Animal Kindom Resort Transportation

Roger321

Member
:)

Hi all.

I am planning a trip and am sold on the Animal Kindom Resort. One of the few criticisms I have heard is that it can take quite a long time to get to the other parks. Is this true? Does anyone recall the bus ride? Any input would be welcome.
 

v&adad

New Member
We have stayed at Animal Kingdom Lodge many times and it is fantastic! I rarley had a problem with transportation. We usually travel during the "off season" but the buses usually show up rapidly. The trip to Magic Kingdom is the farthest and it took us about 15 minutes. When you put it in perspective, it takes that long to get to a movie theater and that is much less enjoyable. Sure, Poly, WL, Floridian, etc. are closer but I have heard bad things about their transportation also. To me, it's a vacation. We don't rush ourselves. The bus ride is a great place to start conversations with people, do trivia quizzes, play character games or just take in the view. We are always thankful we can park the car for a week. If you have resies give yourself plenty of time and enjoy. AKL is a park itself!
 
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BRER STITCH

Well-Known Member
Lots of questions about WDW transportation are asked and answered each day, but the truth of the matter is this: At 40+ square miles, it can take a long time to get to some places on WDW property. There are numerous factors affecting your trip, including time of year, size of crowds, where you want to go, weather, your timing getting to the bus stop, and road conditions - JUST LIKE AT HOME! :lol:

I have stayed at AKL and the transportation is no better or worse than anywhere else. I've had "good" and "bad" days at all of the resorts except the monorail resorts.

The short answer is: you are on vacation at WDW while most of the rest of the world is hard at work somewhere. The trip from resort to park and back is part of the adventure. Plan on anywher from 20 minutes in perfect conditions to up to an hour to get anywhere in WDW! It can be that way at all the resorts - there's no "magic" rule.

Put your transportation worries beind you and enjoy the BEAUTIFUL Animal Kingdom Lodge!!!

HAVE FUN!!!

:wave:
 
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Monty

Brilliant...and Canadian
In the Parks
No
We were there earlier this month and didn't have a problem with buses. Even the longest trip wasn't long enough to be an issue. To DAK, it's great! :lol:

DAKL is wonderful! The whole place is just beautiful and seeing the animals outside your balcony is an amazing treat every day.
 
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Iakona

Member
We have stayed at AKL twice now. I am (in my real life) a very impatient commuter into Boston, MA so I can be jumpy when it comes to getting somewhere. However, I have not had one bad trip to or from AKL. Every resort is close to something and far away from something else. My opinion is that it is not even close to being a concern.

and Welcome to WDWMAGIC.
 
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wedenterprises

Well-Known Member
Transportation sucks from all WDW resorts.

I'd have to say the Polynesian is the best, with the monorail to MK and Epcot so close. that's 2 parks right there.

AKL has been hit and miss for me. I have not stayed there, but have eaten there quite a bit. the bus to the AK is actually a pain! go figure.

To be honest, i agree with v&adad, it's a vacation, take your time.
 
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PBarton

Active Member
We are staying at the AKL in May and can't wait :zipit: !

We will not be hiring a car and will be using only Disney transportation throughout our stay. We had the same arrangements during our stays at the All Star Movies resort and found the buses to be great (travelling by bus is very common in the UK anyway).

As previously posted, every resort is close to some destinations, and far from others and a 20 minute journey to the Magic Kingdom is nothing.

I seem to remember the longest bus journey from the All Star's was to Downtown Disney (I may be wrong), I figure the journey time being similar to the AKL/MK route.

Have a great time!
 
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col

Well-Known Member
doesnt most of the resorts if not all take a little bit longer to get to?

i resort hopped to AKL (which is beautiful) and after having a look around got the bus to MK or epcot and it didnt take that long maybe 10-15 mins.

it wouldnt take long to get to AK coz thats nearer.

from the epcot resorts it would take some time to get to epcot or another park. people who stay at the magic kingdom resorts have a way to go to the other parks.

i would say it takes no longer than 20-30 mins to get to each park no matter which resort you stay at!:wave:

it feels as if it takes forever to get to DTD from any resort but the trip goes faster if the driver is crackin' jokes and making people laugh. the DTD journey feels longer coz the route goes the long way past tree house villas, SSR and OKW. its not nice when you have to stand holding onto the roof rails - your arm goes dead.
 
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I thought the busses arriving to AKL to the theme parks was quick, I don't recall ever having to wait very long. I went last March & am going again in 2 weeks! :animwink: Obviously AK was the quickest.. everything else felt like it took quite a while. I do remember busses near closing times (specifically at MK), were few & far between. I felt like I had seen every bus built before an AKL bus arrived. :lol:

It's a great resort, however, hope ya enjoy it!
 
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swimmom

Well-Known Member
Can't speak for AKL transportation specifically, but as mentioned above, you're on vacation relax and take your time. We usually stay as WL, which also has a bad rep for transportation. We always allow an hour for transportation to anywhere and when we get there in less than an hour, it's a bonus! I love Disney transportation, because I don't have to drive when I'm there. I like to sit back and let someone else do the driving for me while on vacation. So allow plenty of time for transportation and you won't be stressed out.
 
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no2apprentice

Well-Known Member
We are going in May and it will be our fourth stay at the AKL. We love the resort, the animals, the exotic feeling of the decor, the Savannah Guides from Africa, and most of all, my wife loves the giraffes (she calls them "the ladies").

The longest it took us to get from AKL to MK (or back) was 15 minutes. Usually the average is about 13 minutes. Some people tend to include the wait time for the bus as part of the transportation time. Depending on the time of day, you could wait 20 minutes for a bus. I think that's where some of the complaints come from...waiting for a bus for 20 minutes, then another 15 to the park...yeah, that could seem like a long time.

I would recommend that when going to MK or Downtown Disney, allow yourself 40 minutes from the time you would like to arrive at your destination. This should take into account any extended wait for the bus plus driving time.

Have a great trip!:)
 
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SusanAnne

Active Member
Tommorw we leave for our 3rd trip to AKL, and we have never had trouble with the transportation. We have stayed at as movies, music, pop, cs cb and we enjoy the bus system the best at AKL. We just enjoy being the bus knowing we our on a great vacation that not all people can go to. I really cherish the complete time we are at Disney.
 
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tamibar

New Member
We stayed at AKL last month, it's WONDERFUL!! (Savannah view room is amazing! ) Have you considered staying there and visiting AK and MGM,then moving to another more centrally located hotel or one on monorail? Just a thought.
 
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Stevek

Well-Known Member
We had zero problems with getting to any of the parks from AKL last week. The longest we waited for a bus was 15 minutes and as others have said, the longest drive to a park was to the MK (15-20 minutes). It's taken me 20 minutes to move a mile on our southern california freeways so it was no big deal to have a short drive to one park. The others are much closer and don't take very long at all.
-Steve
 
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Roger321

Member
Original Poster
Thanks

:sohappy: Thanks for the advice everyone, you put some perspective on things. Animal Kingdom Lodge here we come!

Over and Out From Toon Town.
 
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ruca

New Member
I am going to AKL in about 3 weeks and am SO EXCITED!!!! Everyone's comments were GREAT! It makes me even more excited!!!! Thanks everyone.:wave: :wave: :wave:
 
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SusanAnne

Active Member
I am staying at the AKL right now,and transportation has been pretty good, until last night. We waited to get picked up from the resort 45 minutes!, However i think it was just a fluke thing. The resort is packed. I love it here, and will stay when we come back down again,
 
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flscooman

Member
no2apprentice said:
We are going in May and it will be our fourth stay at the AKL. We love the resort, the animals, the exotic feeling of the decor, the Savannah Guides from Africa, and most of all, my wife loves the giraffes (she calls them "the ladies").

The longest it took us to get from AKL to MK (or back) was 15 minutes. Usually the average is about 13 minutes. Some people tend to include the wait time for the bus as part of the transportation time. Depending on the time of day, you could wait 20 minutes for a bus. I think that's where some of the complaints come from...waiting for a bus for 20 minutes, then another 15 to the park...yeah, that could seem like a long time.

I would recommend that when going to MK or Downtown Disney, allow yourself 40 minutes from the time you would like to arrive at your destination. This should take into account any extended wait for the bus plus driving time.

Have a great trip!:)
Request a room on the Uzima Savannah. Thats where the baby giraffe lives.
She was born thanksgiving morning '05.
 
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mhead

Active Member
Roger321 said:
:)

Hi all.

I am planning a trip and am sold on the Animal Kindom Resort. One of the few criticisms I have heard is that it can take quite a long time to get to the other parks. Is this true? Does anyone recall the bus ride? Any input would be welcome.


Actually the transportation was the only good thing about this resort when I was there in early Feb.
 
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wired

Member
I guess you really need to put it into perspective. When we stayed there, it was just us two. Once we left the resort, we would hop from park to park. Though we might return once during the day to change for dinner for something. But over all it was great. Now having kids, AKL, might be a little far, with little ones if you need to return to the resort a few times during the stay.

As with all the other resorts, they are great, and transportation is what you make it. If you have a car you can always drive, parking is free to resort guests, just remember were you parked....


wired
 
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