Is there enough time to do a park before leaving for the airport??

[andychris14]

Our flight is scheduled for 3:24pm. We see that the mk is opened early that day. We would like to squeeze in a little more disney before having to go home. Can we check out and have the front desk hold our lugguage? We are using the disney buses. If we arrive at the park for opening at 8am, we can have a couple of hours before the magical express picks us up at the hotel. Do you think this is too much of a rush?

 

[hulagirl87]

get in as much disney as you can before you go!!! that's what we are doing too. we are going to crystal palace for breakfast and magic kingdom the day that we leave. our flight is closer to 5:00, but still, we want to see the castle one last time before we head for home!

 

[CinderellaPug]

They will definatly hold your luggage. You should have enough time. We have done this just to hit our favorite things one last time or get some final shopping done. It can be very relaxing and enjoyable, actually.

 

[lyzziesmom]

Yes, it is entirely possible, BUT... just remember that the Magical Express bus typically will pick you up at the hotel about 3 hours before your flight departure time, so in your case the bus will come at around 12:30pm. And keep in mind that you need to catch a bus from the MK back to your hotel. However long you think this may take, double that amount of time to account for unexpected delays. Last year when we did this, just as our bus from MGM was pulling into the hotel parking lot, we saw the ME bus pulling away. At MGM we just missed one bus then had to wait 20 minutes for the next one; meanwhile at our hotel, the ME bus arrived & left a few minutes early.

So if you are willing to leave MK by 11am and use a day's worth of admission for just a few hours in the morning, I say go for it and have a great time!! It sure beats sitting around the hotel being sad because you are just waiting to go home.

And yes, the resorts have 'luggage services' where they will hold your luggage while you are out & about, whether you are using ME or not. Keep in mind you will also need some time to claim your bags upon your return to the resort.

 

[mking624]

Though I love going to a park on the very last day, sometimes it's not possible. Last year we had a 2:30pm flight, and ME picked us up at 11:15. There's no way we could have done hardly anything in such a short time frame. You have to remember to take into consideration unexpected delays...a late bus, a packed bus (making you wait for another), etc. This is actually the biggest reason why we try our best to get an evening flight home unless it's just not possible for us to do so.

 

[ainmama2001]

We always try and do a character breakfast in a park before we leave and then do a quick "Favorites" tour at MK. We always make MK our last stop before leaving. I have to walk away from that castle to symbolize the end.

 

[sammons70]

Our flight was at 2:30 ,and ME picked us up at 11:10. The ME stops at several other Disney resorts before heading th the airport. You would probaly need to leave Magic Kingdom by 10:30 at the latest to make it back on time.

 

[Fran98765]

We visit a park on our last day, usually Epcot. Last trip we wanted to be back at WL by around 2 to get on the ME bus for our flight. There was a huge crowd at Electric Umbrella, and we checked our watch and we were ok on time, so we ate. After our meal, we noticed that our watch had stopped and was on the wrong time! We asked a family near us for the time and it was about 2:15!! Past the time we wanted to be back at the hotel. We ran to the exit of the park and quickly jumped in a taxi. Driver zoomed it back and we made it just in time for our bus... barely!

If your flight leaves that early, you might want to just do DTD or hang out at the resort. If you wake up early and get to EMH at MK, that is 8am. You'd have to be back at your resort around 11 at the latest, so depending on which resort you are staying at, it might not be worth your time.

 

[mickeysaver]

We have a similarly timed return flight and I have no plans for that date other than packing and having breakfast at out resort. I am phobic about being late, so I would like to leave for the airport ASAP on ME. I would rather be stuck puttering around MCO and know that I will get to fly out on-time than to take the risk and try for a last taste of pixie dust. Maggie

 

[english rose 47]

We also have a 3:30 return flightt, so wont do the park that day but I was thinking onDtd. What time do the shops open?

 

[Daryl]

I have come very close to missing my flight several times so here's my advice: Make sure you are completely packed except for what you will wear on departure day and toiletries. I understand the temptation to try one last blast at the MK, so be there at Early Entry rope drop and leave the park at 10:45am. If 2:45 min. are worth it to you, just be disciplined with your time and you'll be ok. If for some reason you do miss your bus and can't risk the wait for another remember there are always the taxis.

Have a wonderful trip

 

[bigthundermountain]

I haven't tried it at Disney but what sounds helpful to me is to be sure to get up early the day you leave, get everything packed &ready to go, then check-out of the hotel. See if your hotel will hold your bags, if not then follow Dayrl's advice about using EMH and get back to the hotel to check out by 11 or so.

Hope this helped!

 

[gems_smiling]

Go for it, the most disney you can get out of a trip the better and the hotel will hold your bags for you.

 

[alicenwonder99]

I just changed our flight going home (got a great DING rate), so now our flight going home leaves at 6:15pm. So, we're trying to decide what to do our last day. We are staying at the Contemporary, so I think the easiest thing to do would be MK that morning/afternoon. But dh was talking about trying to get a late check-out and hang out by the pool. I guess I need to ask on the resort board if WDW does late check outs.

Mary

 

[DIS-NH]

During our lasdt trip, my son and I headed for MK at opening. We walked in, did Spash, Thunder and Space witing 45 minutes, went shopping and headed back to hotel to get the rest of the family and head to the airport.

Plenty of time....

 

[seashoreCM]

(copied from another post) They say be ready to board 15 minutes before the time on your ME reservation (that's the departure time). You should "aim" to be back at the resort an hour before ME bus time just in case you run into glitches such as a missing bus run from the park back to the resort that causes your "shot" to miss.

(copied from another post) If you drive, your car should be in gear and moving from the parking space by 2 hours 30 minutes from flight time, otherwise you are pitifully behind schedule. Be aware that at MK the ferry departures back to the parking lot tram and taxi area (the TTC) are about 25 minutes apart during the mid-day hours on not so busy days since there is just one ferry running.

Disney hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/disney.htm

(Way OT) There are some groups in Houston Texas clamoring for a monorail because of numerous accidents with the new trolley cars caused by bad motorists. But I would feel safer on a trolley because I am apprehensive about being in a stalled monorail high above ground and not being able to get out and walk. (Back on topic) I can't swim so I would still be vulnerable to a similar problem with the ferry.

 

[JennyDrake]

Here is what Jenny, that's me, The Commando Queen has done and is doing again next month:

Plan A: Skip Mgic Express. Pack everything. Call bell services teh night before and ask them to pick up your luggage at *:00 a.m. BE SURE you can have it ready at that time. Dash off for a park, grab a bus 2 1/2 hours before scheduled flight. get to hotel, ask them for cab, retreive bags and get cab to airport.

Plan B: Skip Magical Express. PACK LIGHT-REAL LIGHT for the (this is what I do on 2 day trips) trip. That a.m. pack everything up, head to park, leave the ONE bag in a locker, enjoy park until 1 1/2 -2 hours before flight, get luagge, grab cab diretly from the park to the aiport. This is easist at Epcot as you can access some lockers before going through security.