last day of vacation?

[kitkat4622]

so our last day of our april vacation falls on a saturday and my plan was to go to Ohana for a 7:30am ADR, then hop the monorail to MK for a few hours before heading back to CBR for the bus back to the airport. Our flight time is 6pm so we will need to be back to the resort around 2:30-2:45. I heard Saturdays are awful at MK and that was my plan....would you stick with this last day park plan or would you head to another park? of course we will have 3 fp+ for our 3 favorite rides before heading home....suggestions? feedback? pros and cons...thanks

 

[Accident]

I actually like to be in the parks until they kick us out the night before so we always play the last day by ear. Some times we just want to be lazy and never leave the resort, other times we try to get a little more park time in.. crowds really don't matter the last time, sometimes just 1 more snack and walking around is a better ending then sitting aroudn the resort and upset your leaving.

If I was planning a last day park where I needed to be waiting for magical express about 2:30pm, I would do this. Rope drop the park to get the lowest crowds, you don't have to rush the big rides and you'll know what your in the mood for by the time your starting there. Then do a ADR for lunch at the resort. The big kicker is I would also request a 1pm checkout after I'm at the resort (just call front desk from the room and ask for a 1pm check out time). 1pm is the latest you can get with it being free. This would allow us to enjoy the most of the park before the crowds get larger, freshen up and change before the flight because you still have the room so pack your carry ons accordingly and have a nice we did it family meal to relax and get into that travel home mode. If anything goes wrong, you could ditch the freshening up or lunch or cut it short but you'll be at the resort for your bus without the stress of will we make it on time that can happen when you cut a park day too close to your me bus.

Rope drop last day is a great time for disney snacks for breakfast and might even become a tradition on your future visits. I like gastons for this but ice cream for breakfast is memorable also.

 

[supersnoop]

so our last day of our april vacation falls on a saturday and my plan was to go to Ohana for a 7:30am ADR, then hop the monorail to MK for a few hours before heading back to CBR for the bus back to the airport. Our flight time is 6pm so we will need to be back to the resort around 2:30-2:45. I heard Saturdays are awful at MK and that was my plan....would you stick with this last day park plan or would you head to another park? of course we will have 3 fp+ for our 3 favorite rides before heading home....suggestions? feedback? pros and cons...thanks

How many other days will you be spending n the Magic Kingdom?

Visiting from early morning until 1 or 2 in the afternoon is usually a pretty good plan.

 

[kitkat4622]

currently I am planning 2 days at MK, 2 at AK, 2 at Epcot and 1 at HS with an 8 day tickets. we would be leaving the park probably around 2.....

 

[scrapquitler]

so our last day of our april vacation falls on a saturday and my plan was to go to Ohana for a 7:30am ADR, then hop the monorail to MK for a few hours before heading back to CBR for the bus back to the airport. Our flight time is 6pm so we will need to be back to the resort around 2:30-2:45. I heard Saturdays are awful at MK and that was my plan....would you stick with this last day park plan or would you head to another park? of course we will have 3 fp+ for our 3 favorite rides before heading home....suggestions? feedback? pros and cons...thanks

We always fly out on the last flight at night, and have to catch ME around 4pm, so we love to take advantage of a last few park hours. Since it's our bonus day, we don't worry about the crowd or if the park is recommended or not, and most often we do choose MK for our last day

 

[biochemgirl]

Similar plan here and it's good to hear others giving MK the thumbs up for a few hours on a Saturday morning before flying out! Thanks to all the dedicated DIS people I'm feeling really great about my first time planning WDW

 

[NYCANC]

I have to start and end on Main Street!
We also do 'Ohana breakfast and then a few hours in MK to say good-bye and for me to cry a bit

 

[Farps]

Our last 2 trips have ended on a Saturday, and we ended both at MK. 3 FP+ for a few popular attractions and anything else is a bonus. No running around, no stressing out, just a few final rides and a stroll around MK

 

[disneyAndi14]

We always begin and end at MK, it works well for us. We plan FP+, shop, and a meal then we head out to catch ME.

 

[abinormal]

Just make sure to leave way more time than you need to get to the airport. We thought we had left plenty of time but getting out took longer than I'd anticipated, and then we got stuck behind a high school group at the airport. That added like an hour to our wait to get checked in and we had to Home Alone it through MCO.

 

[Robo]

Just make sure to leave way more time than you need to get to the airport. We thought we had left plenty of time but getting out took longer than I'd anticipated...

Looking at what the OP said, their group is being taken to the airport by DME, which picks up guests at their resorts about 3 hours (domestic flights) before flight departure time. (4 hours before international flight departures.)

Our flight time is 6pm so we will need to be back to the resort around 2:30-2:45.

Guests have little input as to when they will be picked up for the airport, but assume, domestic flights, that they will have about 2 hours
(worst case) from when they are dropped at the terminal and their flight time.

 

[Virtucomp]

I would definitely spend the last day in the park. Its a Disney world vacation. Who wants to end it by hanging around the resort with the park right there for the visit. You already have FP+ so you don't care about the crowd. See some easy shows like Country Bears, have a Dole Whip or a Churro and enjoy the park. The crowds only bother you if you are frantic about getting on as many rides as possible. Instead use your last day ticket to enjoy the park. Maybe visit some places you don't normally pay attention to or ride the train around the whole park.

 

[Hopefully]

currently I am planning 2 days at MK, 2 at AK, 2 at Epcot and 1 at HS with an 8 day tickets. we would be leaving the park probably around 2.....

You need to be leaving the MK before 2. Plan on approximately 1 hour to get back to your resort. You need to be at the ME stop by 2:45 for a 3:00 PM pickup and you need to leave time to pick up any carryons from Bell Services and to use the Rest Rooms, if needed. The ME bus is well known to leave early on occasion.

 

[ArielSRL]

I actually like to be in the parks until they kick us out the night before so we always play the last day by ear. Some times we just want to be lazy and never leave the resort, other times we try to get a little more park time in.. crowds really don't matter the last time, sometimes just 1 more snack and walking around is a better ending then sitting aroudn the resort and upset your leaving.

If I was planning a last day park where I needed to be waiting for magical express about 2:30pm, I would do this. Rope drop the park to get the lowest crowds, you don't have to rush the big rides and you'll know what your in the mood for by the time your starting there. Then do a ADR for lunch at the resort. The big kicker is I would also request a 1pm checkout after I'm at the resort (just call front desk from the room and ask for a 1pm check out time). 1pm is the latest you can get with it being free. This would allow us to enjoy the most of the park before the crowds get larger, freshen up and change before the flight because you still have the room so pack your carry ons accordingly and have a nice we did it family meal to relax and get into that travel home mode. If anything goes wrong, you could ditch the freshening up or lunch or cut it short but you'll be at the resort for your bus without the stress of will we make it on time that can happen when you cut a park day too close to your me bus.

Rope drop last day is a great time for disney snacks for breakfast and might even become a tradition on your future visits. I like gastons for this but ice cream for breakfast is memorable also.

Do you know if it is a given that they will give you the 1pm checkout time? Right now I have Trail's End brunch for 11:45am on our checkout day from WL. But that requires us getting everything packed up and out (either in our car or at bell services) before we head over to eat. If there was a very good chance of getting a late checkout, I might change the ADR to earlier so that we could just leave everything all packed up in the room while we go to the brunch, then come back for our last bit of freshening up before our 7 hour car ride home.

FYI: we are actually staying at the villas, does that make a difference on late checkout availability?

OP, sorry to hijack your post.

 

[kniquy]

You already have quite a few park days. Hollywood studios and AK are usually/or can be one day parks so you could consider hoppers so that you could do even 1 1/2 days if you need more time at those parks.
With needing to leave around 3ish for the airport
-you could just do Disney springs
-I would consider doing an early lunch or late breakfast then just do a little resort hopping at the MK resorts - check out WL and VGF and then head back to your resort -- you don't want to miss you bus back so i would make sure i was on a bus back to my resort by 1:30.
-Pack a small bag with stuff to just hang at the pools

 

[Accident]

Do you know if it is a given that they will give you the 1pm checkout time? Right now I have Trail's End brunch for 11:45am on our checkout day from WL. But that requires us getting everything packed up and out (either in our car or at bell services) before we head over to eat. If there was a very good chance of getting a late checkout, I might change the ADR to earlier so that we could just leave everything all packed up in the room while we go to the brunch, then come back for our last bit of freshening up before our 7 hour car ride home.

FYI: we are actually staying at the villas, does that make a difference on late checkout availability?

OP, sorry to hijack your post.

They can say no and do check if it's possible but I've never been told no.

 

[ArielSRL]

I might would go with @Accident 's plan of rope dropping then a resort lunch meal. You'd get to see the park more empty than if you did it the other way around. But I think it is really up to you as far as what exactly you want to end the day with.

 

[ArielSRL]

They can say no and do check if it's possible but I've never been told no.

Thanks for the reply! Would I ask the night before?

 

[Accident]

Thanks for the reply! Would I ask the night before?

I ask the first day i'm there. The longer you wait, the more people have time to ask for the same thing.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

I would do my breakfast and go to the MK with my 3 FP+. Any rides over the FP+ would be bonus rides. I would start heading out of the park at 1 pm.