Newbie seeking some advice for arrival day plans!

[AndieKay]

Hi! I'm going to WDW for the first time in April, and I'd love some advice from those who've been before! I'm trying to figure out my arrival day plans, and potentially what I may do on part of my rest day.

I fly a red-eye to Orlando, and arrive in Orlando at 8 am. I'm staying off-site at Grande Villas, and I don't imagine my room will be ready, but I will go there and drop off my luggage and then set out to explore.

So... I am trying to decide between a couple of scenarios. Of all the parks, DHS interests me the least, but as a newbie, I realize I may find a lot there that I like, so don't want to skip it completely.

Do I:

A) Hit DHS sometime in the early afternoon and check out the few things I want to see there, maybe do Fantasmic and then head home to bed?

or do I

B) take it easy on arrival, and maybe spend time touring the monorail resorts, have an early dinner and head to bed early so I can hit MK the next morning for my 8am BoG reservation, and then do the few things I want to do at DHS first thing in the morning before crowds build on my rest day (which, I know, makes the term "rest day" kind of silly), and then spend the rest of the day by the pool?

I am not sure how I am going to handle the red-eye. My hope is that I will sleep, but... Just was looking for some input. Thanks!

 

[tripletmomsrock]

Following as I also am wondering what others do? We are in a similar situation except we are staying on property.

 

[Mambo Junkie]

When we stay offsite, we usually use that time to go to Disney Springs and shop - get those out of the way. We like to get the personalized ornaments, so if it is a busy time we like to go ahead and have them done because later in the week they sometimes don't have the time to do them. Because Downtown Disney is going through changes, I wouldn't go on a Saturday. I hear it's very crowded and parking right now is a beast. I would probably visit the resorts if that is on your agenda. We are actually not doing any parks on Saturday on our next visit. We're going to let the kids swim and chill, then have dinner at the Grand Floridian.

 

[Mambo Junkie]

Following as I also am wondering what others do? We are in a similar situation except we are staying on property.

Staying onsite, they will call you when your room is ready. It is often ready early. The couple of times it wasn't, we went to Epcot and wandered around the countries until called. Then we returned that evening for dinner.

 

[siskaren]

Following as I also am wondering what others do? We are in a similar situation except we are staying on property.

Well, actually, at the Disney resorts, even though the official check-in time is 3pm (I believe 4pm for DVC), you can check in as soon as the computers roll over to the current day's date, which is 6am. Your room may not be ready, but you can just leave your luggage with Bell Services, and head off to a park.

 

[g-dad66]

I vote for B.

I don't think I could stay out late for Fantasmic and then make it up the next morning for an 8am BOG, after taking a red-eye flight the previous night.

 

[eastendlights]

We sometimes do a dinner show on arrival day if we are not planning to go to a park. Hoop Dee Doo Revue is a great way to start a Disney trip-especially your first one. You could attend one of the earlier seatings then maybe check out the Wilderness Lodge afterwards.

 

[StirlingSilver83]

So it depends when you get in in my mind, lol. We drive down from NJ, so in 2014 we didn't get there til around 4PM. I had planned on this and we were staying at the Contemporary so I made dinner reservations for Chef Mickeys for 7PM. before dinner though we spent the afternoon exploring the other monorail resorts and playing in the arcade at the contemporary. Last year I wanted to get down to Disney early and to check into our Disney hotel early plus we wanted to do Sea World and I didn't want to leave the Disney once we arrived, so we stayed off site for 2 days prior to our check in at the Grand Floridian. The morning we checked into GF we had an 8AM Ohana Reservation so we planned on checking in early. We got to GF around 7AM and then went straight to our breakfast reservation. After Breakfast we spent the morning at Disney Springs and had lunch at Rainforest Cafe. When we finished lunch I got a text message our room was ready so after lunch we went back to the hotel and unloaded our things. After that we spent the afternoon in Magic Kingdom and had dinner reservations for CRT. Our next trip isn't planned until March of 2017 but I already have some ideas in my head about itineraries. This time we are going straight to our Disney hotel. We only 2 Sea World every other time so we aren't planning on that for 2017 so no need to stay off site before check in. Anyways we should arrive between 3 and 4. We plan on staying at the Poly this time around so the only thing I have planned for on arrival day in the Spirit of Aloha Dinner Show. Then maybe hang out on the beach to watch the water parade and see the Fireworks. Like I said it depends on when you arrive and how much you want to accomplish that 1st day. Last year It felt like way too much on our first day, we sort of hit the ball running sort of speak, so next trip we are going to take it easy on our arrival day

 

[AndieKay]

I vote for B.

I don't think I could stay out late for Fantasmic and then make it up the next morning for an 8am BOG, after taking a red-eye flight the previous night.

Yeah, that little voice deeeeep inside is saying that I won't be able to, either! Idealistically, I'd like to try, but I can only see it causing problems for me the next day!

 

[gypsicat]

This is our first trip and is months away, so my plan may not be the best or even good but here goes...

We should arrive at the resort around 1:30 or so. We will most likely swim and explore the resort until our room is ready. DH and I will head out to buy some food and drinks for the week while the kids hang out swimming. No worries! The "kids" are 17-22 and life guard certified so our 7 year old is in good hands.

We will have a lazy evening unpacking, settling in and seeing what AKL has to do in the evening.

The alternate plan is to swim a bit then head out to Disney Springs early in the evening. If we choose this scenario then we would just have some groceries delivered to the hotel.

 

[AndieKay]

When we stay offsite, we usually use that time to go to Disney Springs and shop - get those out of the way. We like to get the personalized ornaments, so if it is a busy time we like to go ahead and have them done because later in the week they sometimes don't have the time to do them. Because Downtown Disney is going through changes, I wouldn't go on a Saturday. I hear it's very crowded and parking right now is a beast. I would probably visit the resorts if that is on your agenda. We are actually not doing any parks on Saturday on our next visit. We're going to let the kids swim and chill, then have dinner at the Grand Floridian.

Disney Springs! Totally forgot about that, too! I KNOW I am going to need a rest day. (I am going for a week)... so maybe I'll save DS for the rest day....

 

[AndieKay]

I am not a ToT girl, but I would like to do the Rock'n'Rollercoaster, and Star Tours for sure. Still unsure about Toy Story Mania... are those totally do-able in the first few hours of the morning at rope drop? That's what I'm envisioning for my rest day, now. Do that, then go back to the hotel and chill. That does leave me missing out on Fantasmic, though. I suppose I could do it on one of my Epcot nights, after I've seen Illuminations.

So far my general schedule is:

Sat (arrival): DHS or explore monorail resorts
Sun: MK for BoG reservation at 8 am.
Mon: Epcot
Tue: rest (Disney Springs, pool, sleep in, etc.)
Wed: Epcot
Thu: MK
Fri: AK
Sat - fly home.

 

[HelloMimi]

We (me, my two 18-year old sisters, + their friend) were there two weeks ago and had a similar arrival day situation. We had a 5:35 AM flight that reached Orlando at 8:45, and we reached All Star Music at about 10:30-ish. Our room was ready almost immediately after checking in, but we headed straight for DHS anyway. By 5:00 PM, I was SUPER tired. I think I fell asleep in the 45-minute RRC queue about 10 different times. By 7:00, I was completely done. I slept through half of Fantasmic! in near-freezing (for Florida, anyway) temps, though I was very much awake for the Star Wars fireworks afterwards!

I'd only slept about two hours the night before, but I'd done so many all-nighters for school that I was sure it wouldn't be a problem. Nope! I thought we'd be able to take it easier too since this was our second time at DHS, but since we'd gotten there so late (around noon), it felt like we were in a rush to get everything on our list done. If you're constantly on the move, a day in a theme park can be a lot more tiring than a day in the "real world." When we got back to ASMu at around 10:00, I pretty much collapsed on the bed and fell asleep in the clothes I was wearing. On the bright side, I woke up plenty early enough to get ready for our 8:00 AM BOG reservation for the next morning!

We've already started planning our trip for next year and I've decided that while we liked getting to Orlando super early, we'll be doing Disney Springs on our arrival day AFTER a nap in our room, possibly with a visit to whatever the EMH park is that night. I'd definitely recommend that you do DHS on your planned rest day, but instead of going in the morning, go late in the afternoon so you can catch Fantasmic! and the Star Wars fireworks if they're still around (I thought these were more impressive than Wishes). Just make sure you book your FP for later in the day.

 

[beastlyprince]

When I go to WDW I don't go to a park on arrival and departure days. I check out the place I'm staying at, go to Disney Springs to eat, walk around, and shop, then if the weather is good I'll go back to my resort and go swimming. If I'm staying on WDW property I fit in time to ride the MK and EPCOT monorails. If time permits I like to check out the MK resorts and perhaps get something to eat at one of those resorts.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

our arrival day tradition is to eat dinner at a monorail resort and watch Wishes from there (usually from the Poly beach) ... but with you having the early morning the next morning staying up for Wishes might not be the best plan (unless you can get a nap in)

I second the thought for hitting up Downtown Disney - lots of shops to explore and nice restaurants and bars and you can get back to your resort fairly early to rest

Do you have park hoppers? You could hit up DHS one morning and then go to other parks later in the day if there are a few things you want to do there - especially if you are into Star Wars as they have the new Star Wars Launch Bay there

 

[AndieKay]

Do you have park hoppers? You could hit up DHS one morning and then go to other parks later in the day if there are a few things you want to do there - especially if you are into Star Wars as they have the new Star Wars Launch Bay there

I haven't bought my tickets yet. I was thinking that since I was new, hoppers might not be the best thing, but I can definitely see that they might come in handy!

 

[AndieKay]

We've already started planning our trip for next year and I've decided that while we liked getting to Orlando super early, we'll be doing Disney Springs on our arrival day AFTER a nap in our room, possibly with a visit to whatever the EMH park is that night. I'd definitely recommend that you do DHS on your planned rest day, but instead of going in the morning, go late in the afternoon so you can catch Fantasmic! and the Star Wars fireworks if they're still around (I thought these were more impressive than Wishes). Just make sure you book your FP for later in the day.

Never thought of going at the end of the day! That solves the Fantasmic problem, and lets me have a good sleep-in!

 

[pigletgirl]

For arrival and departure days, its best to not have too many things planned because of travel. I like your idea of taking it easy and not doing too much too soon. It'll catch up with you later in the week.

Take your time, and ease into the vacation.

 

[AndieKay]

For arrival and departure days, its best to not have too many things planned because of travel. I like your idea of taking it easy and not doing too much too soon. It'll catch up with you later in the week.

Take your time, and ease into the vacation.

Yeah, I definitely don't have anything planned for departure day, as I have to be at the airport pretty early. But I am loving all the advice. I think I'll plan for a quiet day and see what I feel like doing once I arrive I can wish and hope my hotel will have a room available upon arrival! Then I could have a nap. Mmmm, nap. I love naps.

 

[drp4video]

I am not a fan of early flights so we usually get to WDW early afternoon. If we have an AP, I will go to a park, but since we no longer usually get them, I will go to the resort pool ( we stay at Disney), or shop IN DTD oops, Disney Springs, and then I usually make a ADR for dinner at resort restaurant that we haven't tried yet. Then go back to the room and relax, go to bed at a decent time to get ready to start the parks the next day.

I also do not go to a park on the day I leave anymore. I used to...but found that I always had such a good time and kept thinking I could do one more thing at the parks, that I have missed my flight on more than one occasion. lol So, again, we go to Disney Springs and eat and shop until we have to leave for the airport.