Visiting a park arrival night - Crazy?

[krissyh]

Provided we are on time we arrive at MCO at 4:39PM (which was supposed to be 3:49 before the airline changed it - I knew we should have taken an early flight!)
Debating what to do that evening. Have thought about DisneyQuest but by the time we grab a bit to eat and get there we figure it will be crazy (2/20 - President's Day) or maybe hit a park (lots of days on no expiration).
MGM Studios is on extra magic hours that night but don't see us wanting to go there two times on our 4 1/2 day trip. MK will probably be packed but is open late and we can just eat there.

Opinions? BF first real trip (day trip to AK and Epcot in the past) so I don't know if he should see MK first in the daylight. He's super laid back and probably won't care though.

HELP - I'm sooooo type A.

 

[Stacy's a freak]

I don't think it's crazy at all! Do it! I personally feel like I haven't make it to WDW until I've seen the castle. So I would start in MK. Even if it's crowded, you can still wander around and show your first-timer what the magic is all about. Frankly, strolling along Main Street, seeing the people, the balloons, hearing the Dapper Dans, smelling the confectionary, seeing a character or two ... those are all of the things that are magical to me - not necessarily the rides.

I say, don't waste any of your time there. Go out and do stuff! Enjoy!

 

[Demon Llama]

You might not want to waste a park-hopper day on just one evening. If you land at MCO at 4:39 (assuming you don't run into any delays), you probably won't even get to your hotel for another 45 min - 1 hour. I imagine you won't be ready to go anywhere until around 6 pm. Maybe you could have a nice sit-down dinner at one of the resort restaurants, and then head to DTD for a bit. If you're staying at a Disney Resort you could take the time to explore your resort, take a dip in the pool, and go to bed so you're well rested for your upcoming week.

If you've got your heart set on going straight to a park, I'd suggest Epcot. It's usually open later than the other parks, there's tons to see and do that aren't necessarily rides, and there's lots of great places to eat.

Have fun!

 

[SqueakyMouse]

We just HAVE to go to a park (usually MK) our first night...no matter how tired we are!!!

 

[goodferry]

Well, we went to Epcot our first night, but our flight arrived at 2:45, it was 4:30 before we got to Epcot and we were staying on the monorail. Epcot is a good first night park, I think, because it is usually not as crowded, you could have a nice dinner and watch Illuminations. Or you could go to the Polynesian and have dinner then watch Wishes. I always want to go to the MK our first night too, but it seems to stay crowded from 2 pm until closing. We have never done any of the evening EMH parks, because I have heard horror stories about the crowds. What are your plans for the next day? Are you planning on being up early? I would take that into consideration too. If you don't go to a park, there is still a lot to do, go to the Boardwalk, DTD, Pleasure Island etc.
I hate to suggest this, because I know you mentioned being Type A, but maybe you should make a late dinner reservation just in case, but just go with the flow and see what you feel like doing once you get there. I wouldn't book anything that requires a credit card deposit, like a dinner show, or anything like Cirque de Soleil, in case your flight is delayed.

 

[Tammi67]

Our flight arrived at 0930 am and when we got to our resort it was 11. Obviously our room was not ready, so we headed off to Epcot. We immediately got FPs for Soarin, went to World Showcase and had lunch at a CS, rode a few other low-profile rides, and headed out around 4-4:30. It wasn't rushed and we got to quell that Disney itch. Just enough after a long morning of travelling. Needless to say, we all went to bed early and slept good for the morning rush.

 

[Goofy4]

You might want to take in one of the "majors" (my term) the first night: Illuminations, Fantasmic or Wishes. Perhaps dinner and a major? That way you free up your schedule a bit, and if it should rain you still have time to "catch up".

 

[d4est]

We plan on going to a park on our arrival day. We get into MCO at 3:50pm. We are taking ME to our resort & then heading to Epcot. We have ADR's for 7pm @ Le Cellier, then will watch Illuminations.

 

[mic_key_mouse]

I wouldn't plan a park, either. Assuming there are no delays in your travel, the best you can hope for is a 6:00-6:30ish arrival in a park by the time you check in, etc. If you figure in a delay somewhere then you are looking at much later. I would just chill out and save the day on your passes- a couple hours isn't worth it. Make an ADR at a resort restaurant (maybe CG- at least you will see Wishes if you time it right). I like to be rested so I can hit the ground running early the next day, but everyone is different.

 

[d4est]

The thing about saving a day on your park passes...unless they are non expiring, the difference in getting an extra day is peanuts. I can't speak for anyone but myself, but it would kill me to know I was right there, but hanging out at my hotel. I like to be out doing stuff. Heck, the required (by DH) afternoon break drives me crazy. I can relax at home, lol!

 

[cyndibelle]

we always go to a park the day we get there....its not a crazy idea at all...i mean dont go if you all are tired from your trip..cause you wanna be ready to go and geared up for the park....if you dont go to a park you can always visit downtown disney..

 

[mhingher]

We usually take AM flights, and just spend the afternoon in DTD or at the resort. Last time we went to Chef Mickey's in the Contemporary for dinner. We're arriving at MCO at 5:30pm for our upcoming trip, and we're trying something different this time. We're going to head right into Epcot and catch Illuminations. My parents have APs, and DH and I have 7 day park hoppers. We're staying Sat-Sat, and plan on spending a day at Universal/IOA, so we'll still be able to go into the park every day. We usually don't go into the parks on our arrival or departure day- but there's only a couple $$ difference between the 5 day and 7 day hopper, so we might as well take advantage of it!

 

[tmt martins]

GO GO GO you are still looking at 5 hrs in the park with Wishes and all this is enough time to get you ready for the real start the next day.

The ONLY way I wouldn't go is if there was a movie at DTD that you WOULD WANT to see .

 

[Carolinagirl1063]

Depends on your ticket, we have APs so we start at the MK on arrival day and eat at Chek Mickeys for dinner that night. It helps dd unwind from the trip.

 

[almacdonald]

I'd go, the difference in price to buy an extra day of tickets is like $2! Why wouldn't you? We went to DL last year and landed about that time. Our original plans were to go to DTD that night but when i walked by the entrance to DL i couldn't pass it up. We were so glad that we went that night cause the weather was beautiful, the lines were short and it ended up raining 16" the next 4 days we were there!

 

[TLPL]

I would book a dinner at one of the TS at Epcot that night and just hang out and watch Illuminations. That way you can check that off your "to do list" and make the rest of your trip more relaxing.

 

[Stacerita]

I would definately hit the park if I was up to it and not too tired. You are on vacation. Be free and enjoy!