Which park first?

Walt Disney World
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So I’m going back and forth on what order to start our vacation. Here is a little background info:

We arrive February 12th at 8pm from Seattle with me, DH and DD6, so our first day in the parks would be Monday the 13th. Currently I have us visiting Epcot on the 13th, then AK on the 14th. (MK will be the following 2.5 days). But maybe we should do AK on the 13th and then Epcot on the 14th? Here is what I’m concerned about:

  1. If we do Epcot on the 13th, we will want to rope drop to see Joy and Sadness. Since we will have just traveled the whole day before and on West Coast time…it is probably asking a lot to start out our vacation super early. BUT, I’m willing to cut and run out of Epcot than AK because I’m pretty sure we’ll be back in the evenings for dinner and whatnot.

  2. If we do AK on the 13th, I believe they have EMH that morning which was my original reason to avoid it. But, we’d probably come later and stay later anyways, especially if Rivers of Light is happening. So I feel like we could sleep in and it would probably be ok with Fastpasses and all that?

  3. My last concern with Epcot on the 14th is if we do Rope Drop on the 14th, then we have an ADR at BOG at 8am on the 15th. Two really early (for us) days in a row might be tough.

Thoughts? We’re totally willing to come back to the hotel and take breaks and hopefully naps, but just trying to start out on the right foot.

Although, it probably all boils down to when we could get FEA Fastpasses. Ha!

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Well shoot. I posted this twice on accident! How do I delete one?!

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To delete, just go to your original thread and there should be a trash can button under the post. It will delete, but will take 24 hours to disappear.
Now, as for your question, we too come from the west coast to WDW (we live in Spokane). We find it is best to try and get on Eastern time right away, so that means making rope drop on the first park day. We often take the afternoon flight and don’t arrive until after midnight, so not in bed until 2am at the earliest, of course this is just 11pm on our bodies. If you are arriving at 8pm, you should get enough sleep. The problem with sleeping in day one is that it just makes it harder to get on Eastern time, in my experience. Your mileage may vary.
I would go to Epcot on Monday with a 9am start IF you are sure you don’t want to go to AK during EMH. Morning EMH means lots of people will pick AK for the day as they think they will make EMH (although many will not make it, but since they have FPP and dining there, they still go). FPP helps, but nothing beats the first few hours in a park. Just plan on taking a midday break if needed. Even if Rivers of Light is showing, AK will close by 8pm at the latest that time of year. You will still get to bed at a decent time, and be on Eastern time that following morning.