What to eat/do first night?

[BeccaGrace]

I am at a loss in trying to decide on our first day/night meal and/or activity--please help!

It is our dd's (ages 4 and 2) first trip to WDW and might as well be dh's first trip since he was only to MK once for 1/2 a day...my mom will also be with us.

DH is wary of going to a park the first day because he feels like he will be rushing (I disagree but would rather have him relaxed than tense!) and he'd like to be reasonably near the WL to make sure our luggage came and our room is okay. He understands we can check in even if the room isn't ready but doesn't want to just leave (we should be checking in around noon) and not come back until bedtime to find it never arrived or there is a problem with the room.

Option 1: So my first thought is since we will be tired from the hectic morning and flight that we could stay close and have lunch at WCC, hang out and explore the WL until he can check the room and then head over to FW to see the petting zoo and do the campfire. Issues with that are: 1) I heard lunch at WCC is less fun than dinner (I want fun & festive since it will be our anniversary) ; 2) Not sure about weather (it will be 11/30); 3) Not sure what time the petting zoo is open until; not sure if kids will be too tired for the campfire.

Option 2: Convince DH that MK won't be too much rushing and try to get PS for latest lunch at the Castle...let the girls meet Cinderella right off the bat. Problems: 1) Worried about having to rush to meet ADR time; 2) Feel like they can't stop to enjoy the first look at the MK since we have to get to lunch.

Option 3: Explore WL, take boat to CR and then take first monorail ride to GF and get first ADR for dinner at 1900 Park Faire. Meet Cinderella without being rushed at park. Get to see different resorts & Christmas decorations. Only con: if we meet Cinderella then will it be a letdown to do CRT lunch later on in the trip? Oldest DD keeps talking about eating in the castle when talking about Cinderella.

Option 4: Explore WL and FW (petting zoo, etc.) and then head to CR for first dinner ADR at Chef Mickey's. Con: I've been readling lots of negative reviews for the dinner; kids don't have much interest in meeting Mickey.

Or any other ideas? If you are going to suggest MK here is some more info: We were going to do MK the entire next day because we have MVMCP the next night and I don't want their first tast of MK to be at the Christmas party since then they will too excited and caught up by the normal MK stuff and not be as interested in the holiday stuff...would going to MK the first afternoon/night too be overkill?

Sorry for over-analyzing everything but this is actually really fun for me (as I am sure many of you can agree and identify with!)! Any help will be GREATLY appreciated. Thanks!

 

[bluejasmine]

Option 5 head to DTD and shop, get something to eat, maybe do DQ?

Otherwise I say option 3

 

[disnut8]

Combine option 3 and 4 with a twist. Explore Wilderness Lodge and/or Fort Wilderness. Take boat over to Contemporary and have dinner at 'Ohana at the Polynesian. Take the walkway to the Grand Floridian after dinner, then monorail to Magic Kingdom and take the boat back to Wilderness Lodge.

In my opinion, I think your husband is right. If he's concerned about making sure the luggage is there and your room is OK, he's not going to be in the mood for the Magic Kingdom. There's plenty to do without going through a turn style.

 

[Anewman]

Save some stress and time and make sure you get your own luggage at the airport b4 heading over to Magical express. I am sure your husband will feel a little bit less stressfull knowing that he saw disney take possesion of your bags, and it may or may not speed up the delivery to your room.