Finally! You’re finally here!
You’ve looked forward to this day for months, and all the planning is complete. You’ve finally made it to Disney World. Your very first day at Disney World can be exciting, daunting, stressful, and overwhelming all at once. Well, we’re here to tell you what no one else will when it comes to that first day at the Most Magical Place on Earth.
Here are three things that no one will tell you when it comes to that glorious first day.
You totally DON’T have to go to the parks.
Your first day at Disney World is usually also spent traveling, so you’re probably going to be a bit tired. Your kiddos are probably going to be a bit restless. And if you go straight to the parks at 4PM once you’ve finally arrived? You’re going to be just a bit overwhelmed.
We totally recommend having a chill first evening at Disney World at your hotel, Disney Springs, or even taking a loop on the Monorail or Skyliner. You could even plan ahead and make reservations for a nice restaurant at one of your favorite hotels. Just be sure to relax — you have a big trip ahead of you!
Click here for one of our favorite, exciting restaurants that just opened!Â
Don’t go to Magic Kingdom first!
Listen, if you go to Magic Kingdom first, there will be part of you that just misses it for the rest of your trip. The team recommends going to Magic Kingdom LAST so that you can feel all of that magic one last time.
However, if I speak from personal experience, there’s no way I could wait until the very last day of my trip to visit Magic Kingdom. It’s my favorite park and has some of my favorite rides and shops. I’d recommend going for a day in the middle of your trip, and then again at the very end, if you’re able. Plus, it makes it easier to get everything done. Magic Kingdom is a very busy park!
Click here for a full guide to Magic Kingdom
No, you don’t have to watch fireworks if you’d rather ride rides.
Everyone talks about the Disney World fireworks and nighttime spectaculars as if Mickey himself will arrest you if you don’t attend. Yes, they’re great experiences, but they’re not must-dos, especially if you’ve seen them before.
If you choose to visit the parks on your first night at Disney World, you can totally use that time to ride rides instead. The wait times typically drop quite a bit during the fireworks, and some outdoor rides are a great way to experience them. (I love seeing the Magic Kingdom fireworks from Big Thunder Mountain in Disney World. We do it on the last night of our trip every time!)
Click here for all you need to know about Magic Kingdom fireworks
We hope that this post helps you feel better if your first day wishes are unconventional or different from what everyone else does. Honestly, it’s YOUR vacation. You should do whatever makes you feel happy and relaxed! We’ll be here to keep you updated with more Disney news and advice, so make sure to follow along so that you’re always in the loop and never miss a thing.
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Do you do something “different” on your first night at Disney World? Let us know in the comments!
We always take the earliest flight possible and go to the Magic Kingdom first…Then we hit each park twice for full days during our stay, and then fly out late and hit the Magic Kingdom again on the last day.
Disclaimer one- We only go every few years.
Disclaimer two- we know not to arrive or leave on Saturday or Monday.
Does All Ears offer a service for a daily itinerary? My family and I (consisting of me, my husband, and our 3 daughters, ages 6, 4, and 2) have a 15 night trip scheduled with 10 nights at boulder ridge and 5 nights at beach club. We will be using an incredipass and a universal AP, no dining plan and genie plus only on an as-needed basis. We usually rope drop the pool and decide what to do for the day in real time, but I feel like we don’t get a lot done that way. Can we sign up for a service that offers a daily itinerary?
Hi Sierra! Unfortunately, we do not offer any type of itinerary service, but we have several PDFs about the Perfect Day in each park if you’d like to check those out. We have the following: Perfect Day in Magic Kingdom, Perfect Day in EPCOT, Perfect Day in Hollywood Studios and Perfect Day in Animal Kingdom.
Last time we went we stayed at Fort Wilderness cabins. The first day we took the boat to Magic Kingdom, took a lap on the monorail and took the boat back to Fort Wilderness for dinner. It gave the grandkids a taste of Disney before hitting the parks the next day.