Is exiting MK right when once upon a time starts a good idea?

[Allynlle]

hi all! My family will be in MK in a few weeks and was wondering what time would be best to leave MK after HEA. HEA starts at 9pm and Once upon a time starts at 9:45. (MK is listed as closing at 9pm that night) HEA is about 20 mins long and we don't want to rush out of the park when EVERYBODY else is trying to go after the show ends. My family isn't interested in hanging around for Once upon a time so we thought we might just wait until that starts and then leave while everyone else is watching the show. Is this a good strategy? Or is does every have this strategy also. What's a realistic amount of time should we expect to be from MK to monorail to car to Disney springs? If it's too long of a wait to get out of the park, we don't want to put DS in our plans. Any advice as far as exit strategies go would be appreciated!

 

[mom2rtk]

Probably not. You will be fish swimming upstream trying to get through Main Street with everyone packed in to see the show. If you go ahead with it, keep an eye on whether the bypass exit is open (exit near Plaza Inn).

We tried exiting as Wishes was due to start once and I won't do that again.

Better plan might be to get to Town Square early, then watch the show from there and exit just as it ends, before the crowds pour out.

 

[CAS239]

You'll still be waiting.

If you want to get out with the lowest wait around that time you'll either want to leave before HEA ends, or wait until awhile after Once upon a time is over.

You can leave after HEA, but thousands of others will be doing the same. This creates long lines and crowds for transportation. If you wait until when OUAT starts, there will still be a lot of people watching OUAT, but those thousands that left after HEA will still be waiting for transportation and won't be fully cleared out.

Leaving Mk at night is the worst. So if you want a minimal wait, then either leave before any nighttime show, or wait in the park until well after any show and allow the masses to clear out

 

[Davey Jones II]

If you don't mind missing the projections on the castle, you could watch the fireworks in the sky from near the park exit, so that you won't have to struggle through a bottleneck on Main Street.

 

[AMusicLifeForMe]

I would think that you are still looking at an hour+ travel time to DS if you leave after that show. I would personally just leave with the masses after HEA, because you will be waiting with everyone that left after HEA if you wait until after OUAT. It could even be a longer wait.

 

[minniegirl19]

What day is this? Are you sure the park would be closing at 9. I find it weird it wouldn't be later because of summer and having that OUAT later. Also I would just forget Disney springs. After a day at MK that's the last place I'd want to go for just over an hour before it closes

 

[kmb584]

hi all! My family will be in MK in a few weeks and was wondering what time would be best to leave MK after HEA. HEA starts at 9pm and Once upon a time starts at 9:45. (MK is listed as closing at 9pm that night) HEA is about 20 mins long and we don't want to rush out of the park when EVERYBODY else is trying to go after the show ends. My family isn't interested in hanging around for Once upon a time so we thought we might just wait until that starts and then leave while everyone else is watching the show. Is this a good strategy? Or is does every have this strategy also. What's a realistic amount of time should we expect to be from MK to monorail to car to Disney springs? If it's too long of a wait to get out of the park, we don't want to put DS in our plans. Any advice as far as exit strategies go would be appreciated!

Last week we left twice after HEA and both times the bypass exit was open (we entered once in Tomorrowland and once by The Plaza) and were out of the park and on the resort monorail by 9:45, and back to our room at BLT by 10:05. There were a lot of people exiting both times but we got lucky and were in the front of the pack. I don't think heading to DS afterward would work too well, simply because exiting the T&TC parking lot after the fireworks can take a while.