"It's a Mass Exodus." 5 Ways To Make Leaving Magic Kingdom at Night Less Miserable

Picture it — the Magic Kingdom fireworks have just ended, and you’re ready to head back to your hotel. Only to be met with horrendous crowds, thousands of people deep. What do you do?!

Recently, a thread in the Walt Disney World subReddit garnered a lot of attention, as a visitor was complaining about how much time it takes to get back to their car after Magic Kingdom’s fireworks. And you know what? We feel you! That’s why we’re sharing tips to make leaving Magic Kingdom a little less awful at the end of the night.

1. Wait. Just Wait.

The first tip sounds simple, but it makes ALL the difference. After the fireworks and immediately after the park closes are the worst times to leave the park crowds-wise. If you slow down your exit — pause to do some shopping, take some pictures, or grab a snack at the Main Street Confectionery — your timing will be much improved.

Just allowing enough time for that first wave of people to exit the park and board Disney transportation will help significantly. You’ll find yourself feeling less like cows in a herd, and you’ll get shorter wait times to board the ferryboat, Monorail, or buses.

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2. Walk!

Our next tip involves avoiding Disney transportation altogether. Some of the biggest backups as you’re leaving are the queues to board transportation, and you can avoid some of those crowds if you choose to walk instead. Exiting the park and turning left will guide you toward a walking path to Disney’s Contemporary Resort, while exiting the park and going right will give you a walking path to Grand Floridian Resort, Polynesian Village Resort, and eventually, the Transportation & Ticket Center (Magic Kingdom’s parking lot).

If you’ve still got some steps left in you after a long day, you can take one of these paths and enjoy a little bit of unwind time exploring a hotel or having a nightcap at one of the resorts’ lounges. And if you’re feeling good enough for a walk that’ll be about 45 minutes, you can take that path from Magic Kingdom to Grand Floridian to Polynesian to the TTC. It’s long, but there aren’t crowds to deal with or lines to wait in!

Learn More About Disney World Walking Paths Here!

3. If You’re Driving, Try the Bus

Getting to the Transportation & Ticket Center in a crowd wave is one of the most challenging aspects of exiting the park. But occasionally, when crowds are high, Magic Kingdom will offer a bus from the park to the parking lot!

You’re not guaranteed that this option will be available, but you can walk to the bus depot and check or ask a Cast Member nearby. Sometimes, the courtesy buses come more quickly than the Monorail or ferry.

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4. Get in Line for a Ride

This goes along with tip #1, but if you delay your exit, you’ll have a smoother time leaving. One of the easiest ways to do this is to hop in a longer ride queue right before the park closes. Most rides will operate up until the park closes, so you can get in line, even if it’s a long wait.

Make sure you double-check the ride’s hours before you choose, but there are several great candidates for this hack. Something with a longer wait, like Peter Pan’s Flight, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, TRON Lightcycle / Run, or Space Mountain, would be a good option.

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5. Leave During the Gap

If you don’t want to stay extra late, the best option is to leave during the “gap.” That means, leave at a time when nothing major is going on. Either exit before the fireworks start, or exit during that time period after the post-fireworks crowds and before the park closing time.

No matter when you choose to leave, you’re probably going to need a bit of strategy when exiting Magic Kingdom. It’s one of the busiest tourist destinations in the world, and it can get CROWDED.