Arrival Day - EEH or relax at resort

[zanzibar138]

Hi all, starting to plan a bit more strategy for our January trip. For context, this is part of our honeymoon and will be the first trip for both of us (and possibly the only one coming from west coast Australia). We'll be arriving from Vegas on a Monday, flight departing 8:45am and arriving at 4:10pm. I'm estimating we should get to WDW by 6pm unless there are major delays somewhere, but also not sure what's realistic for timing. We'll be staying for 14 nights across Poly, BLT and AKV.

After an early start, a tiring day of travel and dealing with time zone changes, I was thinking it might be nice to 'stay in' that night - have a nice dinner, maybe an adult beverage or 2, and watch the fireworks and/or EWP from the resort. I really wanted a resort with a view for that reason and have settled on Poly (which was surprisingly more available/affordable than the EPCOT resorts via DVC rental).

However, I've now realised that there will very likely be EEH at EPCOT that night, and I'm wondering if it's a 'waste' if we don't go? We'll have another EPCOT EEH a week later, plus 2 at MK. Park admission isn't a problem as we have the 14-day park hoppers for international guests that will allow us to go into the parks every day of our trip if we want to. At this stage, if our Poly reservation comes through, we won't be able to change it to an EPCOT area resort (not that there were any suitably priced ones available anyway!).

What would you do? Relaxing night at the resort ready to hit the ground running the next day, or start the trip with a bang at EPCOT?

 

[scrappinginontario]

Personally I would use that evening to settle in, have some dinner and get ready to start the day running the following day.

 

[buzlite]

Stay in. If you have 14 days not worth the stress. Grab a nice dinner, watch fireworks from the resort, maybe a drink at the bar. That’s how I would do it. No reason to rush with the time you have.

 

[btweety04]

Yes, definitely enjoy the Poly that night.

 

[cruising spud]

I have family in Australia and have done this trip quite a few times. You might be exhausted, or you might be good to go. Are you flying from Australia to Vegas to Orlando all at the same time? Or are you resting a day in Vegas? And, what are your plans for your second day at Disney?
When you fly from the US to Australia you tend to arrive in Sydney in the early morning hours. I never sleep. I am good to go until that night. When I arrive home to the US, I tend to be pretty jazzed up (I arrive home late afternoon/early evening). I stay up for hours.

I would play it by ear. If you do go to Epcot, I would plan on going a bit later to the parks the next day. You might be up ready to go, but you might be ready to sleep in.

 

[pens4821]

I would also just relax. You have plenty of time to get everything done you want. The deluxe hours at Epcot aren’t all that amazing anyway. Things are so spread out you don’t get too many rides in anyway.

One nice thing is you can choose to go if you decide to though. Maybe you’ll be feeling great and want to. You have the tickets and it wouldn’t take a day away from you later in your trip so I would keep the door open to it. However, I most likely wouldn’t considering how long you’ll be there.

 

[Dulcee]

I would take the night to settle in. Unpack, grab some drinks, shop, take a stroll and enjoy the truly lovely ambiance around the Poly grounds.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

I wouldn’t hit a park. I would unpack, have a nice dinner and watch the fireworks from the Poly beach.

 

[AliceNDinah]

Voting for definitely staying at the Poly to unwind....you're lucky to have lots of days to then do whatever else you want. Get some rest so you can hit the ground running on Day 2.

 

[sponica]

I almost never go on arrival day, unless I'm there before noon, and I'm just traveling in my time zone. But by the time you add in the hassle of loading everyone in the car to get to the airport, get to the airport, park and unload the baggage, security, boarding, flying and then deplaning, picking up luggage, transfers to resort, I'm exhausted.

My favorite trip, we got to the resort around 3ish, dropped the bags in the room, went to the pool and just ate at the pool bar that night.

 

[MickeyMice]

do whatever you feel like! poly is a quick walk to TTC which is one monorail stop from epcot. you can easily have a nice evening at poly then pop over to epcot for a few things in the front for an hour and a half or so. maybe even try for a GotG late night VQ. but i wouldn't feel any FOMO whatsoever about skipping it with a full two weeks to go.

personally speaking, when traveling, i tend to be keyed up after arrival and want to go go go, and the next day i feel the crash. given how much time you have, i'd probably ease into day 2.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

Agree with so many recommending you just settle in, relax, and get adjusted to the new time zone. You'll have plenty of time to enjoy the parks and restaurants, including other chances for EEH! Enjoy your trip!

 

[miksicnarf]

Another vote for "play it by ear." See how you feel and do what you want! Personally, I fly from the West coast, also usually arrive at a similar time and always go to Epcot. For one thing, with the time difference it's 3 hours earlier where I'm from so although I'm exhausted from having been up before dawn, my internal clock says it's not time to shut down yet. I'm always anxious to get to a park, and when I'm walking around World Showcase sipping my fave beverage I really feel like I've arrived. Whatever you decide, enjoy!

 

[Mermaidtails1323]

I definitely have a hard time staying at the hotel the first day if I can help it! But Disney is my happy place, and I'm still (relatively) young. This year we have evening plans on our arrival day, and my oldest told me how happy she is that we get to go to the parks on arrival day. Granted, we can change our plans if we want, and you have that flexibility too. Since you're traveling from abroad, just see how you feel. I know sometimes when I'm abroad I'm exhausted, and other times I can't sleep. If the latter, I would go and try to get some energy out at the parks, even if just for a couple of hours.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

personally speaking, when traveling, i tend to be keyed up after arrival and want to go go go, and the next day i feel the crash. given how much time you have, i'd probably ease into day 2.

This is us too. We would fly out early and hit the parks and stay all day after a 6 am flight. Two trips ago it ended up in meltdowns and exhaustion the next two days.

Last trip we flew in a bit later and hung out at the resort on arrival day. It was so much more relaxing and made the rest of the trip so much better.

 

[Mouse Tracker]

Honeymoon, duh, resort evening with a great meal

 

[Genie+]

From Poly? I’d definitely have a Plan A and Plan B.

A) Settle in to your resort. There’s plenty right there, whether you just want to chill in your room, or watch fireworks, have a drink at the lounge, on and on…

B) Get the 6pm VQ for Guardians! Take the very convenient monorail from Poly (The TTC is right next to DVC rooms). Pop into Epcot to catch Illuminous and ride Guardians, then go back to Poly.

Play it by ear. See how you feel that evening. I think Guardians is a fantastic way to start a trip!

 

[gottalovepluto]

Resort. You have 14 days, no need to rush anything.

 

[MamaMermaid]

Resort, for sure.

 

[zanzibar138]

Thanks everyone! Definitely sounds like the consensus is to take the opportunity to relax at the resort. I'm all for playing it by ear too, I'm just acutely aware that WDW requires a bit more advance-planning. Will we need a dinner reservation that night if we plan to stay in, or is it likely we will be able to get in somewhere on the night?

I've been to the US quite a bit - luckily I don't seem to get really bothered by jetlag (although haven't been for nearly 10 years so my body may react differently this time around!). By this stage we'll have already been in the US for a week too. So we might be ready to hit the ground running, but I'm thinking after a few days in Vegas and a relatively long travel day, I will be more than ready for a more relaxed night to recharge before dealing with crowds/people again!