Arrival day is hands down one of the most exciting parts of a Disney World Vacation.
After months and months of waiting and anticipation, you’ve finally made it to Disney World!
Naturally, you want to make the most of your time and dive right into your trip, but it may not always be best to run right to a park.
After all, park tickets are for a full day and if you’re not arriving until later, it might end up being a waste of a ticket.
With that in mind, here are six things you can do on your arrival day to help you get the most of your time and money!
Go to an After Hours or special nighttime ticketed event
After Hours events
Disney has some ticketed After Hours and special nighttime events that might be a good option for you!
Disney’s After Hour events currently start at 9 PM or 10 PM depending on the park, and run for three hours. However, with your After Hours ticket, you can get into the parks at 7PM, so you can get some added park time.
These events cost a little more than a full day park ticket, but the come with snacks included. Additionally, they sell a very limited number of tickets which means you’ll be able to ride some of the most popular rides with little to no wait. (And I hear you can often get on those rides multiple times.)
However, these events are only offered on select nights, so if this is what you want to do, you may want to plan your arrival day around these events.
You can get all of the details on Disney’s website.
Special nighttime ticketed events
If you happen to be taking your trip from August to December, you might want to look into Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party or Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party.
Like the After Hours events, these are ticketed events that happen after the parks close. The price starts around the same cost as a park ticket but goes up the closer you get to Halloween and Christmas.
These events include snacks, holiday theming, special parades and fireworks and more! These parties are also offered on select dates, but they’re more frequent than the After Hours events.
And similar to the after hours, you can use your ticket to get into the park a few hours early for some bonus park time. There are also a limited number of tickets for these parties, but it’s not as limited as the After Hours events.
You can learn more about Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party here, and Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party here.
So ultimately, for both the After Hours events and the parties, you’re paying around the same amount as you would for a day in the park. But you’re getting lower crowds, an extra special experiences, and a time frame that lines up with your arrival.
This might be a good option if you’re considering going to the parks for the day but won’t arrive early enough to really get your money’s worth.
Explore your Resort
If the idea of hitting the parks at all is sounding like a bit much (financially or otherwise), you can take a chill day at your resort instead.
You can pack a bathing suit in your carry on and go to the pool, grab a relaxing lunch or dinner, or see what other activities your resort has to offer.
This may include movies under the stars, campfires, carriage rides, tours, and more. Some do cost money, but most activities are free. Be sure to stop by the front desk to see what’s going on.
And the good news is, since most people do head to the parks during the day, it shouldn’t be too busy or crowded.
For more on how to choose the right Disney Resort for you, check out this post.
Explore another Resort
You don’t have to be staying at a resort to visit! And while you can’t use the pool or other similar amenities, you don’t have to be staying there to participate in a lot of activities.
For example, you can go to Wilderness Lodge for their campfire and s’mores, visit the animals at Animal Kingdom Lodge, or sit on the beach at the Polynesian and watch the Magic Kingdom fireworks even if you’re not staying at any of these places.
For more on how to get to these resorts using Disney Transportation, check out this post.
Check out Disney Springs
If you want to get out of the resorts but don’t want to waste a park ticket on half a day, Disney Springs is a great option.
Disney Springs is Disney’s shopping and dining district, but it’s also home to the NBA Experience, a movie theater, and live music and entertainment.
Learn more about Disney Springs on Disney’s website.
Get a nice dinner
This one pairs well with resort exploring or Disney Springs, but it can absolutely be done on its own.
Disney Springs, Disney’s BoardWalk, and Disney resorts have some incredible restaurants! So, you don’t need to visit the parks to have a really good dinner.
Beyond that, both the resorts and Disney Springs have great counter service locations, so you can have a great meal without spending a ton of money on a non-park day if you’re looking to save.
You can check out all your non-park dining options here!
Go to the Parks
Just because you have other options doesn’t mean you can’t go right to the parks!
This option might be ideal if you’re arrival time is early in the day. That way you can get the most out of your park ticket.
However, depending on your group, you might be able to maximize your time by getting to the parks as late as 2:30/3:00.
In fact, one of my family’s most efficient days in Magic Kingdom happened on an arrival day.
It takes my family about a day and a half to get through everything we want to do in the Magic Kingdom. On our arrival day, we landed in the late morning, got lunch back at our resort, then headed to the Magic Kingdom.
We got to the park just as the 3 PM parade was starting and that allowed us to zip through a bunch of rides that had a lower wait time because people were at the parade. That combined with FastPasses, got us through Tomorrowland and Fantasyland in record time.
So, this may not be a good option for a park you’re planning on needing a full day in, but you’ve got a half-day park penciled in, it may be the perfect arrival day activity, depending on what time you get in.
For more Disney World tips and tricks, check out the other Disney World Posts!
Sound off: What do you like to do on your Disney World arrival day? Or what are you most looking forward to doing? Tell us about it in the comments!
I was just trying to figure out what to do on our arrival date this year! I think exploring our resort and going to a nice sit-down dinner will be perfect! Thanks for the great tips!
Have a great trip!