What do you do on arrival day??

[lark]

We almost always arrive fairly late in the day. One of the things that I've done that worked great was to spend the first night off site -- the cheaper the better. We pack so that we hardly have to unpack to have clothes for the next day. We drop the stuff off at the off site hotel (I like the Motel 6 near the main gate), maybe take a shower, and then head into the world to do something fun. A character meal is good. Even better is to talk my way into Fort Wilderness (since we stay at moderates or deluxes, I can usually get admitted simply by telling the toll booth guy that we're checking in the next day). We sing with Chip and Dale, watch some movies, maybe ride the boat around the bay and return trip to FW.

Then go to sleep, get up the next day, preregister at our WDW hotel, and hit the parks. We usually plan a 1:00 character meal somewhere, and after that, head to our hotel to get our room, take a nap, swim, etc.

I find this to be a really nice way to build in our own "discount" on our WDW room. If we're going for six nights and spend the first night in an off site hotel for cheap, it's like saving $50 a night on our WDW room, and it hardly feels any different than if we just arrived late and checked into our disney hotel. If we arrived earlier in the day, I wouldn't do it like this, but for a late arrival, the first night in the WDW hotel has always seemed a waste.

 

[heaven2dc]

So many ideas have been given so not sure if this has been posted but with having kids and being their first trip, I would recommend Chef Mickey's - a great way of having their first character experience and being totally Disney (without having to visit a park that first day). Depending if you arrive early enough in the afternoon, I'd let them swim for a little, come back to room, nap and head to dinner. Hopefully this is is on the dining plan - otherwise a little costly (for us that is).

Have fun!!