Monorail back to Poly after illuminations

[kniquy]

Our arrival day we will be heading to Epcot - likely getting to the park after 1ish. This might be our only night to see illuminations. Being that it will be our arrival day we will have been up and traveling by 4:30am so needless to say we will be thriving on Disney adrenaline if plan on staying for illuminations. Our only other night is right before the Dark side 5K so we have to be up super early for that - staying at the park late that night might not be our best option.

My question is -- after illuminations is there usually a mad rush or wait to get on the monorail to get back to the Polynesian? is there only the monorail back to that resort or are there also buses to get back there?

 

[BrianL]

There is a crush of people who leave after Illuminations. It can take some time to get out of World Showcase. I would recommend watching from the Future World side of the lagoon for an easier exit. The Monorail will be busy, but not as bad as the buses. You may have to wait for a couple of trains. The line will fill a good part of the boarding ramps, however they will fill he trains to capacity. Your other option is to wait it out and don't rush. Let the crowd pass and soak up some ambiance.

The Monorail will take you to the TTC where you can switch to the Resort Line. Keep in mind, depending on where your room is at the Poly it might be easier to walk from the TTC along the path. Check a map to see the location.

 

[heidijanesmith]

Agree with the above poster, I just got back and noticed huge lines for the monorail after Illuminations. I even did the Illuminations Desert Party and rode Frozen and there was a huge line for the monorail.

I ended up taking a taxi back to the GF. Took less than 10min and $15.00 with tip. Well worth it!

 

[supersnoop]

Maybe it depends on the time of year. We’ve left immediately following New Years fireworks and thee was no line for the monorail. The buses and trams for parking were crazy backed up, but the monorail was wide open.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

If you are willing to spend a few extra dollars, I would recommend watching Illuminations in the Morocco/France/UK/Canada area and exiting EP from the IG entrance. Walk to the BC lobby and uber/lyft/cab from there (uber or lyft will be cheapest). It will take far, far less time than taking the monorail back to Poly.

 

[MrKnight]

Yes there is normally a rush right after Illuminations but IMHO it is never unbearable and the whole process moves relatively fast, I have never had an issue.. As stated by pp, the monorail takes you to TTC, once you arrive at TTC you can either transfer to the resort monorail line for one stop (Poly is the first stop after TTC) or just walk over to the Poly..

 

[DisneyCAL]

If you watch the entire thing then there will be a line. You could jump ship before it finishes. Your other options are taxi/uber or Minnie Van (if you have access) from front. You could also go out IG and grab a bus for MK in front of Beach Club Resort and take monorail or boat to Poly (most likely MK will be open later than Epcot). If you do this option, watch the fireworks from France, UK, or Canada so you aren't swimming upstream too much.

 

[MrKnight]

If you watch the entire thing then there will be a line. You could jump ship before it finishes. Your other options are taxi/uber or Minnie Van (if you have access) from front. You could also go out IG and grab a bus for MK in front of Beach Club Resort and take monorail or boat to Poly (most likely MK will be open later than Epcot). If you do this option, watch the fireworks from France, UK, or Canada so you aren't swimming upstream too much.

Since this is the only night that the OP has to enjoy nighttime entertainment at a WDW park, I would not recommend that the OP leave before the show ends.. As I stated in my post, even though there will be some crowds (this is unavoidable) the wait for the monorail should move along relatively quickly and IMHO is the best and most cost effective transportation option for the OP to get from Epcot back to their resort..

 

[MarkinMA]

If you are willing to spend a few extra dollars, I would recommend watching Illuminations in the Morocco/France/UK/Canada area and exiting EP from the IG entrance. Walk to the BC lobby and uber/lyft/cab from there (uber or lyft will be cheapest). It will take far, far less time than taking the monorail back to Poly.

 

[GPC0321]

We did it back in December (the 19th) when the park was pretty packed (Neil Patrick Harris was narrating Candlelight Processional that night). We had FastPasses for IllumiNations, so we didn't have as far of a walk as those who were watching from the other side of the lagoon, but it was pretty much a mass of humanity heading through Future World and out of the park. There was a crowd for the monorail, but it didn't seem all that horrible. If we didn't make the first train, I'm pretty sure we made the second one. We were going to the Grand instead of the Poly, but same difference. The only upside to the Poly is that, as another poster mentioned, depending on where your room is located, you could skip the switch to the resort monorail at TTC and just walk to the Poly.

We didn't find it bad at all, but we hadn't been up since 4:30 that morning either. You'll definitely be running on fumes by the time you get to IllumiNations, much less the commute back to the Poly. In your case, I'd be tempted to do as someone else mentioned, watch from a spot closer to the International Gateway, head to Beach Club after IllumiNations, and arrange for Uber/taxi/Minnie Van/Whatever to take you "home". It'd probably be well worth the cost.

 

[MarkinMA]

Like DisneyWishes14 said...Great option is to go out the International Gateway and head to Boardwalk lobby and grab an Uber/Lyft from there (they come quick to Boardwalk, they hang out at the parking area nearby). You'd be back to the Poly in about the same time it would take you to just about be getting on the monorail.

 

[monorailsilver]

There is a rush lie others have said but in past experiences with and without a store we have made it onto the monorail that is waiting or the one immediately after (that has been waiting as well). But we have power walked thru the crowds in order to do that.

 

[kittyab]

On our last visit the monorail broke down so we decided to hop on the bus to Port Orleans, took the water bus to Disney Springs. Got ice cream, watch some street performers, shopped, then hopped on the bus back to VGF. We just made the most of it. We love Ghiraldi ice cream.

 

[ktlm]

As others have said- huge rush. When we have stayed at Poly or GF (which we have multiple times) we have watched from, or close to, the Future World Side and booked it to the monorail the second Illuminations ended (no stopping-no bathroom- no nothing). Doing that, we usually been the crowd and get on it pretty quickly. If MK is open late that night, you can watch from the WS near IG, and then walk over to BC and grab a bus to MK and then a boat or monorail back over to Poly. There will be a lot of people going out that way too, so you want to move fairly quickly for that as well- but it won't be as bad as the monorail crush.

 

[whiporee]

I've found it an interesting situation, because the only people who likely would need to use the monorail that late are people returning to the monorail hotels (or WL). Most other guests would use the busses to their resorts. But because of the length of the trip, it can be a long wait between loads, so even if there's a low percentage of people using the monorail 9certainly when compared to MK) the wait can be just as frustrating.