Is 3 hours worth it?

[heather_sue_98]

My daughter and I will be at the parks October 4th, 5th, and 6th. On the 6th, the park is open until midnight, and we are planning on staying until closing, and possibly on Main Street until even later. (Isn't Main Street open until an hour after closing?) Our flight the next morning is a 6:15 departure, so I'm planning on being at LAX between 4:15 and 4:45. I'm trying to decide if it's worth it to pay another night at the hotel when we will probably just be there for about 3 hours. I know we will be tired, and that's not really the issue; our flight is less than two hours, and we will be able to recoup during the next day at home. My main question is has anyone been in this situation and found a place to just hang out? Maybe the GCH lobby? Or has anyone just headed to the airport and hung around there? I'll have the stroller that my five year old daughter is fine sleeping in. Thanks in advance.

 

[wdwfan22]

Hmm, that's a tough one. Are you a late night owl? If you really think you can hang around DL until they kick you out, and your daughter would be fine sleeping in her stroller, I would be tempted to stay as late as possible, like you said, I think the shops are open for about an hour, then just head up to LAX. You would only be there a couple hours early.

I'm not sure if they would just let you sit in the lobby of one of the hotels and sleep. Plus, I'd rather get where I'm going (LAX) and then sleep there so you would only have to wake up for a short time to board and then go back to sleep again.

 

[heather_sue_98]

Yeah, it might be better to just head to LAX. I haven't been to that airport in a long time (we usually fly in and out of Long Beach) and I don't remember; are there some "off the beaten path" kind of spots where we could relax?

 

[Minnie Loves Mickey]

I would be tempted to go to the airport but beware you may have a time limit on how early you can check in for your flight.

 

[LisainCalifornia]

I would pay for another night just on the chance that your daughters wouldn't want to stay at the parks till midnight. By the end of our trips we are all pretty beat, and I always find that we end up going back to the hotel earlier than the other nights. That way you can all get some rest before you have to leave for the airport very early the next morning. I don't think sleeping in the lobby would be practical in the middle of the night.

 

[rentayenta]

I'd get another night and make sure I took an afternoon break on that last day. Rope drop, break, close the park, grab 2 hours of sleep and head out. I'd hate to be *homeless* without an option to chill.

 

[Dobie]

An option that might be a bit less expensive than paying for another night is to buy a day pass to your airlines VIP lounge at LAX. That would be a much more comfortable place to rest than the concourse.

 

[Eeee-va]

Wow; great question! If you were two college-aged people, I'd say to definitely skip the hotel and tell us all about it! But with the age of your daughter, I think the afternoon break idea sounds great, though I don't know how much your hotel costs... If it's like $200+/night I wouldn't blame you for wanting to skip a night!

Anyway, if you just go from Disneyland straight to the airport at 1 AM, you could probably write a more interesting trip report. But if your budget allows, I don't think you'll regret having the room. If not, I like the VIP lounge idea, but Googling, I'm not sure they're all open 24 hours, so you might need to investigate.

 

[disneychrista]

I would not pay for another night at a hotel, if it were me.

 

[starshine514]

I don't think I would pay for another night IF I was sure we'd close the park. If I thought we might be beat and need to bail early, I'd get one. But for about 2 hours? Nope. Will you have a rental car?

 

[disneychrista]

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[starshine514]

My phone sucks sometimes.

 

[disneychrista]

My phone sucks sometimes.

 

[Scribble Kitty]

I don't think I'd get another night either. Stay in the park until they kick you out (and from what I hear they aren't really pushy about making you leave right at 1am), wait around in the lobby of the Grand for a while, and then head out to the airport.

 

[kailuagirl]

Where are you staying and how much are you paying? Since you have a 5 year old, and we all know 5 year olds can have their good days and their bad, I think I'd get a room. That's almost 16 hours with no "home base" if you know what I mean. If you guys went back and took a nap in the afternoon you would be refreshed and reading to tackle the parks until closing and could probably handle staying up the rest of the time. Have you ever stayed up 24 hours before? That's kinda a lot of a little one I think. I don't think I would do it. I've paid for a hotel in vegas where we left at midnight and was very glad we still had the room at midnight before we left for the airport. But you know your daughter better than any of us As for going to the airport early, I don't know about LAX or the airline you are on, so you might need to check on that and see if anything is open at that time.

Good luck in whatever you decide

 

[christine*]

If your 5 year old is fine sleeping in the stroller, I would just head to LAX when the park closes. Dobie had a good suggestion about the day pass for your airline's VIP lounge.

 

[Kittyskyfish]

Stay the extra night - even if it's just for the shower. 20+ hours of being up and running around in parks without bathing and changing is going to leave a mark. I've sat on planes next to people who must've done stuff like this and let me tell you...not so good. I'm not referring to funky armpits as much as people smelling like stale laundry, budding body odors, and with a touch of greasy hair for the final effect. It's gross.


Just my .02

 

[todzwife]

With a 5 year old, I'd get another night...we ended up heading back MUCH earlier w/ a 5 YO than I expected. Around 8 PM she'd start to melt down, despite having had a nap. I'd hate to not have somewhere to chill if the 5 YO was DONE...YK?

 

[kkmcan]

I'd get the extra night for the nap time/chill out time and a shower. Go back into the park feeling refreshed and not totally worn out. Stay as long as you like and then head back to room for a couple hours of sleep.