What's your Ideal First Day or Tradition?

[jakensydsmom]

We are going to disney in April (yay!). It's our second family trip. Our kids are 6 and 9. We plan to stay at the Poly and will arrive around noon the first day. What do you suggest to make the first day really special? Does your family have a tradition? My brother always goes to Chef Mickey's for dinner the first night, for example. Thanks for your ideas!

 

[tashasmum]

Our first day usually consists of unpacking suitcases followed by a trip to DTD with an evening meal at Rainforest Cafe.

 

[Hedy]

I have to go to the Magic Kingdom and go on Splash Mountain.

 

[Mickey&Donald]

I have to go to the Magic Kingdom and go on Splash Mountain.

Us too! My first stop and last stop are always Magic Kingdom. It would feel wrong to do it any other way. And a Disney trip isn't officially over until I'm crying on the Monorail staring out the window at the castle.

 

[Snow Shoe]

After check-in, we always head for MK. The stroll down Main Street, looking into the shop windows, having our picture made, and just taking in the atmosphere is awsome! 32 more days and I'll be doing just that!!!! Our first nights dinner is always at LTT. However, sometime before dinner though, HM and PoTC must be ridden. Then the morning after is breakfast at CP.

 

[Calgary DISHeads]

Our Disney vacation doesn't start until we walk down Main Street towards the castle and reminisce about the last trip, but just checked MNSSHP is on our first night and we have already bought tickets for a later night! I'm so bummed out! Our flight doesn't even arrive until 4pm so there is no way that we can make it. Oh well, it can start bright and early on Sept 30th.

 

[Epcot242]

After checking in, we unpack, then head to the grocery store for our supplies. There's something about not actually head to the parks right away that hieghtens the anticipation. Once we get back and unload the groceries, we head over to the California Grill for dinner. If we have time we walk over to the MK, but this year we may head back to the resort and then to Epcot to catch Illuminations. All this talk... these next 7 days are gonna be tough.

 

[bradisgoofy]

ESPN Club at Boardwalk! No matter where we stay, that is our first meal.

 

[wdwgoofeeee]

A tradition for us that sort of evolved over the last 2-3 trips is to start our trip and end our trip on the Tower of Terror. This has a special meaning for me since I avoided the TOT for years even though our DS always wanted to try it. When I finally gave in a few years back I was completely sold on the TOT. What an awesome experience. Sorry that I missed it for so many trips.
That first ride is SOOOOO great.....However the last ride is kind of a downer since we then back to the resort and airport.

 

[DawnaJean]

We head to MK first and then Chef Mickey's for dinner just like your brother!
Have a great time!
Dawna

 

[pepe of ohio]

Our first arrival experiences for the last 10 years haven't changed at all. Even though we have AP's we do not go to a park but settle into the resort. We stow our suitcases and unpack, don our bathing suits and head to the pool to cool off, breathe the Disney air and have a drink or two. From there we head to DTD, wife does her shopping thing and we walk over to Goodings Grocery for our snacks, liabations and picnic fixings. Back to the resort for putting away the groceries we take the monorail around to the other resorts, to get the sight and smell of each, catch a glimpse of the MK and return to our resort pool. As you can guess, we're staying deluxe in the MK loop, so popping around is nice, easy and quick. We end up at our resort, and do a room rest, dress and monorail to the CR and take the boat from the rear dock over to FW for our pizza and beer bash. Its quiet and serene over there and gets our spirits into the, "we're in Disney World again" attitude. We try to see the EWP from FW beach and head back to our resort and do the pool and drinks a third time before retiring for the first night. Fun really starts early the next morning, waking to the sound of the transportation boats horn, swooshing of the monorail, that first cup of Disney coffee, a plate of food court eggs and hash browns and of course, OJ.

 

[Atchley]

Our first day is to always kick back at the resort. After check in we unpack look around the resort, swim, etc;. We are always so tired to really examine the resorts after we get back from the parks. The resorts have so much to offer and are really neat!

I also agree that MK is my first day and my last day at WDW.

 

[momimouse27]

ahh, just thinking about it gives me chills. I love that first day, when you get there! In the past, our tradition has been to check in, then enjoy a meal at some special restaurant-like a character meal. But since my ds has come along, we have had to revise our "tradition".

We have an 8 hour drive from GA and by the time we get to our room, my little one needs some down-time. So this time we will probobly do some swimming, rest, exploring our resort....that is always fun to do!

 

[DizChick05]

We check in at 11:00 and leave our bags with the bellman and then do Epcot during the "right-before-the-parade-lets-move-logjam-hurry" time at MK. Then like at 4:00 we move to MK and do our continuos Splash Mountain from 4:20-to when we see the fireworks on the peak of the big drop.
When the fireworks start, and we're all up the together. No bickering, No rushing.
It's just magical.

 

[madaboutpooh]

Since we live in Arizona, we always seem to arrive in the late afternoon or early evening. We usually like to unwind a little bit at the resort and do some exploring there. Then its off to DTD for some shopping and picking out a new restaurant for dinner.

 

[winniethepoohsmom]

We usually arrive early to mid-afternoon check in, head to the food court for lunch, bring in our luggage, throw on bathing suits and head for the pool, go back to the room for a shower and head out for dinner sometimes at a disney resort (which is fun to do) if I made a ressie ahead of time. If not we go over by goodings get a bite to eat at one of the restaurants there and go into goodings for water, milk, cereal and snacks then back to the hotel. If it's not to late sometimes we go to the game room or the pool. Then get into bed at decent hour for our first day out in the parks. We really are creatures of habit!

 

[mandysmom]

We don't go to the parks on our first day either. We arrive at the resort in time for lunch and then head for the pool. This year we've decided to kick off our stay by doing a dinner show (the Luau at the Poly)

 

[arielsleepingbeauty]

On our first day, we usually fly out early morning and arrive at WDW resort around 1 or 2. We unpack a bit and check out the resort. Our daughters are 6 and 4 so since the previous visits, they don't really remember to much. We go for a swim and relax. Then we drive to the local Walmart pick up items that would weigh down our luggage, sundries, snacks, etc. We then go to Downtown Disney Marketplace to check out the shops and have dinner We also like to sit near the stage area and have a pretzel, ice cream, popcorn, etc and just listen to the music. Then we head back to the resort for some more swimming and try to get to bed by a reasonable time because the next day we go to MK to open the park.
We have been doing this exact routine for about 5 years now. When i was a kid we always went to Downtown Disney or " The Village" as my family still calls it the day we arrived. It is a tradition that we hopefully always keep!!

 

[MagicMe]

We always head to MK to see that castle and walk down Main Street. Our first ride is always POC.

Depending on what time you woke up, what time you get to the Poly, if you have enough park passes, etc., I would probably take the kids to MK at least for a quick look. They will be able to see MK from the Poly and will probably be anxious. Of course, if you decide not to hit a park your first day and since you are staying at the Poly (a short monorail ride to CR), I would definitely do Chef Mickey's. The character dinner at Chef Mickey's is a great way for the kids to meet the characters (especially the big cheese) and you can get some great pictures. Then you can go back to the Poly and you can actually watch the fireworks from the Poly down by the pool, etc. They pipe over the music so it's really a nice spot to see the fireworks over the castle.

Have a great time!

 

[bdg100]

We usually arrive early to mid-afternoon check in, head to the food court for lunch, bring in our luggage, throw on bathing suits and head for the pool, go back to the room for a shower and head out for dinner sometimes at a disney resort (which is fun to do) if I made a ressie ahead of time. If not we go over by goodings get a bite to eat at one of the restaurants there and go into goodings for water, milk, cereal and snacks then back to the hotel. If it's not to late sometimes we go to the game room or the pool. Then get into bed at decent hour for our first day out in the parks. We really are creatures of habit!

Instead of going to Goodings you should turn left at that Crossroads intersection and head down about a mile or so. On your right hand side will be Winn Dixie. Much better selection and about 2/3 of the price.