Have a half day my last day - is this a good plan?

[hominamad]

Hi - I'm taking my 7-yr old son to WDW in a few weeks - we have 3.5 days and are staying at Port Orleans Riverside. The first 3 full days we're doing MK, Epcot, and DHS. I was really torn about DHS on the third day because my son is really into animals and I think he would appreciate AK, but he's also really into Star Wars and DHS seemed to have more to offer for that day.

On the fourth day our flight leaves at 5:30pm. I was thinking maybe once there, we could decide to buy a 4th day ticket and maybe do AK from opening until around 1pm and still make our flight. After thinking about it for a while though, I thought maybe it would be better to take it easy that last day, sleep late, and enjoy the hotel a bit, maybe go to the pool, etc. because I'm planning to be out at the parks for 3 full days before that.

Then I had another idea - was thinking of waking up late, taking it easy, maybe stop by the pool a bit, and then hop in a cab and go to the Animal Kingdom Lodge for a few hours. I think my son would really like seeing all the animals there and exploring the hotel - and also was thinking of making a reservation at Sanna for lunch. I also wanted to check out the hotel to see if I would want to stay there for my next visit to WDW. I've never been there though and am not sure if there's enough to explore there to keep us busy for a few hours.

Also, I was wondering - if you are staying at a Disney resort, would we be able to use the pool at that hotel? Or is it just for guests of the actual hotel?

Thanks!

 

[Britt]

From what Im aware, there is no pool hopping. You're to use the pool at your resort, but I could be mistaken

Personally....I'd wake up early and get out to AK for the last day and head right over to the Safari first thing! Who cares if you're running for 3 days prior? It's vacation and you'll SOOOOO regret not going to AK a couple weeks after you get home! : ) Heck, if it were ME, I'd do AK the full day 3rd day, and then head to Star Tours first thing on that last day so he can do that! haha

 

[minniemickeyfan]

I agree with Britt. AK and doing the Safari ride is a great way to see the animals. And a 1/2 day will be perfect. Tucker House has a great lunch too.

 

[lunchbox1175]

You don't need to pay for a cab to go to AKL, just go to a park, then get on the bus to AKL....save yourself the $20 cab fee.

 

[NYwdwfan]

@Britt is correct - resort pools are only for the guests of that particular resort. You can use the pool at Port Orleans on check-out day, but not at another resort.

 

[hominamad]

Thanks for the replies - although I think I'm more indecisive than I was before. I don't want to switch my last fully day to AK because I already having dining reservations at DHS for that day. So I have to decide between going to AK for a half day on the last day or doing my Animal Kingdom Lodge plan. I guess I can see how the trip is going and decide while I'm there to add the last day ticket or not.

If I do decide to do the park for half the day, what time should I plan to leave there in order to comfortably make my 5:30 flight? I would have to get back to the hotel to get our bags, etc. Is this a reasonable amount of time to do anything significant at AK? Also need to decide if it's worth paying for the full fourth day just to spend a few hours there.

If I decide to hang out at Animal Kingdom Lodge for a bit and have lunch there, is there enough to keep us busy for a few hours if we can't use that pool?

Thanks again for the helpful replies.

 

[jlsHouston]

I would do AKL from 9 am til noon, eat lunch at Flame Tree BBQ inside there if you like barbecue and head to resort check out and either cab ride or ME to the airport. Ask for a 2 pm checkout. At AKL ( and I am no expert since I have but visited the park once, I would do the Safari , walk the Pagani trail and the boneyard thing with a 7 year old boy ( My grandson is 7) and I would maybe try to catch the Lion King show since I heard it is on it's way out....If you have time for anything else in that 3 hours and he like scarey things you have EE and the Dinosaur ride... But I agree with Britt I would do a park on my last day if my flight was not til 5:30.

 

[jlsHouston]

Although I guess if your ressies are at DHS your last day and you can't make DHS your last park for the day or switch up your ADR, then I still think as slow as AK is in the mornings I would just go ahead and do the Safari and whatever else you can squeeze in at the park. Visiting the lodge is cool and the lookout too, but we do the lodge visit in the evening when they have the stories and the night vision goggles out and the fire pit thing happening....I cannot see my 7 year old grandson being overly entertained at AKL lodge if he couldn't jump in the pool there and in Nov/Dec....not sure the weather in the morning hours is going to be real conducive to taking a splash!

 

[luv]

You can't pool hop at Disney. You are limited to your own pool. FWIW, with the exception of one non-Disney hotel, I've never wanted to pool hop. One pool is as good as the next at Disney.

Visiting the AKL is no guarantee that you son will see animals. Sometimes they're out and sometimes they aren't. If you want to be sure you see some, go on Kilimanjaro Safaris at the AK. Which brings me to my last point...

Go to the AK. You can rest on the plane. If you don't push it too hard the previous three days, you should be able to get up. Pace yourselves so that you can visit all four parks.

 

[deanaandrich]

Go to AK. I personally would do a full day there if he likes animals. A whole day of animals versus 1 star tours ride. You can always do half day at DHS and I'm sure changing that ADR to lunchtime wouldn't be a big deal.

 

[hominamad]

Thanks for the advice everyone. Probably just going to play it by ear and see how the first 3 days go. I know my son is going to want to spend some time at the pool, or rent one of those bicycles at the hotel, etc etc and I don't think I'll squeeze it in the first 3 days. So maybe we'll just take it easy the fourth day.

But you did get me questioning DHS vs AK for the 3rd full day we have. He also really wanted to do Aerosmith rollercoaster, and the jedi training as well as Star Tours. Plus he likes the idea of the stunt show. I don't think I could squeeze all that into a half day, right? At AK it seemed like it's a much more beautiful park but not as much attractions. Guess I have to do some more research.

 

[dreamfinder]

If I do decide to do the park for half the day, what time should I plan to leave there in order to comfortably make my 5:30 flight? I would have to get back to the hotel to get our bags, etc. Is this a reasonable amount of time to do anything significant at AK? Also need to decide if it's worth paying for the full fourth day just to spend a few hours there.

Are you using DME? If so, your return bus trip should be 3 hrs before your flight (give or take 15 mins). So a 2:30ish DME pickup, I'd plan on being at the AK bus stop by 1:15 at the drop dead latest. Thats allowing for you to have just missed a bus, and should still make it in time. Remeber, it's not a full fourth day cost. You can upgrade your existing 3 day tickets to 4 day tickets once you are there, and just pay the difference which is currently about $20. (Depending on where you bought the tickets it may change the upgrade process slightly, but not the cost)

If I decide to hang out at Animal Kingdom Lodge for a bit and have lunch there, is there enough to keep us busy for a few hours if we can't use that pool?

Ehh, hard to say. If you go to both Jambo and Kidani, and do lunch at Sanaa, then perhaps. Really depends on how long you think you would be entertained looking at animals.

 

[PrincessNelly_NJ]

Thanks for the advice everyone. Probably just going to play it by ear and see how the first 3 days go. I know my son is going to want to spend some time at the pool, or rent one of those bicycles at the hotel, etc etc and I don't think I'll squeeze it in the first 3 days. So maybe we'll just take it easy the fourth day.

But you did get me questioning DHS vs AK for the 3rd full day we have. He also really wanted to do Aerosmith rollercoaster, and the jedi training as well as Star Tours. Plus he likes the idea of the stunt show. I don't think I could squeeze all that into a half day, right? At AK it seemed like it's a much more beautiful park but not as much attractions. Guess I have to do some more research.

If you get to HS at opening, it definitely is a half day park. Only 3 rides tend to have lines and then remaining few rides are walk on. I would definitely hit AK on your last day. As long as you get to AK at opening, you could easily hit all the major rides and still have time to enjoy the scenery. Even on our full AK day, we never spend more than 4 hours in AK.

 

[MOXOMUMD]

Plus he likes the idea of the stunt show. I don't think I could squeeze all that into a half day, right?

Keep in mind if you do decide to do DHS for your last day, the stunt show only performs twice, at 1:20 and 4:30 so you will miss it.

Are you checking your bags with DME for the return trip? If so, do that before you head to a park the last day as airline check-ins are not open all day.

If you cannot get a late checkout (I've never gotten one past 1 pm) you can check your luggage with bell services. They will give you a claim check and you can pick it up before you board DME.

 

[hominamad]

Yes - I am using DME. Was planning on leaving our bags with the hotel on the last day. I think I am going to stick with my original plan of doing DHS on the 3rd (full) day. Will play it by ear about adding the 4th day ticket, but after getting advice from here, I'm leaning more towards doing AK on the 4th day from opening until 12:30 or 1:00. Should be able to do the Safari and one or two other things and at least get a taste of the park so we know what it's like for next time.

On the 3rd day, if we're fizzling out towards the end, maybe I'll head back to the hotel early, go for a swim and have dinner there and early bedtime.

 

[dreamfinder]

Yes - I am using DME. Was planning on leaving our bags with the hotel on the last day. I think I am going to stick with my original plan of doing DHS on the 3rd (full) day. Will play it by ear about adding the 4th day ticket, but after getting advice from here, I'm leaning more towards doing AK on the 4th day from opening until 12:30 or 1:00. Should be able to do the Safari and one or two other things and at least get a taste of the park so we know what it's like for next time.

On the 3rd day, if we're fizzling out towards the end, maybe I'll head back to the hotel early, go for a swim and have dinner there and early bedtime.

If you do decide to add the 4th day, you need to make that decision prior to park close on the 3rd day. You cannot upgrade your ticket after it can no longer be used to enter a park. So just keep that in mind as you enjoy the rest of your trip!

 

[PolynesianPrincess]

I think AK is a good plan for that last day. If you get there at rope drop and do the safari and anthing else you want to do, you will have plenty of time. We had a 6pm flight last month and DME picked us up at 3:15pm. I would plan on leaving the parks no later than an hour and a half or so before DME is scheduled to pick you up.