks and some hotels by monorail a relaxing way to get in the Disney spirit.

 

[aimb]

We always go to Chef Mickey's for dinner on our first day - and then ride the monorail afterwards.

 

[Colinsmom]

We scoped out the Disney character outlets the first afternoon, then returned later in the week to grab our souvenirs!

 

[cruiseonmagic]

If you want to stay on property, how about going to downtown disney? There's a lot to see there, and you can see some of the property from a different point of view by taking the boat from DTD to Port Orleans.

 

[SnowBound]

We LOVE the Boardwalk at night!
There is something for everyone, and not as loud as Downtown Disney.