What do you do on departure day?

[Rory607]

I am looking at booking flights for our early 2022 trip. One flight I looked at doesn’t leave until evening. Normally we take morning or early afternoon flights, so no time for doing anything else. Magical Express will be no more by then, so I don’t know what our airport transportation will be yet. I am a nervous Nellie about getting to the airport on time, but the thought of squeezing in more Disney is so appealing.

Does anyone plan park time in this situation? I can’t see us swimming because we all (family of 4) would have to shower afterwards and that would take a while. Not sure what else makes sense.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

We always take a very late flight and hit a park on departure day. It was always MK but last trip it was DHS. I’m planning on the same thing next trip.

 

[DisneySongbird]

I rent a car when I fly down to WDW, and because I have the rental car, I prefer to hit Disney Springs "on the way out." The airport is 20 minutes away before traffic and getting in and out of the Springs is a lot easier than getting in and out of a park. Plus, depending on what you want to do there, it's a great candidate for a half-day, which is what you can reasonably expect to get from your departure day anyway.

Having said that, obviously, this is 100% dependent on you having a rental car. If you've made the decision that renting a car isn't right for your trip and/or your needs, I wouldn't recommend Disney Springs for your departure day activity; and I think it goes without saying that this is not a good reason on its own to choose car rental over any other form of transportation to and around WDW.

 

[Specter]

On one trip we took an evening flight, I think around 7 or so, and managed to get in a half day at a park. I am generally pretty on board with this idea but DW is, as you described yourself, a nervous nellie about getting to the airport early and so she is far more wary of it. I will say, having watched her the one time we did (even though everything went fine) if that is your nature too, maybe take one of the earlier flights and save yourself the potential anxiety. She had fun that day, but I could see it was still on her mind constantly, worrying about traffic or getting stuck on a broken down ride, etc.

 

[unrequited23]

What about a character meal at a resort?

 

[Welsh_Dragon]

We RD MK then have a late brunch at GF cafe (traditionally lobster benedict and something alcoholic).

 

[sponica]

The one time I had a late departure I was sooooo bonkers I couldn't enjoy myself. Sure I went to a park in the AM, then went to Disney springs for lunch, but I was soooo stressed about something going wrong, I didn't really have any fun.

The past couple trips we've left ridiculously early in the AM, which is a stress I can handle.

 

[Nick6300]

Departure days we almost always end at MK rope drop. 9/2020, our flight got moved up from evening, which we always target for more time in parks, to afternoon. Because we had already allotted the park day, we still went to MK and got in 4x at 7D, Pan, Space 2x, Btmr, Splash, Pirates, Starbucks in a little over 2 hrs. Of course that was after Labor Day last yr.

Do have some anxiety regarding flight. But not as much with ME being 3 hours out, and us leaving park about an 1 hr., before our bus time.

We used to use a water park allotment (if we do the water parks and fun add on) on our last day, or pool, or DS. But don't love either taking a shower at TL or drying off/not taking one. DS is ok for shopping/meal except that it's been opening a bit later in the am and Disney bus transportation to and from can take longer than from a park to resort for ME and just need to allot the time or ride share.

Post ME, I'm sure we'll still try to book the latest flight out and go to a park, even for a few hrs. The extra ticket cost is nominal for us when it's 7 to 8 days. We're more likely to book Swan/Dolphin after ME is gone, and could be walking to the earlier open between HS/EP on our last day.

 

[CeCe0906]

Hopefully it will work out,I'm usually not a do anything before we leave except some pool time/get to the airport early person, but for $50, I have someone coming to pick up my suitcase and take it to luggage storage at MCO, then my granddaughter and I will cab/Uber over from Dolphin to Universal Studios for opening. Going to check out Harry Potter and Seuss land, sprung for the Express pass to maximize time. Have a ride already scheduled to pick us up around 4:30 pm for an 730pm departure. Expensive last day, but couldn't resist the opportunity. If I had really thought it out, should have moved to a universal property for our last night. But it was a last minute throw caution to the wind decision.

 

[butterscotchcollins]

We typically do a park the last day (MK AM, Epcot early PM) and just hit repeats of our personal highlights. We intentionally book late flights to do this! I actually prefer Disney Springs on arrival day vs. departure day, because I like to take my time browsing/shopping and don't want to feel rushed.

 

[Rory607]

What about a character meal at a resort?

This is a good idea, thanks!

 

[Rory607]

Hopefully it will work out,I'm usually not a do anything before we leave except some pool time/get to the airport early person, but for $50, I have someone coming to pick up my suitcase and take it to luggage storage at MCO, then my granddaughter and I will cab/Uber over from Dolphin to Universal Studios for opening. Going to check out Harry Potter and Seuss land, sprung for the Express pass to maximize time. Have a ride already scheduled to pick us up around 4:30 pm for an 730pm departure. Expensive last day, but couldn't resist the opportunity. If I had really thought it out, should have moved to a universal property for our last night. But it was a last minute throw caution to the wind decision.

I’m sure it will all work out well and you will
have a great time, but I know for sure my anxiety couldn’t handle it, lol!

 

[saraheliz]

Last trip we had a 9pm flight out so we got up whenever we woke up, had breakfast and packed up, and then headed over to Epcot for a few hours (this was pre-park reservations so I let the kids pick where they wanted to go to the night before). We made sure to give ourselves plenty of time since earlier in the week we had witnessed a woman losing her mind on LwtL when it broke down and she was afraid she'd miss her flight (she ended up getting herself and her kid off the boat and sprinting through the greenhouse to get out with CM following her telling her she couldn't do that!). We left Epcot by 2, went back to AoA and swam awhile, grabbed an early dinner and were ready to get picked up at 6. It worked out great and we gave ourselves enough of a time buffer that I wasn't nervous at all. And, we got to ride our favorites (Soarin and TT) each 3 more times that day, plus a few other rides....ah, the days of FP+!

The trip before that was an early afternoon airport pickup so we just had breakfast and swam for a little while at the resort before heading to the airport.

 

[NYCgrrl]

We make a FP for early in the morning for those who want a last minute thrill, and a swim or walk for those who don’t. Then we meet up at Disney Springs for a brunch type meal, and ultimately return to the hotel for the bus. This might change somewhat with the change of the transport to the airport but not that difficult. Maybe now we’ll be more apt to take Amtrak home. Our plane normally leaves at 6:30 and the train around 4:00 PM.

 

[Ecomommy09]

We also always get a late fancy breakfast. It helps me relax to have a mimosa .

 

[virk4]

I know this is not for everyone but we get a late flight and book an extra night at the hotel. We then don't have to check out at 11 am and store our luggage, etc. We treat the last day almost like any other day. Late afternoon, we clean up, pack and prepare to depart. For the cost of an extra night, we feel like we get another full day. As I said, it's not for everyone but it works super for us.

 

[easyas123]

he one time I had a late departure I was sooooo bonkers I couldn't enjoy myself. Sure I went to a park in the AM, then went to Disney springs for lunch, but I was soooo stressed about something going wrong, I didn't really have any fun.

This is us, too. I usually try to book a late morning flight out if I can. But we also like to be home before dinnertime so we can 'decompress' so to speak!
We have hit Disney Springs on the way out a time or two when we have had to take a late afternoon flight.
As for getting to & from the airport, we are huge fans of the convenience of car service & uber, and have taken them exclusively over the past few years during our trips to & from MCO, so we haven't set foot on a ME bus for quite some time.

 

[bakerworld]

We're tend to sleep later, repack, leave the bags with BS and go to Disney Springs for a farewell beverage.

 

[Blondie58]

We have APs so we always go to Casey's after we leave our luggage with Bell Services. Just returned on Friday from a nine day visit and we walked and laid in sun before showering and checking out at resort. Then ate. We left MCO at 4:30 so we had a Magic Express time of 1:30.

 

[Rory607]

We also always get a late fancy breakfast. It helps me relax to have a mimosa .

Love this idea!