what's everyones opinions on first day activities?

[tcherjen]

I've told my bf when we move out and get married I want to move South and be close enough to Disney to have AP!! It's my dream... One day lol!

Living in Florida is very nice. We have AP and you would think living as close as we do we would pop on down every weekend. Nope! We go a few times a year and stay. Our drive is shorter than most, granted, but we are tired after it. Have a wonderful trip!!!

 

[mshanson3121]

I think it depends on what time you're arriving, what your travel day was like, ages of children, personal preferences etc...

If I lived relatively close and my travel time was going to be short, and we were going to be there by noon, then yes, we'd probably hit a park late afternoon/that evening.

But in our situation, we're driving 3 days to get there (27 hours driving, not including rest stops). We will arrive in the evening on a Wednesday. So we are keeping Thursday "free" for some R&R. We'll spend the day by the pool. We have an ADR that evening for Hoop dee Doo to kind of "kick off" our Disney vacation, so I imagine we might go early and do some sight seeing around the resort, maybe some pony rides, but that's it. Then we'll be at Magic Kingdom the next morning bright and early!

 

[momofmaz]

We usually take the earliest flight we can and arrive at our hotel by 10:00 in the morning. We always use the first and last days as MK days. Last trip staying at BLT made this even easier.

 

[ammag]

I vote for relaxing at resort, if the rooms are not ready you could always rest by the pool in a lounge chair! I'd never be able to handle a park after that long drive but I am 38 with two kids and an illness that causes fatigue so a completely different situation. Even when I was younger and healthy I think I'd need a bit of a rest if nothing else to make sure the next full day is as good as possible.
That said our last trip came after a tiring family trip to Miami, the next day we rested and swam at resort until about 3 then headed over to poly for an early ohana dinner. It was great to rest and still have a special meal. I think doing something like this is a good mix of activity because the next day we were at MK from rope drop to kiss goodnight! I still don't know how we all did it, my mom too!

 

[PSUGuy]

Is it common for your from to be ready on time? That'll also affect nap time and unpacking. I'm thinking about doing FP+ for soarin for the first day too!

Only once, last Oct., was our room ready when we arrived at Board Walk about 10:30 am. It didn't ruin the day by any means, the Rose &Crown taps don't open until 11:30 so we still got the first pull of the day there.

Bill From PA

 

[SadieDawn90]

Another vote for a relaxing first day. We actually drive through the day and stay at a non-disney resort the first night (I work for Marriott so this is a cheap option for us), then get an early start the next day. Head to DTD to do a little shopping, maybe do a little resort hopping because we like to go at Christmastime, settle into our resort, have a nice dinner, and try to turn in early so that we can get an early start in the parks the following day.

Whatever works for you! An extra day on a base ticket does not cost that much. Personally, we like to completely immerse ourselves in the magic on that first day. I feel like if I was tired from driving all night and I was just rushing to the parks to do some fast passes real quick, it wouldn't feel as magical.

Also, drive safe and always stop if you feel drowsy! My husband always wants to drive through the night but I usually fight him on it lol

 

[PlutoLover93]

Living in Florida is very nice. We have AP and you would think living as close as we do we would pop on down every weekend. Nope! We go a few times a year and stay. Our drive is shorter than most, granted, but we are tired after it. Have a wonderful trip!!!

thank you!

 

[PlutoLover93]

I think it depends on what time you're arriving, what your travel day was like, ages of children, personal preferences etc...

If I lived relatively close and my travel time was going to be short, and we were going to be there by noon, then yes, we'd probably hit a park late afternoon/that evening.

But in our situation, we're driving 3 days to get there (27 hours driving, not including rest stops). We will arrive in the evening on a Wednesday. So we are keeping Thursday "free" for some R&R. We'll spend the day by the pool. We have an ADR that evening for Hoop dee Doo to kind of "kick off" our Disney vacation, so I imagine we might go early and do some sight seeing around the resort, maybe some pony rides, but that's it. Then we'll be at Magic Kingdom the next morning bright and early!

wow and I thought my 16 hour car ride was bad! that's crazy..at least you stop though! I was thinking about maybe resort hopping a little and heading over to another resort for dinner. Magic Kingdom our first full day too!

We usually take the earliest flight we can and arrive at our hotel by 10:00 in the morning. We always use the first and last days as MK days. Last trip staying at BLT made this even easier.

That sounds great! I figured we'll judge our last day off of park hours when they come out, but I always do MK first day!

I vote for relaxing at resort, if the rooms are not ready you could always rest by the pool in a lounge chair! I'd never be able to handle a park after that long drive but I am 38 with two kids and an illness that causes fatigue so a completely different situation. Even when I was younger and healthy I think I'd need a bit of a rest if nothing else to make sure the next full day is as good as possible.
That said our last trip came after a tiring family trip to Miami, the next day we rested and swam at resort until about 3 then headed over to poly for an early ohana dinner. It was great to rest and still have a special meal. I think doing something like this is a good mix of activity because the next day we were at MK from rope drop to kiss goodnight! I still don't know how we all did it, my mom too!

It'd be amazing if our rooms were ready but I'm not counting on it. I'm thinking about hopping to another resort for dinner just to at least do something! Maybe even take a boat to the boardwalk!

Another vote for a relaxing first day. We actually drive through the day and stay at a non-disney resort the first night (I work for Marriott so this is a cheap option for us), then get an early start the next day. Head to DTD to do a little shopping, maybe do a little resort hopping because we like to go at Christmastime, settle into our resort, have a nice dinner, and try to turn in early so that we can get an early start in the parks the following day.

Whatever works for you! An extra day on a base ticket does not cost that much. Personally, we like to completely immerse ourselves in the magic on that first day. I feel like if I was tired from driving all night and I was just rushing to the parks to do some fast passes real quick, it wouldn't feel as magical.

Also, drive safe and always stop if you feel drowsy! My husband always wants to drive through the night but I usually fight him on it lol

Resort hopping is an option for me because I've never been out of my resort. Then just get dinner where ever we end call it an early night. I also do plan on stopping I don't care what anyone else says lol my car my rules. Better safe than sorry

 

[PlutoLover93]

Only once, last Oct., was our room ready when we arrived at Board Walk about 10:30 am. It didn't ruin the day by any means, the Rose &Crown taps don't open until 11:30 so we still got the first pull of the day there.

Bill From PA

That sounds like a perfect start to an amazing vacation! I hope we get lucky with early rooms this way I'm not running on E at the end of the day lol