Pain in walking out the last day

[Gator]

Do you have pain on your last day in the parks?No. Not pain in the knees from a week of walking miles each day, nor the pain in my shoulder from a careless lady crashing into me on the Carousel.

I'm talking about the pain of walking out of the MK about lunch time to go catch your plane home - while all those other folks are just coming into the park for the day, perhaps just starting their vacation. I have a terrible remembrance of wishing I was them, starting my vacation all over. Wishing I could see the castle for the first time again, heading straight for Pirates, landing a great spot for a parade. It is pain of a different kind.

A pain that heals as soon as I book flights for the next trip back to Walt Disney World.

[twinboyz]

We always feel it on the last day. It does help a bit to look forward to the next trip. Wouldn't it be great to wake up on your last day there and be able to start your vacation over! DREAM COME TRUE!!!

[PirateLover]

Usually by the last day, I've come to terms with the fact that I have to leave. I'm never happy to leave, but I wouldn't call it painful. I'm very happy to have had the opportunity to visit my favorite place yet again, and look forward to the next time. I may be a bit jealous of those just starting their vacation, but I'm also happy for them. I love coming home and sharing all of my pictures and stories with friends and families as it gives me the chance to relive it all again

[Joannelet]

I always look back a million times at the castle of course with tears in my eyes.
I always tell people I leave a piece of my heart on Main Street everytime I go.

[SurferStitch]

Oh, I feel it....every time we leave.

I hate to admit it, but I also envy all of those entering the park to enjoy perhaps their first day of vacation in WDW. I wish we were them, but then I remember that we have two precious puppies and two adorable kitties waiting for us at home, and that makes it a lot less painful to leave.

[mickeys_princess_mom]

I definitely would call it painful. I cry every time. Try not to look back at the castle. OK, just one more look. No, one more. Sob.
I pretty much have to have the next trip already booked, at least in my head...

[Dsnygirl]

Oh, I so understand that pain... having just experienced it!!

We thought we'd be immune to it, since we were taking our longest trip ever, and since our last day in the parks wasn't really "the end", we were headed to Chef Mickey's for dinner, a nice evening at our resort and a relaxing morning there before we had to head to the airport.

But, alas, as we walked down Main St on Halloween and watched all the folks arriving in their festive costumes for the party, heard the party music start up and watched the lights of Main St turn on... sigh... there it was, that pang of "Look at all these people arriving, for some of them it's just the beginning of their vacation... I wish it was us!!!"

And you're right, booking that next trip sure helps... can't wait 'til it's our turn to do that!!

[SandmanGStefani24]

pain of both kinds!

I finish at Epcot the last day, and it doesnt hit me until around 7PM. My legs get stiff, my feet get tired, and I start to slow down. All the walking in the parks catches up with me, and as I walk home to my car from the airport my legs are definately sore.

As for the "other leaving WDW pain" yep...that too. That last look at Spaceship Earth is the hardest...

[WishingStar2006]

I am the woman who is crying on the ME bus as it pulls away from WL...Although I always have a wonderful time and look forward to the next trip, I realize that I'll never have "this" trip again, these memories, this time with my sons at this age...I know, I'm weird.

[motherof4]

I really feel the pain flying out of Orlando crying to my husband and 4 children that I want to live in disney. my 11 year old daughter started to cry her eyes out this past aug when we were in epcot for the last night after illiminations she cried all the way out of the park the only way to make her feel better is that I told her we would be back soon.It is a horrible feeling to leave the world. I am glad I am not the only one that feels that way.

[beksy]

I always look back a million times at the castle of course with tears in my eyes.
I always tell people I leave a piece of my heart on Main Street everytime I go.

That's me too! Even though we'd be back in 3 months, my sister was still crying and I had tears in my eyes on ME as I kept telling her (ok, and me) that it was only 3 months. That helps but there's still pain. This next time is really going to hurt since we don't have another trip planned in the near future. Of course I'm getting pretty good with excuses for why we "need" to go at a certain time!

[ChinaMama]

Heck I've started thinking about the pain and we are only 26 days before we leave!!! CRAZY huh?

I too am the one that cries on the way out the last time. I remember the first time I dragged my DH down to Disney - not quite kicking and screaming but he had never been.

I had not been since 1980 when I was a kid but I had ached to get back. So we traveled for an early 5th wedding anniversary and we even stayed off site. We did Sea World, Universal and Disney for about 14 days. But the last night we were leaving - we mostly seem to leave from EPCOT (but the last two trips have been from MK and that seems even harder)- I looked at him and began to sob. I didn't think we would ever go back, he held me tight and promised that we would come back again. And by the time we were driving off property he promised would could come back next year.

He kept his promise and we have been almost every year since (except for the years that our children joined our family). Heck my youngest is just 4 years old and this will be his 4th trip (if you count the one in my tummy - as he says).

I too want to live at Disney! The magic the memories are just so vivid while I am there and I never want to leave. My DH has promised that when he retires my 2nd career can be at Disney - and I tell him I don't care if I am popping popcorn there for a living.

Every year we start to talk about what we should do for vacation and every year we start thinking Disney should hold off a year because it is so expensive. Heck we went to NYC for a 3day weekend this summer and spent about $1000 for just the two of us. Disney seems pretty affordable everytime we research it.

This will be the 1st year that we will be leaving from the parks to go back and get the bus to go to the airport. We are leaving aroun 7pm at night - the latest ever so we will enjoy some time in the AM at the park. It will be the 1st time that I leave a park in the daylight, I wonder if it will be easier? The parks looks so extra magical at night that leaving seems extra hard.

[Gator]

It will be the 1st time that I leave a park in the daylight, I wonder if it will be easier? The parks looks so extra magical at night that leaving seems extra hard.

On my last trip, I left the MK about 11:30am. It wasn't easy walking out. I never know when my next trip will be, and that makes it very tough to leave. It makes me want to stay longer the next time. I stayed 9 1/2 days last time (vs my normal 6 1/2) and it STILL wasn't enough. If I owned a DVC, I suppose it would make it a little easier because I would know for sure I'd be back. But not knowing if I'll ever be back...that's tough walking out the main gate.

[mousetrapper]

Yes, it is most definitely painful!

Funny you should bring this up today - one week from today will be our last day at WDW!

It's heartbreaking to leave the place that brings you so much joy, especially when you're not sure how long it will be before you return.

We look so forward to our trips and I know that has something to do with how difficult it is to leave once we're there.

This has actually gotten worse each trip. You'd think we'd be more used to WDW once we've "been there, done that," but no - it's actually more painful for us each subsequent trip.

I'm trying to gear myself up mentally not to think about the quantity of time I spend there but the quality and the fact that so many great experiences will be packed into the trip. Knowing I'll carry such amazing memories with me when I leave is something to look forward to.

[Tinkerfreak]

I always cry on the way to the airport and my family would laugh at me and say "come on Mom you know we will be back next year". This year will be the hardest ever because it will be our last trip for many years with our girls. They are just to the point that they have been so many times they are not as excited about it. It is alot of money for us to spend for something they are not as excited about. We can also no longer take them out of school for a week to go. My oldest is in high school and it is just too hard for her. So this will definately be our last trip for a while (and this year we really do mean it). DH wants to go other places and I understand that so this upcoming trip will be especially bitter sweet. I hope that in a couple of years DH and I can plan a trip with just us but I'm not sure how my youngest would handle that.

[#1donaldfan]

....yep, I feel it each time....not exactly a pain but a slight feel of jealousy of those, like you say, just begining their experience...when we finally leave it's definatley a bitter sweet thing....

[coneygoil]

I feel a pang of sadnessin my stomach when I'm driving to the exit of WDW properity. My feelings are a bit mixed since I want to stay there forever, but I miss my husband since he never comes with me.

Now my Mom has actually gotten depressed for a whole month after getting back from WDW. I guess she was coming off the high that Disney can give you!

[DVCDisneyMom]

I cry every time!!! Always try to spend our last night at the MK.

[passholderryan]

My wife and I have found a way to make the pain not so painful. Let me start out my saying we are not the typical tourists. We only live about 2 1/2 hours away, so we go up for the weekend every 5-6 weeks and stay for 3 nights/ 4days. Given that, we usually have our next 3-4 trips already booked.
This is what we do on the last day. Having been on all the rides, and done most of the tours throughout the years, we get a fastpass for Splash Mountain. We then wait the additional hour or so until we can get another fastpass and get one for Thundermountain. We make our way to mainstreet and grab a popcorn, sit down and relax. We then look for a couple that appears to be seeing the park for the first time. We approach them and give them the fastpasses for both rides. It sometimes takes a minute to explain what it is, and they are usually in such a rush that they don't get it. But we figure they will figure it out quick enough. As we board the bus to head back to the resort, we start talking about the next trip up and where we we are staying that time. I then tell my wife "We can always make a trip quick up to World Showcase for dinner sometime". That's our way of easing the pain.

[ChipNDale79]

We have that pain also.

We went in Feb for an 8 day 7 night trip, both my wife and i got sick about day 5 and were confined to our room for a day. We were ready to go home by the end of the trip, or at least we thought we were. We were at MK to watch the parade at the closing and when Jiminy Cricket is saying goodbye to everyone, we realized our trip was over and my wife was crying.

I hate leaving WDW