What to do the first night????

[Lisab428]

We are heading to WDW on 1 April. We arrive at 1030am. I'm struggling with whether we should hit a park our first evening or wait until the next day. By the time we get to the house, unpack and grab groceries I'm guessing it will be about 4:00. We are in Windosor Palms so the distance to parks is not bad - I'm just wondering how much we can get in and would it really be worth the cost (we return home on 6 April and have no park time that day). Kids are older - 15, 13 and 8 so naps aren't an issue.

Thanks for any adivse!!

Lisa

 

[M5ward]

Why not use a grocery delivery service to avoid having to shop? Something like Garden Grocer which has an online web site to place your order in advance and set up a delivery window.

Since your kids don't require naps or downtime, I wouldn't pass up the parks on the first day. With a grocery deliver and everyone helping to get unpacked and organized, you could be in the parks far earlier than you think.

 

[disneydad861]

Its always tradition for us to goto medievaltimes. Its a dinner show and yes its non-disney but it is alot of fun.

 

[VACAMPER]

Hop over to Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort for the campfire sing-a-long with chip and dale, make smores & watch the outdoor movie. My kids love this!

 

[singjenn]

We are heading to WDW on 1 April. We arrive at 1030am. I'm struggling with whether we should hit a park our first evening or wait until the next day. By the time we get to the house, unpack and grab groceries I'm guessing it will be about 4:00. We are in Windosor Palms so the distance to parks is not bad - I'm just wondering how much we can get in and would it really be worth the cost (we return home on 6 April and have no park time that day). Kids are older - 15, 13 and 8 so naps aren't an issue.

Thanks for any adivse!!

Lisa

Hello!!! It's for sure that no matter what you do you will have a great time!!

We will be there May 1-8. We will be getting in around lunch time so we will eat lunch at our resort. After lunch we're just gonna explore our resort and the one next door (We will be at POR so we can walk to POFQ). After we get into our room and get settled in we'll take the boat ride to DTD for shopping and FOOD!!!! Then the next day we'll be ready for some F-U-N!!!!!

Have a fabulous trip!!!

 

[bzzybee13]

You could try Downtown Disney. They have restaurants and shops, and you get the Disney feel without shelling out the cash for a park ticket.

 

[WDWAtLast]

I am also struggling with what to do on our first day - we won't arrive until about 4 PM. I am considering HDDR, but I don't think I will be able to wait to see the look on my kids face when they see the castle for the first time!!!!

 

[DVCGeek]

DW & I usually hang out at Disney resorts. Some years we go over to Whispering Canyon (despite not staying @ Wilderness Lodge V/H) and last year did did "Spirit of Aloha" @ Poly. Last time in Disneyland we went over Downtown Disney and had dinner @ Rainforest Cafe and did a little shopping; our first night we were off property- it was the end of a business conference i was attending and work covered my last night in the conference hotel.

 

[momwithdream]

If you end up going over to Downtown Disney for your first night, you might want to try the new T-Rex Restaurant. We just ate there and had a lot of fun.

Several other options for the evening would be to head to the Animal Kingdom Lodge and enjoy viewing the Savannah and all the animals and then having dinner at Boma's. You could also head to the Wilderness Lodge walk about the resort and enjoy dinner at the Whispering Canyon. Finally, you could go over to the Boardwalk resort and walk around the boardwalk and have dinner at one of the restaurants on the boardwalk or at the Yacht and Beach Club. In the evening there are performers that put on shows on the boardwalk.

 

[Pirate Mom]

Get a burger from Beaches and Cream at the Boardwalk and watch Wishes from the beach. Very Disney without wasting a days ticket.

 

[a1tinkfans]

We are heading to WDW on 1 April. We arrive at 1030am. I'm struggling with whether we should hit a park our first evening or wait until the next day. By the time we get to the house, unpack and grab groceries I'm guessing it will be about 4:00. We are in Windosor Palms so the distance to parks is not bad - I'm just wondering how much we can get in and would it really be worth the cost (we return home on 6 April and have no park time that day). Kids are older - 15, 13 and 8 so naps aren't an issue.

Thanks for any adivse!!

Lisa

Hi Lisa!
I am one of those that would get stuff delivered to avoid arriving at 10:30 and not being able to go anywhere till 4 I am like a big kid and ALWAYS go to a park even if it is for 2 hours to see the castle and have an ice cream! That being said, we are on property so that is easier.

Everyone had great ideas, so I understand when you say you don't want to waste a days tickets for a few hours, I think you're right in that regard!.
What ever you decide, have a GREAT trip and ENJOY!!!

 

[rebstone]

I personally wouldn't hit the parks that first day, unless maybe there were extra magic hours. Disney Quest in Downtown Disney could be a fun option. It could be pricey for a lot of people if you don't have passes with the water parks and more option.

However, if the price is fine with you, Disney Quest is a good way to get into the Disney experience and then be fresh for the parks the next day.

 

[mommymeg]

It's honestly a matter of personal preference, how many days you have and how you like to start off your vacation.

For our family, we deliberately book the earliest flight of the day...arriving at MCO by 10am...estimating being at the resort by noon.. Then we plan to have a light lunch at the resort and head out to the Magic Kingdom... for us it's the only way to start our Disney vacation. We won't do much but get acquainted with the park, maybe watch the parades and Wishes, and we've already booked the Crystal Palace for dinner. Head back to the resort at a reasonable time (say 9pm) and get a good nights rest knowing that the next few days are gonna be great!

If we had more time, maybe 10 days would be enough, we might have decided to do something different, but for us, our vacation isn't real until we walk down Main St.

 

[Lisab428]

You guys are the best! Thanks for all of the suggestion! I'm still undecided as this has given me even more options now! I do think I will take advantage for the grocery delivery (I hate going when I'm at home much less when I'm on vacay). I'm sooooo excited to go to the parks - I haven't been since the late '70s - dh has never been! Once the final decision has been made about what to do, I'll let you know!

Thanks again!

Lisa

 

[jstone71]

I usually do 2 things on the first day of every trip. I first walk around the resort to take it all in and get my bearings. I enjoy staying at new resorts each time. During the trip I spend so much time in the parks, I don't want to miss out on having a relaxing time enjoying all the resort has to offer. That night, I head over to Downtown Disney for dinner, shopping and a stroll. Your kids (and you too) may really enjoy Disney Quest. It is a great way to have fun for a few hours. Besides, on a travel day, the last thing I want to do is stand in long lines. The next morning, I'm ready to go!

 

[nj-mom]

This is something I've been struggling with, too. DH, DD (8), me and my folks will be driving down from central NJ -- about a 17 hour or so trip -- leaving Thanksgiving a.m, staying over in SC that night, then (hopefully) hitting WDW around dinner Friday. Since we're staying in a cabin, I've been thinking it would be best to check in and just chill out. Unpack, get settled, explore the resort, maybe take in the sing-a-long and movie. Still, this is DD's first trip ... I just can't wait for her to walk down Main Street or stand at the base of Cinderella's Castle!! I don't know how she -- or I, for that matter! -- will get any sleep that night if we DON'T hit MK!

Decisions, decisions!

One thing, though: I am DEFINITELY using that grocery delivery service. Heck, I even use one here at home. (It ain't easy being a workin' mom, ya know!!)

 

[*Valdez*]

we are going straight to the parks. Our first night is a night MK is open til midnight and we are doing gardengrocer and Magical Express. There are a total of 10 going with us, and we have told them sleep on the plane because we will be staying up late. DH and I figure since the cost to add another day is not much more then a few dollars per ticket, might as well take advantage of being in WDW. We will even be in the parks up until the last moment before heading to the airport.

 

[lovndisney]

We were having the same problem. We are driving in and would not arrive till around 5ish. I told my DH that I did not want to pay for a day if we only have a few hours. When we were younger we used to get there about that time and instead we would just tour the hotels, grab a bite to eat and then take a monorail ride so the kids got a little disney fix. The people we are traveling with said we should just go to a park and see a parade and the fireworks, still not worth it to me to spend that money and only see a few things. We will probably just head down to Fort Wilderness and watch the fireworks there. Far enough away that you can still enjoy but my two year old wont freak from the noise.

 

[*Valdez*]

Check out the cost of your tickets and how much it goes up from day to day. For us we check in Sunday and check out Friday, for a 5 day pass it would cost us $222 per person over 10 and a 6 day pass would cost us $225 per person. Park hopping is $50 more and doesn't change based on the number of days. even if we are in the parks for an hour or two it was only $3 more for that day.

 

[wheredreamsbegin]

I spent a great deal of time trying to determine what would work best for our family on our first day. We arrived on a Sunday. There were extra magic hours scheduled at MK for our first night. I really wanted to take advantage of those; however, with three small children (5,3, and 1), I realized that it might not be realistic to do that on arrival day. I basically kept a plan A, plan B, and plan C in my head. Once I could see how the kids were doing once we made it to our resort, I made the decision regarding which plan to follow. We ate lunch at our resort, spent a little bit of time walking around the resort, and then we all took a nap. We woke up in time to make our 6:40 reservations at Chef Mickey's. After dinner we spent a little bit of time walking around the Contemporary. Then we hopped on the monorail and rode it around the MK resort loop. We were able to see the castle and several other landmark rides from the monorail. It was a great intoduction to the magic of Disney. We were in bed relatively early and were ready to go bright and early the next morning.