Is it worth going for an evening?

[MickeyLover20]

I was just wondering if it is worth it to go to Magic Kingdom on the evening we arrive? I have heard from a few people at home that it is a waste of time. How can that be? Wouldn't it be better to have an extra couple of hours at MK even if I only get to meet the Mouse?

 

[sunny04]

The waste is usually money-wise, due to the number of hours and the cost of adding a day to your ticket. We LOVE going our first night, but we have APs, so it doesn't waste a day on our ticket. It makes it seem so much more magical to start immediately, if only for a few hours. But again, it's not the waste of time, but waste of money. If you don't spending the extra money, then do it!

 

[taragl]

If you're factoring in pure cost, then I can see how some people might say the cost of a day's ticket is not worth just a few hours in the park; however, I don't like the idea of waiting a day to visit the MK, simply because of a cost-benefit analysis! The magic of going on your first night may be worth the cost to you.

Now me... I'm arriving at noon and you'd better believe I'm heading right over to the MK!

 

[phisigprincess]

It's really just a money issue. If you're willing to use a ticket that day, then go for it!!! If you'd rather save and go for a full day, that's fine too. It's a cost issue more than anything.

 

[momandseandodisney]

Yes but keep in mind for longer terms stays to add on a extra days( s) is only a few dollars (under $5 per day) to add on! So - $5 seems worth it!

 

[MickeyLover20]

Thanks for the replys. Cost isn't an issue for us as we have a 7 Day ticket and that was one of our days. The people I was talking to here said that I can't see everything in an evening....I know that. I wanted to have a day and a half at what I think is going to be the best park.

 

[Karibeth19]

We always go to the Magic Kingdom as soon as we arrive! We usually get to our hotel around 2:00 in the afternoon, and after checking-in and getting unpacked and changed, we usually make it to the MK around 4 or 5. It is so worth it to us to have that first "shot" of magic on the day we arrive. No, you won't be able to do everything, but you will still have fun. And for my family, the difference between getting 6 day park hoppers and 7 day park hoppers is only $3.00. I think a couple of hours at the Magic Kingdom is worth $3.00!!!

 

[bluejasmine]

We also go to the MK as soon as we arrive. We drive from SC so we normally leave the night before and stay in a hotel close by (so we can have the whole day of check in day) and then get up and go check into our WDW resort and if the rooms ready bring our luggage to it if not we jump right on a bus to the MK and just come back later that afternoon and unpack and swim and shower before heading back out to the parks for supper..

 

[frayedend]

I was just discussing this with the wife. We did that last trip in January. But we decided this time that (depending on park hours) we will do Animal Kingdom the first day. This park can be done in 1/2 day (my opinion). So if you get in early enough and the park is open late enough then you can get AK done and now have a full 2 days at MK.

Edit: Well AK closes at 5 in August when we go, so that probably is too early. But it is open until 7 or 8 in June and July. So it all depends but it may be an option to get the most park time. But I also agree that seeing the castle the first day kind of makes the best start to vacation.

 

[lindakmonty]

We do this all the time. W/several day tickets, it is totally worth every hour I can get in the parks!

 

[KinderTchr]

We will be arriving at 12:45 at the airport so I think we will be in the park by 3:30 or 4:00 at the latest. I checked the hours and the park is open until 12midnight so that's a full 8 hours.

I could never wait until the second day to get there. I always try to plan arrival so I can go to the park that day and I always start with the Magic Kingdom.

 

[ainmama2001]

We usually go to MK RIGHT off the bus, but this year we're not. We're going to do a character meal at a resort instead. We have a dd4, and we don't want to wear her out. We'd rather start fresh the next morning!

 

[disneyde]

I say go for it........we're arriving in the afternoon and plan to go to the Liberty Tavern for dinner and then catch specto and wishes our first night....can't wait for a BIG dose of magic in september!!!!!!

 

[gigi1313]

we've always gone to a park on arrival day, even if we don't get there 'til dinnertime... it's worth it... even if you cannot take in the entire park, it's a great way to "get your feet wet!"

next trip we're doing MGM on arrival afternoon... the plan is to just do the "front" half of the park (TOT, R'NR, B&tB, parade, maybe some character meet 'n greets in the hub, little mermaid and dinner at primetime followed by fantasmic if we're all up to it)... i think it's a great way to "kick start" a wdw vacation

 

[rlovew]

We have AP so it is not a matter of money but when we arrived after my DH had worked and then we drove to DIsney and arrived at the MK after hotel check in at 9pm he didn't feel like doing much. We went on a couple of rides and he called it a night but I stayed and enjoyed a few more until late. I tihkn it is a matter of being willing to spend the money and knowing how your traveling day was- is your group too tired, you can always make the decision when you are there it doesn't cost much to add a day to a long stay.

 

[byoung]

We have AP so it is not a matter of money but when we arrived after my DH had worked and then we drove to DIsney and arrived at the MK after hotel check in at 9pm he didn't feel like doing much. We went on a couple of rides and he called it a night but I stayed and enjoyed a few more until late. I tihkn it is a matter of being willing to spend the money and knowing how your traveling day was- is your group too tired, you can always make the decision when you are there it doesn't cost much to add a day to a long stay.

Like you we have the AP and would go.

 

[iNTeNSeBLue98]

We also had 7 days hoppers for 7 night/8 day adventure. My friend and I had intended to go to Fort Wilderness for the campfire and movie on the Saturday we arrived at WDW. We were out-voted 3 to 2 to do something else and it was decided to go to MK.

We arrived at Pop Century at 4:15, went to our room for about an hour to unpack and were in MK by 7pm. We were able to ride Snow White - then it rained for a little while (thank goodness we didn't go to the campfire!) so we dashed over to Mickey's PhilharMagic then It's a Small World (the rain was ending) and finally Haunted Mansion. We waited about 20-30 minutes for Spectromagic and left the park before the fireworks.

 

[MomofKatie]

We usually do a park on arrival day. Depending on the time of year, we head to the park open the latest that evening. Since we seem to always go in the not-as-busy season, we usually end up at Epcot. We like to get there at around 4, do SE, then stroll around WS, eat dinner, and catch Illuminations.

 

[Friendly Frog]

With a late arrival I would probably do Epcot. It stays open late, and to me after a long trip I like the relaxed pace of the World Showcase.

 

[#1 Pocahontas]

We usually would go to DTD the day we got in because we didn't want to spend $$$ on just a few hours in the park. However with the new way they are doing tickets it was only a $3.00 difference for an extra day so we got the extra day this time around. $1 per person is worth a half day at MK