Parks on arrival day or no "off" day?

[pepe of ohio]

Back in the day, before we started buying annual passes....we never went to a park arrival day, or for that matter, departure day...

Lengthy trips we'd skip parks but holding annual passes we pop in and out of the parks...commando days are long gone...resorts are almost as important as the parks.....we'll still make a whole day of outside park cruising...DTD, shopping, miniature golf, pool time.....usually in the middle of a trip to recharge, relax, enjoy idle time on vacation...

 

[KSR0330]

On our last trip we arrived at the airport at around 2, rushed to the hotel to check in and went right to MK. Everyone was stressed, tired, hungry and grumpy! This trip we plan on taking ME to the Poly and then eating, spending time exploring the resort (we've never been there before), settling into our room, and then when we're ready going to DS for the evening. No more running to a park on arrival day for us!

 

[quagmire0]

With 9 nights, you've got a lot of options there. Me personally? I have to visit Magic Kingdom the day we get in. We usually only spend a couple hours there and then go to dinner. Just enough time to hop on a few rides and walk around a little. Just a causal stop.

 

[Hundredacre]

I would decide once you get there. You may decide you can't wait to get to the Mk or that you prefer to lounge by the hotel pool. It's vacation!! It is nice, however, to have a break/catch up day in the middle of a long stay. We find when we do that we are completely rejuvenated.

 

[bochnikm]

With a 9 night trip, a day off in the middle will refresh everyone for the second half. You will be in better moods and will make it more enjoyable. Go to the park on your arrival day, just don't overdo it if anyone of you is too tired.

 

[richmo]

I don't think its necessary to stress over this...just play it by ear. I'd consider buying park hoppers for the minimum amount of days you're going to use, then you can always upgrade it on site for $10/day/ticket.

Personally, we've generally gone to a park on arrival day, even if just to catch a nighttime show to make us feel like we're there. What we've often done with late morning arrivals at MCO is either DME or drive to our resort, depending upon whether we stay onsite or off, check in if possible, then head over to Disney Springs. If we need to pick up any tickets or need Guest Relations for anything, we'll do it there, have a leisurely lunch (usually Rainforest Cafe), then either head back to our room and unpack or go to a park.

 

[bopper]

Another strategy is not to go to a park (because we end up staying too late and being exhausted in morning) and explore the hotel, so you get the "can we go to the pool!!!" out of the way. (if your kids do that)

 

[kohlby]

It depends on the age of the kids and how long you were traveling. It looks like you've decided the break day in the middle. If the travelling wasn't that extreme and if your kids are young, then that's what I'd suggest.

Otherwise, I like the play-it-by-ear plan. I would make sure the kids get to bed at a reasonably hour that first day though. With a trip that long, it's even more important to keep their immune systems strong at the start.

 

[buzznina]

Thanks everyone for the input! Spoke with the hubby and agreed to go to the park that evening. The kids will be too excited to not wait. I think we'll take it easy, take in the sights, do a few rides and maybe have dinner. And hubby said he would certainly need a "break" day later in the week.

We learned early on that we need to have a R&R day in the middle of our trips. Everyone just needs to recharge their batteries and just unwind a bit. It makes a big difference, especially with our DDs. We are AP holders and rarely do we park hop, we rather take our time and enjoy the park we are in. We also cut our TS ADRs down to 1 or 2 during a trip, we found that we did not like being tied down to a schedule and for us TS just takes to long.