What to do the first day at a hotel?

[pepperderr]

I made reservations for August of next year. I got 8-day tickets and 8 days at Art of Animation. Should I somehow add a day to the hotel reservations for the first or last day of our visit or both? What do you do? Right now we don't know if we are flying down or driving from PA. Of course, we will have more flexibility if we drive but it will be more convenient to fly. Since we don't know what time we will get there the first day, I am thinking we should check in on that day and not go to the park until the next day. That is the same with the last day, we will check out and have to go to a park or we will lose the cost of the ticket but if we go to a park on the last day, we will be too tired to drive if that is what we do. What do you usually do?

 

[jthornton94]

With the package deal, it comes with a round of mini golf I believe. We have started doing that our first or last day. This time we will do it our departure day as we won’t be getting in until 10-11pm.

 

[Gehrig1B]

We fly in early, usually arriving about 9:30 am, and go to a park… waiting for our room to be ready. On last day we book the latest flight and go to a park, then Uber to MCO for our evening flight…

 

[pepperderr]

With the package deal, it comes with a round of mini golf I believe. We have started doing that our first or last day. This time we will do it our departure day as we won’t be getting in until 10-11pm.

That sounds good. Thanks. I didn't know that. I will look into it.

 

[pepperderr]

We fly in early, usually arriving about 9:30 am, and go to a park… waiting for our room to be ready. On last day we book the latest flight and go to a park, then Uber to MCO for our evening flight…

If that is something we do, how would the baggage get to the resort since they won't have Magical Express? Can you leave your baggage at the resort even before your room is ready?

 

[pigletgirl]

If that is something we do, how would the baggage get to the resort since they won't have Magical Express? Can you leave your baggage at the resort even before your room is ready?

Bell Services will hold your luggage while you go off to the parks.

Depending on when we arrive, if our room isn't ready, we tend to pack our bathing suits in a carry on (or having them easily accessible) so we can enjoy the pool. In years past we have then taken some time to organize the room (unpack, put our park bags together, etc) and then we are off to Disney Springs for a meal, usually Raglan Road and a bit of shopping.

 

[mrsap]

I love just hanging at the resort. If it’s nice out, we’ll explore, swim or grab lunch and a drink. Once our room is ready, we’ll go to dinner and do a park at night. This past summer was the first time we walked over to Epcot while waiting for our room to be ready. I didn’t mind it, but I’d prefer to just hang at the resort while we wait. I like being settled before hitting the parks.

 

[Eastern]

I made reservations for August of next year. I got 8-day tickets and 8 days at Art of Animation. Should I somehow add a day to the hotel reservations for the first or last day of our visit or both? What do you do? Right now we don't know if we are flying down or driving from PA. Of course, we will have more flexibility if we drive but it will be more convenient to fly. Since we don't know what time we will get there the first day, I am thinking we should check in on that day and not go to the park until the next day. That is the same with the last day, we will check out and have to go to a park or we will lose the cost of the ticket but if we go to a park on the last day, we will be too tired to drive if that is what we do. What do you usually do?

Do you have to have park tickets for every day of your stay? (I have never booked a package with tickets)

 

[KristaZ]

It depends on what time we arrive - if we arrive in the morning, we drop our bags at bell services and then head to a park for the day. If it's later in the day and our room is already ready, we will drop our stuff, get settled, and then usually opt to head to Disney Springs for the evening. We almost always try to leave on a late flight, so usually do a park day on our last day. We leave bags with bell services when we check out and pick them back up before heading to the airport.

 

[rangerxenos]

Do you have to have park tickets for every day of your stay? (I have never booked a package with tickets)

No you don't.

 

[Eastern]

So then I would just adjust the number of tickets rather than adding a resort day. It shouldn't make much of a price difference but if you know you won't use them you might as well. You can add a day while in the parks, if you need to.

 

[Leigh L]

I made reservations for August of next year. I got 8-day tickets and 8 days at Art of Animation. Should I somehow add a day to the hotel reservations for the first or last day of our visit or both? What do you do? Right now we don't know if we are flying down or driving from PA. Of course, we will have more flexibility if we drive but it will be more convenient to fly. Since we don't know what time we will get there the first day, I am thinking we should check in on that day and not go to the park until the next day. That is the same with the last day, we will check out and have to go to a park or we will lose the cost of the ticket but if we go to a park on the last day, we will be too tired to drive if that is what we do. What do you usually do?

My vote will always for adding more days

In all seriousness, if flying, I like to keep arrival - and to some extent departure - plans loose since airlines easily mess with the best-laid plans these days either months or hours out (I'm flying tonight and am on pins and needles!!)

We tend to avoid the parks until we know if an early arrival works out and then will add a day to our ticket if it does. If not, initial plans usually look something like hanging at the resort, going to DS, or checking to see what ADRs are available at resorts (we often book on the fly on our arrival day either while on the way or when we arrive). As mentioned upthread, mini-golf is fun too!

ETA (typing simultaneously ): @Eastern recommendation is a good one, you can always add a day back on later.

 

[loves to dive]

We drive down from Ga. and usually get there between 1 and 3. We always go to a park on arrival day. If the room is not ready, we just store our luggage and head out. If it's ready, the go to the room and freshen up then head out. If I don't have an AP, we usually just leave after breakfast for home. If I have an AP, I might go to a park if one opens early enough. We like to leave no later than 10 or so for home. There is no way I would be able to not go to the park on arrival day until there was only a hour or so until the park closes.

 

[Gehrig1B]

If that is something we do, how would the baggage get to the resort since they won't have Magical Express? Can you leave your baggage at the resort even before your room is ready?

You can Uber to your resort after collecting your luggage then take Disney transportation to the park. Bell Services will keep your luggage for you...

 

[SandyinMonterey]

We drive to WDW. It's supposed to take us about 7 hours but with traffic and construction we've never been able to do it under 8 hours. Once it was over 9 hours (UGH! the traffic was so bad). We usually arrive at resort anywhere from 2-4pm. We always made an ADR for dinner. So we usually go to room, unpack and walk around. On departure day we do just that, head home.

 

[Dave006]

Do you have to have park tickets for every day of your stay? (I have never booked a package with tickets)

The minimum package rule with park tickets is that you must have at least 2 days of tickets for each guest on the reservation. For example you could have a 5 day resort package but chose only to have 2-3 ticket days.

You can also have more ticket days than resorts days/nights. Split stays are a good example of chosing to have more ticket days than your resort stay. This allows for split stays (on property and off). Just make sure your tickets are part of your first package.

Dave

 

[QueenBeeMB]

We fly in mid day, go to resort and check in, I decorate windows and doors, unpack and settle in. Then we do a table service dinner at another resort just to get out of the room and explore a bit. We do park days in the middle, normally 1 day staying at the resort for some rest. Then check out day we like to fly out around 11 am or so, getting home in the evening so we can get ready for work the next day. Usually we do a Monday arrival, Sunday departure and 4-5 days in the park depending on time of year. We like this schedule, we are 2 childless millennials and it works best for us.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

We do all of our planning in half-day units because we have young kids who benefit from a midday nap, especially in the summer. Like you, we do 8 night stays. Depending on the timing of flights, this usually means 16 half-days, which we divide as follows:

Magic Kingdom - 4 half-days
Epcot - 3 half-days
Hollywood Studios - 3 half-days
Animal Kingdom - 3 half-days
Resort/pool - 2 half-days
Disney Springs - 1 half-day

We like to be in each park for at least one rope drop and at least one evening each. We don't like taking full days off to rest because we get bored, and with a nap every day we don't really need it.

 

[Gehrig1B]

We do all of our planning in half-day units because we have young kids who benefit from a midday nap, especially in the summer. Like you, we do 8 night stays. Depending on the timing of flights, this usually means 16 half-days, which we divide as follows:

Magic Kingdom - 4 half-days
Epcot - 3 half-days
Hollywood Studios - 3 half-days
Animal Kingdom - 3 half-days
Resort/pool - 2 half-days
Disney Springs - 1 half-day

We like to be in each park for at least one rope drop and at least one evening each. We don't like taking full days off to rest because we get bored, and with a nap every day we don't really need it.

This works for us older folks too… Two parks each day with afternoon breaks for rest, pools, adult beverages… although we will visit EPCOT more often for dining and AKL less often. Usually one night at DS, after an AK day.

 

[MainMom]

I made reservations for August of next year. I got 8-day tickets and 8 days at Art of Animation. Should I somehow add a day to the hotel reservations for the first or last day of our visit or both? What do you do? Right now we don't know if we are flying down or driving from PA. Of course, we will have more flexibility if we drive but it will be more convenient to fly. Since we don't know what time we will get there the first day, I am thinking we should check in on that day and not go to the park until the next day. That is the same with the last day, we will check out and have to go to a park or we will lose the cost of the ticket but if we go to a park on the last day, we will be too tired to drive if that is what we do. What do you usually do?

We fly in and get to MCO around noon. After we check into our on-site hotel we always go to Epcot for the evening. We ride a couple of rides, eat a nice sit down dinner and get a taste of Disney. We never feel overwhelmed at this park after an early travel day.