Arrival Day at Swan with two young kids

jldeahl

Mouseketeer
Joined
Jul 6, 2017
We're arriving MCO at 11AM with two young kids (ages 3 and 5) and staying at Swan. I'm hoping we can get into our room early, but I'm not sure how the day is going to go without a reliable place to nap. Thoughts on whether doing the World Showcase at Epcot that afternoon sounds doable or like too much of an undertaking? (We are doing Early Morning Magic at MK the next day.) Advice on alternate arrival day plans is welcome!
 
Will you have a double stroller for the kids to nap in if you were to walk around the World Showcase? Generally speaking, younger kids tend to prefer the Future World section in my experience. But if they will nap while you stroll then World Showcase sounds nice. The boardwalk will have some fun, lowkey entertainment in the form of street entertainers in the evening and lots of dinner options if you want to be close to the resort leading up to an early bedtime. Another idea is to use that afternoon at HS, which is a 1/2 day park for many and walkable from Swan/Dolphin.
 
We will have a double stroller and we'll be doing another day at Epcot later in our trip, and are saving Future World for then. Thoughts on a good place in World Showcase to eat with kids? We'll probably err on the side of Quick Service so we don't have to stress about making a reservation in time.
 
Your flight arrives at 11. Not sure how long of a flight it is, but you know the kids far better than anyone on the web. How early will you be up that day? Will the kids be sleeping on the flight? How do they nap? Do you want to pay for a ticket for the amt of time you'll spend at ep?

Just an opinion:
Have lunch, take a quick stroll to the boardwalk, have ice cream at ample hills, then hit the pool, tire the kids out early, have dinner, and be up and at em for emm.
 
We will have a double stroller and we'll be doing another day at Epcot later in our trip, and are saving Future World for then. Thoughts on a good place in World Showcase to eat with kids? We'll probably err on the side of Quick Service so we don't have to stress about making a reservation in time.
Don’t know what types of food your family enjoys - for QS in World Showcase I like Tangierine Cafe in Morrocco which serves Morroccan-esque wraps, sliders and platters plus traditional American theme park food for young kids. We have also had run of the mill Chinese food at Lotus Blossom in China with our kids, which was fine.
 
Your flight arrives at 11. Not sure how long of a flight it is, but you know the kids far better than anyone on the web. How early will you be up that day? Will the kids be sleeping on the flight? How do they nap? Do you want to pay for a ticket for the amt of time you'll spend at ep?

Just an opinion:
Have lunch, take a quick stroll to the boardwalk, have ice cream at ample hills, then hit the pool, tire the kids out early, have dinner, and be up and at em for emm.

We'll be up around 5AM that day. It will be our only chance to hit World Showcase, so I'm hoping to squeak it in on the arrival day, but don't want to push it if it seems like it's biting off too much. If we did EP on arrival day, it would be an 8-day pass vs. a 7-day, so the cost of this one additional day isn't tremendous.
 


We'll be up around 5AM that day. It will be our only chance to hit World Showcase, so I'm hoping to squeak it in on the arrival day, but don't want to push it if it seems like it's biting off too much. If we did EP on arrival day, it would be an 8-day pass vs. a 7-day, so the cost of this one additional day isn't tremendous.

We drive all night from 3:00 am till we arrive, usually around 11:00 am and our little ones stay pretty active all day. I think it's due to the excitement of being at Disney! We have done Disney Springs the last 2 times but are doing a park this upcoming trip in September. Just curious, why will arrival day be your only chance for World Showcase? No Epcot days planned?
 
We drive all night from 3:00 am till we arrive, usually around 11:00 am and our little ones stay pretty active all day. I think it's due to the excitement of being at Disney! We have done Disney Springs the last 2 times but are doing a park this upcoming trip in September. Just curious, why will arrival day be your only chance for World Showcase? No Epcot days planned?

Thanks for the note Jimmy! Our plan right now is:

Day 1 - Arrival Day (Epcot / World Showcase?)
Day 2 - Magic Kingdom
Day 3 - Magic Kingdom
Day 4 - Hollywood Studios
Day 5 - Hollywood Studios
Day 6 - Animal Kingdom
Day 7 - Animal Kingdom
Day 8 - Departure Day (Epcot / Future World?)

*We're banking in two days for HS bc we'll be there after Toy Story Land opens
*Epcot we've thought of as the most expendable bc that's the advice we've heard from friends with similarly aged kids (though I went as a kid and loved it, and would like to bank in some time there if it feels manageable)
 
Thanks for the note Jimmy! Our plan right now is:

Day 1 - Arrival Day (Epcot / World Showcase?)
Day 2 - Magic Kingdom
Day 3 - Magic Kingdom
Day 4 - Hollywood Studios
Day 5 - Hollywood Studios
Day 6 - Animal Kingdom
Day 7 - Animal Kingdom
Day 8 - Departure Day (Epcot / Future World?)

*We're banking in two days for HS bc we'll be there after Toy Story Land opens
*Epcot we've thought of as the most expendable bc that's the advice we've heard from friends with similarly aged kids (though I went as a kid and loved it, and would like to bank in some time there if it feels manageable)


seeing you had tickets for 7 days I was thinking you had more time not realizing you were doing one park day on departure. We tour totally different. We are going after TS land opens also and booked the following:
Day 1 - arrival day, HS
Day 2 - MK
Day 3 - AK
Day 4 - EP
Day 5 - HS ¾ day, Disney Springs in the evening
Day 6 - MK
Day 7 - AK / hop to MK for EEMH 9-11 after AK closes
Day 8 - EP
Day 9 - MK
Day 10 HS / EP
Day 11 departure - no parks

We HAVE to do Epcot on our trips. Our girls love it! Probably as much as MK and more than AK. I would do at least 1 whole day there and maybe do AK again if time allows or hop to it on one of the AK days. AK for us is a late arrival or early departure day. It's just too freakin hot!
 
I'm a rookie - this is our first WDW trip, so it's highly likely that I'm doing it all wrong! Thanks for sharing your plan - it's helpful to see how other families go about it!
 
I'm a rookie - this is our first WDW trip, so it's highly likely that I'm doing it all wrong! Thanks for sharing your plan - it's helpful to see how other families go about it!
Everyone is different but we like to do a different park every day. in 2016 we had 8 park days and did MK,AK,HS,EP,MK,HS,(AK/EP),MK. I prefer to begin and end our trip at MK but the kids are way too excited about TS land so it's first this trip and our last day is a saturday (in parks) and saturdays are so crowded in MK so I know we will have a better time at other parks on saturday. Plus they will have MK overload this trip since we plan on 3 full days plus MNSSHP and hopping to MK for EMM one night.
 
We're arriving MCO at 11AM with two young kids (ages 3 and 5) and staying at Swan.

How early do your kids normally eat lunch? What time do they normally nap?

By the time you get off the plane, hit the restrooms at the airport, pick up your checked bags, get to your hotel, and get through the registration line, will your kids be starving and cranky? Can they wait until you then walk over to EPCOT, walk through EPCOT to get to a restaurant, wait in line at the restaurant, and wait for your food?

If they normally eat an early lunch and nap in the afternoon, then maybe eat lunch at the Swan or Dolphin, and see if you can find lounge chairs in the shade at one of the pools?

Dining menus are here (scroll down past parks to get to resorts):
http://allears.net/dining/locations
 
They usually eat lunch around noon. Our bigger kid usually doesn't nap and is fine without one. The little one right now goes down for a nap around 1 or 2.

If we take it easy at the hotel for the middle part of the day, check in to our room, and do Epcot / World Showcase (w/ a Quick Service dinner there) from 5-7 does that seem even worthwhile? Or would we be smart to skip it and do something else (even if this means we don't see World Showcase on this trip)?
 
Epcot we've thought of as the most expendable bc that's the advice we've heard from friends with similarly aged kids (though I went as a kid and loved it, and would like to bank in some time there if it feels manageable)

I would listen to your edperi MDE and not what friends say. Who knows what sort of planning they put into their trips?

I’ve gone through Epcot twice specifically with younger cousins, and they’ve all loved it. My son loved it even at 6.

I’d drop a HS day and throw in some proper Epcot touring instead of relegating it to travel days.
 
They usually eat lunch around noon. Our bigger kid usually doesn't nap and is fine without one. The little one right now goes down for a nap around 1 or 2.

If we take it easy at the hotel for the middle part of the day, check in to our room, and do Epcot / World Showcase (w/ a Quick Service dinner there) from 5-7 does that seem even worthwhile? Or would we be smart to skip it and do something else (even if this means we don't see World Showcase on this trip)?
There is a good chance your hotel room won’t be ready until 4 or 5. My advice would be to tentatively plan to nap if you can get in the room. If you have to wait and your kids are excited/anxious, head over to Epcot and WS. It’s easy to add an extra day on your tickets. Epcot has always been my daughter’s favorite.... and there is a lot you can do or see without planning.

Depending on the weather, you may just want to hit the pool on arrival day. Your little one can sleep/ rest on an pool chair.
 
I vote for a relaxing day by the wonderful pools and beach area for the first day...if you have an extra day on your ticket,you could go into epcot for dinner...if not, there are good choices all around the boardwalk and S/D area too. up to you. if the room is ready,maybe a nap? if not, find a shady spot out near pools and relax.
 
They usually eat lunch around noon. Our bigger kid usually doesn't nap and is fine without one. The little one right now goes down for a nap around 1 or 2.

If we take it easy at the hotel for the middle part of the day, check in to our room, and do Epcot / World Showcase (w/ a Quick Service dinner there) from 5-7 does that seem even worthwhile? Or would we be smart to skip it and do something else (even if this means we don't see World Showcase on this trip)?

As for your older kid not napping, I can tell you when my oldest was 4 and again when she was 7 she was not a happier but she napped as did dh and I and our other kids who were younger then her...last time my youngest was 7 and she napped. But we don’t do a park on arrival/departure days and do do a park daily as we need rest time from the park.
 
My kids were never stroller nappers when they were younger, so I always considered places at our resort when naps were needed. I would be inclined to find a place to relax while waiting if need be. We stayed at the Swan back in December and there were a couple of areas by the elevators that had couches. These areas were very quiet during the day. It was unexpected, since all of the Disney resorts we'd stayed at in the past are usually a bit too loud in the common areas to do this, but the Swan was nice and quiet...even at Christmas peak. Case in point, here's my 9 yr old catching a few z's before heading back out...

25408853948_3a09bcf3db_z.jpg


While I've only stayed at the Swan this one time, my family has stayed many times (good FL res rates), and we've all had good luck with getting into our rooms on the early side.
 
We'll be up around 5AM that day. It will be our only chance to hit World Showcase, so I'm hoping to squeak it in on the arrival day, but don't want to push it if it seems like it's biting off too much. If we did EP on arrival day, it would be an 8-day pass vs. a 7-day, so the cost of this one additional day isn't tremendous.

I’d drop a HS day and throw in some proper Epcot touring instead of relegating it to travel days.

We haven't stayed at the Swan, but have stayed at the Dolphin a bunch of times and have always had good luck getting in early (by 11 or 11:30). If your flight lands at 11, you will need to get lunch as soon as you arrive, I'd think. If your younger one is a stroller napper, I'd suggest lunch at the Swan or on the Boardwalk as soon as you arrive, and then stroll over to WS and see some shows or just take a stroll, get some gelato or other snacks in Italy or France, and then Tangierine Cafe (or Pizza) for dinner, then head back to the hotel and get to bed early.

On our last stay at the Dolphin, we were up at 4:30am for a 6 or 7am flight. Our girls are 6 and 2. Got to the Dolphin around 10:30. Checked in, dropped our bags off and put them in the stroller to go to Epcot. They were so wired from the flight and excited to be at Disney, so they actually walked a good part of the way there. We did a Soarin FP, I think, and had lunch at the QS there. We got a room ready text while we were on Soarin, so we headed back to the room and had a nap. After nap, I think we headed back to WS for dinner at Akershus or something (can't remember!) and a few shows/rides.

Our kids love Epcot. Don't write it off because it doesn't have obvious "kiddie" rides or shows, or isn't heavily themed. There is a lot of space to run around, walk around, and it is much more relaxed than most of the other parks because it feels less crowded and people are mellower, not running from attraction to attraction.
 

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