What do you do on arrival day??

[bbak3030]

If your first day is a partial travel day, what do you do with the remainder of the day? We are going April 22-27 and driving down. Planning to leave around 3am. With the time change and stops, we estimate to pull in around 2-3pm.

I'm trying to decide what to do with the rest of the day. I currently have a 5:30 reservation at The Plaza and would like to go to MK for a few hours. Part of me thinks a nice dinner at a resort and some pool time may be a better choice. But I will be sooo close to the MK and will want to go. DH will do all do the drive and says he will he ready to go. I know it won't be a late night or anything.

Suggestions? What do you like to do on arrival day??

 

[DisneyGal24]

On shorter trips (7 days or less) we go to a park on arrival day. We want to make the most of our time at WDW. On longer trips (8+ days) we like to relax by the pool and have a dinner reservation at another resort (O'Hana) or go to DTD. Like you we leave pretty early, about 2:30 and arrive by lunch.

 

[stephm0188]

We go to a park!

Last year we didn't check in til 7:30pm, but we still went out for EMH til 11pm.

 

[themouseforme]

we're weird I guess. we ride the monorails out to epcot and around the 3 resorts. makes us feel connected and expectant of the fun to start tomorrow.

 

[tlh]

I love to have dinner at my favorite restaurant and go to a park afterwards. I like to make sure I have plenty of time between landing and dinner reservations, so we don't have to rush like crazy. Just take it easy and go to the resort and check in and get a little situated in the room and go to dinner. We have annual passes so we don't feel like we are not getting our money out of just going that night after landing.

 

[disney world dreamer]

personally i like to relax on my arrival day and not do any parks unless there is some reason that i have to such as i am only going for a very short trip or there's something going on at one of the parks that day that i cannot catch on another day.

we like to arrive in the morning if possible and check in and hope that our room is ready and sprawl out on the bed for a little nap.
then we get a bite to eat at the resort and go swimming as long as the weather is cooperating.
then we either have an ADR at a resort or DTD for dinner and do a bit of shopping or if we don't have an ADR we go to DTD and eat at earl of sandwich and shop.

 

[OurLaughingPlace]

We have a tradition on our arrival days. We usually arrive around 1ish (room sometimes available, but not always). We have our swimsuits in our carry on luggage. Swim until 3ish (room available by then). We settle in to our room and head to the Boardwalk. We mini golf (Fantasia) and shop at The Screen Door and Sweet Spells. We eat at ESPN and later have 'to go' ice cream at Beaches and Cream (but this year we may have supper at Beaches and Cream... maybe a kitchen sink for supper). We enjoy the Boardwalk entertainment and sometimes even see fireworks from the bridge near Epcot. At the end of the evening, we get treats from the Boardwalk Bakery (we get them boxed for breakfast the next day ... cupcakes for breakfast at Disney is ok). We make sure we are back by 10:30/11:00 so we can be up the next morning for rope drop.

 

[Oathkeeper13]

On my first day I typically like to relax, explore the hotel, and get a nice dinner at one of the hotels eateries. If I get really bored I might go down to Downtown Disney. I'm a firm believer that you need one full day per park, if all I have is half a day I tend to skip it.

 

[PiperGirlInWondrland]

We are landing in Orlando at 2pm Wednesday. We have dinner reservations at Ohanas and are hitting the Magic kingdom. We have fp+ for space mt, splash mt, and 7dmt. I wanna squeeze in wishes and the parade. Can't WAIT!

 

[Frozen2014]

We planned going to MK for a few hours on arrival day before our 7pm ADR at Ohana, but by the time we checked in it was later than expected. So we checked out the resort and let the kids hang out in the arcade for a bit.

 

[anniemae]

We never do a park on arrival day. We settle into the hotel, get something to eat for lunch at the food court. We then go swimming, then always to DTD for dinner at Wolfgang Puck Express then the huge Disney store, then Ghiradellis. Not sure why we do this, but we do!

 

[twinsmama]

Last year we drove from about 5am-3pm arriving at Fort Wilderness then. We unpacked and settled in and then took the boat to the Contemporary for a little exploring at an ADR at Chef Mickey's. On our way back we watched the fireworks then went to bed. I like this restful with a character meal half day for our arrival day. On our departure days we also pack up, check out, and have breakfast at 1900 PF before hitting the road.

 

[keh422]

Every trip we've taken so far, we've eaten dinner at DTD (either Wolfgang Puck's Express or Grand Cafe), and then we've shopped until we get tired and head back to the resort. We have two trips planned in the next 6 months, and we're doing the same thing, so it's become a fun tradition.

 

[grafxgirl]

We usually make this a non-theme park day. One big reason is if we arrive later in the afternoon then by the time we get checked in and to a theme park we've wasted most of the day and the money. For the price of a ticket why not just wait until the next day and get a full day in at a theme park? We usually make a dinner reservation at one of the resort restaurants or at Downtown Disney instead of in a theme park. We like to take this day and spend it swimming or doing a little shopping at Downtown Disney, or playing some golf or mini golf. Jump on the monorail and grab some Dole Whip at the Polynesian then take it out to the beach area behind the resort and watch the Magic Kingdom fire works.

 

[GrumpyDad1974]

On afternoon arrival we always plan to relax.. then it falls through, we get excited and go to MK even if it's just for a couple hours. Last time we drove all night got in at 3 am, took a nap in the truck, checked in at 6 am, room was ready, unpacked, showered, breakfast and then rope drop... pretty much insanity.. lol

 

[Sam33]

I like to go to Epcot and hang around World Showcase on arrival day. I find it very leisurely and not theme park-y. And if you're just walking around and hanging out you don't have to worry about long afternoon lines.
I usually end up riding some rides in future world but I never plan on it.

 

[DISness Casual]

Our next trip is in 3 days so our annual ritual has gotten pretty routine at this point. On arrival day, we always take the first flight out of LaGuardia Airport in the morning (this year at 6:30AM...suckers for punishment, I know, but at least we know the chance of flight delays is slim on the first flight outs in the morning). Barring any issues, we check in at the Wilderness Lodge (our normal stay) and take the boat to the Magic Kingdom. We hit a bunch of rides till around 5PM ( and then head back to the resort for an early dinner reservation at Whispering Canyon Cafe. If we are not running on fumes at this point, we will catch the resort's "Movies Under the Stars" Otherwise, we spend some time in the spacious lobby, enjoying all the Christmas decor. We try to make it a relaxing first day/night, knowing that between the MVMCP, EMH hours, etc, we will need all the energy we can muster up for our trip!

 

[BlondeAppetit]

We have a tradition on our arrival days. We usually arrive around 1ish (room sometimes available, but not always). We have our swimsuits in our carry on luggage. Swim until 3ish (room available by then). We settle in to our room and head to the Boardwalk. We mini golf (Fantasia) and shop at The Screen Door and Sweet Spells. We eat at ESPN and later have 'to go' ice cream at Beaches and Cream (but this year we may have supper at Beaches and Cream... maybe a kitchen sink for supper). We enjoy the Boardwalk entertainment and sometimes even see fireworks from the bridge near Epcot. At the end of the evening, we get treats from the Boardwalk Bakery (we get them boxed for breakfast the next day ... cupcakes for breakfast at Disney is ok). We make sure we are back by 10:30/11:00 so we can be up the next morning for rope drop.

Love, love, love all of this!!!!

 

[fbb]

We usually make this a non-theme park day. One big reason is if we arrive later in the afternoon then by the time we get checked in and to a theme park we've wasted most of the day and the money. For the price of a ticket why not just wait until the next day and get a full day in at a theme park?

With the low incremental cost of an added day and with FP+, I'd rather head to the MK and get my fix.

 

[GFD]

The two times we have gone we arrived at POR around 3:00. We unpack, explore the resort, and then head to Epcot for dinner in Italy. We then enjoy a few rides and walk the WS. Even though it is a long trip, we have been too excited to rest or hang out at the resort.

This summer we are staying at the BC and we will keep our arrival day tradition.