Why not MK first thing?

[Golf4food]

We used to save MK for last - even with no kids. But we have done it first a few times and love it. Nothing says "Welcome to Disney!" like walking onto Main Street, especially at Christmas. Our last December trip we drove down Friday after lunch from work, checked into POR, and headed to the MK and got there just before dusk when the lights were starting to come on and got to watch the castle lights come on - just magical. Great way to kick off a vacation! If we aren't starting at MK we generally start at Epcot as it is my second favorite park and also has a lot for us to do. DHS we do in the middle, and AK we really don't care for but do a half day in the middle if we do. Starting and ending with the MK is great.

 

[NOLA_Tink]

We are going for just 5 days and were going to hit MK on the first day because it was the recommend least busy crowd day and again for a half day the last day for the same reason. MK is busier on the other 3 days of our trip. I have all ages so I know my older kids will enjoy Epcot and HS a lot. My 5yo will love MK the most and probably AK the next. What is the thinking behind not doing MK first thing in a trip? If it is a good enough reason, I can flip flop a couple days.

We ALWAYS do MK as the first thing when we go. We love it so much that we couldn't see going anywhere else when we 1st get to WDW. We'll do a bunch at MK when we get there & then finish off all of the other things at MK when we go back later in the week.

 

[kristennn]

As long as itr's not predicted to be a super high crowds day I like to hit magic kingdom first - or near the beginning - and then I also like to go there towards the end of our trip. I like *all* the parks but MK seems to be the most iconic and specifically *disney*
It never would have occurred to me that the other parks dull by comparison though - there are awesome fun things to do at each park!

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

We always start with MK and also try to spend some time there later in the trip. It's tricky since we usually only go for 4 or 5 days.

I think some kids get disappointed with the other parks after seeing MK first but that's never been the case at my house.

 

[WLSILVERCREEKSPRINGS]

Our first night at DW is always spent at the MK and it doesn't diminish the magic of the other parks!

 

[marshmellow86]

I agree wiht a previous poster. Guide book is a guide book. We plan our trip based upon the EMH and anticipated crowd levels and WHERE WE TO GO. I suggest you do the same. If you want to start with MK, then just do it!!!! There is so much at all of the parks and they are all different. Start with what you like. The only thing we typically try to do during a lengthy stay is to various the parks from day-to-day and don't do the same park two or three days in a row, but that's also just us. We like the variety. Enjoy your trip!

 

[snowhyte]

My daughter is 6 and her favorite park has always been Epcot! We usually go to MK the first morning of a trip and then hop somewhere else. We always go to the MK at least twice. As a previous poster said, a lot has to do with how much YOU hype it up and show enthusiasm. If you love a park and find something to make it fun, your kids will be more likely to enjoy it.

 

[Minniemama350]

We always end at MK, but the other days really don't matter to us what order they come in. Most of the time we start at MK also, but my kids love all of the parks.

 

[nothnbutherainsir]

Epcot is my favourite so I always go there first!

 

[fairestoneofall]

We almost always start at MK (this last trip was the one exception) and my kids have NEVER complained about the other parks. They've never grumbled that they'd rather be at MK versus AK, HS or Epcot. They truly love all of the parks.

 

[avic77]

I'm actually torn about what we will hit our first night in Disney. We will check in about 4pm and either hit MK or Epcot (im leaning toward MK since itll stay open till 10 and Epcot will close at 9 plus MK is a boat ride away from our resort) But this is our schedual:
Sat: Arrive hit MK or Epcot
Sun: Epcot
Mon: Epcot
Tues: MK
Wed: Mk
Thurs: DHS
Fri: AK
Sat: Checkout leave

 

[henry72]

I have to agree with the majority - we start at the MK - the most magical place first. I don't think the kids will find the other parks any less exciting. Hey - it is all Disney after all. This time we start at MK and end there.

 

[WUVmyDISNEY]

We've always started at MK first because like some others said, to me that is Disney World. I suppose that comes from when I was a kid in the 70's and that was the only park there and thus, that was DW! For this upcoming trip, we will not be doing that We arrive on Sat and will not get to MK until Tues for the MVMCP. We are splitting between BWI and GF, with BWI being the first stop so we will concentrate on the other parks and then have Tues, Wed, Thurs and Fri morning before leaving for home. I think each day though I will be building up my excitement to see the castle when we finally do get there! I don't think that going to MK first and then to the other parks will be a letdown though. Quick story...a guy I work with recently came back from Disney and we were talking about how his family enjoyed it and such. They totally loved Epcot and I then asked him how he liked IASW. He then said,,,we never made it to MK because the kids had so many other things to do in Epcot. (This was their first trip too!) I think my jaw dropped! I said but MK IS Disney World lol So, whatever works for your family is the best for you!

 

[disneydreamkate]

We like to do MK our first full day at the World!

So our schedule is as follows:

Sat: Check in then either DHS for the BPB Parade or AK for their parade (Boma for dinner)
Sun: MK rope drop (am) and Epcot WS pm
Mon: DHS rope drop and MK pm for Spectro and Wishes
Tues: Epcot FW rope drop (EMH) and DTD pm
Wed: AK am and Epcot pm
Thurs: MK rope drop (EMH)
Fri: Free day! Do whatever we feel like doing again in the am and MK for Wishes in pm
Sat: MK to say "goodbye" and depart around noon

 

[pepe of ohio]

We've done 43 trips so far and always go to the MK the first thing. We never use touring guides or crowd predictor, no rhyme or reason in forecasting the future. We go where we like, sometimes jump on the first bus that pulls in, and always have a great time. But the MK, seeing up Main Street, the smell of the pop corn wagon and hearing the trolley clang its way up and down Main Street, to us, means we've arrived and nothing is ever going to change that.

 

[stitch34]

MK is our favorite, so we do it first. Actually, we do it every other day of our trip.
Usually our schedule goes like this:

MK - have dinner, see spectro and wishes, no time for rides
MK - try to get done as much as we can
DHS
MK - afternoon and evening
EP
MK evening - we take it easy, hit up a couple more of our favs
DHS - usually take it easy that day and head over for the evening.
and then we squeeze in a little bit of AK in there somewhere and DTD!

we try to see spectro/wishes as much as we can.

 

[Lizziejane]

stick with your plan! We always try to do MK as our first park, but also always our last. There's nothing like MK to set you up for the rest of the week, and then on our last day, we stay at MK to the bitter end. We are usually the family that the CM's are pleading with to please exit the park so they can go home! (not really, we're not that inconsiderate!) We hang back as much as possible, get shots of empty rides and an empty park, and then pop into the Bakery on Main Street for that last Disney treat.

 

[robinbutterfly]

We are saving AK for last since that is my ds favorite park! THis is the order we are going
MK
DS
MK
EP
AK

 

[arcticdisneylovers]

We will always do MK first because it's my favourite

Jan 26 - MK
Jan 27 - DHS then hop to MK for Specromagic
Jan 28 - Epcot
Jan 29 - AK then hop to Epcot
Jan 30 - MK
Jan 31 - Epcot then hop to MK

 

[peanmunch]

I know the theory is that the other parks won't "live up" MK, but we tried doing a different park on the first day once, and we'll never do it again. All we all wanted to do was be at MK, because really for us that is Disney. We like the other parks too and always visit all of them, but we'll never start our trip with any other park than MK. Having said that, we also always make MK also our last day and usually throw in another MK day in the middle somewhere. Good luck!

I agree10000000% We always start and end with MK (on a ten night trip) this fall we had a short one day for each park trip and so we decided to "save" the "best" fro last and it never really felt like we were at Disney untill we hit MK...so it will always be the first park for us from now on

Lori