-
Welcome to the WDWMAGIC.COM Forums!
Please take a look around, and feel free to sign up and join the community.
News Friendship Boat service to Disney's Hollywood Studios closing for refurbishment
- Thread starter wdwmagic
- Start date
peter11435
Well-Known Member
ToTBellHop
Well-Known Member
This is completely unreasonable! My understanding is that to get to DHS from Boardwalk, I’ll have to bus to MK, ferryboat to TTC, monorail to Epcot, and then walk to DHS via International Gateway! Ridiculous!
po1998
Well-Known Member
I took the Boat from the Boardwalk to DHS last trip, and I'll say now, that I would crawl to DHS from the Boardwalk, before ever taking that boat again. Between the amount of time it takes at each stop, and the painful slow speed of the boats, it is worse than watching paint dry.
Biff215
Well-Known Member
I mostly agree, but sometimes when it's crazy hot the boat is a nice shaded option. I often walked one of our sleeping children in a stroller over to DHS from BCV. It was a good way to burn off some calories but I would often arrive drenched in sweat. That afternoon sun is brutal!
DisneyJeff
Well-Known Member
- In the Parks
- No
In my experience, the air conditioning on those boats doesn't work very well in the summer heat. Unless you get one of the few outside seats at the back of the boat, it's probably cooler to walk (and faster).
Biff215
Well-Known Member
Yeah, the A/C is mostly nonexistent anymore, but shade is shade. Also, that's a much longer walk for a 5 year old!
Thanks.
tonymu
Premium Member
I looked at the announcement for a while before posting to make sure I wasn't missing anything. But since it said "work on the Swan and Dolphin bridge" and the picture was of the dock on the bridge between Swan and Dolphin that it must be that one. The other bridge between the Swan and Dolphin and Boardwalk makes much more sense.
Thanks
The friendship Boat service that runs from the Epcot area resort hotels to Disney's Hollywood Studios will be unavailable from early May 2018.
Work on the Swan and Dolphin bridge will close the boat service beginning May 7 2018. During the work, the walkway across the bridge will remain open, and bus service to the Studios will remain operational as normal.
Impacted resorts include Disney's yacht and Beach Club, Disney's BoardWalk Resort, and the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin hotels.
21stamps
Well-Known Member
You can’t ask for info directly...You always have to guess, it’s more fun that way.
BoarderPhreak
Well-Known Member
I once took the boat from the Dolphin load area over to IG @ Epcot... Just to say I did it once. I'm good. Too slow, too many stops, yada yada. It's good to have options though, and if you've got a hoard of young'ns it still might be faster (and long-term more beneficial) to save the steps. Certainly at the end of the day when "a few quick steps" already sound unattractive.
bee
Well-Known Member
From the Starwood (Swan and Dolphin brand) booking site:
Disney Friendship Boat Service Temporarily Closed
Beginning May 7, 2018 until May 15, 2018, Disney's Friendship Boat service is only available to Epcot, Disney's Boardwalk, and Disney's Yacht & Beach Club resorts. Bus service will be provided to Disney's Hollywood Studios during this time.
Beginning May 16, 2018 Disney's Friendship Boat service will be temporarily suspended and not operational until May 25, 2018. Bus service will be provided to Disney's Hollywood Studios and Epcot.
Beginning May 26, 2018 until approximately June 21, 2018 Disney's Friendship Boat service is only available to Epcot, Disney's Boardwalk, and Disney's Yacht & Beach Club resorts. Bus service will be provided to Disney's Hollywood Studios during this time.
Disney Friendship Boat Service Temporarily Closed
Beginning May 7, 2018 until May 15, 2018, Disney's Friendship Boat service is only available to Epcot, Disney's Boardwalk, and Disney's Yacht & Beach Club resorts. Bus service will be provided to Disney's Hollywood Studios during this time.
Beginning May 16, 2018 Disney's Friendship Boat service will be temporarily suspended and not operational until May 25, 2018. Bus service will be provided to Disney's Hollywood Studios and Epcot.
Beginning May 26, 2018 until approximately June 21, 2018 Disney's Friendship Boat service is only available to Epcot, Disney's Boardwalk, and Disney's Yacht & Beach Club resorts. Bus service will be provided to Disney's Hollywood Studios during this time.
Phil12
Well-Known Member
I'm hoping they'll put water cannons on all the Friendship Boats so passengers can put up the skull and crossbones and plunder other vessels. It would make the trip faster.
nickys
Premium Member
Not sure what your question is.
You will be able to take the boat around Crescent Lake and to Epcot but not to DHS. So you could take the boat to visit the Swan/Dolphin, Boardwalk and Beach/Yacht Club. Or Epcot. Those are the three resorts that have a pier, it doesn't mean you can only use the boat if you stay at one of those resorts.
Note that from both your resorts, it is quicker to walk to Epcot.
DznyRktekt
Well-Known Member
Will the friendship boat be refurbished during this time?
ToTBellHop
Well-Known Member
No. It will be running. To Epcot.
Kman101
Well-Known Member
The boat is definitely fairly slow. I've only used it once as well, lol. There's a reason many say you can walk faster than the boat ... but it's nice to have options. I like seeing the boats out.
flyerjab
Well-Known Member
I too like seeing the boats out and about. Anything that adds to the kinetics of the environment.
Also, I love hearing the boats in the Epcot resort area. Sitting on the Boardwalk outside the Boardwalk Bakery, or on your balcony in the evening, hearing the boat horn has become this type of audio nostalgia for me. Same goes for the steam train whistle when we are staying at the Grand Floridian or the Poly. There is something to that sound that I truly love to hear when walking around the resort or at the pool. It has that 'makes me feel like a kid again' nostalgia to it that is hard to duplicate.