What to do with first half day?

[myhoney]

It looks like our flight down will be really early. Like 8am take off, arriving around 10:30am. I would guess we could expect to be at POFQ by 12:30 on the MDE. So if we check in and then have lunch....what then? We want our first full day to be at MK, having breakfast at the castle. Do we just relax at the hotel and maybe hit Disney Springs? Or go to EP or HS in the afternoon/evening? Our oldest two (11 and 9) have been to WDW 5 years ago, but our youngest two (3 and 4) have never been and never flown. I'm leaning toward a down day to just settle in, take the boat to the Springs...except that there isn't really anything to do there for the kids. Or should we schedule some FP+ at HS (because it's sounding more and more like a half day park) and hit that as an easy intro to the whole Disney experience?

Edited to add: Or do we schedule HDDR for that first night? Relax a bit in the afternoon and then head over for the show? Hmm...I'm liking that idea... But HS is listed as a crowd level of 1...First world problems, I know.

 

[mousegear]

I vote for earlier showing HDDR and have early night before you have full day at MK.

 

[Doug M]

We always hit the parks if we can be there by 4 or 5pm since adding days is very cheap. I hate to spend so much on Disney hotels i feel that makes up for it. I would see going to the Disney mall a huge was of a hotel day.

 

[Mouse3Dad]

We've had this 3 years in a row now. Have handled each year differently. 1 year, we stayed at the hotel, relaxed, swam, and enjoyed a night at the resort.

Another year we went to the HS, as we can get through most of the things we want to see in 1/2 day. Then still see the Fantasmic show.

Another time we did a show (Medieval Times) and spent some picking up odds and ends at the store.

Since we drive in, and this is our second day, its nice to get some walking in, so my preference was the time we spent at HS. This year we are doing a half day at that park on arrival day. Seems to work out the best.

 

[ArielSRL]

I see value in all of your choices. For us, driving down from GA and splitting the drive into 2 days, we are going to hit the parks. I want MK to be my boys first park too, so we are doing it on both Saturday (starting around 3) and Sunday (oh and Thursday, too...lol). But if we were flying, I might change my strategy, especially if we were up really early to fly.

Maybe a relaxing afternoon settling in, then hop over to MK at night for the parade and fireworks? Grab a MSEP FP since you are going in late? Just a suggestion.

 

[disneyfam31]

All of your options are great! Really depends on the energy level of your group. Are you getting up early to get on an 8 am flight and if so, will you want everyone in bed early for the next day of touring?

Another idea - if your kids know about the trip, maybe present the older two kids with 2-3 options you feel comfortable with and then let them decide.

 

[pa. dad]

My wife likes to get some groceries and snacks on the first day so we have them. We went to Disney Springs our first half day this time. I think there's things for kids to do there moreso than an ordinary shopping mall.
You can also see a dinner show as you suggest or go miniature golfing, go swimming in the hotels pool and things like that.

 

[maxiesmom]

We hit the Animal Kingdom. For some reason the park empties out earlier on, and if you arrive after 2 pm or so (after having lunch and getting settled) you can get a lot done!

 

[5kidsmommy]

I would ask the kids. My kids usually either choose to go to a park for awhile or choose to go swimming and hang out at the resort.

 

[NuttyDisneyDad]

Im in same boat and Im going to go to Disney Springs for a few hours and have lunch till my room is ready

 

[DisneyFansInNYC]

I would choose HDDR but we don't like scheduling anything like that on the first day. If for some reason you are delayed and don't make it - that is a lot of money to lose. We usually don't make an ADR on our first day. We see what is available.

We love going to MK on the first day since we need to go to MK several times - but a half day in HS would be great too.

 

[got15]

We have a similar issue. We are arriving in Orlando around 10:30am and checking into POR. We looked into doing DS for the evening-but everything that i read was that its super crowded. We plan on going to HS after swimming and lunch at the hotel and exploring (since adding an additional day was cheap) and we are going to do the stuff we like and see Fantasmic for the first time. HS wasn't on our list to do- but since its a low crowd day and we have a half a day before we hit the parks- we thought it sounded like a good idea.

 

[wdw&sonny]

We have had this situation many times. Pre-FP+, we used to spend the 1/2 day at the resort or DS. Now, we like that we can have FP+ scheduled for an afternoon. As others have said, but- worth emphasizing, depending on how many days your ticket is for, that 1 extra day may be only a few dollars more. Well worth it for even the OPTION of 1/2 day at any park. BUT, also remember, you don't have to buy that extra day now. You could decide when you arrive. If you have the energy and desire, you can go to the park (or concierge) and add that extra day. Also, with little ones, if you are not planning breaks mid-day, you should. Better to do a half day on arrival day, then to try to do a full day later in week. Many 1/2 days better than few full days.

 

[bigbabyblues]

We always check in and go to a park.

 

[snayak]

Like @wdw&sonny suggested, I would plan on a 1/2 day at a park. You can book headliners as FP+ 30 or 60 days ahead of time so imagine getting off the plane, check in, leisurely lunch and then stroll over to TSMM, Star Tours, and ToT then catch the Star Wars fireworks - that's worth the few extra bucks for +1 day to the tickets...

 

[wisblue]

We'll be in that position this Saturday.

For me, it would depend on what kind of park tickets I have and how much marginal cost there would be for an extra park day. If I have an annual pass or a MYW ticket for which another day would only cost $10, I would go to a park.

We also like to start our first full day at the MK, so we will be doing that Sunday. On Saturday we plan to check in at the resort and then go to Epcot to get our first look at the Flower and Garden exhibits. We have our FPs scheduled. there for late afternoon. We should have several hours to enjoy the park and still get back to the resort early.

 

[luvmyguyz]

We always hit the parks if we can be there by 4 or 5pm since adding days is very cheap. I hate to spend so much on Disney hotels i feel that makes up for it. I would see going to the Disney mall a huge was of a hotel day.

We always check in and go to a park.

I agree - and I would have a hard time not spending my arrival day in a park if I checked in before noon.

We need 1 and a half days at Epcot, so depending on our flight schedule, we will often head to Epcot after check in, and then plan a full day in that park later in the week.i

This year we're doing a late evening flight into MCO, so it will be weird for me not gong to a park on arrival day!

 

[mshanson3121]

It looks like our flight down will be really early. Like 8am take off, arriving around 10:30am. I would guess we could expect to be at POFQ by 12:30 on the MDE. So if we check in and then have lunch....what then? We want our first full day to be at MK, having breakfast at the castle. Do we just relax at the hotel and maybe hit Disney Springs? Or go to EP or HS in the afternoon/evening? Our oldest two (11 and 9) have been to WDW 5 years ago, but our youngest two (3 and 4) have never been and never flown. I'm leaning toward a down day to just settle in, take the boat to the Springs...except that there isn't really anything to do there for the kids. Or should we schedule some FP+ at HS (because it's sounding more and more like a half day park) and hit that as an easy intro to the whole Disney experience?

Edited to add: Or do we schedule HDDR for that first night? Relax a bit in the afternoon and then head over for the show? Hmm...I'm liking that idea... But HS is listed as a crowd level of 1...First world problems, I know.

I wouldn't plan much for this day. You will arrive at 10:30, if your flight arrives on time. Any number of things can interfere with that. A friend of mine just flew down recently, 2 hours delayed. By the time you get off the plane, get your luggage, get to the hotel (allow an hour from the airport with traffic, especially getting closer to lunch time) etc... Yes, I think 12:30 or 1:00 is realistic ETA. I would definitely do the 4:00 show of HDDR that night. Arrive, get unpacked, let the kids unwind with some swimming what have you, then head to your 4:00 HDDR is a great show, the kids will enjoy it, and it will be a really fun way to kick off your vacation. You'll have an earlier night to get lots of rest for the next day when you jump in with both feet

 

[loves to dive]

We drive down from Georgia and usually get there around 2:30 or 3. We tend to play it by ear that first day, I have an AP and I get my son length of stay PHs, so we usually just check in and hop on a bus to whatever park we are in the mood for that day. We don't schedule FP, we've really had no problems later in the day getting rides with standby. This year (last week) we headed over to Epcot to grab some food at F&G. Most years we do go to Epcot that first day and grab something to eat since we love that park. If I'm solo, I tend to hop over to MK since for me, that is a half day park. We have been known to spend just a couple of hours in the park then head back to the resort for some pool/hot tub/bar time (my son is grown).

 

[Ensusieasm]

It looks like our flight down will be really early. Like 8am take off, arriving around 10:30am. I would guess we could expect to be at POFQ by 12:30 on the MDE. So if we check in and then have lunch....what then? We want our first full day to be at MK, having breakfast at the castle. Do we just relax at the hotel and maybe hit Disney Springs? Or go to EP or HS in the afternoon/evening? Our oldest two (11 and 9) have been to WDW 5 years ago, but our youngest two (3 and 4) have never been and never flown. I'm leaning toward a down day to just settle in, take the boat to the Springs...except that there isn't really anything to do there for the kids. Or should we schedule some FP+ at HS (because it's sounding more and more like a half day park) and hit that as an easy intro to the whole Disney experience?

Edited to add: Or do we schedule HDDR for that first night? Relax a bit in the afternoon and then head over for the show? Hmm...I'm liking that idea... But HS is listed as a crowd level of 1...First world problems, I know.

It depends on how many nights you are staying, but once you pay for four days of tickets it's just a few bucks a day after that. It cost us about 10 bucks a day when we added days 6 and 7 to our five day hoppers in December. For ten bucks Even just a couple hours to use 3 fast passes is a very good deal. I wouldn't stay late enough for fireworks or night shows that first night. Pace yourself. You've traveled that day and tomorrow you want to wake up fresh and get to MK early! No HDDR, because flights can be delayed.