what would you do

[flipflopmom]

MY scenario: On arrival night, we have Chef Mickey's at 5:15. Planning on hanging around contemporary afterwards to try to glimpse space shuttle launch at 7:39. Afterwards, maybe riding monorails for a while to let the girls see Epcot, (How long does a monorail loop take?) etc, and getting off at Poly around 8:30 to get down to the beach for the EWP. We have a Wishes cruise at 9-9:30 ish, from the Poly dock) which I think will be over at 10:30, drop us back off at Poly, then we'd have to monorail back to MK, MK closes at 11 that night, so we'd be there right at busy time for bus back to POP........ (The wishes cruise is a secret to everyone else in the family!)

Sounds like a crazy night!

Not knowing how long the monorail trip would take.... would we be better off to drive to the TTC before Chef Mickey's, leave car there w/ our AAA pass, and drive back after the night's festivities? Or will the rush to get to TTC be just as bad?

Thought about driving straight to CM, then to Poly, but I *think* I read somewhere that you can't park at a resort without an ADR... Would the cruise count as a valid reason for parking? If so, I think this would be our best bet, then we could drive back to Pop easier. Would I have to tell a gatekeeper or something why we want to park there? I guess that would be the end of the surprise, but if it would save a lot of waiting time, it would be worth it!

Thanks, I hope you can make sense of that!

 

[msmayor]

I believe if you valet park (there is a charge) you can stay at the resorts as long as you want...and in this case, the $10-15 charge might be worth it in terms of time saved.

I'd actually valet at the Poly, your LAST stop of the night. From the Poly, take the resort monorail to Chef Mickey's to start your evening. Then after, take the resort monorail back to TTC and ride out to Epcot and continue your plan. At the end of the evening, once the fireworks cruise is over and you're back at the Poly...your car will be there waiting for you to get right back to your hotel without dealing with the extra time needed to use the Disney transport.

 

[Traveliz]

MY scenario: On arrival night, we have Chef Mickey's at 5:15. Planning on hanging around contemporary afterwards to try to glimpse space shuttle launch at 7:39. Afterwards, maybe riding monorails for a while to let the girls see Epcot, (How long does a monorail loop take?) etc, and getting off at Poly around 8:30 to get down to the beach for the EWP. We have a Wishes cruise at 9-9:30 ish, from the Poly dock) which I think will be over at 10:30, drop us back off at Poly, then we'd have to monorail back to MK, MK closes at 11 that night, so we'd be there right at busy time for bus back to POP........ (The wishes cruise is a secret to everyone else in the family!)

Sounds like a crazy night!

Not knowing how long the monorail trip would take.... would we be better off to drive to the TTC before Chef Mickey's, leave car there w/ our AAA pass, and drive back after the night's festivities? Or will the rush to get to TTC be just as bad?

Thought about driving straight to CM, then to Poly, but I *think* I read somewhere that you can't park at a resort without an ADR... Would the cruise count as a valid reason for parking? If so, I think this would be our best bet, then we could drive back to Pop easier. Would I have to tell a gatekeeper or something why we want to park there? I guess that would be the end of the surprise, but if it would save a lot of waiting time, it would be worth it!

Thanks, I hope you can make sense of that!

Yes the cruise from the Poly would most likely be a valid reason - I would go there to park first and tell them you have dinner at Chef Mickeys and then the cruise from the Poly and see if you can park there for the whole night. The last few times I have been there (most recently two weeks ago) I was not even given a parking pass but just let in after I showed a picture ID.

It would be way easier to leave from the Poly after your cruise than from MK (although that is certainly doable).

Liz

 

[Lewisc]

You want to keep the surprise? Park at the TTC. It's a short walk from POLY to the TTC.

 

[flipflopmom]

You want to keep the surprise? Park at the TTC. It's a short walk from POLY to the TTC.

Thought about that, but won't the TTC be a nightmare at 10:30-10:40 after Wishes at 10 and park close at 11?

 

[Lewisc]

Thought about that, but won't the TTC be a nightmare at 10:30-10:40 after Wishes at 10 and park close at 11?

You can't have everything. Parking at the TTC is the best way to keep the surprise. Taking Disney transportation means having to go from POLY to the MK after Wishes, an even bigger nightmare. Parking at the POLY probably means spoiling the surprise.

You want another plan. Take bus from POP to MK. Take a cab from POLY back to POP after your Wishes cruise. The cab might not cost much more then the cost to valet park at the POLY.

 

[flipflopmom]

Thanks for all the options. Realistically, keeping the surprise for a little longer isn't as important as getting my family back to Pop with as little hassle as possible under the circumstances. Thanks again.

 

[goofy4tink]

You are going to run into a lot of traffic leaving the Polynesian as well. It's not as if you are going to have the roads to yourself....there will be many,many others leaving the area at the same time. So, it's really 6 of one, half dozen of another.
I'm not at all sure you will have time to do the monorail to Epcot. After you eat at CM's and watch the shuttle launch at 7:40ish...you will have to get the monorail to the TTC from the CR. Then, get off that one, and onto the Epcot monorail and there could very well be a 10 min wait for it to get there. Then, it's about 10 mins to Epcot, and 10 mins back to the TTC. Cutting it close. Then, you can walk over to the Polynesian or take the resort monorail, to watch the EWP..one of my favorite things to watch by the way!!! Just love it to pieces even though my friend thinks it's the cheesiest, cheapest thing she has ever seen!!
Then your Wishes cruise.
I would try to park at the Polynesian since that's where you will end the evening. You could valet park...$12 plus tip. Then you don't have to deal with the parking lot at all...just get in the car and leave. But you can probably get a pass to park there for dinner, EWP and your Wishes cruise...just let them know what you need.
Have a great time!!

 

[chartle]

Other have posted that leaving the Poly is no different than leaving the TTC because you use the same exit path.

 

[msmayor]

Other have posted that leaving the Poly is no different than leaving the TTC because you use the same exit path.

That may be true, but sitting in your own cool, comfortable car sounds a lot better than traveling to TTC, standing and waiting for a bus that you may or may not get a seat on with tired kids.

 

[goofy4tink]

That may be true, but sitting in your own cool, comfortable car sounds a lot better than traveling to TTC, standing and waiting for a bus that you may or may not get a seat on with tired kids.

May be true. But..there are no buses to wait for, or stand on, when going to the TTC. You use the tram after getting to the TTC via the monorail or ferry..all of which will be crowded.
But....there was a question of crowds leaving the TTC vs the Polynesian. It's good for the OP to understand that there will be a huge mass of people leaving via the same route she is leaving on, from the Polynesian. Now...she might be able to get ahead of the crowd though.