The First Day

[dalayney]

After unpacking, we always head to DTD..... last time we ate at T-rex, shopped, always have to hit the Lego store... take our time and enjoy it all!

 

[AThrillingChase]

Always a park. If you have at least a 3 or 4 day ticket it is only about $10 more to add a day. Totally worth it for me, even if I only have 4 hours in the park! One trip I think I only had 3, even.

I'm not a huge DTD fan. At least in it's current set up. I would rather walk around world showcase, shopping and eating.

This year, thanks to United pulling out of CLE, the flight prices have gone up $100 since November, and almost $200 since May. SO, we are flying Southwest instead. We leave about 6:30AM and land before 9. I live 10 minutes from the airport so we really aren't up all that early, and should be to the resort between 10-11. So we have a couple of FP+ at HS, then an hour or two at the pool, then on to MK for the evening EMH!

 

[PSUGuy]

We stay at BoardWalk almost always, we get on the ground at MCO by 9:30, do a grocery stop, drop the bags with the bell and make WS by 11 or so. See the picture below to discover our first 'attraction'.

Bill From PA

 

[Sparkly]

We arrive in the evening, so unpack and go to Walmart for supplies. Then the next morning, more shopping, lol. This time we'll be maybe going to DTD on arrival night, then shopping and HS on our first day.

 

[RicJ]

my plan right now, since i come in at around 11am (if flight is not delayed much) amd the to hop to the outlet stores on the nearby mall to get a good travel bag and some clothing (i always travel in light, just a backpack for the first days get whatever i need at wherever i am) and then come back to the resort ( PoP ) and maybe check in one of the parks at night. Hope this work well!

 

[hedberg1661]

Please note the following tip works great for AP holders who fly.

Personally I schedule the earliest flight out (usually 6am takeoff) and the latest flight back (usually 9pm takeoff). That way I have almost full days both of my travel days.

 

[katt789]

For me it depends, I'm an AP holder, so is the best friend, so if it's just the two of us, then we'll jet right off to a park, specifically MK

Otherwise, we'll head to DTD, grab some dinner, maybe shop and relax, it's a long flight/day of travel for us, especially if we want to get there before 10pm, lol, so usually it's pretty relaxed!

 

[Damien2213]

In 1997 we flew down. We arrived at our hotel and they got us to our rooms. After that we caught a bus to Magical Kingdom and hung out there for a bit in the evening. In 2008 we drove to Savannah, GA and stayed over night then drove the rest of the way and headed to Magical Kingdom in the evening and just took it easy. In 2010 We drove down to Orlando and stayed at a hotel there then started our Disney trip the next day. Disney has no problem with you getting your keys and tickets before you can get your room. Then we stayed in Orlando for an extra night and headed home the next morning. I liked that way the best so I'll be doing that again in 2014.

 

[pinoke]

We always book a late afternoon character meal. It starts the trip off in such a fun way, and if its in a park we just do an attraction or two then head back for a quick swim and an early bedtime. My son gets so excited when we leave home at the crack of dawn, thinking he will be in a Disney pool that day.And it makes it a whole lot easier at 5 am saying "cmon, mickeys waiting for us to have lunch with us!" Since we usually get 6-9 day tickets, it doesn't matter if we go to a park for a short time….

 

[StuckInKS]

We usually get there later than expected, after a 20 hr drive (sometimes straight thru). We unload the vehicle (which always seems to take F O R E V E R), take a shower if we didn't stop at a hotel the previous night, grab a bite to eat in the food court, and then head to whatever park stays open latest that night no matter how late it already is. Our first trip we got to Epcot at 10pm and it closed at midnight lol.

This last time we arrived on our MNSSHP night @ around 4-5pm, so we were really rushing it. Thank goodness we had stopped at a hotel the previous night so showers/baths were taken that morning! We still had to stop at the food court, get the kids changed into their costumes and wait for the bus, so we got to MK just as the actual party started rather than 4pm as we had hoped.

Since we are usually tired, rushing and usually don't get to spend more than a few hrs at a park that night, it almost seems like a waste of a park day, but we just can't resist. There is NO WAY that we could not go to a park on arrival day. We'd drive ourselves nuts!

 

[Gumbo4x4]

If its still in the AM when we arrive, maybe we'd do Epcot. If PM, hang out at the pool.

 

[Orreed]

We always go to a theme park. On our January 2013 trip we landed at 11:00am, checked in and eat lunch at CBR, and headed to Hollywood Studios. After riding all the attractions there we wanted, around five we took a boat to EPOCT and spent the rest of the night there.
I couldn't imagine not going to a theme park, we're always too excited haha. Plus we only had two full days in the WDW parks, so that half day was more valuable to us. I actually do wish we went at a slower pace because by day five (We also had a Universal Day) we were burnt out, had done most everything, and took an earlier flight home. I'll make sure to slow down next time. But I still support a park on the first day.

 

[Imhere]

What do you do?

I mean, you just got there. You are probably a little tired from travelling, specially if you came in by plane... you just got into your room, but you still have half a day and the whole night ahead.

So, what do you do? What you guys and gals like to do when you drop in the Disney-verse?

Flying doesn't really in itself make us tired unless we are asked to flap our arms to gain altitude.

Sitting in an airplane seat is probably more sedate than what I would normally be doing if I weren't flying.

On our arrival days we usually go to a park and do the normal stuff we would do any other day.

Check in, if room is not ready head to a park. If room is ready, spend 10 minutes unpacking, hanging up clothes etc, then hit a park.

 

[herb102211]

It depends, but we usually get to the resort around noon. We head to Epcot for lunch. By that time, the room is generally ready and we’ll take a quick nap before heading back to Epcot or MK for the night.

 

[TXHauntedMansionFan]

We also usually land around noon. In those instances we are at MK by 2-3pm. However, the two times that we have landed in the late afternoon (5 pm or so), we've headed to DTD for dinner and to start getting in the mood for our trip. I do believe that we were at rope drop the next morning for both of those later arrival trips.

 

[jon18uk]

Coming from UK ouur flight usually lands around 4-5pm, we make it to hotel for 6pm. Then head to Epcot, get a ride or two in, eat and watch Illuminations. It has become tradition to always do Illuminations on first night.
One trip we then found evening EMH at MK so park hopped and stayed until 1am. I worked out we had been awake for 24 hours

 

[burnurcomputer]

We stay off site, but we shop for our food for the week for our resort. As I prep some food, my Dh and 4 boys head down to our water park to get some fun in. After they are done or I come let them know I am done prepping we head out to Downtown Disney for some shopping and eating!

 

[jtowntoflorida]

This past trip was the first one where we arrived during mid-day so we actually had a choice in what to do. We did a "monorail tour" (kids love the monorail!) and also picked up tickets for MNSSHP. Depending on flight times, I'm thinking on our next trip we'll just head to AK and get some of the Wilderness Explorers badges done (didn't get a chance to finish our books on the last trip). The time of year we're going (December this year) will have a fairly early close, so we'll be able to get back, eat, and get to bed early so we can be ready to go bright and early the next day.

 

[hedberg1661]

This past trip was the first one where we arrived during mid-day so we actually had a choice in what to do. We did a "monorail tour" (kids love the monorail!) and also picked up tickets for MNSSHP. Depending on flight times, I'm thinking on our next trip we'll just head to AK and get some of the Wilderness Explorers badges done (didn't get a chance to finish our books on the last trip). The time of year we're going (December this year) will have a fairly early close, so we'll be able to get back, eat, and get to bed early so we can be ready to go bright and early the next day.

I love doing a ride or two on the Monorail later at night. For kids throw them in their PJ's and stop at each resort. Check out the lighting, store, etc. If no kiddies then adults can hit up a bar at each resort to have a beverage.

 

[Alicatt]

I'm really enjoying reading how everyone spends their first day. So many varied and interesting responces! I am grateful to the OP for starting thius thread.

Our flight gets into MCO at 12:30. I'm gussing we'll be at POR by 2-2:30. If our room is ready, I'll head straight over. If not we'll eat lunch at the resort (though we might hoof it to FQ for some begniets!) first. We have an ADR at T-Rex for 7, so we might just head right over but I reserve the right to do some swimming instead. We'll try to get to bed early so none of us are cranky for the first time the kids see the castle the next day. I want to be able to cherish that moment.