Planning question...HDR or park on first night?

[Lyn W]

Hi all. Thanks in advance for the feedback. Planning our second trip in August for my family (DH, and three daughters 13, 11, 9). On our first day, we land at 2:20 and are staying at The Beach Club. My question is for our first night should we do HDR (which we have never done) and explore the hotel or head into the parks for the night. I guess we could do both, HDR on the early side and then the parks. Just not sure that is a waist of money to buy a pass for a few short hours. We have 5 full days for Disney - toying with a day at Universal but I think my family could be happy at Disney only. Thanks for the help.

 

[alex9179]

HDR = Hoop Dee Doo Revue?

Prevailing advice is to forgo ADRs on arrival day. You never know what sort of snafu may happen and you will lose your pre-payment if you don't show up for dinner.

I would play at the pool and look at last minute options that are available for dinner, after you arrive. There are a ton of new places in Disney Springs that are on Opentable, which is a better option than booking through Disney when schedules can go awry. No late cancellation fees.

If you go into the parks, I'd add a day onto your tickets so that you'll still have 5 full days for the rest of the week. I would choose this option if Disney Springs didn't sound like fun.

 

[CarolynFH]

I would do HDDR and call it a night. Get a good night's rest and hit the parks energized in the morning!

 

[gretchenohar@hotmail]

I agree with Carolyn, but mind the caveat from Alex. Best to have a later ADR for HDDR than lose out on your deposit if there are any delays, especially if you don't have a nonstop flight.
Don't think I would plan on a day at US - you'll barely have enough time to do all there is to see and do at WDW in 5 days!
Enjoy!!!

 

[Betty Rohrer]

Hoop Dee Doo is prepaid and if you are delayed you loose the full price not the $10.00 pre person plus I think there is a 48 hour to cancel not the night before

 

[Lynzer4]

Additional days are $10 a person. Since you are at Beach I would say go to Epcot. It's so close and easy to walk to. Walk around the counties. Maybe book a ADR and watch the fireworks. --- that's what I would do.

I had my first Beach Club stay in September and loved it. Loved being able to walk to Epcot and Boat to DHS.

The pool is neat also. So if the kids want to swim that would be my second choice. And you can see the fireworks from the pool.

 

[cassie58]

I agree with Lynzer4 above. You can explore your resort, use the great pool complex, explore the boardwalk area, and wander into Epcot if you like. This way you are settled and relaxed for your first full day. As mentioned, an extra day will only be about $10/per person, so not bad if you would like to do some park time. You could explore some of the World Showcase and grab a bite to eat before or after pool time, and maybe catch Illuminations. You could make a FP for Frozen Ever After at 60 days if you add the day to get that done since you can only get 1 Tier FP reserved for your Epcot days.

 

[Alesia]

Don't book anything prepaid for arrival day unless you are fully prepared to lose that money if you miss it. There are just too many chances of delays when you're traveling.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

I agree with the PP's. There is no way I would book HDDR on an arrival day, particularly if you are landing at 2:20 pm. There is the chance of being delayed and, even if you did make it to BC around, say, 3:30 - 3:45 pm, that doesn't give you a lot of turn-around time to get to HDDR except for maybe the 8:30 pm show. I just wouldn't risk losing full payment on the show.

There is so much to do in the BC area. As others have pointed out, adding another day to your ticket won't cost a lot, so I would definitely consider EP for the afternoon/evening. Or head over to the Boardwalk for the entertainment and games.

 

[Bullseye]

By the time you get settled in at BC it'll be late afternoon. I'd just get some dinner and then hit SAB for a couple hours, explore the resort a little, then get an early start the next day!

 

[Arden01]

I stayed at the Beach Club and agree with what others have said. Don't go to HDDR the first night. Enjoy the resort, Stormalong Bay and go to Epcot for dinner. It will be a much more relaxing and less stressful way to start your vacation.

 

[MrInfinity]

I think I would do Epcot as well. It's good to hit up a park on this day because you'll get fast passes if you do. HDDR is still a great show... Try to do it on a day you're at the Magic Kingdom for the afternoon, then you can boat to the HDDR -- makes for a nice excursion and getting there is an adventure not a bus ride. Epcot is good in short stretches... just enough time to use your FastPass on Soarin or Frozen, get some food in the World Showcase, and head back. Still do Epcot on a later day like you were probably planning.

 

[Lyn W]

Ok so if we skip HDDR and plan to go into Epcot (I like the option of getting a few fast passes since most of our other nights into Epcot for dinner will be a park hopper situation so we won't have fast passes to Epcot for those days). Now. Y question is would you do Cape May dinner buffet and then head in or eat in Epcot?

 

[alex9179]

I would eat in Epcot but, seafood buffets aren't my favorite. Ask your family what they'd like.

 

[Nancyg56]

If you are planning on EPcot after you arrive, I would dine in Epcot. If you all are not too tired, stay for Illuminations. It is a great way to begin a trip.

If you choose not to purchase an additional ticket, I would plan to explore the resort, and then have dinner on the Boardwalk. I like CMC, but there are so many places to choose from in the area tha I like more.

 

[kniquy]

If you really want to do HDR- because of potential arrival issues and needing to prepay - I would put that on another evening. You could pick the latest show so that it doesn't interrupt your park time and put it at the end of a MK day so that you are already near there. It would be a nice way to relax and end your day. Your arrival day you could plan for dinner at any of the restaurants at BC, BW and i have heard that even S & D have nice restaurants. Or just pool time and a QS meal for your first evening. If adding a day to your ticket is an option I would do Epcot in the evening and just tour the countries and try one of the many QS options.

I was toying with lunch reservations on an arrival day (where we are arriving at 9am) but with the advise of some on this board i changed to an evening 7pm dinner, so for us even with a slight delay we should be ok. If not we get charged $20 ($10 each). In your case a 2:20pm arrival could mean arriving at the resort (best case 3:30), getting settled in and then heading right out to get to a reservation -- no need to add stress to an already somewhat stressful day.

 

[Harambe]

One of our favorite nights last trip was a walk all around World Showcase in Epcot and grabbing food at whatever looked interesting. DD went for food in China, I grabbed a bratwurst in Germany, and DH just snacked at some of the different kiosks. It was fun!! That way you could grab those FP+'s and do a few rides that night without working around an ADR! Have a fun trip!

 

[AllieBoo]

I would wander around the WS, grab a QS meal from one of the countries, and then watch Illuminations. For me, that would be a nice, relaxing way to start a trip.

 

[mikedoyleblogger]

I'm another vote for Epcot on the first night, especially since you'll be right there. World Showcase is a really low pressure way to get park time and dining in on day one without having to worry about fast passes or ADRs, unless you want to. And since you would be able to walk to a dining reservation in Epcot, that would erase any stress about the potential for missing a far-off ADR. An easy evening at Epcot is our day one strategy, too.

 

[Robo]

I've always just called it the Hoop.