Disney- Arriving day before

First timer going to Disney. I booked at a deluxe hotel to help us navigate our first time there, as I get overwhelmed quickly. We are going for 4 days and 3 nights, but am concerned about landing in the afternoon and feeling as though I already wasted half the day. I was thinking about heading to Orlando the night before so that we can head to hotel in the morning and get the most out of our trip. Has anyone ever done this before? Thoughts on this being a good/bad idea? Any thoughts on what hotel to stay at the night before heading to the Disney hotel?

Re: Disney- Arriving day before

during Covid, DH and I drove down to Disney. We thought we would stop on the way there, but drove it straight through so we arrived in Disney the day before our stay. I went online and booked a stay on hotels.com or Priceline at the Marriott right outside of Downtown Disney while we were eating dinner in Downtown Disney. I think it was less than $100 for the night and it was very nice.

Disney- Arriving day before

Look into one of the Value Resorts for the day that you land. Then the next day, Disney will send your luggage to the other hotel.

Re: Disney- Arriving day before

I think this is a great idea! We often arrive a day prior to our resort reservation and enjoy the evening- it's so exciting!! Another bonus is if you get delayed with travel you won't be missing a resort/park day. We have DVC so I book whatever is available for one night and try a new resort each time.

Re: Disney- Arriving day before

We usually head to Disney Springs on check in day since we can't really do a park that day. We did arrive the night before once. I think either option is fine, but if you are on limited time then may be a good idea to arrive the night before. When we did this we just booked our hotel for an extra night (wasn't part of the vacation package- just a one off).

Re: Disney- Arriving day before

Yes, we did this. We actually stayed at the Hyatt (I think) that's in the airport itself. It was a beautiful hotel. We got up, had a really great breakfast at their restaurant and then went right to Disney. Worked out great.

Disney- Arriving day before

We arrived a day early once due to weather and stayed at a hotel near the airport. There’s a business park right near the airport exit with a ton of hotels (it was for a conference, not a vacation but it was at Disney).

Disney- Arriving day before

We always go to the hotel we are staying at for the week. I like to get unpacked and settled before we start our "vacation" the next day. We usually go to Disney Springs for dinner the first night or hit the pool. If we stayed at a different hotel the first night, I would still feel that I was missing a day because I still would need to wait for the room and get settled the next day.