As we get close to our departure date, I feel like I am inundating this site with questions, so my apologies. I am wondering about leaving MK at night. Our first night at MK our touring plan has us finishing up right around 10:00. We were not planning on watching Wishes, but I am wondering if we would be better off keeping the kids at the park until 11:00 or so to let the mass exodus die down. The kids are 4, 6 and 12, but we are taking a long (4 hour) break in the early afternoon and have an off day the next day. Similarly, our last night we are planning on watching Wishes, but I had planned to do a couple more rides after Wishes so as not to have to leave with the masses. Does this sound like a good plan, or would we be better off leaving our first night earlier, say by 9:30? The last time I was there it was November and the park closed at 7, so there were no crowds and no fireworks to worry about. Thanks for any thoughts!
But, in general, if the kids are up for it, stay and watch Wishes the first chance you get. You never know what may happen later in the week. Or, you can even see it twice.
For what it’s worth, we got way back toward the train station when fireworks started, and basically slipped out thru the turnstiles during the finale and were boarding a boat as the fireworks finished. Were able to appreciate them without being trapped by them.
If you want to avoid the masses I’d say leave at least 30 minutes before Wishes! starts or wait at least 45 minutes until it’s over. Only you know how your kids will handle a late night like that but I will say that late nights in the park are my absolute favorite. It empties out after the fireworks and it’s so pleasant at that point.
I agree with @Outer1…MK is WONDERFUL after Wishes! My 5 year old daughter, after a long mid-day break as you described you will be doing, lasted LONG after Wishes because we got to ride so many of her favorite rides nonstop. She loved the practically-empty park. We actually let her run around on her own (within eyesight of us, of course!) because there was nobody for her to run into. (As opposed to making her hold onto one of us at all times during the day in the parks.) You know your kids best, but with a long mid-day break, or waiting to enter the park at all until about 2:00-4:00, I think they’ll be fine long after Wishes. Oh yeah, my daughter crashed on the bus back to the resort, but that was fine with us!
If your kids will handle it, my preferred method for exodus is as follows:
Watch wishes from new fantasyland. Puts about the area til it starts to clear out. Stroll slowly towards MSUSA. Grab some ice cream. Have a seat. Watch the thundering herd, and narrate using your “Documentary” voice. You can also use this time to organize backpacks, visit toilets, and fix hair socks & shoes. Do a little shopping.
Then, enjoy the kiss goodnight, and head out to the bus/boat/mono. Crowds will have dissipated somewhat by that point.
If you want to head out sooner than that, try the walkway to The Contemporary and have them call a cab for you.
For my family it is preferable to sit and wind down from the fun than to be crushed, smushed, and squashed at the end of a day
All the YES to using a cab at the end of the night. If you aren’t driving yourself that $15 or $20 for a guaranteed seat and no wait for the bus is totally worth saving your sanity for.
I HATE the mass exodus after Wishes (which I rarely watch from MS). I typically try to get as far back into the park as possible as Wishes is ending (Splash or Storybook Circus) and then walk at a VERY liesurely pace back towards MS, looking in shops, taking pictures, etc. As @Outer1 said, 45 min or so after the FW are over, the crowd has thinned considerably. Note - if MK is open for several hours after Wishes, the crows are not usually quite as bad.
