What to do on arrival day?

[VGCgroupie]

I am still going back n forth on what to for arrival day. We land at 2:05pm on Saturday 04/17. We are taking the magical express and have no interest in taking an UBER. I was originally planning on Disney Springs and a hotel dining reservation on arrival day. I heard that now Disney Springs is crazy busy on the weekends, so Im wondering is it worth $50 total for the 3 of us to just add a park day to our tickets.

Does anyone think it would take longer than 3 hours to deplane, board ME and arrive at POP?

Seems like Epcot will be the park staying open the latest correct?

Id love to just play it by ear but with park pass filling up, doesn't seem like an option.

Im open to any other arrival day suggestions. This is our 1st WDW trip. So far w/o adding an extra day we are going to AK once, Epcot once, HS twice, MK twice.

Thanks!

 

[loves to dive]

They haven't updated the hours for that week so the latest any park would be open is 7pm - Epcot & HS. That is subject to change but you won't know for at least another week at the earliest probably. Given you most like won't even be on property until 4 or 5 then have to catch a bus to a park, adding on at least 30 min to a hour. That's only going to give you a hour or two a best. I don't think I'd add a ticket for that. I'd probably just plan on hanging around the resort, maybe going to the pool then making an ADR somewhere for supper.

 

[VGCgroupie]

They haven't updated the hours for that week so the latest any park would be open is 7pm - Epcot & HS. That is subject to change but you won't know for at least another week at the earliest probably. Given you most like won't even be on property until 4 or 5 then have to catch a bus to a park, adding on at least 30 min to a hour. That's only going to give you a hour or two a best. I don't think I'd add a ticket for that. I'd probably just plan on hanging around the resort, maybe going to the pool then making an ADR somewhere for supper.

I was hoping Epcot would update to 11pm. Like it did today. Probably safe to wait a week.

 

[CynBeth]

You never know with flying what can happen. On our last few trips we left an hour or 2 late due to a mechanical issue. I would just go to Disney Springs.

 

[sandlsmom]

We always unpack first, get our grocery order then take an Uber to the Character Warehouse for tshirts, ears and anything else we can find. Then we head to Disney Springs for dinner. We went to the park on arrival day once (MNSSHP tickets) and I was SO stressed out all day worrying that we wouldn't make it on time. Too many variables between the flight and bus.

 

[VGCgroupie]

We always unpack first, get our grocery order then take an Uber to the Character Warehouse for tshirts, ears and anything else we can find. Then we head to Disney Springs for dinner. We went to the park on arrival day once (MNSSHP tickets) and I was SO stressed out all day worrying that we wouldn't make it on time. Too many variables between the flight and bus.

I have heard about character warehouse. That is a fun option

 

[TammyLynn33]

We just relax poolside first day and if we are feeling adventurous Disney springs .. but like pp said groceries and get ready for the busy week ahead. Sometimes I feel like once we get to Disney we are so planned and busy we don’t really take the time to enjoy the resort..

 

[Shughart]

Our first trip we arrived at the resort and hit the park right away (epcot) for an ADR with family. We were exhausted as we had flown and been in and out of airports all day and on the plane (family drove). The second trip we went to our condo, unpacked and then hit Disney Springs for an ADR. We had been in the car for two days (arrival day was only 5 hours from Georgia not bad) but we were all miserable, don't want to drive again honestly). Doing something that evening was too much and we had a breakdown. Third trip, not sure where we're staying but arrival night will be watching tv and eating Wawa.

 

[VGCgroupie]

Our first trip we arrived at the resort and hit the park right away (epcot) for an ADR with family. We were exhausted as we had flown and been in and out of airports all day and on the plane (family drove). The second trip we went to our condo, unpacked and then hit Disney Springs for an ADR. We had been in the car for two days (arrival day was only 5 hours from Georgia not bad) but we were all miserable, don't want to drive again honestly). Doing something that evening was too much and we had a breakdown. Third trip, not sure where we're staying but arrival night will be watching tv and eating Wawa.

My husband goes on and on about wawa that he had while traveling. Had no idea they were in FL too

 

[Shughart]

My husband goes on and on about wawa that he had while traveling. Had no idea they were in FL too

Yes, several in Florida but particularly around the Orlando area. We planned a stop there specifically because my friends always spoke so highly of it lol.

 

[LiveLifeLoud]

Our last few trips we have taken the first flight out of Philly at 6 am, land around 8 am and go to MK and stay until closing. It is exhausting and last trip day 2 got a bit ugly because of this. We did AM EMH the next day and after an hour DD12 started to melt down but she didn’t want to leave (going to AM EMH was her idea when we planned) because she didn’t want to “ruin” our trip. I aborted mission, went back to the resort, slept for a few hours and went back.

Next trip I plan to arrive around 2 pm. Since we are going late next year I hope fireworks and some sort of FP is back. So my plan is to land, go to resort, unpack, get dinner and hit MK for HEA and soak in the atmosphere at the very least. If FP is back we will do our 3 rides but it’ll be considered a “bonus” day. Then the next day we will do RD and start our trip fresh.

In your situation I would do Epcot for dinner and explore WS a bit if it’s open late. I think it’s worth the extra money. If not DS is a great choice.

 

[VGCgroupie]

Our last few trips we have taken the first flight out of Philly at 6 am, land around 8 am and go to MK and stay until closing. It is exhausting and last trip day 2 got a bit ugly because of this. We did AM EMH the next day and after an hour DD12 started to melt down but she didn’t want to leave (going to AM EMH was her idea when we planned) because she didn’t want to “ruin” our trip. I aborted mission, went back to the resort, slept for a few hours and went back.

Next trip I plan to arrive around 2 pm. Since we are going late next year I hope fireworks and some sort of FP is back. So my plan is to land, go to resort, unpack, get dinner and hit MK for HEA and soak in the atmosphere at the very least. If FP is back we will do our 3 rides but it’ll be considered a “bonus” day. Then the next day we will do RD and start our trip fresh.

In your situation I would do Epcot for dinner and explore WS a bit if it’s open late. I think it’s worth the extra money. If not DS is a great choice.

Its unfortunate we have a 3 hours time difference, we leave at 7am land at 2pm. Such tough choice these days since you have to book your parks in advance

 

[Marthasor]

Its unfortunate we have a 3 hours time difference, we leave at 7am land at 2pm. Such tough choice these days since you have to book your parks in advance

I don't think you will be at Pop earlier than 3:30 pm and that is if your flight lands on time. Personally, I would not do a park that day - I would be concerned that you will be too exhausted to really enjoy it. I would check-in, take some time to unpack and either explore Pop and AoA or take a Skyliner ride over to the EP resort area and get the lay of the land. You could make a dinner reservation somewhere on the Boardwalk and walk around a little bit.

 

[LiveLifeLoud]

Its unfortunate we have a 3 hours time difference, we leave at 7am land at 2pm. Such tough choice these days since you have to book your parks in advance

Yes it makes it more difficult and frustrating. I think with that early of a start you should do what the PP stated. Stick around Pop and maybe do dinner in the boardwalk area or at another resort.

The only reason we will do MK on arrival day is because we will not be doing a flight at the butt crack of dawn. And even then the plan is to just watch HEA and take it super easy. We may not even do any rides. But we won’t be doing a 7 am flight and dealing with a time change.

 

[hes122]

We landed at 3, and were at Pop by 4. On the ME bus we placed an Instacart order. Once we got settled in the room we went and met our IC driver. After that we took the Skyliner over to Epcot and got dinner at Big River Grille followed by desert at Beaches and Cream. We hopped on the Skyliner back to Pop and got settled in for the night.

 

[VGCgroupie]

We landed at 3, and were at Pop by 4. On the ME bus we placed an Instacart order. Once we got settled in the room we went and met our IC driver. After that we took the Skyliner over to Epcot and got dinner at Big River Grille followed by desert at Beaches and Cream. We hopped on the Skyliner back to Pop and got settled in for the night.

an hour is an amazing time frame to get there!

 

[mamaofsix]

I am still going back n forth on what to for arrival day. We land at 2:05pm on Saturday 04/17. We are taking the magical express and have no interest in taking an UBER. I was originally planning on Disney Springs and a hotel dining reservation on arrival day. I heard that now Disney Springs is crazy busy on the weekends, so Im wondering is it worth $50 total for the 3 of us to just add a park day to our tickets.

Does anyone think it would take longer than 3 hours to deplane, board ME and arrive at POP?

Seems like Epcot will be the park staying open the latest correct?

Id love to just play it by ear but with park pass filling up, doesn't seem like an option.

Im open to any other arrival day suggestions. This is our 1st WDW trip. So far w/o adding an extra day we are going to AK once, Epcot once, HS twice, MK twice.

Thanks!

What resort are you staying at?

Arrival day for us is always just unpack, groceries, swim, order in take out food for dinner and get to bed early to prepare for parks the next day. I wouldn't do an ADR, Disney Springs or a Park at all

 

[Disney loving Iowan]

Yes, several in Florida but particularly around the Orlando area. We planned a stop there specifically because my friends always spoke so highly of it lol.

Dang I wish the DME could make a stop at one lol

 

[Disney loving Iowan]

Its unfortunate we have a 3 hours time difference, we leave at 7am land at 2pm. Such tough choice these days since you have to book your parks in advance

That is our time frame too leaving out of AZ. We are not visiting a park that day. We will mostly hang around the resort but we do have an ADR for Beaches and Cream and I sure hope we can make it for it.

 

[Northern Disney Girl]

Since you're staying at POP, you could always wander over to AOA and walk through all the character areas.

This is what I did on my arrival day when I went on a solo trip. I arrived at POP around 3, checked in, unpacked, got changed, put away my groceries, got the room organized etc. Around 4:15 I headed out and wandered around POP to check out the oversized items around the resort and get some dinner at Everything POP. After I finished eating, I wandered around POP some more and then headed over the bridge to AOA. I wandered through the resort over there, checked out the gift shops at both resorts and then found a nice spot to watch the sunset. Since I had been travelling since 5am I was pretty much ready for bed by 9.

There is a lot to do just at the resort. If that isn't interesting to you, you could always hop on the skyline and take a ride over to CBR and walk around or over to Epcot and then check out the YC/BC/Boardwalk area. There is a lot that can be done without entering a park!

Somebody can correct me if I am wrong but I do also believe that the mini golf courses are open....

Whatever you do, just take the opportunity to relax and enjoy the fact that you are at Disney!