What do we do the 1st day???

[Karalynn]

We will be arriving at MCO @11?10am on Friday 1/27, so I figure by 1:00-ish we should be at VWL. I had originally thought we could just pack our suits in our carryons and hang by the pool, relax then make dinner reservations for that night. But now, I'm wondering if we should maybe try and get reservations for somewhere in MK and go hit that park for a few hours. Still make it an early night. I just don't know if I can be that close and not go to a park!!!!

What do you all do on your 1st day?

 

[lucincia]

When we take our kids to WDW for their first time in Nov/Dec, we will get into WL around noon. We plan to just check in and then head to MK. I think the kids will enjoy that. We'll probably not hit any rides unless the lines are EXTREMELY short. Most likely, walk around, take in the scene (it will be overwhelming for 7 and 2 years old who have never been to a Disney park) and wander through the stores.

Just something relaxing and not have to fight the crowd for rides. Don't want the kids to get stressed out on the very first day!

Of course, we have an 8:10 AM seating at the castle breakfast the next morning (50 min before the park opens) so that will be nice too

Never been to WDW with kids before. This will be a new experience.

 

[mom2of2]

We always got to our resort early in the day and unpacked, swam and then had reservations for Chef Mickey's around 5:30. We'd take all methods of transportation and the more the better just for fun, we'd try to get co-pilot seats on the monorail. Then after dinner we went out on the 4th floor at the Contemp. and watch the fireworks. This usally made for an early night so that we could hit the parks early the next morning. Unless you have AP's do you really want to use a park ticket to just walk around and not go on anything?

 

[Horizons16]

We usually get there around 12 or 1. After unpacking and taking a walk around the resort we head to DTD. Get something to eat there, come back to the resort swim for alittle while.
Sometimes my father and I rent a couple of boats and go to the 7 seas lagoon and what not. Sometimes go to the Contemporary game room after that.

 

[cleo]

Which pass do you have? Is it worth using a day (if you have a Basic or non-Ultimate pass)?

If so, it's always nice to go into Magic Kingdom your first day, if you have more than a few hours to enjoy it. Otherwise, I like to save it for the first full day. Epcot also makes for a nice evening, as does Downtown Disney if you don't want to use a day on your pass.

 

[Mackey Mouse]

We have annual passes, we drop our luggage in the room... freshen up and head out to Epcot through the International Gateway....something we have always done as we stay on the Epcot side. When our children were little, we headed right into Magic Kingdom. We usually fly out of Boston on the 6:00am or so flight.

 

[lucincia]

Unless you have AP's do you really want to use a park ticket to just walk around and not go on anything?

You don't need to have AP to enjoy walking around We'll be there for 7 days and got 7 days park hopper. We could have saved $3/person per day if we went with 6 days, but why bother. We'll just look for loose change in the parking lot to make up for the $3 difference!

To young kids who are Disney park newbies, just be in MK can be magical enough, even without the rides.

 

[mom2rb]

I would go to Magic Kingdom. You're not going at a busy time, so it won't be a waste of a day. We always get to our hotel by about 1:00 and go straight to MK. Plus if your room isn't ready you can check-in early and not worry about. You can call from the park and find out your room number.

 

[Karalynn]

I would go to Magic Kingdom. You're not going at a busy time, so it won't be a waste of a day. We always get to our hotel by about 1:00 and go straight to MK. Plus if your room isn't ready you can check-in early and not worry about. You can call from the park and find out your room number.

Sounds good to me!! I think we will try that, and if the kids are really wiped, we will just plan on a swim (if its not too cold!) then a quiet dinner.

 

[WinchesterVol]

We don't arrive at MCO until 4:00 so we're just going to tour around the hotel and maybe ride the buses and the monorail to see how long it takes to get to different areas of the park. We don't have ressies that pm but we have 2 the next day and b'fast at CM the following day.

 

[domestic goddess]

When we stay at VWL we have done several things on the first day. We love to just enjoy the resort and swim. You can then go to Roaring Forks for a quick dinner or go to Trail's End Buffet at Fort Wilderness(most inexpensive dinner on property). After dinner at either place you can go to Fort Wilderness for the campfire and outdoor movie usually about 7:00pm every night. It is a lot of fun! They have a sing-a-long with Chip and Dale, they have smore supplies that you can purchase(about $5.00 for a kit that will make several smores) and then they show a movie on a big screen outside. Everything but the smores kit is free! It is a fun way to work up to the parks and all of the excitement and magic.

Have a great trip and enjoy the VWL. We love it there!!!!

 

[mom2of2]

You don't need to have AP to enjoy walking around We'll be there for 7 days and got 7 days park hopper. We could have saved $3/person per day if we went with 6 days, but why bother. We'll just look for loose change in the parking lot to make up for the $3 difference!

To young kids who are Disney park newbies, just be in MK can be magical enough, even without the rides.

Ok, gotcha...didn't know what kind of tix you had. Enjoy your trip

 

[digskat]

We'll likely get there around 1pm, we plan on checking in, walking around the grounds and then maybe head over to the minigolf and back to the resort for dinner and a swim. We likely will get an early night's sleep and then go to MK in the morning.

 

[jann1033]

we usually drive so we kind of recoup the first day and have a nice dinner, ride the monorail circuit and go to dtd in the evening( yeah, we are weird)...this time though i might get one of the $3 extra days added to our passes and go to one of the parks since we probably are not going to buy park hoppers. maybe mgm cause our second day with hoppers we only do rnr and tot then leave . since we've all been there but the baby we coul switch our "first" mgm day to like a "second" mgm day since it would be short.

 

[Laurajean1014]

First, I unpack everything while DH and DS go swimming. Then we get ready to do dinner and a park or go to DTD for the evening. We ship our souvies home to ourselves, so getting the souvies early makes it easy for us.

 

[djkeenan]

We went to WDW for Christmas a few years ago and never used a ticket to go into the parks because we hate crowds. Some of the things we did may be fun on your arrival date:

Hoop de Doo Review (we had a blast!)
Illuminations Cruise
Sightseeing resorts and EPCOT via the monorail
Downtown Disney for shopping and meals.

For our trip in January our nephews have already requested mini golf. (they are so clueless about WDW!)

 

[MHTeacher]

The first time we took our DD's to WDW, they were 5 and 7. Try keeping them out of the Magic Kingdom !! There was no way We walked into MK around 3:00 that afternoon and caught the parade--a magical beginning for our trip

2001-All Star Sports
2003-CSR
Nov./Dec. 2005-WL

 

[Karalynn]

We went to WDW for Christmas a few years ago and never used a ticket to go into the parks because we hate crowds. Some of the things we did may be fun on your arrival date:

Hoop de Doo Review (we had a blast!)
Illuminations Cruise
Sightseeing resorts and EPCOT via the monorail
Downtown Disney for shopping and meals.

For our trip in January our nephews have already requested mini golf. (they are so clueless about WDW!)

Lol! I'm sure they won't be for long!

My initial plan was to check out the resort, swim, relax then do the hoop de doo that night! (providing we could get reservations) Then I just got wondering if we would be able to stay away from MK????

 

[princesstommi]

We like to go to MK on our arrival day, even if it's only for a few hours and we don't get on any big attractions. MK at night is one of my favorite things, and really kicks off a vacation! Oh, and a cheeseburger from Pecos Bill's is a must for me! Then I know I'm finally there!

 

[nuzmom]

We usually arrive at our resort around 11:00 am or so. We check-in and just drop off the luggage (they'll keep it for you) and then go to a park. Although I like going to MK on the day we arrive, we go to MGM or Epcot if we plan on hitting MK the next day (for a full day). By going to a park, we really feel like we're "in" WDW and our vacation has begun. Sometimes we stay until park close because we're so keyed up.

Oh, I usually make ADRs for a late lunch at the park we plan on visiting on the day we arrive. Yes, we run the risk of missing it if our flight is delayed, but 1:30 PM or so has worked out well for us. We eat breakfast at home (or snack on the plane) and grab a couple of fries from McD's upon arrival and then we're good for our WDW late lunch.

Btw - we carry a backpack into the parks - we make sure it's packed and ready to go when we pack it. Then, while we leave our luggage, I just grab it and we go. No "digging" through our bags to "get ready".

Last comment - I'm not so sure about swimming. You may end up being in wet and COLD swimsuits while waiting for the 4:00 PM check in time. Not a good way to start the vacation. Also, last year in December, we hit the Florida cold spell and swimming was the last thing we wanted to do.

Good luck with your decision. Hey, no matter what you go with, YOU'LL BE IN WDW!!!!