What do you like to do on the day you travel home?

[OP95]

Hi everyone,

As per title the times I have been to WDW I always seem to have a flight at 6pm which is a bit unfortunate as it’s quite a wait from check out. I was wondering what do most people do on check out day and how long do you usually like to leave getting to the airport if you have to fly back?

 

[Lewandowski]

It definitely depends on how many days im at Disney for, but I often recommend for first time visitors to go to Hollywood Studios on the last day, and just do these attractions: Rock N Roller Coaster, Tower of Terror, and Beuaty and the Beast Live on Stage, and Star Wars: Rise of Resistence. Reserve all of them with Lightning Lane, but you can even rope drop RnR and ToT to get two rides on both. Mainly a morning of thrills at DHS plus Beauty & The Beast Show, and then leave the park around 1pm after lunch.

If you’re there for more days though, other options could be Disney Springs or Explore different Hotels around Disney property.

I’d give it maybe 3-4 hours from when you leave the park til when your flight departs just to be safe.

 

[OP95]

It definitely depends on how many days im at Disney for, but I often recommend for first time visitors to go to Hollywood Studios on the last day, and just do these attractions: Rock N Roller Coaster, Tower of Terror, and Beuaty and the Beast Live on Stage, and Star Wars: Rise of Resistence. Reserve all of them with Lightning Lane, but you can even rope drop RnR and ToT to get two rides on both. Mainly a morning of thrills at DHS plus Beauty & The Beast Show, and then leave the park around 1pm after lunch.

If you’re there for more days though, other options could be Disney Springs or Explore different Hotels around Disney property.

I’d give it maybe 3-4 hours from when you leave the park til when your flight departs just to be safe.

Thanks for the help, HS sounds like a good shout or seeing one of the shows, I will be there for two weeks, last time I went I got to the airport as soon as I had to check out so wanted to kind of end it on a nicer way this time. Though I was pretty shattered last trip!

 

[Kooks and Bay Bay]

Often I will grab an early flight (try for 9am) because the earlier your flight is the less likely there is for a weather delay.

When I do have an evening flight I generally just go to Disney Springs to eat and last minute shop.

Its recommended to arrive at the airport 2 hours prior to a domestic flight which with MCO is extremely necessary IMO.

 

[scrappinginontario]

With a 6PM flight we would hit MK as early as possible and stay there until about 90 mins before our scheduled transportation pickup. Our tradition is to start and end our trips in the MK!

 

[kathy884]

Usually I just have breakfast and head to the airport. On my next trip in February -- 2 days in Tampa, a transportation to Orlando and chill out day, and an MK day, on the next day our flight isn't leaving till 5:50 p.m. so we are going to spend a partial day at SeaWorld. The Magic Kingdom and SeaWorld are my son's two favorite parks.

 

[croschek05]

Leave 8:30AM and drive back to Long Island, NY. If we flew I would probably go to a park in the morning for a few hours and then fly home.

 

[elvispursley]

We always have a later flight back to the west coast (6-7pm). A lot of times we go out for breakfast, finish packing, and have a pool day. Our last visit in Sep, we had planned to go to Epcot for the day (we were staying at the swan), but my mom became so sick during the night that I honestly thought we would need to reschedule our flight. We ended up at the pool. We’ve also gone to DS over the years.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

If it’s a really late flight, like 8pm, I’ve been known to book the room for another night so we don’t have to leave it, that way we can really have a relaxing day and not have to pack up and get out early. If not, we try to see about a late check out, and hang out by the pool, nap, or go somewhere (often another resort) for lunch and a walk around, shop, etc. We’ve done the parks but I’d rather not watch the clock when I’m there.

 

[WDWEPCOT]

I always book as late a flight is possible so it’s usually somewhere between 8 PM to 10 PM so it’s a park day for me and it’s usually EPCOT - I’m usually up early have the luggage stored for the day and I’m off to the park if it’s not the food and wine festival I will have a lunch booked for that day if it’s a food wine festival then I will be snacking around the world - I will leave the park about an hour and a half before my pick up time to head to the airport to go back to the hotel to obtain my luggage freshen up and be ready for my transportation to the airport two hours before my flight so I can sadly leave my happy place!! And start planning my next trip back!!!

 

[_19disnA]

On our departure day for any vacation we like to get up, pack, eat breakfast, check out of the hotel and then head to the airport for our flight. Using that means a mid-morning flight. Arriving @ the airport 2 hrs before your domestic flight is always a good idea at any major airport. Even if you have TSA pre-check, you have NO idea how crowded the airport will be and particularly at a place like MCO, there always seems to be many families with small children who don't fly very often so they tend to not know what the procedures are or where to go. When exactly you leave your hotel is also determined by how far it is to airport, how much traffic there might be and how long to return the rental car. Always like to fill up the gas tank the night before, so one less thing to worry about when departing. You can usually drive ~30 miles before the tank shows it isn't full. Some airports have gas stations nearby, but some others do not.

Cutting it close at the airport is NOT our idea of how to end our vacation. The flight will leave without you if you aren't at the gate in time for the departure. If you arrive early, you can always shop or eat something prior to departure. Food on flights tends to be non-existent, costly or mostly a snack like a tiny bag of pretzels............LOL. We prefer to eat before boarding the flight.

Depending on where you are traveling from, you may not always have a large choice of flights. We prefer a morning flight (when offered) since it also gives us more time to arrive back home at a reasonable hour regardless of how long the flight is.

 

[OP95]

Often I will grab an early flight (try for 9am) because the earlier your flight is the less likely there is for a weather delay.

When I do have an evening flight I generally just go to Disney Springs to eat and last minute shop.

Its recommended to arrive at the airport 2 hours prior to a domestic flight which with MCO is extremely necessary IMO.

Disney springs sounds like a relaxing option

 

[georgina]

Depends. With a 5 PM or later flight, if the weather is good I will spend time at the pool. Most places have somewhere to shower and change. If not so good weather, visit resorts or DS. When I had an AP (pre-covid) I would go to a park, but I won't spend money on a partial day ticket. Lately I have switched to mid-afternoon flights to get home earlier, so I have a nice breakfast and relax before heading to the airport around noon, and hang out in the priority pass lounge for a bit.

 

[MICKIMINI]

We just want to get home at that point. We find it to be a stressful day of traveling, so we usually book a mid morning non stop and get to the airport early and people watch. We travel around halloween and hope to get home to the mountain before it is dark and without snow on the ground. I must say, both flights were on time and went smoothly.

 

[TikiRob]

Book my next trip

Seriously, I'll always do a park and which one varies. Personally, having to check out by 11am, pool time feels like a hassle. We've even tried having a pool bag, but it still wasn't worthwhile to us.

 

[Brian Noble]

do on check out day

With a mid-afternoon flight or later, I tend to get a latest-possible breakfast ADR somewhere. Then I sleep in, load my bags in the rental car, and head off to breakfast. I will linger in the lobby after brunch and people watch, heading to the airport with plenty of time to hang out in one of the lounges.

This gives me a low-key way to re-enter the real world.

 

[fbarker]

Some interesting responses!! We see how most of us are so upset with the price increase and making us pay for things that use to be part of our park ticket and then you see the responses here where people will pay to to go to a park for just a partial day or pay for an extra day just so you use the pool on your last day. Those ideas seem very expensive and a waste of money. I like the idea of going to Disney Springs or visting another resort.

 

[disneydreamer1980]

We always drive and just leave after check out generally but our upcoming January trip (also there for 2 weeks) we’re flying and our flight home is at 6:30 pm so we’re trying to figure out that day too. I’m thinking we’ll do a nice breakfast in our hotel (WL), check out and head to MK for a few hours. We will have done several days plus an AH party at MK by that point so goal is to just take in the atmosphere one last time and ride whatever has shortish lines. Then we’ll boat back to WL, grab our luggage and uber to airport. Haven’t flown to Disney since 2006, we drive down from Maryland every year so this is different for us.

 

[OP95]

Book my next trip

Seriously, I'll always do a park and which one varies. Personally, having to check out by 11am, pool time feels like a hassle. We've even tried having a pool bag, but it still wasn't worthwhile to us.

Homesick for WDW sits in instantly as soon as i leave for the airport so I’m definitely there with the re booking!

 

[georgina]

Homesick for WDW sits in instantly as soon as i leave for the airport so I’m definitely there with the re booking!

After 3 nights next week and 5 nights booked in March (DVC rental), I have nothing else planned for WDW in 2025 (Universal in December to see Epic Universe). I was at WDW (offsite) for 5 nights in May and 2 nights in Sept (hurricane cancelled my MNSSHP so only did F&W at Epcot). I am slowing down a bit with the parks and branching out, booked a solo river cruise in Europe next year too.