Which Park on First Day?

[dianakay]

Hi Everyone,
My family will be making our first trip to WDW the first week of January 2007. We are flying from California, probably taking the red eye and arriving at MCO about 6:30 a.m. on Tuesday the 2nd. After checking in at the POP we would like to head for a park. As much as I would like to start with the MK, I was wondering if the other parks are smaller and would take less time to see so that we could get to bed earlier and be refreshed for the next day. Any suggestions?

 

[Groovee]

We're planning on doing MK the day we arrive. We arrive about lunchtime so will have extra time for once. The kids are keen to do that park and it will probably be what keeps them awake.

 

[finnster77]

I will be taking my family for the second time this December. During my first visit, I discovered that the MK was the highlight of the trip, so we'll save that one for last this year. It probably depends on the age of your children.

Have a good time!

 

[JerseyGirl1972]

We always do Epcot the first day, there aren't as many rides, so I don't feel like I have to put in alot of effort in that first day, plus the kids will go right to bed once we get back to the room after Illuminations and we can start fresh without having had to do too much the first day.

 

[javaonline]

The Unofficial guide recommends NOT to go to MK with small kids the first day, because the other parks will pale in comparison (in a child's eyes).

Nevertheless we're flying in on a Friday and going to MNSSHP the first night, then returning on Saturday morning.

MNSSHP on Friday
MK on Saturday
AK on sunday
Rest Day on Monday
Epcot on Tuesday
MGM on Wednesday
Sea World on Thursday
Rest Day/go to any of the above disney parks again.

We're heeding everyone's advice and building in afternoon rest times to our schedule so that everyone doesnt get exhausted.

 

[Praying Colonel]

I'm an Unofficial Guide/TourGuide Mike kinda guy, so I usually look at what they recommend during the days we're going to be there and go by that. But we're forced to go in the summer when crowds are very thick. If I were going during a slower time of the year like you are and didn't have to plan as closely, I'd probably do AK first because it's not a full-day park. You can do what you want to do and then recharge your batteries for the next day.

 

[Eeyore Excitement]

I've been thinking about this too, as my family is going in December. I think it would be best to go to the Magic Kingdom first, for various reasons. One is, this was the first park made, of course!! I think the magic looms there most, so you can have the most magic on your first and, if wanted, last day to get the most out of it!!
There's also.. well, actually that's the only reason I can think of at the moment.
Have a Disney day!

 

[Cool-Beans]

The Unofficial guide recommends NOT to go to MK with small kids the first day, because the other parks will pale in comparison (in a child's eyes).

Nevertheless we're flying in on a Friday and going to MNSSHP the first night, then returning on Saturday morning.

MNSSHP on Friday
MK on Saturday
AK on sunday
Rest Day on Monday
Epcot on Tuesday
MGM on Wednesday
Sea World on Thursday
Rest Day/go to any of the above disney parks again.

We're heeding everyone's advice and building in afternoon rest times to our schedule so that everyone doesnt get exhausted.

I agree with UG about little kids and the Magic Kingdom. If I could, I'd do the other parks first. The order doesn't much matter, but if it were me, I'd go Epcot, Animal Kingdom, MGM and then MK. Of course, a lot depends on if you doing Extra Magic Hours or not.

Sea World is great! So is Universal, but you can only do so much in one trip, right?

 

[imp&pixie]

I am going to have a hard time convincing anyone in my family to wait a day or two before we finally go to the Magic Kingdom. I am really the only one who is doing the research and the only one who has heard about the let down for the kids of the other parks after they've seen MK. I think we'll start the day on our first day at MK (we have really early ADRs at Ohana that morning) and then after our afternoon break we'll go to Epcot for the evening (we have Le Cellier ADR for and early dinner). This is our first trip to WDW also and we are also coming from California. Unfortunately, our travel agent made our flights sort of goofy and we aren't getting to Florida until 6:00 pm so we lose a whole day of our vacation.

 

[clonetothebone]

The Unofficial guide recommends NOT to go to MK with small kids the first day, because the other parks will pale in comparison (in a child's eyes).

Tis true that the Unofficial guide recommends NOT go to MK first with kids BUT on the crowd level calendar the Magic Kingdom is listed as the BEST PARK to tour on Tuesday, January 2, 2007. They list the other 3 parks as ones to avoid this day so I say go for it!

We had two days on our last trip that we didn't follow the recommended parks calendar and regretted it because it was so busy.

 

[mouseketeerwannabe]

Oh my gosh, I can't imagine just doing MK on one day of our trip! On our most recent trip in July we were at that park four different times. We always go to MK first after checking in to our hotel. It's what starts the magic for us. We always park hop, so maybe that's why we're able to get there more often. We did all four parks, but MK was first, last and in between.

 

[SnwflkCts]

Well, I like to make MK my first FULL DAY sooo, after arriving (if early enough in the day) I prefer Epcot. But any WDW park is better than sitting at home ...

 

[clonetothebone]

Well, I like to make MK my first FULL DAY sooo, after arriving (if early enough in the day) I prefer Epcot. But any WDW park is better than sitting at home ...

You got that right!

 

[gaelic grace]

We usually do AK first. There are rides and characters so the kids get a taste of it but it's not as overwhelming. Since it is an early night we can eat a good meal and get to bed in plenty of time to get up the next morning, this way we don't start off our trip exhausted.

 

[PortieOwner]

First partial day: DtD, outlet malls, other resorts, etc. First full day: MK morning and then EC/MGM in the afternoon.

 

[lynlam]

yes, I'd say it depends on kids. Our trip in March (a first for all of us), I was determined to do MK first...just seemed the "right" thing to do. Well, after haggling with the others in our party, we ended up going to MGM the first day. And you know what? I am SOOOOO glad we did. My DD 3 was SOOO incredibly exhausted and cranky from a full 24 hours of travelling, that she was a major PITA all day and wouldn't ride any rides, threw fits, fought us at every turn. I think if we had gone to MK, some of the magic would have been lost at that point. As it turned out, we saved MK for the 4th day and it worked out perfectly. (did AK and EPCOT on 2nd and 3rd). She was more "into" it all by then and enjoyed it far more I think. HTH!

 

[IHeartTink04]

It has got to be MK! The magic doesn't get much better there and will keep you wanting more!

 

[Bambi5826]

I'd probably do AK first because it's not a full-day park. You can do what you want to do and then recharge your batteries for the next day.

I Agree. This is always our stragety, and always works wonderfly!

 

[michelle1]

We always do Epcot first for some reason but we do go to MK twice..once at the beginning (2nd day usually) and always the last day. If you are planning to only go once I would save it until after the other parks. Have a great trip!

 

[luvpoohbear]

I am a big baby when it comes to this. I have to go to MK first no matter what. To me, I don't feel officially in WDW until I stand on Main Street and look at the castle. Sounds dumb, I know. But, that's just me!!!

This time will be the first time that we don't drop off our stuff at the resort and go straight to MK. Last year we got there at like 9:00pm, so there was not time to go to MK, so we checked in and went to DtD. This year we hope to be there by noon, so there will be time to go, however my boys (8,9) cannot wait to get into the CSR pool again, so I agreed that the first day they can spend the day swimming. We are meeting the in-laws there, whom we haven't seen in about 3 years, so it will be nice to just relax by the pool and catch up. After all, we are still at DISNEY!!!!