Need help - what park should we hit first day?

[Lisa_Belle]

We're arriving Sunday, Sept. 17. Just DD4-turning-5 (her first trip to Disney - actually any theme park) and me (been several times since childhood). We'll be landing at MCO mid-afternoon and want to go a park so we can get the wiggles out and see as much Disney World as possible! But I can't figure out where to start. Here's the background:

Magic Kingdom. Sunday is evening EMH. But because of DD's age and sleeping, we probably won't be there long enough to take advantage of much of it, and I figure the park will probably be crowded with older folks who have more stamina than we do. We do have ADRs at Cinderella's Castle the next day, and we're going to MNSSHP later in the week. I'm hoping that will give us time to see most of what we want, but not so sure.

Epcot. I love this place, but I'm not sure if DD will like it enough to visit both this evening and another full day later in the week. I'm actually afraid if she doesn't like it, I might not get her back willfully later on.

MGM. Fantasmic would be a great start for the vacation, but will we have enough time (I'm thinking 4:30-9 including dinner) to see much more? I also have a full day planned here later in the week.

Animal Kingdom. Closes before dinner, so I'm thinking this probably won't work.


Any suggestions? Please!

 

[Zippa D Doodah]

If you have the will power to stay out of MK that first night you are a much stronger person than me.

 

[Rella Bella]

Hi Lisa_Belle,

Usually I would say MK hands down, but I think you're right that with EMH it's likely to be very crowded. And if you only want to stay til 9, you'd be leaving about the time the parades and Wishes are starting. (I would still do this one night but with a 4 yr old... very late on your first night could mean a bad day on your first full day. Not a good idea.

I would go for Fantasmic! Even if you just walk the streets, have dinner & see the show you'll have a great first evening. Maybe do one attraction, like Little Mermaid, that she would want to see again if you spent a whole day there later in the week.

You'll have a magical time!

 

[Tam1067]

LIke a previous poster said, I too would generally say MK first (that's what we're doing on our arrival day), but because of EMH, it will, as you noted, be really crowded.

About Fantasmic: it could be good. But, here's my concern about that: first, it'll be late by the time you get to your room after the show, and if she gets tired after the flight, she'll be wiped out the next day. And second, depending on her personality, she might get scared during the show. Fantasmic is, at times, pretty intense. You said she's never been to Disney before, so jumping right into that could overwhelm her and make her uneasy about other shows during the trip (something similar happened to my then 4 year old son). Certainly, that depends on her personality which you know pretty well, I'm sure.

But your DD might like Epcot, too. If you go to World Showcase, you could just sort of walk around, and see some of the street performers, maybe eat dinner, and make it more relaxing. My kids liked Epcot (they were 6 and 4 the first time), especially the arts activities set up in the countries, and talking to the CMs from other countries. It's super low-key. And if you have time, you could also go to Turtle Talk with Crush--which would be fun and not frightening, either.

 

[clonetothebone]

Epcot. If you do MK first what is there to look forward too later in the week? Stay for Illuminations if not too tired and if it wont scare her(DD was 3 when we went and scared the bejeebers out of her. She doesn't like any loud noises.)

If you dont' have your park tickets yet I say just stay at the hotel and swim. That's what most kids your daughters age want to do anyway.

 

[lisaross]

i have a 4 & 6 year old boy!

I've decided Not to do any park on arrival day - we're going to hang around the hotel and swim and Maybe go DTD to eat and walk around.

Monday Our first full day we're going to do Epcot FW and a character lunch
Tuesday - were doing MK all day - probably leave b4 dnr
Wed mgm
thur mk - early morning hours
fri - AK
Sat - MK in the evening for fireworks
Sun Epcot evening for fireworks/WS

my kids cannot stay up late and get up early -- so i figure the beginning of the week try to get in bed at about a normal bedtime (by 9pm) and the end of the week stay up late and sleep in later..........

lisa

 

[kaysmommie]

We are not doing any parks our first day but that's because we are driving fron Knoxville TN. So we will be tired. DD will want to go to MK i"m sure but I made and ADR for Chef Mickey for dinner and we will swim in the poly pool and rest up for the next day at MK. If you must go to a park then I would go to MGM and see Little Mermaid, Fantasmic eat dinner. Maybe squeeze in Muppets or Beauty & the Beast. You could even let your DD play at Honey I shrunk the kids playground which is alot of fun for kids.

 

[Disney Doll]

I'd probably do MGM, but consider seeing some of the performers on the Boardwalk, or DTD and mini golf.

 

[Barbers2005]

If you do MGM, be sure to check out Playhouse Disney. My Dd4 loved it and it gives kids a chance to yell, sing, dance around and generally get all the rowdiness out (but in a good way). Also, it's right across from the little mermaid, so if you time it right you can do them one right after the other. Also, the Great Movie Ride and Beauty and the Beast are good choices. Muppetvision 3d is a cute movie, but we skipped it b/c dd is freaked by 3d. The playground is also a great idea, but you may want to wear comfy clothes- my dd wanted me to climb around with her and some of those places were pretty tight for a grown up. Personally, I would skip Fantasmic with a little one because it is loud and intense. Also, there is a huge dragon and some fire effects that could frighten little kids. Dh and I went to see it and had FIL take dd back to the room and boy were we glad- she would have been terrified.

 

[BlindTyldak]

Definitely Epcot. Do the slower, relaxing rides that other people hit early in the day (Spaceship Earth, Journey Into Imagination, that little Lion King movie, Living Seas, Ellen, Innoventions, etc) and have a nice quiet dinner and hit the hotel good and early before the crowds bail after Illuminations.

The big upside to this is that since it is her first trip, she won't get her expectations blown out of proportion early on. It's tough to get a child all that interested in Epcot if they've seen MK first.

 

[kldmom2000]

We're getting into MCO around 10:40am and probably at the Yacht Club by 12:30 "ish" We're going to hang by the pool for a few hours and then walk over to Epcot and stay for dinner and part of the evening. You didn't mention which resort you'll be staying at. I chose Epcot for the first night because it's walking distance for us and easily accessible w/o having to rely on Disney transportation. Our girls will be 4 and 6 (well, the younger one is turning 4 on our 2nd day there ) Whatever you choose-have fun!!!

 

[Ron from Michigan]

I would go to the MK your first day. It is always a magical start to our trips to see the castle first thing. There is just something truly magical about walking down main street and seeing the castle.

 

[Evil Queen]

We're driving but just a few hours. The day we arrive, we don't do parks, we find we are more relaxed and more ready to hit the parks the next day. We get our stuff un-packed etc. Last year we hung around DTD and did Disney Quest.

This year, we are arriving mid day. We'll eat lunch at the resort, play a game of mini golf, make our ADR's, then call it a night.

But there is no right or wrong answer on this. You'll know what you and yours can handle, but I agree if it's EMH I would avoid that park.

 

[michvin]

and whichever park park doesn't have early morning hours. We really stuck to this and didn't hit big crowds. Example, if Epcot had late nite on Sunday, and MGM had earlyl morning on Monday, you want to avoid MGM on Monday and head for Epcot. A lot of people stay for the late nites and won't do a repeat the next morning.

 

[Gabe's Mom]

How about doing a character meal? We always do Chef Mickey's our first night, then MK if it works out time wise. CM's is a great place to get a head start on the characters. Ohana's would be good too, Poly is so beautiful you can walk around and enjoy the beach and views of the MK.

 

[OurMsBrooks]

Like a lot of others, I vote for MGM too. While it would take great willpower to stay away from MK, I think you'll be glad when you get there when it opens Monday morning and see the castle for the first time when eveything is clean, bright, and fresh for the morning. (But I would plan to only stay until lunch, as we have found MK to be absolutely insane on Monday afternoons.)

MGM is a great idea, especially if your little girl likes Jo Jo. My DD3 talks about nothing else about our upcoming trip. She has already planned what she'd like to say to Jo Jo when she meets her, and the little trailer they have set up to meet Jo Jo and Goliath is really cute. I know Fantasmic is scary at parts, but my kids have never minded it and loved the show, and it's a great kickoff for your vacation. Also at MGM, she'll probably love Little Mermaid and the Muppet 3-D movie. You could try one of the dinner packages for Fantasmic so that you won't have to line up so early for it, but we have found that sometimes you don't get service that's quite up to par when you use the package. (Maybe do Hollywood and Vine so that's not an issue, since it's a buffet.)

Have a wonderful vacation!

 

[Lisa_Belle]

Thanks for all your wonderful replies and suggestions. Fortunately, I have about 100 days to mull everything over. I do feel more at ease about not going to MK the first day. We're not pool people, so we really don't want to hang out at the resort unless we're tired. (We're staying at All Star Movies by the way.) I think I'll see how she does with 4th of July fireworks before deciding whether to Fantasmic or Illuminations. She gets a thrill out of being scared - loves ghost stories and the like and is obsessed with the Haunted Mansion ride part of her Disneyland Singalong Video.