Last day - no park? What to do. . .

[Bethany10]

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MacRaven


So we have a late flight on our last day. Right now we have a brunch reservation on property so if we want to go to the parks we can without leaving our hotel.

That said, it's our last day. We may be "parked out" by the time we get there. We're the sloth family - rope drop involves yelling and cuss words to get everyone up and out the door and we're typically done by noon. I'm hoping to push to 2 this trip. Last time we hit the parks early in the day, then sat in Margaritaville as long as we could trying to kill time. Everyone was exhausted and short tempered.

I'm hoping to change things up by having brunch somewhere, but what if we went off property? Lets say we have a nice brunch somewhere but then what do we do? I've suggested SeaWorld, but I can see the meltdown happening if we ask everyone to go to another park.
many explore different UO properties for dinners that fits your family newness

Any ideas for what to do with our day? I've got teens, so we're not constrained by nap time (well maybe for DH but he can get that on the plane). For some reason both of them are vehemently opposed to mini golf. We love Disney Springs but have a day planned for there earlier in the week. I'm open to going back so that's certainly on the table for discussion.

Of course DH wants to "play it by ear" but if we go somewhere that requires tickets it HAS to be planned.

 

[cfoxga]

Our kids never seem to get parked out at Universal. We have been on 5 trips to UO over the last 4 years, and we always seem to end up in the parks early on the last day to ride our favorites and eat at Three Broomsticks before saying good-bye. We spent 7 nights over Thanksgiving and I was sure that we'd take at least one day off. But we ended up at the parks every day, including the last morning before we left. That said, there were a couple mornings that my wife just wanted to sleep in (including the last morning), so I took the girls myself.

It seems like an offsite park could be asking for extra stress. I know if we went to SeaWorld or Bush Gardens for one day, that we'd want to cram in as much as possible. Disney Springs sounds like a good option, assuming that you are interested in a second day. Wish I had more suggestions, but we always seem to stick inside the UO bubble for our entire trips...

 

[DisneyMom93]

We personally never leave the property (at both Universal or Disney).

We definitely would do a half day at the parks if we had a late flight (just would sleep in a bit and wouldn't do rope drop). But we enjoy the parks and aren't grouchy people. We enjoy the rides and atmosphere and like to relax and just enjoy the experience knowing we won't be back for at least a year. We usually do 5 days minimum at the parks. We like to sit and relax and have a meal there too.

If we aren't doing a park on our last day we would lounge by the pool area early and have coffee, head over to Citywalk, have brunch at Toothsome, walk around a bit, head back to the resort and lounge by the pool if it's not too hot. Or do big breakfast at resort and late lunch or early dinner at Citywalk.

 

[Bethany10]

Our kids never seem to get parked out at Universal. We have been on 5 trips to UO over the last 4 years, and we always seem to end up in the parks early on the last day to ride our favorites and eat at Three Broomsticks before saying good-bye.

This is my concern. I'm happy to go back and do favorites, and spend the day in the parks if that's what they want to do. The problem is, if they don't then we're scrambling to find something to do that's not ticket based at a time when many people are taking "revenge travel" and I'm nervous leaving things to the last minute will mean fighting crowds or not being able to get a reservation. Maybe I've been planning Universal/one day at Disney too much.

 

[Darrah]

I am a planner and have zero "wing it" bone so I get it. First, how late are we talking with a "late flight"? What time will you need to leave for the airport?

If it were me, I would declare it a "sleep late" morning (within the constraints of your check-out time) and then give people two options: Hit the park for an easy day (ride only your favorites and/or take in the indoor shows like Bourne and Horror Make-Up Show) OR lounge by the pool. There's no rule you all have to do the same thing, so maybe you split up according to what people want to do? Are the teens old enough to go on their own if they wanted to do their own thing at their own pace?

The other option is that if they really don't like those two options then they do the research to find something they DO want to do. However, I personally would not want to do another ticketed thing/separate park that day. It's just too much on the last day, IMO.

 

[Bethany10]

I am a planner and have zero "wing it" bone so I get it. First, how late are we talking with a "late flight"? What time will you need to leave for the airport?

We need to be AT the airport by 5:30 for a 7:40 flight (all pm). Of course my phone has us on Central time, so everything is an hour earlier than it needs to be. I've booked us a treat break at Toothsome at 2:45. I think I'm just going to try and let this go until we get down there. I love the idea of giving them a choice and going from there. Everything can be cancelled beforehand if they want to just lounge at the hotel and eat there.

 

[GoingSince1990]

Mini golf at Citywalk.

 

[DisneyMom93]

Mini golf at Citywalk.

LOL. She wrote: "For some reason both of them are vehemently opposed to mini golf."

 

[DisneyMom93]

Mini golf at Citywalk.

But that's another thing we would do!

 

[HashberryOTG]

We usually spend those days outside at Portafino Bay with coffee or prosecco snacking and people watching. Probably not very helpful for the teens, but it makes for such a relaxing travel day for me.

Otherwise some hours at the parks doesn't need to feel rushed. Given you have until 5, I'd still sleep in, check bags at the bag counter, and hit the park for a few hours and a late lunch. We've done this for both Universal and Epcot and it's not as stressful as I thought it would have been.

Depending on the age and maturity of your teens, there's always hey, help us decide. If there is no good decision or no participation, do what you want and tell them to stick with you or meet you somewhere when it's time to go.

 

[Bethany10]

Mini golf at Citywalk.

LOL. She wrote: "For some reason both of them are vehemently opposed to mini golf."

I love mini golf and think it would be great fun to play at the citywalk course! No one else does sigh.

We usually spend those days outside at Portafino Bay with coffee or prosecco snacking and people watching. Probably not very helpful for the teens, but it makes for such a relaxing travel day for me.

Now this is a perfect travel day. A little cheese, a little cracker some prosecco. count me in.

 

[Kit Jackson]

Hang out by the pool if you don't mind packing wet bathing suits (you could hang out at the pool without going for a swim too). Maybe spend some time browsing in City Walk, especially if there are stores you didn't get to browse/shop in during the trip. Depending on your taste in music/where you are staying you can explore the Hard Rock Hotel. They have memorbilia on display in the lobby and public areas. There's also a special tour of the Hard Rock Cafe where they show you memorbilia not on display in the main part of the restaurant.

 

[HashberryOTG]

Hang out by the pool if you don't mind packing wet bathing suits

If I did this I would actually buy the cheapest suits I could find and just toss them before heading to the airport.

 

[onegai]

Plan for an extra day at the park but be flexible to cancel if burned out by then. Sounds like its nearly a full day with such a late flight so make the most of it.

 

[sandam1]

Where are you staying? How long is your trip and when are you going?

Without more specific information, I would plan on sleeping in, getting packed up, and then the brunch that you already have planned. Then head to the parks. On our last day we tend to do a lot of the shows (Shrek, Horror Make-up, Animal Actors) to use as little energy and soak up as much air-conditioning as possible. Maybe hit a couple of favorite rides and eat some final snacks.

OR Do the same leisurely start to the day and hit the pool at your hotel in the afternoon. I know that CB has a really nice locker room/changing area in their fitness center where you could shower and get ready so you don't feel crummy on the flight home. I'm not sure what the accommodations look like at the other hotels, but I wouldn't be surprised if they have something similar.

You can add additional days on to your ticket up until close on your last day. So "winging it" is a possibility. At a certain point, annual passes start to make sense (and can save you money on your hotel room) so that is something to keep in mind.