Well hello again Cheri, and welcome back to planDisney! It's always so great to see your questions come in year after year for our team, and I'm happy to answer this one for you as one Extended Evening aficionado to another!
From the sounds of it, you must be one of our special planDisney After Dark folks who may enjoy the Theme Parks during the day - but definitely stay until the very end well after the midnight hour. One of the things I absolutely love about staying at a
Walt Disney World Deluxe Resort Hotel or in a
Deluxe Villa as a Disney Vacation Club Member is the ability to take advantage of
Extended Evening Theme Park Hours.
In my personal experience, as soon as Cast Members hear that you're staying anywhere near
Disney's BoardWalk they will very strongly direct you to exit via International Gateway. As you likely already know, one of the biggest perks of
staying at Disney's Beach Club Resort is its sheer proximity to World Showcase. However, if you do happen to make your way past the North entrance turnstiles and exit
EPCOT beyond the park closing time, you might encounter one of the following scenarios that we've experienced:
- A Cast Member stationed near the Walt Disney World Bus Transportation directory sign may ask you where you're headed. Guests staying at various Resort Hotels that aren't necessarily listed on the directory may be directed to wait at a nearby gate for a special bus that may be dispatched to make drop-offs at various resorts on a long circuitous route. While this can never be guaranteed, we've found on multiple late-night occasions that there are often drivers tasked with scooping up any remaining wayward guests.
- A Cast Member from the security or Event Guide teams (often distinguished by the short light batons that they carry) may escort you in again to walk you back through EPCOT and make sure that you head directly to International Gateway where security Cast Members will be altered to wait for you to make your exit.
In my opinion the uncertainty, overall hassle and time spent may not be worth the potentially shorter distance to travel. At any rate, your best bet is always speaking with nearby Cast Members who will do their best to make sure that you'll make it back safe and sound at the end of a long night!
Did you know that during extended evening theme park hours at EPCOT, you may even have the opportunity to
request to join the virtual queue for one of the newest and truly out-of-this-world attractions? Being able to hop aboard
Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind is one of those experiences that not every guest visiting Walt Disney World Resort necessarily has the opportunity to enjoy as the availability for boarding groups tends to go fairly quickly; while this may change in the future, it's nice to have the extra opportunity during extended evenings!
You're always welcome back at planDisney, don't hesitate to
ask me any more questions ahead of your next visit this summer!
Wishing you all the best on your After-hours Adventuring!
Prince