Need suggestion for check-in day!

[MamaToDavis]

It's been 9 years since my last WDW visit (gasp!), and this will be our first visit with our son. He will be just a week shy of 3 when we visit next December. I know this is very early to be worrying about this, but I'm trying to make a rough outline of our daily plans.

We will be driving from Atlanta, so our arrival will probably be around 3 pm. We'll be staying the first 2 nights at the AKL and then move to the Polynesian for 6 nights. We are planning to take the Sunrise Safari the following morning, so we don't want to be up too late.

Can anyone suggest something fun for us to do for a few hours after we check in? DS will need to get some energy out, and since our visit will be in early Dec, I'm thinking it may be too cold for a swim .

During our visit we'd like to take in a character meal, Hoop Dee Doo, Candlelight Procession and lots of other stuff I can't think of right now! LOL

Any ideas?
Thanks so much!

 

[CastMemberDWA]

AKL has wonderful activities to keep you busy....book an ADR at one of their 3 restaurants...explore and enjoy the hotel. It is lovely. There are animals on the Savannah in the back. The pools are heated so swimming is an option and early Dec. is not necessarily too cold.

Since you will only be in AKL for the 2 nights....just ENJOY the atmosphere and relax from a hard day of driving.

 

[MamaToDavis]

Thanks so much! I think I'll take your advice and stick around the hotel and have dinner at Boma.

 

[dutch_girl_scout]

I don't know what day your'e coming in on, but last year the day we came in, Dec 11, there was a MVMCP (Mickey's Very Merry Christams Party). Historically the parties have been on Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday nights. You can get into the MK as early as 4:00 and it stays open until midnight. It does require buying tickets, but you don't have to use a day of your other passes. We walked on all the rides, saw the special wishes fireworks, and the Christamas parade. There is a sticky at the top of the theme park attraction/strategy board that talks more about it.

 

[kc10family]

We have never been to WDW only DL, but what we did one time was walk around the hotels onsite to see how far they are from each other, what kind of food they had (you can read all you want, but once you see it, it is different) see what kind of shops they had and what in general they had on the grounds. It made of a great night after being in the car for 6 hours.

Again, never been to WDW and I don't know if hotel visiting would work, but you asked what we would do, and that's what we did.

Have fun planning!

 

[flapjack71]

I have been trying to think of a few things just like this for the first day. Here are some of my thoughts from previous trips and the boards.

1 - Go to Downtown Disney and let the little one play at lego land and walk around. Great food options and might be able to get some of those souvi shopping done.

2 - Plan a early dinner at Chef Mickey's and ride the Monorail - little one will get a kick out of the ride - visit the other resorts on the monorail system.

3 - You're at AKL - check out the animals!!!! Great resort with plenty to see.

4 - Boardwalk - can have dinner, maybe take a boat just around the lake, have ice cream!!!

Just have fun and relax - don't try to do everything, this is the time just to enjoy the expressions on your little one's face!!!!

Barbara