Arrival Day/Am I Being Unrealistic

I think it depends a lot on where you stay. With AKL, you are in for a long bus ride (unless you go to AK). But to wait 20ish minutes for a bus, ride 25ish minutes to get to MK, just to turn around and do that for the trip back, would be a lot for little ones after a flight. I think staying on the monorail or one of the resorts where you can walk to Epcot would make a difference.

We are staying at Contemporary solely for that MK walking path. It is our first trip with baby and we're just so unsure how it will all go, and we are preparing ourselves for just making that walk back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. Even still, I don't think I will chance taking her into MK on arrival day.
 
During our January trip with our 3 and almost 5 year old, we had arrived at the resort by noon and did the following ...

Checked in
Boat to Disney Springs (we were at POR so the boat was a novelty to them)
Lunch at that Mexican joint there
lil bit of shopping
Boat back
Explored the resort
Swam
Ordered pizza
Bath time
And good nights

We were all pooped! So glad we didn't attempt a park like we had debated.

Could you do something like character dining to get a touch of magic before hitting the parks the next day? Or maybe venture somewhere where you could see fireworks that night?
 
My family has a tradition of going to MK on our arrival day regardless of the time of day we get there. Even if we just get in there for a couple hours; we will ride a couple rides, have dinner or a snack and watch fireworks. My kids love it.. Totally pumps them up for the rest of the vacation.
 
We will be arriving to the Poly at around 10:30 am. We are still not going to do parks that day. It's a 10 day trip so we've got plenty of time. We will just get ourselves settled into our room, enjoy the pool and explore the resort. Hopefully check out Trader Sams and we have reservations for dinner at 'Ohana.

Planning on capping off the night seeing the new MK fireworks from the CL lounge and then going to be "early". We will be ready to start our first day of touring the next day bright and early! :goodvibes
 
Thanks for all the input! We will be going in a couple of months and staying at the AKL. I was lucky enough to get a 3 hour nonstop flight that departs at 11ish. After reading the comments, I think we may just take it easy at the resort (grab a late lunch at the QS and then dinner at Boma, pool or animal watching in between). I think we will still get tickets for that day in case we feel up to walking around in one of the parks (it's only 40 more dollars to add that extra day).
Only add the extra day to the tickets once you decide you need them. No need to buy them in advance, you can just add a day at the end if you need it.
 
We always go with our kids to Disney Springs for dinner, and shopping and just generally enjoy ourselves. We stay at POP, so we take the bus back to Art of Animation and wander through Cars land, play on the play area and cross the lake slowly before settling in.
 


We have had 5 trips starting at ages 9m/3y, and for four of those trips we went into a park on arrival day. Sometimes we arrived early and were into a park by 10-11am. Other times it was in at 5pm just for 3-4 hours. The one time we skipped going into a park so we could get to the resort and just "relax", I was bored, the kids fought like crazy, and I felt like the vacation had not really started. I wished we had gone into a park that evening.
 
Just don't do what we did on our first trip.

Last year, we got to POR around 3pm. Got to the room at about 4 pm (check in took forever).

My 34 month old was bouncing on the bed with excitement, so we decided to hit up the magic kingdom.

We stayed there until closing, which was around 11 pm I think. Got back to the room around 1 am. Made for a rough week for everyone. Definitely took a few days to recuperate for the kid.

So bottom line, if you do go to the parks, don't stay until closing. Get the kids to bed as early as possible.
 
In my experience the kids do fine the first day. But the next day they will crash hard if they were on the go the day before. So either hit the parks the day you arrive and plan on sleeping in the following day, or do a more relaxing arrival day. Swim, maybe shop a bit. I like the idea of doing an out of the park character meal. Gets you in the Disney vibe right away.
 
I am a big fan of the character dinner at Chef Mickeys and a ride on the Monorail on arrival day for little ones.

This is what we would do. It is a great way to kick off the trip. My DGD loved to start there.

If you're staying at AKL, you could easily do a resort day on arrival and feel like you got a lot done.

WE stayed at AKL on our first trip as a family with our little DGD. WE had an early morning flight so even though we arrived at a reasonable time, we used the day to explore that gorgeous resort, swim a bit and then relax until dinner at CM. This was a nice way to start, and ensured that she (and we) were nto exhausted the following day when we hit the parks.
 
We took our daughter for the first time at 3 and we started a tradition where we check in with the big guy... Mickey on arrival day and then try and do 1 or 2 rides. First we the adults are so excited and we like other say we play how long we are there by ear. For us once we land and get bags it takes 2 hrs to check in and drop bags (unpacked) in the room and be walking down Main Street. We don't use the Disney bus from MCO so not sure how much time is needed to add.
 
We are arriving at MCO at 1:30 pm and doing a few hours of a park that evening. The added cost to go from a 6 day ticket to a 7 day one is minimal, so we've decided to go to AK for a bit, so that we have more than one day at that park. Hoping to get FP+ for both Pandora rides over the 1.5 days we are spending there. We will be up at about 4:30 am but even if we just have dinner + 1 of the two Pandora rides, it will still be worth it. Hopefully we can stay up for Rivers of Light as well. I think my youngest will likely sleep on the plane.
 
ohhhhh at AKL? just enjoy your resort that day, no stress involved! there is so much to see there,so many nice places to eat lunch and dinner..... even if your rooms not ready, just have swimsuits etc in a bag ready to go relax when you arrive!You can get an early start the next day if you're not exhausted. A Huge part of our WDW enjoyment is the resort,and we always spend that first day just hanging out and relaxing. It's going to be tiring,and you'll feel it by the end of that first day-
 
Depends on what is happening the next day. If it's just a resort day, an arrival/park day works. The issue for us has been doing this, and then you don't want to leave the park at a decent time because you're now "plugged into the magic". Then your first full park day starts off horribly. We usually stay out of parks and Disney Springs and stick to resort and POSSIBLY one of the mini-golf places.
 
If you are taking DME, you likely won't be at your resort an hour after your plane lands. I would not do a park, but instead would hang out at the resort. They will give you a list of activities when you get there, but honestly just dinner and walking around to check the place out would be enough. Its amazing and relaxing and exciting all at the same time. Enjoy the pool, shower, and get to bed early.
 
Thanks for all the input! We will be going in a couple of months and staying at the AKL. I was lucky enough to get a 3 hour nonstop flight that departs at 11ish. After reading the comments, I think we may just take it easy at the resort (grab a late lunch at the QS and then dinner at Boma, pool or animal watching in between). I think we will still get tickets for that day in case we feel up to walking around in one of the parks (it's only 40 more dollars to add that extra day).
Just wanted to share this: last time, we had a quick, one-stop flight. And it turned into a MCO landing at 3 pm to an 11 pm landing time due to mechanical problems. Boy, I was glad I hadn't forked over money for park tickets! There is plenty for those littles to do that afternoon to burn off the excitement of arriving besides swimming. There's always a spin on the monorail...or two! Or go to Port Orleans and take the boat trip to DTD.
 
the whole premise relies on you landing on time

Last week a friend planned on lunch at Disney. Instead they arrived at 8:30 pm

you just never know

Make a Plan A and a Plan b, maybe even c

then you can decide when you get there
 
I'm on the same boat as you. We're going in December and will be staying at the Poly for 8 nights. The kids will be 3yrs, and 11 months old. I was hoping to hit the parks shortly after we arrive, around 3, and maybe go to AK to check out Pandora, but my wife quickly shut down my idea. Instead, we will just have dinner at California Grill, enjoy the Poly and get ready for our touring plan the next day
 
So we may be pushing it but here is what we are doing. Flight leaves home at 230pm, one plane change in Seattle and we overnight to Florida arriving at 6am Florida time (which is like 2am at home). Magic Express to Bay Lake Towers, then Monorail to MK. The double stroller we are renting should be at BLT when we get there. We have brunch reservations for 10:30 at Crystal Palace. I did make some fast passes because my 6 yr old and 14 yr old will probably want to hit a few rides. I figure with the 3 yr old we can play it by ear and if she wants to we can otherwise we won't. As soon as the room is ready, we will leave the park and spend time in the pool, with plans to go to bed early. For those that are still awake and want to, they can go upstairs to the DVC club to watch fireworks.

I know my kids are good travelers, they will all sleep on the plane so this will leave only the adults seriously sleep deprived once we get to Disney. I am hoping keeping busy in the morning and then a quiet afternoon will help speed jetlag since like I said, we have a 4 hour time change to adjust to.
 

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