What to do on arrival day?

[EmilyS90]

We'll be staying at POR, and arriving hopefully around mid afternoon. We'll have a rental car as well.

I'd rather not use a park day on our arrival, so that leaves us with:
Hang around the hotel, swim, eat at Boatwrights
Go to the boardwalk
take the boat to Downtown Disney (though we do plan on going there later in our trip)

Which would be best? What is there to do at the boardwalk? And of course, where would you recommend eating at either the boardwalk or DTD?

 

[kmb584]

I would just relax at the resort. There's a lot to see and you'll probably be tired from traveling. A quiet, early night is always nice!

 

[pwdebbie]

In our past trips, staying at POFQ and arriving mid-afternoon, we took the boat to DTD and had dinner there, walked around a bit, then back to the POFQ. Last time, we ate at Raglan Road, great food. We are switching it this time -- going to Cape May Cafe for dinner, then maybe check out the Boardwalk area or get the bus to DTD and take the boat back to POFQ.

 

[tinkerbella16]

Any of those things would be a great way to start your vacation off! I love Riverside and just relaxing around the resort and enjoying the grounds and pool would make me happy. I do think I would catch a boat to DTD, and explore the shops for a while. Head back in the early evening and get some much needed rest. Arrival day is always the most exhausting from waking up early and traveling, so we like end the day a little earlier to get a fresh start for the first full day.

 

[tnd]

When we have a rental car, we usually hit Target on our first day for water, snacks, and breakfast items in the room. We also like to unpack and enjoy the resort. I would probably take it easy that first day so you are rested and ready for the parks.

 

[CarolynFH]

It would be helpful to know the ages of people in your party. But in general I'd say your first plan, to swim and otherwise hang out at POR sounds like a good one - you'll probably be tired from traveling, so a relaxing afternoon (no rushing to make an ADR at a distant location) followed by dinner and early bedtime would get everyone in good shape for the parks the next AM. And you can always decide to take the boat to DTD after dinner if you want.

 

[jerseygirl82]

It is our tradition to do DTD and eat at Earl of Sandwich our first day. This trip we get in late Monday night so we will sleep in, bum around the resort, pool, and do DTD for an early dinner since we have MK EMb at 7am the next morning.

 

[lauradis]

If your checking you luggage with DME make sure to pack you carry on with swim stuff.

 

[AllieBoo]

We struggle with this too as we usually arrive about mid-day. On some trips, we hang out at the pool for a few hours and then head to DTD to shop and eat dinner. My kids love eating at T-Rex - not sure what age your kids are, but the theming of this restaurant is great!

We also sometimes go to the Magic Kingdom and leisurely walk around, ride what we can and have dinner. We don't stay more than a few hours, just enough to soak up a little Magic and get us excited about the rest of our trip. The cost to add on an extra day is minimal enough that we don't feel like we are wasting one of our park days.

 

[tooh8ful]

When we arrive too late for a park we hit DTD. My girls love Disney Quest. We usually plan for a full day at DTD too, but the extra time on arrival day is a great way to start the magic without "wasting" a park ticket.
I know it's loud, but T-Rex is a MUST do for us. We also really liked Wolfgang Puck (ts), House of Blues, and Earl of Sandwich.

 

[wdwjeffc37]

The things that you are thinking of are great ideas. Since you have a car you could use the afternoon to visit some other resorts. They usually let you park for free for a few hours if you tell them that you are just visiting the resort. Animal Kingdom Lodge is pretty impressive as you can see the animals from viewing areas of the lobby. Wilderness Lodge lobby is impressive too. You can go and see the geyser out by the pool. If you have never visited the Contemporary Resort it is kind of cool to see. The big mosaic in the lobby is nice and you could even ride the monorail around the resort loop. If you have been traveling for a long time though hanging out at the resort might be your best bet. Swim, eat, make an early night of it and be ready to go the next morning. Have a great trip!!

 

[rcraw45425]

We'll be arriving at the Polynesian mid afternoon this trip (daughter graduates high school the day prior so we'll get an early start on Sunday morning). The tickets I purchased this time had 4th day free so we'll probably go on over to EPCOT as I have dinner ADR at Garden Grill booked. Thinking I'll book lated day FP+ too, but still a ways out so I can tweak everything. When we stayed at POFQ years back we used the boat to DTD quite a bit, it adds a lot to your stay, almost like having all of those shops and restaurants right outside your door! Cooke's of Dublin, TREX and Rainforest are all good choices and if you have a package you'll have a $10 food coupon for Planet Hollywood that you can use

 

[OurLaughingPlace]

Our tradition is to always go to the Boardwalk on our first day. We stay at POFQ and take the boat to DTD, then a bus to Boardwalk. We like to shop at 'The Screen Door' and 'Seaside Sweets', have supper at ESPN (we like our sports), mini golf at Fantasia mini golf (a short stroll away), get ice cream from Beaches and Cream 'to go' window, DD's get hair wrap or charicature drawing on Boardwalk, maybe ride the 'Friendship' Boat, see nightly entertainment (jugglers) and carnival games, get 'to go' treats from the Boardwalk Bakery for breakfast the next day and watch Illumination fireworks from the bridge outside of Epcot. Then we take a cab back to POFQ (short cab ride; fairly inexpensive). We usually go over to Boardwalk around 5:00pm and are 'home' at 10:30pm. That gives us enough time to get to bed for a day in the parks the next day.
Have a great trip.
ETA- just saw you had a car. It makes this so much quicker and easier (we always fly to Orlando so rely on Disney transportation). I would definitely drive and save time / cab fare.

 

[Dawn68PA]

I'm all about taking it easy on arrival day! Relax and explore your resort. Enjoy the pool, sit on the deck, maybe even watch a movie in your room.

 

[loves to dive]

I've always driven down from Georgia, it's about a 7 or 8 hour drive and we normally get there anywhere from 1 to 4 pm, according to how early we start and how many times we stop. We always get park hoppers and add an extra day so it's according to which resort we are staying in as to which park we go to but we always go to a park, usually grab a bite to eat and catch whatever rides we can and watch what ever fireworks are happening. Normally it's an Epcot resort but now that I go solo a lot I've been doing split stays and starting at either a value or moderate and tend to go to MK the first day. I'm going solo in May and starting out a AKL so will most likely either hang at the resort the first day and explore to hop a bus to Epcot and wander around F&G.

 

[WendyLou]

swim, hangout and relax would be my choice and get all rested up for a full force fun vacation.

 

[RustManFan]

We take a bus to MK or Epcot and take a full route Monorail ride.... we eat at Trails End at FW.... and we take the boat to DTD from POR

 

[pwdebbie]

You could do the carriage ride around POR also. That would be fun! Or catch the movie at the resort. Maybe a campfire too, check the schedule.

 

[karpy111]

I would hang around the resort. I remember when we stayed there they had movies at night and I believe a camp fire where the kids could roast marshmallows.

 

[pwdebbie]

Did you find this thread yet? http://www.disboards.com/threads/po...2015-please-read-first-post-for-faqs.3374035/