What do you do with a later arrival park day?

[milieu_mouse]

After initially planning a pool day, we just changed our arrival day to include hopper tickets.
What do you suggest doing for a later start? Our full day plans all rely on an early start, G+ stacking, reservations, etc.

Guessing we could just tour around and take it all in...
Would love your ideas!

Our family is me, DH, and 2 kids ages 7 and 5.
The added park day is Tuesday Aug 23. THANKS! I love this group!

 

[Gypsybear]

I would ride the MUST DOs that have LOOOOOONG lines traditionally (Indy; Space; BTMR; etc). Get them out of the way, even if it's only a few. That way, on your full days, you can concentrate on the other stuff, and theoretically get more done. Just my 2 cents.

 

[kikismom]

We are doing this on our arrival day. I was originally planning a pool day but thought a few hours in the park is better. Our plans will be just to take in the atmosphere, hit up whatever rides we can and do some shopping. I like to start the trip out with new ears. We should be able to be to the parks by noon and also are doing Goofy's Kitchen that evening. Realistically we'll get about 4-5 hours park time that day and the minimal amount to add the day is worth it to me.

 

[DLgal]

Honestly, this is how we prefer to visit the parks. Even arriving at 4pm gets you potentially 8 HOURS of park time. The only hiccup in the summer is the ride closures for the World of Color and Fireworks that start around 8pm.

So, my advice is, don't hop on a late arrival. Pick Disneyland and stay there. Don't try to see any shows. Do Fantasyland stuff before 8pm or after 10:30. Do Tomorrowland stuff between about 8 and 9 or 10. Or do Frontierland/NOS/Adventureland while everyone is watching Fantasmic. You can get a LOT of stuff done in the evening hours without using G+.

 

[Whistlebee]

I’d take the atmosphere in, see a show, and hit whatever rides have a low wait time.

 

[milieu_mouse]

Thank you all so much!

Honestly, this is how we prefer to visit the parks. Even arriving at 4pm gets you potentially 8 HOURS of park time. The only hiccup in the summer is the ride closures for the World of Color and Fireworks that start around 8pm.

So, my advice is, don't hop on a late arrival. Pick Disneyland and stay there. Don't try to see any shows. Do Fantasyland stuff before 8pm or after 10:30. Do Tomorrowland stuff between about 8 and 9 or 10. Or do Frontierland/NOS/Adventureland while everyone is watching Fantasmic. You can get a LOT of stuff done in the evening hours without using G+.

Great detail, thank you DLGal!
We are staying CL at GCH, so thinking of entering around 5 after evening appetizers are available

What are the odds that the monorail may be running? I'm sure it's weather dependent, but I can't imagine a better way to blow my 5 yo's mind than entering tomorrowland via monorail and then hopping on a train ride around the park to get things going!

 

[DLgal]

Thank you all so much!

Great detail, thank you DLGal!
We are staying CL at GCH, so thinking of entering around 5 after evening appetizers are available

What are the odds that the monorail may be running? I'm sure it's weather dependent, but I can't imagine a better way to blow my 5 yo's mind than entering tomorrowland via monorail and then hopping on a train ride around the park to get things going!

It will be running as long as it's under 85 degrees.

 

[pennym]

Definitely take the train on a full circle tour first! It's a great thing to do to start your holiday.

 

[Lisa24jks]

Lots of great tips here. Even if you don't hit any of the rides, the parks are so beautiful at night. Radiator Springs lit up at night is beautiful. Or check out Galaxy's Edge at night if you're Star Wars fans. Or the Encanto projects at IASW. So many litle things to take in after dark, so even if it's not a full day, it will get you hyped up for the rest of your trip.

 

[Kit Jackson]

Lots of great tips here. Even if you don't hit any of the rides, the parks are so beautiful at night. Radiator Springs lit up at night is beautiful.

As I have written many times on this board, Radiator Springs at night is a retro glowing neon spectacular sight to behold. It is amazing and something that is worth seeing.

 

[Stephluva]

We're starting with a park day on our arrival day next month. I got the earliest flight I could, and with the time change, we're hoping to be in the park by 2pm. We'll be exhausted, but it'll be worth it!

 

[milieu_mouse]

You all are the best. Today the excitement really kicked in!
Thanks for your thoughts, mouse-lovers.

 

[Louis63]

If we're in DCA always make it a point to be in Carsland to watch the lights turn on. If in Disneyland just wander where our feet take us and jump on a ride if the mood strikes, low key no stress. Enjoy your trip

 

[V.I.N.CENT.]

We usually work in a Storytellers reservation. Get it out of the way on the travel day.

 

[tx_rach]

We are also doing this, I would guess getting to the parks around 3. My plan is to start at Disneyland, 7:30 reservation at Carnation Cafe, then head over to DCA for a few drinks (dessert for the kids) and the late World of Color show. We have OBB the next day and a full parks day on Friday with G+. Like you I added the extra travel day and am going to just see where the day takes us! Have fun!!

 

[kyrkea333]

Is there any point to getting Genie+ if you get into the park at 3pm? A friend is meeting me about that time next Sunday after I’ll have had three days in the parks. I’ll be in the park that morning so I’ll probably grab Genie+, but will she be able to use Genie+ for anything at that point?

Also, if she has indicated her starting park as DCA that day, will she be able to head right in to Disneyland at 3pm without entering DCA beforehand?

Thanks for any help you can give me

 

[jskiffington]

I'll go against the grain here and recommend not visiting the parks on arrival day, if you can.

Just one person's experience, but our recent trip was the first with our toddler. Typically we're rope drop, back to the hotel at 1, back to the parks around 6 people. This time, since it was my son's first trip, we decided to go on our arrival day. Disney fever hit us and we ended up staying pretty late. Everyone was so tired after day that that we ended up sleeping in the next day. By the time we arrived on our first full day, of course, lines were already long, so then we ended up staying late that night. Rinse and repeat. We were pretty unhappy campers for a couple days.

If I could do it again, I'd stick around the hotel/Downtown Disney on arrival day and hit it early on the first full day. Just my $0.02.

 

[Camilo]

I'll go against the grain here and recommend not visiting the parks on arrival day, if you can.

Just one person's experience, but our recent trip was the first with our toddler. Typically we're rope drop, back to the hotel at 1, back to the parks around 6 people. This time, since it was my son's first trip, we decided to go on our arrival day. Disney fever hit us and we ended up staying pretty late. Everyone was so tired after day that that we ended up sleeping in the next day. By the time we arrived on our first full day, of course, lines were already long, so then we ended up staying late that night. Rinse and repeat. We were pretty unhappy campers for a couple days.

If I could do it again, I'd stick around the hotel/Downtown Disney on arrival day and hit it early on the first full day. Just my $0.02.

I agree to the recommendation above. This month, we did 3 days in the park. On check-in day (let's call it "day zero"), we enjoyed the nice pool area from our hotel and went to Downtown Disney around 6 PM, spending a few hours there. We also toured DLH and GCH which I had never done before. It was one of the highlights of the trip, as I had never been to Downtown Disney in California....
Plus, it allowed us to go to bed early and start the first park day fresh, rope dropping...