What to do on arrival day?

[cheerforchelsea]

I would not plan on the room being ready when I get there -- stayed there for the first time last month and that is a busy place.....Lots to look at there at the resort - walk around and enjoy.

 

[colonialtinker]

I would go resort hopping. DH & I did this on our last trip. DD25 took DD 8 for the day. We had a blast! Did the Boardwalk , walked the path from POR to POFQ.
You could also rent bikes and go riding. There is so much you can do without going to a park.

 

[Disney8704]

An hr and a half to get your luggage? Thats insane! Its NEVER taken us that long to get our luggage from baggage claim. We always fly AirTran and by the time we get to baggage claim our luggage is generally about to come out to be picked up by passangers. We might have to wait about 10 mins, but we have never waited 90 mins.

If you are taking a limo from MCO to the AKL you will be claiming your luggage yourself. I just returned yesterday from a conference in Orlando. It took 1 hour and 20 minutes for my bag to arrive on the belt. Waiting for your luggage plus the drive to the AKL, I think planning on 11:30 arrival may be optimistic.
I also would not plan on your room being ready. It is very unlikely that it will be. If it is, that is a bonus, not what you should expect.
So you definitely need a Plan B.
First of all, pack anything you will want for the day in a carry on. Then when you check in you can have Bell Services store your luggage until your room is ready and you will only have a small bag to deal with.
Who is in your party? Do you have children with you?
I would plan on a light lunch IN Mara and then time to explore the Lodge and perhaps some time at the pool.
Have a Great Trip.

 

[creativeamanda]

Keep in mind, I'm not a seasoned Disney visitor, but your room deos not necessarily need to be ready for you to take off after check in. They can take your bags to your room if it's not ready. So, if that's out of the way, my suggestion would be to go over to the boardwalk area, have dinner at Cape May, and shop in that area. Then, go back to AKL, unpack, get everything ready for the next day, and relax.

 

[Hopefully]

Disney8704,
I am reporting actual times for my trip this week. I flew AirTran from Boston to MCO on Friday 2/23. It was snowing in the northeast and midwest and many outbound flights from MCO were being cancelled.
Baggage Claim carousel # 28 was offloaded baggage from ALL Cancelled Flights
Baggage Claim carousel # 29 was inbound baggage from ALL ARRIVING FLIGHTS. It took 90 minutes for my bag to arrive.
I am glad you never experienced this - but I did.

 

[jenwag2007]

We have been to Disney 3 times and have never gone to a park the first day. We always swim, relax & then have a nice dinner. Staying at AKL you will easily be able to kill 4 hours just walking around your resort.

 

[cart-mom]

I have to agree with most of the other Dis'ers in that your room probably won't be ready that early. If I were you I would just hang out at AKL. There is so much to see and do there the time will fly. Check out the different views of the savannah and a great hidden mickey hunt that can keep you very busy. You will have a blast. Enjoy

 

[jjnv]

I don't know if there is anything you can do to get a better chance for your room to be ready. We checked in around 10:30 during our last trip. Our room was not ready. But I heard the lady behind me got in her room.

We planned to go to the park any ways. So it did not bother me. I was actually glad we were off to the parks on the first day so I don't have to check back all the time and see if the room is ready. We used DME. By the time we got back from the park, our bags are waiting in the room.

We actually prefer an off day after a late night in the park. We could get up late and play mini-golf, take a nap, use the pool, bike around the resort... There are so much to do at the resort. We always end up running out time.

 

[PamNC]

What we do on arrival day depends, understandably so, on what time we arrive. We have AP's so we can pop into a park for a couple of hours if we so desire. But, if we arrive in the afternoon, we usually don't go to the park.

What we do on arrival day also depends on where we're staying. If we're staying in the Epcot Resort area, we often play a round at Fantasia Minature Golf, stroll the boardwalk, or take a swim. We usually have an early dinner and try to get to bed early so that we can hit the ground running on our first full day.

If we're staying at the Polynesian, we simply hang out at the resort and take in all the magic the Poly has to offer. The volcano pool, we stroll around, hang out on the beach, sip on a lapu lapu.

If I were at AKL in a savannah room, I could probably sit on the balcony and watch the animals for a couple of hours! They have a nice pool there from what I can tell, and I love the main shop.

PamNC

 

[joepic]

I wouldn't do too much, maybe Downtown Disney? Just walk around the Marketplace...
That might even be too much - you don't want to tire yourself out on the first day.

Don't go to any parks, I would save your tickets - unless you have an Annual Pass it wouldn't matter...