Second Guessing Arrival Day Plans

[MagicSoup]

I need some help figuring out the best plan for arrival day! My travel party includes me, my husband, my 4 year old son, and my one year old son (17 months at time of travel). While my husband and I have been to Disney several times, this is going to be our first trip with kids and we really want to make it magical for them.

Our flight arrives at MCO around 10 am, which I think should get us to Pop Century by noon.

Original arrival day plan: have a bite at the hotel, get into the room, head to Disney Springs, dinner at Raglan Road.

After second guessing myself that dinner at Raglan Road wouldn't have enough Disney magic for kicking off the trip for the 4 year old I came up with another plan.

Second plan: arrive at hotel, get into room or leave luggage at desk, late lunch at Chef Mickey's (2:20pm ADR), ride the monorail, back to hotel

Now I'm turning myself in circles and thinking maybe we should scrap all arrival day plans and play it by ear.

Do you all think that 2:20 is late enough given our arrival time? Would Raglan Road and Disney Springs be magical for a 4 year old? Other thoughts?

 

[Nancyg56]

Given a choice I would always choose a character meal to kick off a Disney Trip with a child.

 

[loves to dive]

If you don't have park tickets for that day, I would say just hang around the pool. Travelling can be rough on the little ones and I don't think Disney Springs is going to be much of an attraction other than a place to run off steam. Trust me, the little one will get plenty of Disney magic throughout the trip, take that first day to rest up.

 

[HHMcG]

Definitely Chef Mickey's over Disney Springs for 4-year old magic. I still love to go there for arrival day dinner or Day 2 breakfast.
My #1 advice for arrival day is Be Flexible!! Planes get delayed, naps get missed. Kids get tired and cranky or amped up and running crazy. You really can't know until you are there and dealing with it.

 

[Thing 1]

First....You can't ride the monorail to Pop, it does not go there. Second, while Chief Mickey is a MUCH better dining choice for a 4 year old, I would be concerned that min-afternoon travel day would be meltdown tired time for your little ones. I would consider checking into your room, grab lunch at the resort, and if your room is ready, rest or grab a nap and them have or make plans for an early dinner. You could do Chief Mickey for an early dinner after a rest or nap or something in DS, maybe without a reservation. The kids would love the lego store and the world of disney store. You can also add a park day to your tickets for very little more, maybe do the afternoon, evening at Epcot. kids really do enjoy WS when they don't know what they are missing somewhere else!

 

[MagicSoup]

Given a choice I would always choose a character meal to kick off a Disney Trip with a child.

That's what I was thinking when I booked a PPO Breakfast at Crystal Palace on our first full day there!

Trust me, the little one will get plenty of Disney magic throughout the trip

Thank you for this! Can never remind myself of this too much!

Definitely Chef Mickey's over Disney Springs for 4-year old magic. I still love to go there for arrival day dinner or Day 2 breakfast.
My #1 advice for arrival day is Be Flexible!! Planes get delayed, naps get missed. Kids get tired and cranky or amped up and running crazy. You really can't know until you are there and dealing with it.

I'm thinking they might be tired and cranky while my husband thinks they will be amped up and crazy; with two kids there's a chance we could both be right!

First....You can't ride the monorail to Pop, it does not go there. Second, while Chief Mickey is a MUCH better dining choice for a 4 year old, I would be concerned that min-afternoon travel day would be meltdown tired time for your little ones. I would consider checking into your room, grab lunch at the resort, and if your room is ready, rest or grab a nap and them have or make plans for an early dinner. You could do Chief Mickey for an early dinner after a rest or nap or something in DS, maybe without a reservation. The kids would love the lego store and the world of disney store. You can also add a park day to your tickets for very little more, maybe do the afternoon, evening at Epcot. kids really do enjoy WS when they don't know what they are missing somewhere else!

I know you can't ride the monorail to Pop, was just thinking it would be extra magic for my 4 year old, a ride without going into the parks. (Plus maybe stopping and getting a tropical treat for mom and dad at the Poly!) If there was a Chef Mickey's dinner opening at a reasonable time (right now there's only 9:00 pm) I would be all over it, but 2:20 is the best I could do for now. Very tempting to add another day to our tickets, but I think that comes with too much temptation to stay through fireworks and I do think that it needs to be an early night.

 

[Nancyg56]

I know you can't ride the monorail to Pop, was just thinking it would be extra magic for my 4 year old, a ride without going into the parks. (Plus maybe stopping and getting a tropical treat for mom and dad at the Poly!) If there was a Chef Mickey's dinner opening at a reasonable time (right now there's only 9:00 pm) I would be all over it, but 2:20 is the best I could do for now. Very tempting to add another day to our tickets, but I think that comes with too much temptation to stay through fireworks and I do think that it needs to be an early night.

We always took my DGD for a ride on the monorail on our arrival day. Sometimes we would include the Epcot run, other times we took the resort loop. Honestly, at 4, this was her favorite "attraction".

Last August we took the little girls on our street and their Mom. Oh my goodness! The monorail????? Hands down their favorite. WE had to translate the little one when she asked if we could get back on "The Limo". The limo?????? OHHHHHHH! The monorail!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOL!

 

[MagicSoup]

We always took my DGD for a ride on the monorail on our arrival day. Sometimes we would include the Epcot run, other times we took the resort loop. Honestly, at 4, this was her favorite "attraction".

Last August we took the little girls on our street and their Mom. Oh my goodness! The monorail????? Hands down their favorite. WE had to translate the little one when she asked if we could get back on "The Limo". The limo?????? OHHHHHHH! The monorail!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOL!

That's great! My little one has already watched some monorail videos and was totally enthralled so doing the resort loop is definitely on our list either for arrival day or our non-park day! Whether that includes Chef Mickey's or not is still up in the air; so many mixed reviews and so much $$$.

Raglan Road is non-negotiable. It's one thing that I promised my husband as he hasn't stopped talking about since our honeymoon 7 years ago; it was a total highlight for him. I think my little ones will get a kick out of the Irish music and dancing too.

 

[beckysko]

we have been travelling to Disney with our kids (now almost 3 and almost 5) and I would say to stick close to the hotel upon arrival. Last year when we went, we couldn't even get into our room until nearly 3. Once you arrive a noon, I would do lunch and then check out the resort...then if your younger one naps, maybe one of you stay with him in the room to nap while the other parent takes the 4yo for a walk across the bridge to AoA and "visit" all the Cars. Walking around the resort there are tonnes of cool statues and figures to see (maybe check out the Lion King play area at AoA), then maybe head back to Pop for a swim. Then after that, totally do up DTD - Raglan if you want, and check out all the cool things there, like the train, World of Disney, the fountain area, etc. It's nice to have a leisurely first day and get to bed early so that you can kick off Day 1, especially since you're doing an early breakfast (and maybe Rope Drop and the welcome show?)

 

[Nancyg56]

That's great! My little one has already watched some monorail videos and was totally enthralled so doing the resort loop is definitely on our list either for arrival day or our non-park day! Whether that includes Chef Mickey's or not is still up in the air; so many mixed reviews and so much $$$.

Raglan Road is non-negotiable. It's one thing that I promised my husband as he hasn't stopped talking about since our honeymoon 7 years ago; it was a total highlight for him. I think my little ones will get a kick out of the Irish music and dancing too.

I know that Chef Mickey's gets some terrible reviews, but we like it. The food has always been hot and fresh when we have had dinner, and the interactions with Characters has been fun. It is not cheap though, so I get wanting to be sure this is the right one for your family.

I also like LILO and Stitch breakfast at 'Ohana. It is a lot of fun, the food comes to you, and who does not love that mischief Stitch??? It is a less expensive option, and is a lot of fun.

 

[tami82]

I think the first day should be low key as sometimes check in can be very stressful if you don't get your room right away. Since you are getting in early maybe have a dinner around 6:00 at Chef Mickey just to play it safe with timing, I would scratch the 2:30 lunch

 

[monorailsilver]

I would skip the 2:40 reservation and do an early dinner at CM.

I know on our arrival days we are tired from the early wake up. When my kids were of napping age they did not nap on the plane much to my dismay. I am thinking I did get them down for a short nap once we had our room and then headed to CM for a 5pm dinner reservation.

I would avoid the rush upon arrival.

 

[Greenbmw17]

We just got back a few weeks ago from taking our kids for the 1st time (6yr, 4yr and 2yr).
My kids wanted nothing to do with relaxing on arrival day. They were so amped up with excitement so we did Epcot for half a day but still called it an early evening. It cost only $40 and was totally worth it. I got us fp for FEA so we rode that, had dinner at Biergarten (a place that it was cool that they were loud and they danced to get some excitement out) and we called it an early evening. It was just an enough taste of the parks to get them ready for the rest of our vacation.
We are going again this winter and I have a similar plan. A low key half day at the park with only 1 fp and a dinner. If we ride more than 1 ride, awesome. If not, that is cool too.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

Travel days can be quite unpredictable, so, IMHO, I would drop CM altogether in case something happens (flight delay, meltdown, etc.). If Raglan Road is non-negotiable, I would make a reservation for your arrival day on opentable.com and not through the WDW site. You can reserve on opentable without a cc hold and can cancel day-of without penalty. That way, you can arrive at your resort and then decide what you are up for - head to DS and go to Raglan Road, go to the Lego Store (the giant Disney lego sculptures are amazing!), go to World of Disney or head over to MK to ride the monorail, grab a QS meal (or a TS if something is available day of!), go to the Poly or add a day to your tickets and head to a park! I find having an ADR on arrival day to be quite stressful so we always arrive and then go from there. We can then hit the ground running with our ADR's, etc. the next day.

 

[Betty Rohrer]

That's what I was thinking when I booked a PPO Breakfast at Crystal Palace on our first full day there!



Thank you for this! Can never remind myself of this too much!




I'm thinking they might be tired and cranky while my husband thinks they will be amped up and crazy; with two kids there's a chance we could both be right!



I know you can't ride the monorail to Pop, was just thinking it would be extra magic for my 4 year old, a ride without going into the parks. (Plus maybe stopping and getting a tropical treat for mom and dad at the Poly!) If there was a Chef Mickey's dinner opening at a reasonable time (right now there's only 9:00 pm) I would be all over it, but 2:20 is the best I could do for now. Very tempting to add another day to our tickets, but I think that comes with too much temptation to stay through fireworks and I do think that it needs to be an early night.

Chef Mickey late lunch or dinner would be disaster without going into MK with most of my grandkids. to be that close to the park and not go in would be a meltdown in the making. the monorail ride would make it worse as they could really see in the park but not go in. I would get the extra day do your FP+ rides and maybe a train ride. maybe a counter serve dinner. bribe with a pool swim to leave early well before parade and fireworks. that is what works with our grandkids

 

[aebeauregard]

I think Chef Mickeys above Raglan Road if you are trying to choose between the two situations. I am also an advocate though of having a low key arrival day. Who knows what type of naps will or won't happen on the plane?? Maybe just get situated, go swimming, check out the playgrounds, eat at the food court, and get plenty of rest for the next day!!

 

[Ensusieasm]

I need some help figuring out the best plan for arrival day! My travel party includes me, my husband, my 4 year old son, and my one year old son (17 months at time of travel). While my husband and I have been to Disney several times, this is going to be our first trip with kids and we really want to make it magical for them.

Our flight arrives at MCO around 10 am, which I think should get us to Pop Century by noon.

Original arrival day plan: have a bite at the hotel, get into the room, head to Disney Springs, dinner at Raglan Road.

After second guessing myself that dinner at Raglan Road wouldn't have enough Disney magic for kicking off the trip for the 4 year old I came up with another plan.

Second plan: arrive at hotel, get into room or leave luggage at desk, late lunch at Chef Mickey's (2:20pm ADR), ride the monorail, back to hotel

Now I'm turning myself in circles and thinking maybe we should scrap all arrival day plans and play it by ear.

Do you all think that 2:20 is late enough given our arrival time? Would Raglan Road and Disney Springs be magical for a 4 year old? Other thoughts?

After getting up early and traveling with two little ones I would let them swim in the pool, eat lunch in the Pop quick service, and get a nap. It's also fun to take a walk around the Pop Resort and then over the bridge to Art of Annimation to see all the themed icon statues. A four year old might like Rain Forest Cafe or T-Rex for dinner at Disney Springs.

 

[BoatDriver]

We've learned through experience to use the first day to decompress. Your 4yo may insist he wants to go straight into the park, but stay strong! Don't give into the temptation!

Here's our plan for November. I'll already be down in Orlando for board meetings, so I'll wake up and check out of my hotel at DS and go to Beach Club to drop my bags and get us checked in. I'll then meet my wife and kids (DS4 and DD2) at the airport and take the Magical Express with them back to Beach Club. Depending on the weather and how the kids are doing, we'll either wander around or let them swim. They'll either nap in the stroller during a walk, or in the room if one opens up early enough, then it's dinner at Boardwalk around 5:15 and an early bedtime for the fun to begin the next day.

I'm a planner, so it's tough for me to just play it by ear, but trust me, it'll turn out better in the long run.

 

[MagicSoup]

we have been travelling to Disney with our kids (now almost 3 and almost 5) and I would say to stick close to the hotel upon arrival. Last year when we went, we couldn't even get into our room until nearly 3. Once you arrive a noon, I would do lunch and then check out the resort...then if your younger one naps, maybe one of you stay with him in the room to nap while the other parent takes the 4yo for a walk across the bridge to AoA and "visit" all the Cars. Walking around the resort there are tonnes of cool statues and figures to see (maybe check out the Lion King play area at AoA), then maybe head back to Pop for a swim. Then after that, totally do up DTD - Raglan if you want, and check out all the cool things there, like the train, World of Disney, the fountain area, etc. It's nice to have a leisurely first day and get to bed early so that you can kick off Day 1, especially since you're doing an early breakfast (and maybe Rope Drop and the welcome show?)

I hadn't considered walking over to AoA on arrival day! I had been thinking it would be cool to do at some point but it would definitely be a low key introduction to the more immersive Disney experience! Our Crystal Palace reservation is for before the park opens so we'll be eating with Pooh and Friends during the open show. My husband and I never made rope drop when we were going on our own so I'm hoping we might make it for our second Magic Kingdom day!

I know that Chef Mickey's gets some terrible reviews, but we like it. The food has always been hot and fresh when we have had dinner, and the interactions with Characters has been fun. It is not cheap though, so I get wanting to be sure this is the right one for your family.

I also like LILO and Stitch breakfast at 'Ohana. It is a lot of fun, the food comes to you, and who does not love that mischief Stitch??? It is a less expensive option, and is a lot of fun.

Unfortunately, I'm not finding any Ohana availability for our entire trip. I bet my 4 y.o. would love Stitch!

I think the first day should be low key as sometimes check in can be very stressful if you don't get your room right away. Since you are getting in early maybe have a dinner around 6:00 at Chef Mickey just to play it safe with timing, I would scratch the 2:30 lunch

Earliest dinner availability I can find is 9:00 pm. I guess I was thinking that if we don't get our room right away I would prefer to just drop our bags with concierge and go do something, the timing will definitely be a little tight though.

When my kids were of napping age they did not nap on the plane much to my dismay.

I would avoid the rush upon arrival.

Oh no! My kids will typically fall asleep in the car so I was banking on them napping at some point during our travels. Rushing is never fun.

 

[Pkltm]

I think if you are eating at Raglan Road one day anyways arrival day is perfect. There is much to see at DS, I really think may 4 yr old would love the playing at the Lego store, just walking by T-Rex and the WOD store