What do you do on check-in day?

[roadtripper]

Wow! Being at MK until 3am sounds like a blast! We should have done that before having a kid! I don't think it would be responsible of me to keep a 2 year old at the MK until 3am! Maybe we should take one of her Grandma's with us to stay behind while we ride BTM til the wee hours of the morning! :lol: I don't think I could wake up the next morning! I probably coulda done it when I was 20! Darn it, I'm getting too old!

We decide to be irresponsible...take a stroller and have fun! Our first trip we had our kids (then almost 3,6, and 8) out until 2 or 3 in the morning! They had a blast! Besides you only live once and you have your whole life to get to bed on time:animwink:

 

[DizneyPryncess]

We never do parks on the first day, because I love rope drop. It's my favorite part of a park day, and if I'm going to miss it, I'd rather save my ticket for another day.

Our tradition is to check in arrive around noon, explore the resort, and check in when our room is ready. We like to try to stay somewhere new each trip, so we want to go see the lobby, pool, restaurants, etc. In the evening we go to the Poly for dinner at either Kona or Ohana, and then watch Wishes from the beach.

 

[Chrononymous]

Our trips are usually only 3-4 days, so that first day of arriving early in the AM, we often go straight to DAK or the Studios...so we can get in most of a day in a park that doesn't neccessarily take a full day to do.

Then we park hop to Epcot, becuase it's always open later.

 

[Chevross]

Avoid the crazy people. :lookaroun

 

[plaz10]

get checked in. drop off carry ons. shower/change if time permits. (this year) will be heading out to dinner at kona cafe at poly and then just exploring the resorts in the area until sleepy time. Last year it was take a quick nap (from the 6am flight and layovers) then head to MK for their EMH.

 

[ShookieJones]

We can't wait to get to the parks!

First day we always take the earliest Flight in so we're at our Hotel - (this year the Poly) by noon.

Check in and hit the MK Baby!!! wooHOO!!!
Then our traditional dinner at Cape May...

Wow I'm getting totally freakin' pumped right now!!!

35 More days!! Watch out!!

 

[worldfanatic]

Flying from the West Coast, we usually arrive at our resort between 5 and 7PM.
My wife just chills in the room for an hour and I always hit the pool and float around looking at the other vacationers, thinking about how happy I am to be back at the World.
We then hit our resort lounge for a couple celebratory cocktails before getting some late dinner. (which is generally counter service, unless we're staying at an Epcot resort....... in which case we always head to the Swan for sushi at Kimonos)

 

[wm49rs]

It depends. A couple of years back, on our first family stay at the FW Cabins, we spent the afternoon driving around the resort and then had dinner at HDDR that evening. Our last trip (WL), we had time enough to check out the view from our room before we headed off to dinner at the Crystal Palace. I think when we next visit we'll probably spend a good deal of time around the pool and the Boardwalk............

 

[Raven66]

We usually get a hotel room by the airport we are flying out of so we can take the first flight out in the morning. We get to our resort by noon local time and we have been very lucky to have our room ready for by that time. So we take our stuff to our room and head to MK. And then we hop to the EMH park.

This last trip we decided that we were running on fumes by the first night, so we flew in the night before and just used that night to rest up to get up at 5:30 am. That was a much better trip, we were rested and ready.

 

[Mikester71]

We usually arrive around 1pm or so and usually check-in and then unload everything from the van to our rooms. After that, we usually head to the Pop cafeteria to buy our new mugs and get a drink or two while we stroll around the grounds for a bit. We usually freshen up a bit and head to DTD for the night. We usually hit up Disney Quest for a couple of hours and then do some shopping before returning to Pop for a good night's sleep, that way we can wake up and hit the ground running our first full day there (usually spent at MK).

Next year, while we will be pretty much be sticking to the same schedule on check-in day, we were thinking we may finally hit up Cirque that first night when we go to DTD. Have been to WDW 3 times now and have yet to see La Nouba, so we all can't wait! Probably have a nice dinner somewhere in DTD beforehand too.

 

[MarkTwain]

Typically we get in later in the afternoon on the first day, so we unpack (which takes a while), and just explore the resort, check out the gift shop and lobby details, take pictures, and so on (we try to stay somewhere different each stay). We then eat a late dinner (usually at a moderately-priced restaurant or off-property) , and afterward take a nighttime trip to Walmart to stock up our DVC villa's kitchen with snacks and breakfast products. Then we'll end the night with a swim in the pool or a Disney movie back in the room.

We take it nice and easy the first day.

 

[ILMdisneyfan]

Last visit we got in about 4 or 5ish, we bought our tickets and got our luggage to the room and decided we were hungry so we headed to the contemporary for dinner at california grille (AMAZING goat cheese ravioli, by the way). We couldnt get an actual table but we did get a lounge area seat.

Sat there and ate dinner and watched wishes out of the window. Then we headed back to Shades to relax (10 hours in a car and the last thing i want to do is go on a marathon that day).

This trip we're staying at hard rock for the first night, so we're going to eat at Bob Marley and kick the week off at Pat O'Briens, and try to stumble back to the hotel without getting lost. We'll check in at Shades the next day at around noonish. Then we'll go to DAK.

 

[Susan Savia]

After a 15 hour (2 day drive), our arrival time is usually around 3:00pm and so we unpack and head to Epcot for some Test Track and Spaceship Earth fun!!

 

[protiius]

If it's morning we head to Perkins for breakfast, if it's afternoon we head to Taco Bell for a burrito (I think I miss these two places as much as WDW when I'm home). Then probably head out to MK for the day and then EPCOT for Illuminations.

 

[rkelly42]

Check in and then it is straight to Epcot for some rides,food and fun.

 

[Bigeagle]

Previously, I avoiding having a park ticket for arrival day--given the shorter time we'd actually have to play, it seemed like a waste to me.

Last summer, we tried something new for us that really made us feel like we're stretching our Disney time...

We live about 6 hours from Orlando, so when we made our trip, we left home early afternoon and went about 4.5 hours to spend the night (this time it was on the beach in St. Augustine--it was great!). It's really good pre-trip stress relief to just get out of town, and stopping for the night enhances our ability to begin relaxing. We used hotel points for a free stay, enjoyed an easy dinner and any local sights, and then got a good night's rest. The hotel provided breakfast the next morning, too!

The next day, we made the last 1.5 hour drive to WDW and arrived around noon, reasonably fresh for checking in and some fun. If we couldn't check in immediately, we had packed pool clothes separately and would change in the dressing rooms near the pool. Since our room was ready, we moved in and were off for a QS dinner and an evening of re-acquainting ourselves with Disney at the MK. Since Disney's price structure can make that extra day's park ticket/meal credit relatively inexpensive, we chose to bank the "extra" TS credit for a special meal (at Cindy's Royal Table later that week).

For us, it felt almost like getting an extra Disney day.

 

[diddy_mouse]

We try to get a early flight so we arrive at MCO around 11am. From there we take a towncar to the resort, check-in and hope the room is ready. We drop the bags off, grab what we need for the rest of the day, and freshen up before heading to get some lunch (last time it was at Kona Cafe.) Once we've had some food it's time for the MK! First ride of the trip? Always Pirates.

 

[UberMouse]

We usually check in by about 10:30am, leave our bags and hit the parks. The day of the week dictates which park we go to. Then we return to the hotel around 5pm and go to the room and have our bags brought up. Then we either grab a quick bite to eat and go to a park for the rest of the evening, or get cleaned up and hit a restaurant somewhere.

-Jeff

 

[Mickey_777]

I fly to Orlando in the evening after work since it's only about a 2 hour flight. Once I'm checked into the hotel, I hop in the car with the wifey over to DTD for a couple hours just to get that first taste of Disney...then off the parks the next morning.

 

[EnchantedRose]

Mk!

The last two trips I had with hubby and son we've made it a tradition to ALWAYS do Magic Kingdom our first day...as long as we check in early enough. Upcoming trip we arrive at MCO at 10am..so I am hoping that we'll be at the resort by 12 and have a room ready! Our plan is to rest a bit maybe swim, depending on our 2.5 y/o...if he naps or not! Then hit Magic Kingdom for a bit then DTD for Dinner (we're going to Bongos this time) & then get to bed as EARLY as possible since we have to be up the next day (Mother's Day :ROFLOL for breakfast at Cape May & of course...Magic Kingdom again! =D