Flight home JUST changed - what would you do with an unexpected "extra" day?

[olive]

I hate leaving early and NOT going to a park! I would take just an hour in MK on a park bench to absorb a little more magic for my long in between trip time. I say adding on a day and booking a pass won't break you and will give you options to ride a ride one last time or purchase something you forgot.

JetBlue has been CRAZY with the MCO changes. I hope it settles down soon.

I am sort of terrified JetBlue will change the flights AGAIN. I called them and asked if this is the final change, and they said they HOPE so. HOPE! Argh,

 

[NY Pirate Princess]

I am sort of terrified JetBlue will change the flights AGAIN. I called them and asked if this is the final change, and they said they HOPE so. HOPE! Argh,

My Disney pal is headed to Disney in July too, and he just changed plans for the second time based on JB changes. Using points returned from canceled trip from 2020. Double UGH!

 

[Blondie58]

We were supposed to fly out early afternoon for our return home in July. Now we leave around 730 pm. Not sure yet if we will take MDE or a cab, but we are staying at the CR and are right by MK. We already have 8 day park tix. Adding another day on is easy enough and there is still availability in all parks.

Obviously getting to Magic Kingdom would be the easiest - we can just walk over. We can spend time at the pool. Monorail hop to the other loop resorts for snacks. Maybe mini golf over by the Boardwalk. (Not all of these things - I just mean these are options. ) I am kind of lost! We had been set to basically sleep in a little, check out after a late breakfast/early lunch and head to the airport. We have never had such a long day available. What would you do? Our kids are 8 and 13, if that would influence your choices.

Thanks for the ideas!

I would appreciate the good fortune and enjoy every moment. To buy another day of tickets will be very inexpensive. If not wishing for a park day enjoy a day of r and r at the pool. If the pool is not a good idea go to Disney Springs. If that is not a good idea try a "progressive" lunch at the monorail resorts. Make a scavenger hunt for the family before going and then do that activity in teams between the CR, GF, ad Poly as all are now connect by a walking path and sidewalks. Go to a movie at DS. Go putt putt golfing. Take a self-guided walk of the Wilderness Lodge area. I personally am never for a loss per things to do at WDW. I alwasy leave saying "if I had one more day". Have a great time.

 

[wdw&sonny]

I am in the "it's a gift camp". I would take it as a bonus day. Pack up, leave bags w/ bell services. Walk over to MK. Snacks for breakfast, do a few favorite attractions, or something you don't usually get to do, like explore Tom Sawyer Island, ride the River Boat. Plan lunch somewhere you have not eaten before. Plan a hard stop at a time you are comfortable with for the 7:30 flight, assuming some delays, so you don't have the travel day anxieties.

 

[sandam1]

Maybe rope drop MK and then hit the pool, shower at the poolhouse, change and go.

This is what I was going to suggest. We always take the last flight out so we've learned all of the tricks.

Here's what we do:
- The night/day before, pack everything possible. Literally leave just the clothes for the next day and the minimal toiletries. Plan as if you were taking a 6 am flight.
- Also, the day before, see if you can get a late check-out (note: I haven't traveled since COVID so I don't know how likely this will be granted). It may only give you an extra hour or two tops, but every little bit helps.
- Rope drop MK. Make breakfast grab and go. Do as much as you can before check-out time. With a late check-out and as two adults, we usually head back to the hotel about an hour before check out to get our feet up and chill for about a half an hour before grabbing our bags and going. With two kids, I'm not sure how possible that it going to be, but if you want to head to the pool at this point, it might be nice to have the room still available. We usually drop our bags in the lobby, do a long table service lunch, and then head back to the park. At the parks, we focus on any available shows or low key (and short line) rides. The key is to save some energy for the trip home and avoid the mid-day crowds.
- Head back to hotel about 45 minutes to an hour before pick-up. Get our bags and change clothes (home is usually considerably colder than Florida). Depending on what time we need to leave, we sometimes get a light dinner at the hotel's quick service as well.

The late check-out really helps and breaks up the day for us. I would have a hard time doing rope drop if I knew that we were going to be "homeless" for the entire day.

 

[ktlm]

I would say Magic Kingdom! We always take a late afternoon early evening flight on departure day so we can get in a last bit of park time. I try to pack up as much as I can after returning from the park the night before. In the morning we get up, get ready, pack up the rest, take the luggage to bell services, and head for a park We usually try to go to the park that is easiest to get to from the resort where we are staying so we aren't worried about any Disney transportation delays. We never do the pool departure day because once we have checked out and left our luggage with bell services it is too hard to clean up after the pool-- we no longer have a room to fully shower and clean up in. We always think it would be nice to spend that last day at the pool if we still had a room to use. None of us want to go to the airport straight from the pool.

 

[CableKC]

If you are burnt out on going to the parks; you always have the option to do the Non-Park related activities. For me, it's about enjoying all of the activities that you can partake in a Disneyworld itself that you can't do if you are inside one of the 4 parks. Go to Disney Springs if you haven't done that yet. Spend time at the resort and enjoy the amenities there. Go to Fort Wilderness and try out horseback riding. I'd also figure out some way to plan to having a nice lunch or dinner at one of the other Resorts that you usually don't go to.

 

[RamblingMad]

My biggest concern would be my car rental. How much to return a day later? Then, I'd go over to Universal since it takes minimal planning and do a day there.

 

[scrapquitler]

We usually take the late flight. We use that “bonus day” to go to the MK and just take it slow, do a few rides, have a couple snacks and soak in the magic. About 2 hours before our ME pickup time we go back to our resort, get our bags from bell services, have a drink, change our clothes and go.

 

[olive]

My biggest concern would be my car rental. How much to return a day later? Then, I'd go over to Universal since it takes minimal planning and do a day there.

No car rental this trip! And I LOVE Universal but I don't think I would be happy with a short day there. We usually do multiday trips and stay on site. We will go back a stay there on another trip!

 

[olive]

If you are burnt out on going to the parks; you always have the option to do the Non-Park related activities. For me, it's about enjoying all of the activities that you can partake in a Disneyworld itself that you can't do if you are inside one of the 4 parks. Go to Disney Springs if you haven't done that yet. Spend time at the resort and enjoy the amenities there. Go to Fort Wilderness and try out horseback riding. I'd also figure out some way to plan to having a nice lunch or dinner at one of the other Resorts that you usually don't go to.

I was thinking of Ft. Wilderness, actually. My older son mentioned they have a blacksmith. I was going to look into that. We are going to Disney Springs earlier in the trip on a non-park day.

 

[jimmymc]

Get all packed up the night before and head into a park. I would try to add an extra day at Studios to get in some early rides on Rise of the Resistance and the other big attractions, then park hop to MK. I always like ending the trip at MK; it makes the trip seem more magical, somehow.

 

[DCLMP]

We live near a smaller airport. There are only two flights in and out a day to and from MCO on the airline we booked on (Jetblue)! Big change since we used to live in NYC. Our other choice is pretty early, and I didn't want to have to get the kids up super early on their last morning. Lesser of evils.

I like staying at the MCO Hyatt the last night and taking an early flight. I hate getting home late at night, but I also don't like leaving WDW early in the morning. That solves both issues.

 

[olive]

Get all packed up the night before and head into a park. I would try to add an extra day at Studios to get in some early rides on Rise of the Resistance and the other big attractions, then park hop to MK. I always like ending the trip at MK; it makes the trip seem more magical, somehow.

We have reservations at DHS on 3 days of the trip already. I think a 4th would be pushing it! Maybe MK, though? We will absolutely be packed up the night before. I am crazy about that kind of stuff. Everything will be packed except last minute toiletries and the clothes we are going to wear, which I may make the kids sleep in.

 

[jimmymc]

We have reservations at DHS on 3 days of the trip already. I think a 4th would be pushing it! Maybe MK, though? We will absolutely be packed up the night before. I am crazy about that kind of stuff. Everything will be packed except last minute toiletries and the clothes we are going to wear, which I may make the kids sleep in.

Magic Kingdom for sure! Rope drop your favorite ride and chill out the rest of the day.

 

[saraheliz]

We had a late flight our last trip (didn't leave until after 9!). We spent a little while in the morning packing up, grabbed breakfast and headed over to Epcot for a few hours. Rode Sorain' and TT a few times (back in FP+ days), headed back to the hotel, swam for an hour or so, then grabbed an early dinner and got picked up around 6. You probably won't have time to do all of that but it's so inexpensive to add one more day I likely would just to squeeze in a couple of rides and a snack before getting on the plane.

 

[olive]

We had a late flight our last trip (didn't leave until after 9!). We spent a little while in the morning packing up, grabbed breakfast and headed over to Epcot for a few hours. Rode Sorain' and TT a few times (back in FP+ days), headed back to the hotel, swam for an hour or so, then grabbed an early dinner and got picked up around 6. You probably won't have time to do all of that but it's so inexpensive to add one more day I likely would just to squeeze in a couple of rides and a snack before getting on the plane.

Yes, I think we just need to decide in the next few days because of park reservations. That is probably the limiting factor more than anything! Right now there is plenty of availability but who knows when that will flip. I'll discuss with my husband. Of course as soon as I change the park tix and reserve parks, the flight will probably change again.

 

[ambula603]

We did this on our last trip - slept in a bit, ate a late breakfast at Wilderness Lodge Whispering Canyon and explored that resort, then headed to Fort Wilderness and rode horses! It was such a neat last day and my girls (11 and 9) loved it!

 

[gigicnm]

Are the tiny boats still available to rent from the Poly? We would rent two and have an adult and a child in each little boat. So much fun and not too expensive. It was a fun last day experience.

 

[jorbrenner]

The answer really just depends on your family and what you enjoy/ how much you want to spend