Your first day?

[danceteachermom]

Awake and waiting for basketball to start this morning. All I can think about are my Kansas Jayhawks and our upcoming trip (12 days). It would be so wonderful if I could watch my team at the final four while in Disney. But...we need to win today and next weekend first. Nervous about the game so I need a distraction.

Wondering what everyone does their first at at WDW? I love the first day magic and that feeling you get on the magical express and when you first arrive at your resort and when you first enter a park.

Our flight arrives at 12:15. It is our goal to be poolside, drinks in hand, enjoying the Florida sunshine by 2:00. Think we can do it?

We plan on a few hours at the pool then for the first time ever on a first day for us a trip to Epcot. We have FP+ for Test Track and a reservation at Via Napoli for dinner. I also got FP+ for Figment ( we have never done this) and Spaceship Earth (can't imagine we will really need a FP for this).

Our first day tradition is pool time and a resort meal so we are breaking new ground this year.

What does your family do the first day?

 

[KatieCharlotte]

Awake and waiting for basketball to start this morning. All I can think about are my Kansas Jayhawks and our upcoming trip (12 days). It would be so wonderful if I could watch my team at the final four while in Disney. But...we need to win today and next weekend first. Nervous about the game so I need a distraction.

Wondering what everyone does their first at at WDW? I love the first day magic and that feeling you get on the magical express and when you first arrive at your resort and when you first enter a park.

Our flight arrives at 12:15. It is our goal to be poolside, drinks in hand, enjoying the Florida sunshine by 2:00. Think we can do it?

We plan on a few hours at the pool then for the first time ever on a first day for us a trip to Epcot. We have FP+ for Test Track and a reservation at Via Napoli for dinner. I also got FP+ for Figment ( we have never done this) and Spaceship Earth (can't imagine we will really need a FP for this).

Our first day tradition is pool time and a resort meal so we are breaking new ground this year.

What does your family do the first day?

We're also hoping to watch our alma mater (not Kansas, sorry) in the final four on spring break.

On the first day, we always go to downtown Disney and always get soaked in the water fountains, no matter the temperature. This year, we're staying at POR, so we get to ride the boat to DTD and then swim in the pool after.

 

[starsweeper]

If we check in past lunch, we usually get settled in our room and have a snack, maybe explore the resort a little or swim for 1-2 hours. Then we head to MK or Epcot for dinner around 5-6pm, ride a few things and watch fireworks. Our first full day in the parks always starts with MK and breakfast at CP or CRT before park open. Nothing like having Main Street USA and the castle to yourselves to start the day. We did both of these on our first trip with my two 7yos and they insist every trip begins the same way.

 

[MustangMike]

Check in & then over to Downtown for lunch at Fulton's & a little shopping. Then over to MK in the late afternoon. I've followed the same tradition for years. The 1st & last ride of my vacation is always Pirates.

 

[JeanetteK]

Our first two trips ('12 and '13), DH and I headed to DTD for dinner our first night. This year, we're doing Hoop Dee Do revue our first night. Something to really get us in the Disney mood, although I am going to miss Fulton's on arrival night.

 

[AnnaL]

We usually take an early flight and arrive by 10am. Take ME to our resort, we usually get their by noon, check in and then head to Epcot. If we are lucky we can be at Epcot by 1 or 1:30. On our last trip we scheduled our FP+ for 2:00 and 3:00 (and then one later in the evening) and had dinner at Via Napoli.

 

[lisatx04]

This year we are breaking our usual tradition of going in to a park on arrival day. I think we are going to just relax at OKW then we have ADR's at 8pm at Chef Mickey's. If I find that I need to start to get my "Disney fix" and the resort isn't cutting it, we'll head over to Downtown Disney, and then take the bus over to dinner.

 

[CarlaLovesDisney]

This might be slightly off topic, but I see that some of you say you check in before 3pm. I thought Disney resort check in times begin at 3pm. I would really like to go to a park on arrival day, but only if I can check in around lunchtime.

 

[bbak3030]

Our last trip we started at EPCOT and then back to the resort to relax for a bit. Then we had dinner at 'Ohana and headed to MK for EMH til 1am! It was an amazing day!!

 

[BlueGiraffe]

We fly in from London, so don't generally arrive until late afternoon.

If we're staying offsite then our first evening is unpacking at the villa and going to Target/Walmart/Publix to stock up. If we're staying on site then it's usually a bus to DTD after we've checked into the resort. MK is then our first park when we wake up the next morning.

Last time we stayed on site (2008 for our honeymoon) we broke tradition and went to Epcot the night we arrived. But only because we'd flown in from Vegas and were at AKL around 8am and our room wasn't ready. We went to DTD for the afternoon and then Epcot after dinner.

We're staying on site this summer and will just do resort and dinner when we get there (2 young children in tow) and MK for rope drop next morning.

 

[melnbil]

This might be slightly off topic, but I see that some of you say you check in before 3pm. I thought Disney resort check in times begin at 3pm. I would really like to go to a park on arrival day, but only if I can check in around lunchtime.

You can check in I believe anytime after 7 am, however your room may or may not be ready when you get there.

 

[CarlaLovesDisney]

You can check in I believe anytime after 7 am, however your room may or may not be ready when you get there.

Wow, that changes a lot. I think I will be going to MK on arrival day,

 

[Disneyhabs]

Our first day arrive at the resort around noon check in check the bags. If the room is ready go unpack have a bite to eat in the room. Then grab a bus to EPCOT then the monorail to TTC. From there we hit the monorail resorts for a walk around. We then make our final stop at Contemp and hit Chef Mickey's for dinner. After that we head back to the resort for a swim then movie night at the resort.

 

[Day-Day]

Our flight is scheduled to arrive at 11:11am and we will rent a car. I have FP+ scheduled for same day at Animal Kingdom. FP+ may be ideal for this since we will only have a half-day visit.

If we are really hungry, we will eat lunch outside the park and then go to the park but will probably go directly to AK. If we are a little ahead of schedule, we may check in at the resort first . I have completed online check-in and also have a couple of special requests for the room.

We'll visit the grocery the evening of our arrival day or wait until our mid-day resort break on the following day depending on how we feel.

 

[bigbabyblues]

We drive and try to arrive before 7 a.m., check in, grab breakfast and head to a recommended park. Last June, we arrived around 10 a.m., checked in, had lunch and went to our favorite park--Epcot.

 

[katt789]

I definitely think your plan is do able!!

Our arrival day when travelling with a group is usually just check in at the hotel, have some dinner & relax. If we have enough time, head to DTD for some exploring, if not, just stick around the resort.

Being from Canada the earliest we can arrive is a flight landing at 3:30….

If it's just the two of us with AP's, then we usually head out to Magic Kingdom or whatever park is open latest! I do REALLY love having the feeling of arriving "home" from once you get of the plane, to getting into Magic Kingdom, watching MSEP and wishes & saying hi to Mickey on the first night!!

 

[pezkore]

Even though it's our first trip to the world (not counting BF's trip as a young child), we already have our arrival day all planned out...

Our flight arrives just after 1pm, and then we're on our way to POP with the ME. As soon as we're checked in, we're jumping on a bus to Magic Kingdom! We hope to score a dinner ADR @ Be Our Guest (our window hasn't opened yet)... If not, we'll probably just grab some food at POP before going to grab the bus.

Easywdw's crowd calendar has MK as a 'red' park that day, so thanks to F+, we'll have at least 3 guaranteed rides that evening, even if it turns out to be super busy.

We have another (full) day planned at MK during our 7 days, so our arrival day will mostly be exploring MK, a nice dinner (fingers crossed!), and at least 3 rides.

 

[Nancy F]

We always check in and if our room is ready we drop our carry on bags and then head right to EPCOT. If the room isn't ready we check our bags and then head out.
Nancy

 

[JennyMP03]

On my first trip, we went to Downtown Disney on our first night. This wasn't good for me. I remember falling down some stairs in one of the clubs (clumsy, not drunk) and having a meltdown because nothing felt like Disney World yet. (This was our honeymoon and I was still very tired from the wedding and traveling.)

On our second trip, I had an ADR for Le Cellier around 6. We drove in and arrived at Pop around 3:30, dropped our bags off, and went to Epcot. We ate and strolled around until Illuminations afterward, then went back to the resort and swam in the pool. A much better arrival day overall!

For my upcoming trip, my traveling partner is my cousin and not my husband, but we'll drive and arrive around 3:30 again. Then we'll head to Magic Kingdom, which will be open until midnight. I'm going to FP+ three headliners between 6-8, and we'll maybe eat at CHH, have a Dole Whip float, watch MSEP at 9 and Wishes at 10, then hopefully enjoy diminished crowds so we can catch a few more rides during the last two hours of the park being open.

 

[Skjhjb]

We aim to arrive in Orlando around 1:00-2:00 day before checkin at Disney. We are driving, and have an offsite hotel booked for the night.

Our plan is to get up around 7, grab a quick breakfast (included in the hotel stay) and head to our Disney resort. Our plan is to check in and then hit Magic Kingdom before rope drop. If our room isn't ready, no problem! We can leave all our stuff in our van until later in the day.

Can't wait!