Advice for morning of our leaving day?

[deva]

Hello,

We will be leaving the World on Monday, October 20. Our Continental plane leaves MCO at 2:30 PM. We have a grandma, a dad, a 7 and a 3 year-old. I have several questions:

1. What time do I need to be in my car, leaving the World, to be able to return my rental car at the terminal and check in on time for my flight?

2. What could we do in the morning? I know this kinda depends on the answer to #1. Many different ideas would be appreciated. We may or may not have park days left on our passes; we will definitely have water/more days left on our passes.

3. I see that AK has a morning EMH starting at 8:00. Is this a good idea on a Monday morning? Will this be nuts from the get-go?

Any/all advice from you Disney experts out there would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

[SBETigg]

You're probably going to want to be headed to the airport at around noon. You never know about traffic and other problems you might encounter. Don't forget to check in with your airline to make sure the flight's on schedule. Our flight was cancelled and we were rebooked on a flight leaving an hour earlier with no warning.

If you have park days left on your passes, you could get a lot done at the AK before it starts to fill up. Expect very light crowds and short lines at the AK until about ten, when it will start getting crowded. We like to close our trips with the MK. I don't think you could accomplish much in the water parks with only a few hours, but there's always Downtown Disney.

[sisterdisco]

I tend to be like you w/ all the best intentions of doing as much as possible.
However, w/ the way the airlines are these days, you probably need to leave for the airport about 1200.
Even though it sounds like "4 hours", you have to account for getting all your stuff packed and out of the room.
Take into account drive time to AK, walking around AK, which takes a while, and drive time back.

It might be more relaxing to try something "non park", that you have never done before.

We have rented Water Mouse and gone around bay lake. A round of mini golf might be fun too. Swimming at the hotel is always great. :number1:

[Kairi_7378]

If you think you can get all packed up and out of the hotel by 7:30, I'd try to go to EMH's at the AK. Get there at opening, hit a few attractions and shows, maybe get some Flame Tree BBQ or a late breakfast at Tuskar house before you have to leave at noon. If you have a princess in the group, you can hit Epcot, Asherkus, and Future World one last time.

If this sounds like too much to do, you can pick one of the resorts to have a nice "goodbye" breakfast at. Maybe O'hana or Kona Cafe at the Poly, or Chef Mickey's or 1900 Park Faire? Or perhaps you can go to Cape May Cafe and check out DTD afterwards?

[deva]

OP here,

great advice so far; please keep them coming.

[andreallybadeggs]

I worry about flat tires, blocked lanes of traffic and overheated engines. Airlines will tell you to check in 90 mins in advance of flight, especially if you are checking bags, so that + another hour to get to the airport and turn in the rental and 12 noon is not at all conservative. We like a leisurely morning on our last day so when we've been on a similar schedule to yours, we've done some or all of the following:
ADR for a nice (character or otherwise) breakfast,
maybe a last look at the gift shop or a quick swim if there's time, back to the room to brush our teeth and out the door. Since check out is 11 am by the time we loaded the car and took some last photos around the resort it was time to say farewell.

[BigRedDad]

Leaving at noon for a 2:30PM flight is the latest I would leave. You never know what you will encounter traffic wise and the clerk to return your rental, etc. If it were me, I would schedule a nice character breakfast at Chef Mickey's or O'hanas. Explore the resort a bit, maybe hit DTD for an hour or so. Then, head to the airport, get there, have a lunch somewhere, hit the Disney Store for the thing you forgot.

You could hit a park, but you would be running around hecticly to get things done and looking at your watch constantly. That is too much worrying for me.

Other things to try:
Miniature golf
Swim at the resort pool
Boardwalk
Water mice
Disney Quest

[brian2000boston]

We have a flight that leaves at 5:50pm and we purchased the extra day on our hopper pass in hopes to fit in more time at the parks. Any recommendations?

[Tick-Tock]

If I had a 2:30 flight and a car to return, I'd be on the road no later than 11:30.

If I had the day on the pass, I'd likely try to hit AK. If I didn't, I'd take a swim, sit in the hot tub, and then pack up, check out a little before check-out time, have an early lunch at the resort, and get going. Come to think of it, that's exactly what we did on the last day of our last trip.

For the 5:50, I'd be on the road by 2:45. With five to six hours available that day before leaving, I'd probably try to be up and checked out and at my favorite park at opening (if it's MK, be sure to allow time to get back to your car in time to be heading out of WDW - the trip back to TTC can easily be 20-30 minutes).

[SBETigg]

We have a flight that leaves at 5:50pm and we purchased the extra day on our hopper pass in hopes to fit in more time at the parks. Any recommendations?

I would fit it in a visit to whichever park you want more time in. For us, that's usually the MK. We revisit all our favorite attractions before we leave. If you were more pressed for time, I would recommend hitting the morning EMH park, like the OP. But in your case, you might want the morning to relax, pack up, check your bags with the resort bell services or pack the car, then hit a park of choice until your departure time.

[sisterdisco]

Brian2000Boston,
We had a flight sometime near 5:30 last year.
We went to MK at 0900 which had EMH the night prior, and we were able to do Space Mtn, Buzz x2, Splash Mtn, Big Thunder Mtn, POTC, and rush back to catch the boat and be at WL to check out late at 1pm. ME will pick you up 3 hours prior to your flight.

So if you want to rush around, you probably have enough time to get a few rides in w/ a 5:30 flight.

[brian2000boston]

Thats exactly what i was hoping...we wanted to get some extra time in since we are only there for the 5 dyas. After reading I was wondering if it would be risky to do that day with us needing to be at the airport and DME being strict on times for leaving. Sounds like we will be all set! Thank you so much for the great feedback!
:mickey:

[SBETigg]

Brian, just be sure to leave yourself enough time to get back to your resort to catch the DME bus. You should have until about 1:15 in the park, more or less depending on where you're staying. We usually check out early before we hit the park to save hassle of having to do it when we return. The bell services are great about keeping your bags. Just pick them up in time to catch the DME bus. They'll probably have them ready for you if you tell them your needs and scheduled DME departure when you drop them off.

[momof3+twins]

If I could offer a few suggestions.....
First, think about NOT getting the waterparks and more option. It is really expensive. And with a 3 year old, it might not be worth it not to mention the grandma. And then maybe get an extra day on your ticket (really cheap). You can go to AK at 8 am for sure then. And extra magic morning hours are wonderful. The park won't get full until about 11 am. By that time you will probably want to eat and head to airport anyway.
Back to the waterparks: My oldest is 11 years old, youngest is 2. We still don't do the waterparks even though I have 3 good swimmers. So, really think about it.
Good Luck!!