Hi there, Mary. Welcome to
planDisney!
I love arriving as early as possible at
Walt Disney World. Any extra magic I can have during my trip, sign me up! I think you'll be happy to know that you do have resort privileges at any time during the day of your check-in. You do not have to wait until 3:00 p.m. to splish-splash around in the pool. In fact, this is exactly what I do, Mary. I do want to mention that the main pool at your resort probably won't open up until around 10:00 a.m. on your arrival day. So what I would suggest doing is showing up hungry. The food court at your
Walt Disney World Resort Hotel will open and start serving breakfast right at 7:00 a.m. Once you've arrived and checked in with the front desk you can head straight to the food court and kick off your trip with a big plate of Mickey waffles. Nothing says you are on vacation at Walt Disney World like Mickey waffles. Take your time and enjoy breakfast, may walk around the resort afterward to get a lay of the land, change into your swimwear and then it should be getting close to the time for the pool to open up. I can't think of a better way to kick off your trip. If you are flying to Orlando, once you get to your resort, you can store your things will Bell Services until your room is ready. This is a complimentary service to you that is so convenient. You can utilize this service when you drive as well although I find it easier to just leave my things in my car until my room is ready - it's totally up to you!
Another fun thing I like to do on my arrival day is to visit
Disney Springs. Disney Springs is the shopping, dining and entertainment hub of Walt Disney World. After you enjoy a relaxing morning at the pool you can always head over there for lunch and some shopping. It's never too early in the trip to start picking up those must-have souvenirs.
I hope this helps, Mary. If you have any other planning questions as you finalize up details of your trip, feel free to stop back over here and
ask me. I'd love to help.
Have fun!
Jackie H.