What do I do as soon as I get there?

[brown eyed girl]

If we arrive after lunch and it will be our first time visiting ever, what do we do? In the book it did suggest relaxing by the pool but I feel like I would be wasting time by the pool and feel anxious with so much fun just minutes away. But then if we start the parks at the height of the day, would all be too much? DD is 10 plus hubby...what did you do the first day you arrived or should I say the first half day?

 

[Mr.BsMom]

Our last trip, we headed straight for MK! It turned out to be a great afternoon and evening... We met a ton of characters after a thunderstorm blew through - including Mickey, Minnie, Chuck & Dave (thanks, Delswife!), Tigger, Eeyore, Pooh, Goofy, & Max. Plus, we rode Goofy's Barnstormer 4 or 5 times in a row... We watched the fireworks as we rode it! We just thought it was a great start to our vacation!

I personally cannot imagine just going to the pool and relaxing! I want to get to the parks!!

 

[lazarru]

It depends on what kind of tickets your getting. If you getting AP or length of stay then go ahead and go to a park since you can go as many days as you want with AP, and for as many days as you are staying with length of stay. If your getting tickets only for a certain number of days though, I'd go to DTD , a water park or do something else light to get you in the mood.

Hitting the parks right after traveling can make for a long day if you need to feel like your getting your money's worth.

 

[sk!mom]

We wll also arrive just after lunch and we plan to get settled in, check out the pool, and then have dinner at Chef Mickey's. We will try to see the fireworks from the CR.

 

[Aimeedyan]

If you're getting there right after lunch, I would suggest not wasting a day on your pass unless you are getting a length of stay one and it won't matter. I agree that I would go nuts at the pool, but I see their point.

I would suggest getting settled, checking the hotel out (depending on where you're staying, that in itself can be an adventure!), then head to Downtown Disney. You can feel Disney magic there, its free parking and entertainment, hit the shops, have dinner there, see West Side, possibly do DisneyQuest, etc. Then you don't feel like you are wasting money on a park ticket if you do decide you're really tired and want to head back.

You can also grab a movie or something down there if you want down time but dont want to sit in the room.

This time we're arriving around dinner, so we plan to check in, get settled, then head to the Boardwalk. ORder pizza at Spoodles and relax out there watching the people go by. Then the next morning, we're hitting the parks hard (and starting the day with the Princess breakfast!)

HAVE FUN!

 

[ProfGoofy]

We usually stay in the Epcot area, so we walk through the International Gateway and head over to the Rose and Crown for a 'warm' pint of Guinness, an order the Fruit and Cheese Plate and then just start relaxing.

 

[vicnmickey]

When we arrive late in the afternoon, we do DTD. The last trip we did Planet Hollywood for dinner, did some shopping. It is always just enough to get in the mood for Disney. You won't waste a day on your hopper pass and still be able to soak up Disney atmosphere!!!!!

 

[jcemom]

The first thing my boys wanted to do was swim, but then we arrived in February to an 80 degree sunny day, coming from below freezing temps up north, lol. Next trip I plan to ride the monorail with DD and have dinner at 'Ohana, followed by watching Wishes from the Poly beach.

 

[crow11ad]

Since it is our first time as well, we are going to Epcot since we have a ps for the Ice Cream Social with the characters.

 

[Kaycee]

We get Parkhopper Passes and don't want to use a day that first partial day, so we head to Downtown Disney. It still feels like we're at WDW, but we're not using any of our PHP days. Now it's become such a tradition to spend the first afternoon/evening at DTD, even if we had AP's or length-of-stay, we'd probably still go to DTD. We think it's a great way to get started on a magical WDW vacation!

 

[Shooby doo]

We normally arrive slightly later(16:00) so we tend to head for the hotel,out for some food-we always make the point of making the first meal special,a sort of welcome to the holiday! Early to bed then up early next day to get to MK for the opening ceremony!As mentioned before it depends on your ticket-I personally wouldn't waste a day for just an afternoon/ evening.Also bear in mind that which ever park you choose will already be busy!Normally if you get there first thing in the morning you've got a couple of ours before it gets manic!
SD

 

[grammagail]

Our plane arrives at 9:55 am - and I figured we'd be to our hotel my noon (hopefully???) We'll be there 7 days/6nights - and our flight out on day #7 doesn't leave until 7:30 pm. I purposely booked an early arrival - late departure to take full advantage of all my days.

However, our plan was to get a 5 day PH, 1 day at US and 1 "down day" in the middle. We planned on checking in and going straight to MK. Even if our room wasn't ready yet - was going to store luggage.

I know this will be a full day - because we'll be leaving very early that day - but hopefully 4 yo grandson will do some sleeping on the plane.

Am I to understand from these posts - that my plan is unrealistic? I cannot imagine traveling all the way to Disney - and having from noon until park closing at like 9:00 pm (since we're going in June) - and NOT going to MK??????

I was figuring since we had basically 7 (pretty) full days - we'd do a 5 day PH (which would include arrival day and departure day). That way we could do all 4 parks + go back to one favorite?

Any comments or suggestions? I'm thinking I might be more excited than my grandson is at this point

 

[dcmbshafe]

brown eyed girl: we like to go "resort hopping" the day we arrive. My kids (DD4, DS3) love to ride the monorail, so we head over, park at one of the hotels and start exploring in between monorail rides...this also increases your odds of riding up-front! We also usually take a boat ride from the Contemporary over the FW and back. Last trip we did Chef Mickey the first night after touring the hotels, which was a great intro. to the characters for the kids.

grammagail: I don't think your plan is unrealistic, but it is pretty aggressive and your GS might be wiped out before the end of the day. I know my 3 and 4 year old kids wouldn't be able to handle a plane trip, getting to the resort, and a full day at MK. Like you, I am way more excited than my kids right now so I rely on DW to temper my enthusiasm - I'd suggest talking to some of your other relatives and asking them whether they think your GS would be able to handle a day like that. The worst thing would be for you, all excited, to get down there and he runs out of steam (which, in the case of my kids = cranky!!!) - this could lead to a bit of disillusionment on your part. Maybe could plan on getting there and going to MK for a couple hours, then going back for a break before returning?

 

[PattiPB]

We do Chef Mickey's the night we arrive. It definitely puts us in the WDW spirit, and we can take a monorail loop or see the EWP from the beach afterwards.

I'd be worried that having such a long day---early AM flight, no sleep the night before (excitement), then hitting the parks hard until late in the night---would have a negative effect on my kids for the next one (or possibly two!) days.

Of course, we are flying across country, but no matter how "light" our first evening is, they simply CAN'T be awakened early the next AM, and sometimes for two mornings!!!

Patti

 

[Kuzco]

Originally posted by brown eyed girl
In the book it did suggest relaxing by the pool but I feel like I would be wasting time by the pool and feel anxious with so much fun just minutes away.

LOL, I know what you mean! This is probably advice that a first timer won't like, but if spending time at the pool is fun, then you're not wasting your time at Disney! But if you and your family aren't fans of pools, find something else like a park or DTD. Try not to feel like you're wasting time. If you're having fun, you're not wasting time at all! Have a great time!

 

[dixiegirl]

DH and I always have length of stay passes so for us, we head right out to the parks - usually MK. Neither one of us can wait to set our eyes on that castle - that's when we really know that we have arrived!!!!

 

[BAST]

We have annual passes so the extra day is not a problem.. My advise is to go to the park that stays open the latest - usually EPOCT - and spend the rest of the day there. I know that I cannot wait to get to the parks and this offers the most 'bang for the buck'.

 

[karylrocks]

We will be arriving on the red-eye from Portland at 8 am. We have done this before so I know that there is really not much sleeping on the plane, and with the jet lag I am pretty wiped out. But it is better than spending the entire day getting there just to go to sleep (3 hour time difference doesn't help). This time we will be going to Blizzard Beach, should get there when it opens at 10 (renting a car). We will play until we drop, which will be much earlier for me than DS(12) and DD(21). I can always catch a nap on a lounge chair (don't forget the sunscreen!) while the kids waterslide to their hearts' content, then shower, dress, and head for the resort to explore and grab dinner before retiring early for our first park day (EMH at AK).

If I were arriving after lunch, I would probably head to DTD (we always do Disneyquest) for shopping and dinner, then to the resort for a swim before retiring. If you are not traveling far and have UPH or AP, I would go to the parks.

 

[grammagail]

Thanks. I do have "some" concerns about the long day - since we'll be up and running around 4:30 am. I guess it's wishful thinking that somewhere during our hour drive to airport and 2.5 hr flight that he'll catch some zzz's and get refreshed. Since he lives with us - we pretty much know his habits and typically of a 4 yo, no sleep = no peace

We also will be doing a character breakfast the next morning. My first instinct was to not do a park - get in, relax, swim, maybe even go DTD, look around. THEN - the character breakfast will be our first REAL experience.

I guess I was just looking at it from all angles - I purposely made an early morning flight in (arriving by 10:00am) and a later flight out (leaving Disney at 7:30 pm) - so we could take full advantage of our 7 day stay. I thought that would afford us 5 days to do the 4 parks, allowing for 1 day at universal and 1 day of "nothing" in the middle.

Guess we'll have to play it by ear when we get there. I only mentioned MK from 12:00 - 9:00 pm - figuring even if we only went a couple of hours - it would be worth it (?)

Thanks to everybody on these posts - I've gotten a ton of great ideas..................but sometimes I need to be pulled back down to earth - my excitment most of the time gets the best of me

 

[HunnyPots]

grammagail,

I don't think your plan is unrealistic at all. In fact, it sounds a lot like mine, except that I have two teens instead of a 4 year old.

Our plane lands at 10:04 am and we plan to be at EPCOT at around 12:30 or 1:00. I have a ps for the character lunch at Garden Grill. I chose EPCOT instead of MK because we arrive on Memorial Day and I figure MK crowds would be a lot heavier.

When you get to the park, put your grandson in a stroller and go! If he falls asleep, great! He'll wake up and be ready for more. If he's too excited to sleep (as my dd would have been at that age) and wants to do everything in sight, even better!

I don't think nine hours can be considered a wasted day, by any means. You probably wouldn't spend the entire day in the park with a four year old if you arrived at opening, so I don't see the difference.

Be flexible and have a great trip!