End of the night in the parks

[mon8key]

Night is our favorite time in the parks! We haven’t been in about four years—do they still keep shops and some food places open after official park closing? Has anyone here been the last to leave a park? We’ll be there 8/13-20 but see they are closing at 11 & 9 pm (DL & DCA respectively). Does DL get super crowded after DCA closes?
Thanks

 

[ParkHopper1]

Last hour in the park is my absolute favorite, especially on late colure nights. Walk on may rides and nice and quiet!

Main street shops stay open 1 hour past park close...there can still be a lot of people even past that as the rides do not shut down at park close, they just close the lines...so even if there is a 45 min wait for Space Mountain you just need to be IN a line at park close and you still ride.

DCA closing is not a huge impact on DL...once Fireworks is over it starts thinning out pretty quick on most nights.

 

[sweethannah]

DCA is a beautiful place once the park has closed. The shops stay open for about an hour after closing and it's a fantastic time to take some photos of the neon lights and Radiator Springs. Magical!

 

[midnight star]

DCA is a beautiful place once the park has closed. The shops stay open for about an hour after closing and it's a fantastic time to take some photos of the neon lights and Radiator Springs. Magical!

I stayed at DCA until closing for the first time ever on Thursday. It was so nice!! Now I see why people like going late at night!

 

[WonkaKid]

...do they still keep shops and some food places open after official park closing?

Yes, I believe they do -- for one hour past the official park closing time .

 

[Indiana Scott]

Not the very last to leave but one of our favorite things to do is have a coffee and treats at Jolly Holiday and watch the masses leave. Then enjoy an easy stroll out of the park.

 

[mon8key]

Not the very last to leave but one of our favorite things to do is have a coffee and treats at Jolly Holiday and watch the masses leave. Then enjoy an easy stroll out of the park.

Oh excellent idea!

 

[mort1331]

Do they do a last kiss goodnight?

 

[lalasmama]

Do they do a last kiss goodnight?

No. However, talking to the train attendant this last trip, they do a "goodnight run" of the train at closing, where they go station to station and close and lock each one up. It sounded very sweet and calm and a nice way to end the night closing each station.

 

[az4boys]

I was actually surprised at how many people were shopping after midnight when we were there a few weeks ago. I loved being there at park close for both parks and shopping after.

 

[Marsh215]

My gripe is small, but I wish the monorail in DL ran until the park was empty. I've wanted to use it multiple times to get my butt out of the park, but it sometimes closes hours before the park does. What I've noticed is that main street shops tend to be open until the very end, so if you are looking for food there will at least be pre-packed snacks available. I love Goofy's Gummies, so this works out for me.

 

[figment_jii]

As mentioned, the shops on Main Street and Buena Vista Street usually remain open for an hour after park closing. I've had hit or miss luck with the food locations (Jolly Holiday closed right at park closing several times, but Coke Corner was open for a bit past closing).