What to do on day 1?

[crazymama]

Hi all! I need help deciding what to do on our first day at WDW! We arrive on a Sunday so our first chance to get to a park will be Monday. We fly from Seattle (live in B.C.) so jet lag may be a factor and I am worried that we will be too groggy from the time change to get out the door for gate opening. (Three kids and a sleep loving husband! )I had wanted to hit the MK first (somehow that just seems right ) but don't want to lose valuable time if we are too tired (or cranky) to get there early enough. It is also my DS's 9th b'day that first day so wanted to do something special. I had thought we would do LLT for dinner but only if we do MK (obviously) as we are not buying hoppers. Would we be better off to do something like a water park where there may not be as much pressure? We have from Monday to Saturday at the parks.We will be there in midMarch 07 so it will likely be busy. Thanks for any advice. We have never gone there and, being so far from it, won't likely be back for a long time!

 

[Mickey1122]

MK is always best during the week, midweek. I think that MK is the most tiring, but if you take breaks and don't run around too much you should be fine.

 

[dawgfan]

I never like to "burn" a park ticket on a day where I cannot make full use of it. If you can do a water park I would suggest that as a good idea. Then go back to the resort to change. Later go to DTD for your sons birthday meal at a nice restaurant. I agree that th efirst park to visit is generally going to be MK for me as well. Monday is a good day to hit that park as crowds tend to be less that day of the week. I would say take an easy non park day that fiorst travel day and figure on getting acclimated. Once that is done hit the place with a vengeance and have a great time.

 

[danny1649]

To see what park might be having EMH evening hours and go that park.Then if you didn't arrive early you would have those extra hours to see what you may have missed by arriving late.Just a suggestion have a magical trip.

 

[winterman]

A water park is a great idea - very relaxing and you don't have to get there too early. Or consider either MGM or AK for that first day. We have found that both are 'short' days. Easy to see everything we want to in 6 - 7 hours.

 

[PIRATEGIRL007]

I'm a die hard have to do MK first no matter what time of day we arrive. To me its just like Walt personally saying welcome home when I walk into the MK.

 

[Mariaºoº]

We never go to a park the first day we arrive. We take the monorail to the resorts, stopping at each one to soak up the atmosphere and do a little shopping, take the boats over to FW Campground to do the same. I absolutely love this tradition! Maybe you could do this and make an ADR for Chef Mickey's for your daughter's birthday!

 

[fanofdisney]

I agree on a character meal- someplace like Chef Mickey's that is not in the parks. Or shop at downtown Disney, maybe go and visit the other hotels to pick out the place for your next stay!

 

[M 'n C]

How about Disney Quest? Or just downtown disney in general. There is also water sports (paddle boats, speed boats, etc) and its pretty warm in March down there.

 

[NewEnglandDisney]

What kind of tickets do you have? The MYW passes, on the upper end of the scale, are only a couple of dollars difference (like, a 7-day versus an eight), so we always get the extra day. For four people it comes to less than ten bucks total for that extra day (clever Disney), and that is worth it even if you only really go see Fantasmic! or Wishes! the first night.

My personal advice would be to go to the MK the night you arrive to see Wishes! at park closing, to take the "edge" off (again, for a family of four on MYW tickets, it's only like $2.50 each to do this) and maybe take in one or two favorite rides if you can. Then pick a different park to tour on Monday and schedule a nice lunch for the Birthday and that way if you aren't up first thing you won't be thrust into long lines and crowds and have some sort of semi-leisurely lunch to start to get "into the magic".

I'd recommend this because Mondays are traditionally busier days at the MK, and you are going during a relatively busy period. I'd personally pick AK, and schedule a nice lunch at Rainforrest Cafe (good for lunch type food, overpriced and not as good for dinner). This way you get a ton of excitement by seeing Everest, but also can use the slower pace of the AK to help you ease into the magic. Alternatively, a lunch at Sci-Fi if you choose MGM would also be a nice birthday treat as well.

Good luck!

NewEnglandDisney

 

[abe_bb]

Our first day there has already been planned by our 5 (very soon to e 6) year old:

Plane touches down at 1:00pm orlando time

Will be in hotel room by 3:00 (I know, it should be sooner since we are using ME and staying onsite, but we told her to be reasonable in case of delays).

Eat at hotel food court quick (POR) and go to Magic Kingdom

Go to Carousel of Progress FIRST - then do Jungle Cruise, Pirates, Big Thunder Railroad and Splash Mountain 5 times (her words lol)

See both Spectromagic and Wishes.

Then have Daddy or Grandpa or Uncle carry her on the way back to the hotel. (Since we leave our home at 6am in the morning and are on the plane about 3 hours lol).

 

[__disneygirl]

I think the MK is a great idea for your first day, especially because of the birthday.

Don't forget to stop by City Hall and tell them it's his birthday so he can get a pin!

If you get tired, there are many places to "rest" in the mk. Counter service restaurants, for one, and many rides that you can relax on. A good one is the railroad...if I find myself getting tired I take a ride on that around the park.

Have a magical trip!