Tips for leaving parks at close

[Takeitforgranite]

If there’s anything I dread about WDW, it’s leaving at park close, specifically MK after fireworks or HS after Fantasmic. We typically stay at the Poly for our long summer trips, and that is a massive transportation advantage, for the most part. But we stay other resorts from time to time.

We just stayed at AS Music for the first time in years, and it reminded how spoiled I have gotten. Leaving MK one night, we considered Minnie vans for the first time, but didn’t bother.

I was looking through old threads, and I saw a recommendation to walk to Contemporary to get a Lyft (rather than the TTC). I got to wondering if there are any other great tips I hadn’t thought of.

Even staying at the Poly, it seems like there are occasions when walking to Contemporary to catch the Monorail to the TTC (and then walk to PVB) might be better than waiting in line at MK, especially when TTC folks are redirected to the resort monorail post fireworks.

So, if you got any good secrets, I’d love to hear them.

 

[Chief Powhatan]

Not a new tip, just a different version of the one you just mentioned. When my daughter and I are at Magic Kingdom at park close, we will walk over to the Contemporary and have a drink at the Outer Rim before calling for an Uber/Lyft. I think our Uber last month was $6 to take us from the Contemporary to the Grand Floridian.

 

[CarolynFH]

You may already do this, but take your time to leave! Get a drink or snack before the carts shut down, then find a seat somewhere and watch the crowds. Walk slowly when you do leave.

Although I must say I like the suggestion above to walk to CR and have a drink there!

 

[DL1WDW2]

So how much in a tip would this tip cost?

 

[_19disnA]

When we stayed at the Contemporary, we watched the nightly fireworks show from that outdoor patio area on the 4th floor (same floor as Chef Mickey's but opposite end). Great way to avoid the mass of people exiting MK once the show is over, even if not staying at Contemporary.

 

[Mikey15]

Probably not helpful, but the best medicine I’ve found for the “leaving the park” crowd is *not* leaving with everyone else. I find this actually easier with MK, because when I go fireworks are finished well before park close time, as opposed to say Epcot where LunimoUS is right at a 9pm close. At MK after the fireworks end we wait a minute and then go against the crowd, deeper into the park and find something quiet that we’d enjoy riding. By the time we go to leave MK, it’s well after the mass exodus, and we have little wait to get back to TTC or back to resort.

I’m not familiar with summer hours though, as fireworks would have to come later. Also full sympathies to anyone with small kids for whom the fireworks were already an hour past their children’s bedtime. There’s a reason that post-fireworks is the busy time for leaving, rather than close. Just saying if you ~don’t~ have small children to consider, the last thing I’d do is choose then to leave MK.

DHS too… some times of year there can be more than one Fanstasmic, one that ends before park close and one that doesn’t end until after the ride queues are closed. For either, but especially the latter, they open an exit that spits you out at the front of the park, much like the extra corridor that gets opened from Tomorrowland Terrace to Town Square at MK. Personally, either of those feel like cattle chutes to me and I prefer avoiding them. It may still be possible to exit towards Sunset Boulevard instead of following the crowd, and even if every ride is closed and you’ll get to the front later, you can take a more relaxed stroll out. If you’re out of Fantasmic and the park is still “open,” even better! Shows won’t be running but you can find something to queue up for.

 

[hardcorestitch]

Not a new tip, just a different version of the one you just mentioned. When my daughter and I are at Magic Kingdom at park close, we will walk over to the Contemporary and have a drink at the Outer Rim before calling for an Uber/Lyft. I think our Uber last month was $6 to take us from the Contemporary to the Grand Floridian.

$6 for Uber? Wow.

 

[Mikey15]

$6 for Uber? Wow.

In fairness, that’s a pretty short trip. But sounds about right. Pre-tip my base fare for Poly to DHS when there were some bus issues was about $9.

 

[jimmymc]

I've tried walking to the contemporary for transportation, and I don't think it's worth it just to catch a monorail or Uber to the resort. Disney transport is a pretty efficient system for how many people use it, and I think the busses have gotten better over the years. Same with walking to Beach Club from Epcot, not worth the time just to try and avoid the busses. The only advice would be to strategically pick your show viewing spot to exit quickly the moment it ends.

 

[elvispursley]

We hang back in the park and scope out the gift shops. Do some night pictures and by the time we’re done, the crowds have dispersed and lines for transportation have decreased significantly.

 

[Takeitforgranite]

I just wish they would do two Fantasmic shows in the summer when we are there, at least on some days. Earlier this month, we found out they had two shows about an hour before. We went to the early one, and it made the rest of the night so much better.

I’m just going to have to change our schedule a bit. I’ve got 3 teenage daughters, and I want to give them a good experience so they can all become lame Disney Adults like us one day. A key to that has been backing off the daily pace. That includes letting them sleep in every couple days and taking mid day breaks in the summer. I think we just need to make the most of extended MK hours and plan to rest the following morning. Same with the Fantasmic night.

LL worked great for us last summer, but it also adds pressure to get up early to make the most it. As a family, though, ride volume seems less important now, and it’s evolving into more a “smell the roses” experience, which is great.

 

[sam_gordon]

I just wish they would do two Fantasmic shows in the summer when we are there, at least on some days.

I think part of the problem is Fantasmic is best in the dark, and in the summer, it doesn't get dark enough until 9p or later. The earliest a show could start (IMO) would be 9p, and that's pushing it. Doing the show, emptying the theater, then filling it again, would push a second show to 11p. Now, if the park is staying open that late...