How do you usually handle check out day? Go to theme park or no?

[bettymae1121]

The day we fly home is a Sunday, we all have work/school the following day. If we took a late enough flight home so that we could do park time, we wouldn't land until after 8 PM so not home until 9 or 9:30 - and that's if the flight is more or less on time! No, as much as I love being in the parks it isn't worth it.

So instead we'll wake up at 7, make sure we've packed everything, eat a quick breakfast at the hotel, then have the town car take us back to the airport for an 11 AM flight. That gets us home at around 2-2:30 so we can relax a bit (and I can get a few loads of laundry done - oh joy!). My husband also has to work that night at 11 PM so that's another reason to be home earlier, he can go to bed and get nearly 8 hours of sleep in before having to go to work!

We also don't do a park on arrival day, to get there early enough to make "burning" a ticket worth it, we'd have to take a flight at 6 or 7 AM, meaning we're up at 3 or 4 in the morning to go to the airport, no thank you! Even with the 10 AM flight we are taking we need to be up no later than 6:30 and that's early enough. We'll land at about 2, get to the hotel about 3 or 3:30. Check in, settle in to the room, then go explore the resort. By the time we check things out it's time for dinner. Then a swim (or other fun activity) and an early-ish bed time so we can be up early to hit MK for rope drop the next morning.

 

[mommyboys3]

We usually have a 5:00-6:00 pm flight home. We'll hit whatever park has early EMH on our last day. Between EMH & FP+ we can get a lot done in just several hours. We'll grab a QS lunch either at the park or the resort & then wait for ME to take us to the airport. We love spending our last morning this way.

 

[disneydreamer1980]

We drive, so we can leave whenever. We usually do MK on checkout day, our way of saying goodbye to Disney. Our last trip we did US on checkout day which felt strange. We’ll go back to ending with MK from now on.

 

[goofyintoronto]

If I have a late flight going home, your darn tootin' I go to a park. Usually its MK. I love going to a park on my final day. At my resort i'll get my stuff ready, leave my bags with bell services...then go to the park. Easy peasy.

 

[sponica]

It depends...this trip our flight is early (we're flying on points so we ended up with less than desirable flight times). We'll be rolling out of bed then getting on DME.

Last trip to Orlando, we were offsite and had an afternoon flight time but didn't buy park tickets for that day. We had just done a 4 night cruise, a day at sea world, day at universal, 2 days at all 4 WDW parks...so we just strolled around disney springs

I have done a park day the last day, and to be honest I'm soooooo stressed about making sure I'm back in time for the magical express, I don't have any fun.

 

[CrabbyPatty]

DD and I were in WDW in January and ended up having flights cancelled due to a winter storm back home. We checked out of POP, stored our bags and hit the parks, wanting to get in a few hours before we had to catch the DME back to the airport, when we learned that our flights had been first delayed, then cancelled. We couldn't change our DME reservations, so we ended up staying in the parks all day, went back to POP, got our bags, took an Uber to a cheap hotel close to the airport, and left the next day.

More information that you probably cared to know, BUT for our August trip, we're building in that extra day by staying at POP Wednesday - Saturday. Check out early on Sunday, store our bags, spend the day at the parks (using up the last of our Free Dining vouchers since we got them on the Bounceback offer), get the bags, take the Uber to the airport hotel and head out the next day. We got a great rate on an airport hotel with free shuttle and the Uber should be about $20.

For me, it was perfect relaxing day because we didn't have to rush back to get the DME and then sit in the airport. And it felt like a nice transition back to the "regular" world.

 

[myheartisinFlorida]

Personally, I would hang out at AKL until check-out time at 11 am, store the bags, head over to DS, do the Void at 12/12:30 pm, have lunch, shop and start heading back to AKL to pick up your bags around 3:30 pm.

So AKL will hold your bags for you even after check out?

 

[MomOTwins]

We always went to parks on our last day, until our last trip, when we had too early of a flight to do so. It was heartbreaking!!! Never again. Every time we went to a park on our last day we had a blast having "just one more" of our favorite rides, or catching up on rides we missed at the park on previous days. It was the perfect ending to the trip. Leaving without going to a park just felt hollow and depressing.

 

[KittyKitty]

Staying at Riverside, and flight isn't till 5:30pm, 2:30pm ME. So plan on taking the boat to Disney Springs, eating lunch at Earls, then take boat back to catch ME.

You might want to request a late check out when you check in. No promises, but makes it easier to leave.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

We've hit MK on check out day twice. Both times we were leaving WDW to visit family in Sanford so no flights. We then stayed the weekend with family before heading home.

Last trip we had to catch ME at 1:30. We just leisurely checked out, grabbed lunch at HH and hung out in the Solarium at the BC.

Next trip depending on flight time we may go to DS. I am not a fan of shopping and really don't want to go (have been in ten years) but I think DD would get a kick out of some of the shops plus it'll kill some time and we can try a new QS place for lunch if we have time. She's a shopaholic. I don't plan on going to a park since the plan is to do 2 am EMH the night before.

 

[jaiminee krikit]

We usually head over to DS on check-out day if our flight is later. Then I don't waste a park day going there, and I still get to visit.

 

[mastermind307]

We've gone to a park once on our departure day. On that trip we drove and only stayed 5 nights so we wanted some extra time at MK. The next 2 trips, we did not visit a park even though we drove and could have, but we stayed longer, 7 nights. One trip we decided to have breakfast at Cape May (stayed at the BW so an easy walk over) before we left. We flew on our last trip, our flight home was at 12:15, so no time for a park on that departure day.

On our upcoming mother/daughter trip, I do plan to go HS on our departure day. I'm doing this so we can have rest day with no parks in the middle so we can visit Disney Springs and do other non park stuff without trying to cram it in. We're flying, but our flight doesn't leave until 5:50pm so we'll have enough time to go to HS for the morning and then have a nice lunch before the ME picks us up. Plus we're staying at the BW again so we can walk back and not have to rely on Disney transportation. I'm not sure I'd go to a park if I had to rely on Disney transportation. I'd be stressing out the whole time worrying about not making it back in time for the ME.

 

[6travel]

We usually sleep in a little and then check our bags at the resort airline counter. The past few trips we had enough time use our 3 fastpasses at MK before grabbing a Mickey Bar and heading back to the resort. For our upcoming trip we are leaving even later so we can spend even more time at a park on our last day.

 

[jliucci]

We always schedule a later flight home so our tradition is breakfast at Ohana and MK for a few hours before we head home.

 

[AngiTN]

We book the latest flight out possible and go to Epcot.
Sleep in, leave room right at check out time, drop luggage with RAC, take our carry on bags with us to the park. Stop at the Luggage lockers and leave our bags and then enjoy the park till time to head to the airport.
We grab our bags and head out via Uber
Flight is usually about 9:00 PM, so we leave Epcot about 7:00 PM

 

[lovin'fl]

No parks on check out day. Never have in 20 some trips. And we are driving to and from WDW now so we just pack up and get on the road as early as we can since it's 9+ hour drive. Once we flew home late, like 6ish, and we still didn't do a park that day.

 

[AngiTN]

So AKL will hold your bags for you even after check out?

Of course. Just like they hold them when you arrive and your room is not ready. That's what Bell Services is for, holding bags

 

[AngiTN]

Now that I have an AP we go to parks on check in and check out day. I love to just grab that last minute thing, wander and enjoy.

Having an AP does make it much easier to do parks on both arrival and departure days. Even if it's just an hour or two, you figure, why not just go.

 

[ppjluvsdvc]

It depends on who is traveling. if it is just my son and I then we go to the park. Squeezing every last drop out of our visit. If my husband is with us, not so much. As others have said, he doesn't like to get hot before having to get on the plane unless he has a place to shower and change. This last time we did go to the park but that was because we were at the VGF and could get easily back to the hotel in time for the Magical Express. I had planned 3 fast passes for our favorites, walked thru the stores and then headed back. It actually was really relaxing this time! I know that isn't usually something I say with visiting the park but we just did what we wanted.

 

[MickeyWaffles]

We always hit the parks on our checkout day. We always book the latest flight we can.

We don’t decide if we are doing a park on arrival day until we get there (we just add the day if we decide to do a park that day.) Never know how everyone will feel after travel.

Leaving is a different story. We don’t mind being “Disney tired” when we head home. Our kids are toddlers and sleep well on planes.