What would you do??

[NyyDave]

Hello everyone,

This September we'll be traveling to Disney, but we can not decide between getting there late on a Wednesday or first thing on Thursday.

It would cost more to get there earlier but the extra meals from the free dining are valuable, and it makes the next day less stressful and more of a "vacation day" considering our super early flight home on the last day. We wouldn't have time for anything other than easy hotel activities before bed.

On the other hand its another $250 or so that could obviously be spent elsewhere and with the Thursday AM flight we are at the resort in the afternoon anyway.

Advice?

Thanks,
Dave H

 

[Crl1817]

How many days will you be there? We fly cross country to get to disney world so I don't consider our travel days vacation days. If you can afford to arrive a day earlier, I would.

 

[rewilliams]

I would arrive Wednesday night if the money is not a huge thing. We are arriving on a Sunday afternoon (around 3), getting situated at the resort and then heading to Downtown Disney for the evening. This way we start our first full day fresh and have the whole day to go to whatever park we want.

 

[epsmith921]

I am also a fan of having a "travel" day. Particularly with smaller children. I'm on the app so I can't see if you noted any of that in your signature.

I just personally liked having the day to travel, get situated, not be stressing if there were any delays since we didn't have any place we were missing out on, etc. We rode the boat between DHS and Epcot after arriving, grabbed dinner, and got unpacked and settled to rest for the next day. For us it was great, and worth even the extra night.

I would stay the extra night if it fit in the budget. But I don't think either way is wrong of course.

 

[Happyjen27]

I have done both, and they were both fine.

My first trip we arrived at 9AM and we were in DHS around 1PM. It was great to wake up in NY and be in a Disney park in the afternoon.

Our second trip we arrived around 8:30PM, so we just went straight to bed and woke up that first morning and were in the MK by rope drop. That was awesome too.

I know it's no help, but both scenarios were great. I guess it depends on how many days your trip is. If it's 6 days, I would arrive the night before so I could start touring first thing in the morning. If it's 8+ days, I would arrive in the morning and then hit a relaxed park on the afternoon of arrival day.

 

[Gracie09]

Wednesday. We use to do the get the first flight out and hit the parks by lunch thing and we were so exhausted that we barely made it to dinner and still felt the effects the next two days. Last time we took a later flight, got the resort mid afternoon, our room was ready. We were able to explore the resort, swim a bit and we had a nice dinner and watched the illuminations fireworks (the high ones anyway) from our balcony at bcv.
We have a similar plan for our September trip but we are staying at bay lake

 

[Holly Quinlan]

I would pick the extra day just to relax and be rested for the next day

 

[epsmith921]

Double post somehow from last night

 

[tourguide81]

For shorter domestic flights, I prefer an early AM flight. This September we have a 7a flight and we plan on eating lunch, swimming and heading over to downtown disney.

Longer flights or international travel we usually do early evening.

 

[tinkerbesh]

Is there a 3rd option- choosing a less expensive resort so coming in a day early won't hit the wallet as hard?

 

[Mittz]

Hello everyone, This September we'll be traveling to Disney, but we can not decide between getting there late on a Wednesday or first thing on Thursday. It would cost more to get there earlier but the extra meals from the free dining are valuable, and it makes the next day less stressful and more of a "vacation day" considering our super early flight home on the last day. We wouldn't have time for anything other than easy hotel activities before bed. On the other hand its another $250 or so that could obviously be spent elsewhere and with the Thursday AM flight we are at the resort in the afternoon anyway. Advice? Thanks, Dave H

were arriving mid September on a Wednesday as well. Were getting in at 3:45 at the orlando international and have a dinner booked at chef mickeys that night. We went for the less stress route of arriving later in the day. It's a vacation and when it comes down to it I think the lesser stress option is worth the "marginal" amount of money in the long run. Saves everyone's sanity.

 

[jlsmith376]

How many days will you be there? We fly cross country to get to disney world so I don't consider our travel days vacation days. If you can afford to arrive a day earlier, I would.

Agree - travel days do not feel like a vacation. I would pick Wednesday as well.

 

[Caelan Van Kanne]

I think you may choose the less expensive one if you are on a budget

 

[Burnedout]

Wednesday. We use to do the get the first flight out and hit the parks by lunch thing and we were so exhausted that we barely made it to dinner and still felt the effects the next two days. Last time we took a later flight, got the resort mid afternoon, our room was ready. We were able to explore the resort, swim a bit and we had a nice dinner and watched the illuminations fireworks (the high ones anyway) from our balcony at bcv. We have a similar plan for our September trip but we are staying at bay lake

I agree. A flight day may be a quick flight but one is up early for all of the extra airport time. An exhausting day.

 

[momto3gr8boys]

I have done it both ways. While I like the concept of getting in late and starting "fresh", we've only done it twice and have had issues both times.

First, a disclaimer: Back when we had to purchase LOS passes, I could not wrap my head around the extra night because of the added expense. With the advent of MYW passes, that is no longer an issue, but it has "stuck" in my brain as the less advantageous way to go.

That said, we are in NY. If we take the first or second flight out, we are in a park at noon. Only twice have we had delays in the morning, one bad, one not so bad. The two times we flew in at night were done because they were long four day weekends off of school, and we would leave Wednesday after school. Both of those trips resulted in major delays and arrivals after midnight (fortunately DME still runs at those hours!). It seems that for us, the NY airports have a great track record early in the day, and it diminishes from there. So you may want to take a look at your airport's record as well.

If it were me, I'd probably save the $250 and use it for some Disney fun!