Late seating in Epcot - return to resort?

[auroraarielella]

I just made an 8:45 ADR in Epcot for Presidents Day. The CM told me that they seat up til 9:00. She said that even though the park closes at 9:00, we will not be rushed. My concern is coming out of that dinner, how do we get back to CBR? I guess it takes a while to empty the park after Illuminations, but will it take that long?

Will we be sent to exit the park through a specific exit, or will we walk back to the main gate? Will the busses still be running? Will we have to call a cab? Will we have to go to DTD and transfer?

That is our last night and I don't want to be stressed about getting back to the resort after (what I hope is) a great meal.

 

[ChelleinNC]

You'll be fine. Illuminations won't even start until 9pm and runs for almost 25 minutes. It takes awhile to empty the park out, and people will still be waiting for busses when you finish your dinner. If by chance your dinner goes so long that the busses have stopped running, (not likely) you'll be able to take a cab back to your resort.

Have you checked EMH hours for that night? If Epcot has EMH, no prob for sure. If the Studios have PM EMH, then you could leave out the back (IG) entrance/exit and take the Friendship to the Studios and catch a bus there.

Enjoy your meal and your trip

 

[disnut8]

Even if you take an hour and a half for dinner, you'd be finished by 10:15. I KNOW there are still people in the park at that time. I've been one of them. Buses will be running at least until 11:00.

Enjoy your meal. You will not be rushed at all. I've seen people in Chefs de France at 10:30 PM. It's a long story but my seven year old granddaughter ended up serving them their water.

 

[caverill]

You can also go to any of the EPCOT resorts, take a bus to Downtown Disney, and pickup a bus to your resort.

I believe the buses run until at least 1:00 AM to DD.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

There will be a bus for you - no problem. For CBR it will take that long to clear out people who come from Illuminations. Even if it didn't, there will still be other folks in your situation and Disney will have buses for them. CBR is a big resort though, so it will take awhile to get everyone out of that area who has come from Illuminations. Some folks walk pretty slowly and stop in the gift shops.

There are only two exits to the park. You COULD take either, but you will want to take the main one if you want to get a bus directly back to CBR. The only transportation via the back entrance is the boat around that area. You COULD walk to a resort over that way (Boardwalk for example), get a bus to DTD (until after 1am), and then from there take a bus to CBR, (or take a taxi) but you probably won't choose that option. The Boardwalk has a whole boardwalk that has bars that stay open late, so I'm certain there are often folks over that way who need transportation late at night, too.