[SummerSchoolMat]

Greetings,

Our February trip will have us arriving on a Wednesday between 4:30pm and 6:00pm so I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions for some late afternoon-early evening activities for 2 adults and 2 elementary children.

Regards,:D

[Cinderellafifi]

Well, my family and I always find it fun to go to Downtown Disney and/or the West Side. You can shop, the kids can play, and you can eat a fun meal at a place like Rainforest Cafe. The area will really get you into the Disney spirit and you should have beautiful weather, too.

Where are you staying and for how long?

[jwdj4lfe]

Hey Mat! Welcome to DisneyCentral! If you have park hopper passes or the length of stay pass I would suggest going over to Magic Kingdom to see the Fireworks and get a few rides in before your 1st full day. If you dont have hopper passes, a night at Downtown Disney would be great! There is also Disney Quest thats a 5 story arcade! Downtown Disney is full of shops for people of all ages, and its a great way to get into the " disney mood":), lol. They also have a billion restaurants to choose from! Hope this helps!
Joe:)

p.s. Gosh Cin you beat me to it! lol. Atleast we both offer the same advice...Great minds think alike! lol:D

[mickey]

We will be arriving at MCO at 4:30 on Thursday, and we expect to get to the Poly by about 5:30. We are planning to check in and hustle out and watch the Fantasy in the Sky Fireworks from the Poly beach. We are then going to head over to Downtown Disney to shop and grab something to eat. Hopefully, we will be back to the Poly in time to see the water parade and then off to the Volcano pool. Another option would be the Boardwalk area, it is quite fun, though not as big as Downtown Disney. Or if you have length of stay passes, hit EPCOT for some dinner and Illuminations.

Wow, when your countdown gets below 48 hours, you know you are close! :)

[trishb]

Do you have a package? If you do, I recommend adding an extra day to your stay. What I mean is this, if you are arriving late one day...have your package start the next day. That way you are not paying for features that you can't use.
Visiting Downtown Disney and the Boardwalk area are free anyway. And, who wants to rush around when you have been traveling all day. Use that time to get to know your resort (assuming you are staying on property).
Happy planning!

[BDavis932]

Welcome!!

We always book our trip with the length of stay pass, then add our last night as a "stand alone" night, because when we leave for home that morning, we don't want to be charged for park passes that we are not using. And we also arrive around 5:00 pm, and Disney allows you to knock off the first or last day of your length of stay pass. So, this way we are knocking off the first day (our arrival day) and then our last night is not a part of our package. Then you are not being charged for passes that you don't use!

On our first night, we always go eat dinner together, then my hubby takes the kids swimming!! I stay in the room and unpack everything and pack the backpack for the next day. Then we have "lights out" at 10:00 so the kids are ready to go bright and early!!


Have fun planning!

[Amethyst]

We usually land late morning/early afternoon but choose to use our first day unpacking and getting used to being stress-free. We reaquaint ourselves with our resort and head to Downtown Disney for snack shopping, window shopping and dinner. Afterwards, we go to DisneyQuest (which I think both you and your children will enjoy) for a few hours and return to the main pool at the resort. Since you're landing much later than we usually do, I'd suggest doing the same and save the park ticket for your first full day. :)

[SummerSchoolMat]

Thanks for the suggestions!

We are staying at the Contemporary the 13th thru the 17th of Feb.

Thanks again!:D

[mickey]

You know, one other option would be to rent a boat at the Contemporary marina, and watch the Fantasy in the Sky fireworks from the water right in front of the Magic Kingdom. I know that hours for Febraury haven't been announced yet, but they should be similar to January. They are scheduled for around 6:30 every night.

[Cinderellafifi]

one other option would be to rent a boat at the Contemporary marina, and watch the Fantasy in the Sky fireworks from the water right in front of the Magic Kingdom

Mickey, this is a great suggestion! :)

[jwdj4lfe]

You are going to LOVE the contemporary Mat! I stayed there last feb. and it was amazing! Yes that was a great suggestion mickey! The only way to watch te fireworks on contemporary property would to rent a boat, watch from your balcony (if u have a tower room facing the MK), or on the 4th floor (since they closed the observation deck to those dining at the california grill). A boat would be a cool experience, but I would keep in mind that it could get quite chilly on a feb. night in Orlando! When I was there in feb. the night temp. dipped into the 30's..and forget about the wind factor! On the other hand I would hate to watch the fireworks thru a window! Just food for thought!
Joe:)

[BDavis932]

On the "All Ears" newsletter today, they gave a good suggestion of riding the monorail and exploring the Polynesian, the Grand Floridian, and the Contemporary. Then switch at the TTC and ride through EPCOT. Try to get a seat up front!!

[trishb]

Can you really rent a boat at night? I didn't think you could do that!
Details, I want details!!

[SummerSchoolMat]

Thanks again!

Taking a ride on the monorail and a stroll/shop/dinner at Downtown Disney sounds like a great way to relax from the trip and begin to enjoy the Disney magic.

I think our plans are changing some so our arrival could be pushed up to as early as 1:30 - 2:30pm. Do you think it would be worth spending the $88. on some DisneyQuest tickets or is it a full-day worth of activities?

Thanks.:D

[Nlk]

DQ is great! We loved it! And with two kids I'm sure they will love it too. Once your inside you don't spend any money on games to play. We spent half the day there It's so much fun and there is so much to do. They give drawing classes you can build your own roller coaster and ride it and eat there . They even have computers so you can check your email or send some. If you don't mind the noise it's a lot of fun. We always like to go to do the long walk from Market Place to West Side when we have half a day. You don't mind taking your time and looking in the stores and you still get the Disney Feel. Have Fun:)