Check-In Traditions...

[DreamFinder2]

What do you do first after you've checked in? It seems like that's the most euphoric time of the trip...you've just gotten there & everything's soooooo exciting!!!

So, what do you - or you and your family - do first?

I should add that my DW and I generally unpack and go find our refillable mugs!

[princessjojo]

First thing we usually do is eat. Since we tend to leave early in the morning and it cost so much for the 4 of us to eat in the Airport, we usually grab a quick bite at the resort before we head out to the parks. This coming year, I'm not sure though. Our flight will arrive at MCO at 8:30 roughly and we should get to our resort around 9:30 or so, so it'll still be early (yeah). We may just get started early at the parks and get lunch when we get there.

Anyway, our usual thing is to eat.

[dumbo_buddy]

first DH and i bounce on the bed in giddy excitement and then head for MGM and the great movie ride. it's our first attraction of the trip...no exceptions!

[Marker]

The first thing I do after I check in.... hmmmm.

I know, I walk away from the counter. Followed closely by looking around to locate all the people in my party. After that, we begin the process of enjoying another visit to WDW.


I can't say there is anything that I "always" do next. My trips are not that regimented or predictable to do the same thing every time. Let's see, we've :


Gone to our room to drop off our bags
Gone to our room to sleep when we've gotten in late
Gone to the food court to eat
Gone to check in our bags if our room wasn't ready.
Gone to the bus stop to head to the park
Gone into the gift shop and wandered around
Headed to Downtown Disney to make it to House of Blues in time for a Ted Nugent concert.

[disneydeb]

Unpack and if it is early enough,go to Epcot. If not head to DTD for a bit of shopping and a bite to eat. ON the way back through - if the snack bar is still open - get a resort mug. Get agood noght's rest and prepare for AK, our usual first day park.

[PirateLover]

If our room is ready, we'll go check it out and unpack some stuff. If not we'll eat if we're hungry. We always head out to a park though after we've gotten settled. :mickey:

[sassafras]

Go check out our rooms and then lunch, if it's early. Otherwise head to a park. The first eveing "Must DO" is eat at Cape May or DH says we're not "Official". Then head to the MK for it to be "official" for me!:cloud9:

[Kairi_7378]

The first thing that we do when we check in is find somewhere to change our clothes! Shorts are a must for us in FL (unless we are going out to dinner.) That being said, we either go to the room if it is ready or we change in the resort main bathroom and check in our carry ons. Then comes the first application of sunscreen. We then go to whatever park we've decided to start with that trip and get an early lunch.

[DreamFinder2]

Interesting posts so far...it surprises me how many of you go to a park right after arriving. I thought everybody just sat around and watched Stacey on resort TV the first afternoon :thumbsup:.

[KayDee]

We also like to go to DTD for a bite to eat and a little shopping.

[Darbylew]

It depends on what time we get in. We always
drive so sometimes on our way in we stop at
DTD for supper at Wolfgang Puck's Express. We
do a little shopping and then head for our resort
to check in, unpack, visit the food court and
gift shop. Sometimes we get in late at night
and we just check in, unpack and go to bed so
we will be ready for the parks. :D:mickey:
FIRST TRIP 1972
LAST TRIP NOV. 2007 :mickey:
NEXT TRIP MAR. 31 FOR A WEEK :D
AND MANY TRIPS IN BETWEEN

[CAS]

There's only one thing we do, no exceptions. We just put our bags down in the room and head to the food court for chicken strips and sodas with our mugs. It doesn't matter what time of day it is, chicken strips with BBQ sauce will be the first meal. :cloud9:

[Dakota Rose]

Typically, our flight hasn't landed until 5 or 6pm. So we usually go to our room, unpack a little, shower/change clothes then head to 'Ohana for a late dinner. We even followed suit when I went with my 2 younger sisters in 1997. Except, when I got out of the shower, two things happened. First, the girls had unpacked and it looked as though their suitcases had literally exploded clothes and shoes all over the room. Second, I looked at the clock and it said 9pm, our ADR time. I frantically called 'Ohana and said we were still coming. The guy chuckled and said, "that's okay it's only 8pm." Whew.

[Fangorn]

Since we fly in from the Pacific Northwest, we always arrive in MCO between 4 and 5 pm. Our tradition (it used to be a "routine" but somewhere along the line it became a "tradition") is to check in and then head to Epcot. We go directly to Mexico and snag a table by the water. For the next however many hours it may be until Illuminations, DW and I sit, eat, and talk about all the fun we're going to have on this trip. Somewhere in there I get the margaritas :marg: and we settle in to enjoy Illuminations. When the show is over, we take our own sweet time about leaving - stopping to listen to the music and just enjoy the evening together at our favorite place.

Steve
:mickey:

[BelleCiavo]

We usually check-in around 11 am, so far our room has always been ready so after check-in we get our mugs, check out the room, freshen up, jump on the monorail and arrive at MK by 12:30 or so. After a few favorites and maybe a snack to tide us over, we head over to the BC for an early dinner at The Cape May Cafe. Then it's off to EPCOT for a few attractions and Illuminations. Monorail back to the Poly exhausted, but content.

[incredimellos]

Well, first we check in, unpack, and eat a little lunch at the food court. We then proceed to float through the first half of our vacation.:cloud9: Letting it all soak in. Reality sets in on the second half " Oh no, we are already half way through our vacation!":confused: On our last day, we rest...:ill: When we get home we already start planning the next visit!!:number1:

[adoptionislove]

we always check-in then head straight to MK.

But, this time we are not flying in till 10:30pm, which means midnight arrival to the hotel!

My husband and I will be the first ones up to jump on the kids bed s to wake them and get mooooovin!!!!

Michelle:thumbsup:

[BronxTigger]

The first thing I do after checking in is to freshen up from traveling, either in the room, or if its not ready, in the lobby bathroom.

If it's an evening arrival, then I'll eat dinner and/or go to DTD. If it's even later than that, I'll just go to bed.

If it's a morning/midday arrival, then I'll head out to a park until I'm tired. Lately, my first day park of choice has been the MK, although when we stayed at YC/BC we'd go to Epcot first because we'd be too excited to wait for a bus!

[Bethis26fan]

The first thing we do is get our mugs and then go unpack and head to DTD.

[#1donaldfan]

As soon as I sign on the dotted line, I grab the kids out of the gift shop and we head to MK...once in the last 4 years we got our room early. We normally check in around 7 am, grab our hoppers and hit the park running. That one year we got the room early, we moved our bags into the room and caught a quick glimpse of Stacy and then off we went. You are right, once we see the resort sign a wave of emotion overtakes us and we, at that moment, get into the "we're finally here to have fun mode"......

[CaptainJessicaSparrow]

Our group traditionally goes to the room, flops on the bed and either starts to connect the Wii or Xbox 360, or put on channel 59 (the Japanese TV channel which we love).

Or fill up the jacuzzi tub and put on swimsuit and sit there.

[GINNY69]

If our room is not ready after check in we usually go and grab a quick bite to eat and we like to go check out the pool area real quick then we head to one of the parks that we decided to visit on that particular day !!:blush:

[Septbride2002]

I'm excited because for our next trip we are landing at 11:30. On the last couple of trips we haven't landed until way into the afternoon. When we land late we tend to go straight to the room, and unpack and relax for a little bit. Then we grab dinner and maybe go to a park.

When we land early - depending on if the room is ready - we will go to the grocery store, grab some lunch and maybe go to a park. Then we go back to the room and make it an early night of unpacking and watching the Top 7.

~Amanda

[LudwigVonDrake]

If the room is ready, I head to the room with my luggage. If not, I give my bags to the luggage handlers and head to get some food because at that point it's been a long day and I'm hungry :eat: After that it's on to the Magic Kingdom :tink:

[cinderella crazy]

If we arrive around lunchtime we eat lunch at the resort and then check-in. We go to the room, unpack and explore the room, and then head to a park (either MK or Epcot). Then have dinner in the park.

If we arrive in late afternoon then we will check-in immediately, go to room, unpack, and then go to Mk or Epcot.

Usually while we're unpacking in the room, we'll turn on the resort tv and watch the attraction countdown.

[Polynesian Dweller]

Once the room is ready, we go to the room and step out on the balcony and take a long look from the Hawaii Building at the Poly to the Castle. Still can't beleive the instant relaxation that gives. Then we usually head over to MK.

[kathiep]

If we can, we drop off our things in our room and it's off to MK.

I just don't feel like I'm really there or the vacation has begun until we're on Main Street.

I couldn't imagine getting there and doing anything else first.

[azdisneymom]

1. Check in
2. Take luggage to room
3. Explore gift shop and hotel
4. Pick up refillable mugs
5. Unpack
6. Dinner at BOMA
7. Off to bed

[Friend of Figment]

We take a red-eye from the west coast so we get to the airpaort around 7 am. We change clothes in the lobby bathroom and then go to a park - usually Epcot. This August we're going to try Animal Kingdom the first day. If we have any tradition it's to make a dining reservation to keep us awake so we get adjusted to the time change.

[Hull-onian]

There's only one thing we do, no exceptions. We just put our bags down in the room and head to the food court for chicken strips and sodas with our mugs. It doesn't matter what time of day it is, chicken strips with BBQ sauce will be the first meal. :cloud9:

Wow!! Chicken Strips sounds :tasty:.
We go to DTD, eat at Rainforest Cafe, go to Goofy's Candy Company, then on to Ghiradelli's for a hot fudge sundae. We usually check in to our resort at about 4:00 p.m. It takes awhile to fly down from Boston. By then, we're ready to eat something good.:cloud9:

[PetefromRI]

We usually get our mugs for the week and walk around the resort and check it out.We like staying at different resorts just for something new.After that I usually go back to the room and clean up,turn the T.V. on and fall in love with Stacey again then it's off to Epcot if we arrive late or the MK if we get there early.

[Aggie97]

We dump our bags in the room and head directly to the MK!! :mickey:

[Genie1953]

We arrived early afternoon....
1. Checked in
2. Checked out our room
3. Checked out the resort
4. Picked up our refilliable mugs...filled of course!
5. Headed off to the park to eat

:mickey:

[Tink#64]

Always - hit the food court for lunch! :eat:
Then off to our room, relax for just a few minutes & get oriented & then head off to DTD! Yayyyyyy! We shop :shop: & have dinner :eat: & head back to the resort for a swim. :swim:

Then we unpack a little & get everything in order so we can head out & be at MK for opening the next morning! Oh yeah & arrange a wake up call for the DS's! :alarm:

[BostonChic]

We're ususally hot,so we find our room and I put some stuff away;clothes,soaps,sunblock etc. and change.Then we head to the pool for a swim and get dinner.I don't think we've ever done a park on our first day :sleepin: :mickey:

[biodtl]

We generally fly in the morning, so we get there around lunchtime, so we check in, head to the room to drop our carry-ons and lock up the valuables, then head to MK and Casey's for lunch.

[DreamFinder2]

This thread's why I LOVE all my fellow Intercotees :mickey:. We all think basically the same :thumbsup:.

Keep the traditions coming...

[wedway76]

If we arrive during the mid day (which we usually do) we go right to the MK.

On the few occasions where we arrived late in the afternoon or at night we go to EPCOT for dinner.

[#1disneyfan]

After checking in... I generally get a little overexcited and :cry: a little teary eyed! We usually check in somewhere around 10 am, and if we are lucky enough to have a room thats ready, we check it out and drop off our carryons. We get freshened up, and head out to either MK or Epcot. We grab something to eat, and start to enjoy Disney life back at home!

[Dakota Rose]

After checking in... I generally get a little overexcited and :cry: a little teary eyed!

This happened to me on our last trip too. It was DH and DS's first trip to WDW and the excitement of it all just got to me. :cry:


Since we fly in from the Pacific Northwest, we always arrive in MCO between 4 and 5 pm. Our tradition (it used to be a "routine" but somewhere along the line it became a "tradition") is to check in and then head to Epcot. We go directly to Mexico and snag a table by the water. For the next however many hours it may be until Illuminations, DW and I sit, eat, and talk about all the fun we're going to have on this trip. Somewhere in there I get the margaritas :marg: and we settle in to enjoy Illuminations. When the show is over, we take our own sweet time about leaving - stopping to listen to the music and just enjoy the evening together at our favorite place.

Steve
:mickey:

I love this idea!

[jakeybake]

We always arrive late morning from Boston. I plan it this way so I have almost a full day to start the vacation off right!!

We always bring our bathing suits in our carry on now since we now use Magical Express for our luggage.

Once we check in, we change into our bathing suits, either in the room if ready, or the pool restrooms and hit the pool for a few hours until our room is ready.

Once the room is ready we go upstairs, shower, change and head to Epcot (our favorite park!) for some casual World Showcase strolling and dinner at one of the countries. Then we hang out, watch Illuminations and head back to the resort with two very tired little redheads and one extremely tired adult readhead in tow!! I'm full of adrenaline and good to go for another 4 hours or so but family comes first.................

Jay

Jay

[tink'72]

We drive each year from Boston so I have to plan my first day carefully. I make sure we get in before noon. After we get in we unpack and check out the house...we rent the same vacation house each year. We then usually go for a swim. This year we are doing our first night's dinner at Chef Mickey's then heading off to MK for Wishes and the parade. Since we'll be going in the summer we are usually too hot to stay for the fireworks and night time parade so I think this will be great! We'll be rested and ready to go!

[busterthebronco]

while DW checks in DS and i get all the brochures we can find in the lobby!
we check our room out.
(we arrive late after driving all day)
we get our mugs, buy cookies and milk, and commence to staying up late so we can get an early start on switching our days and nights!
sometimes we sneak out for a midnight hot tub deal! ;)

[LauraF]

This is my family's tradition and I'm slowly getting BF into it:

We check in that morning and take a brief walk around the hotel to see the sights, assuming we're not too hungry. Then we hop on the next bus to Epcot and get lunch at the Yakitori House. Mmm: nothing says WDW to me like iced green tea, miso soup and rice in that ever-so-serene Japanese garden!

[Disney Doll]

We check out the room, freshen up, and head to the parks. If we have kids in tow we head to MK to ride a few rides and catch Wishes if not we start with EPCOT. It's my favorite night park and we love ending day one with Illuminations.

[divinedi]

We generally get to the resort late morning, but since we've been up, possibly 27-28 hours by then (3 hour drive to airport (Detroit), 2-3 hour wait for plane, 2 1/2 hour plane trip, ME, we generally have to leave home about 1-2 am, I've worked that day usually, and try as I might, I generally can't nap, TOO excited!! I am such a kid!) We then unpack, and depending on how tired we are, (possibly nap)I've done the solo trip and not had a nap, then head to DTD for some shopping and early supper at Wolfgang's. Admittedly I'm generally in bed by 7 and sleep around the clock, but it's well worth it. We don't usually do a park the first day, too tired and don't want to waste a day of MYW, but sometimes I have gone if I have an AP.

[Aurora's Spindle]

Honestly? The very first thing I do is kick the door shut, drop the bags, and flop down on the comfy bed. Might sound funny, but I love lying there just looking up at the ceiling in whatever resort room it may be ... it really gives me that "on vacation, no more worries or responsibilities" type of feeling. :mickey:

[2disneyfans]

After check in, we head right to our room, (ohhhing and ahhhing all the way while breathing in the "Disney air"), unpack our carry-on baggage, and head over for our refillable mugs.

Then it is off to Magic Kingdom and our first ride is Pirates!:cloud9:

[texasteacher]

We drive from Texas and spend the first night in Mobile, AL, arriving at our resort around 4 PM. We usually just check out resort and get ready for an early park visit the next day. I have been to WDW 11 times, but have never visited DTD. I need to check it out next trip. It sounds like lots of guests visit there the first night.