Best ways to get from one park to the next...

[cw1982]

Seeing the thread about taking boats from HS to Epcot got me thinking about some of our plans. I know that the best way to get from Epcot to MK is the monorail, and I now know that the best way to get from HS to Epcot is walking... is there a site that spells out, in layman's terms, what the most efficient ways between the other parks are? I tried to figure that out on the Disney website a few weeks ago but didn't have much luck... maybe it's because the site was going slow.

 

[Tuvalu]

I was just about tonstart a thread to ask about transportation! Is there a direct monorail ride from Epcot to the Grand Floridian. Or would we be transferring somewhere? Trying to plan for dinner at 1900PF...

You need to take the monorail from Epcot to the TTC, and then transfer to the resort monorail line. The GF will be the second stop after you transfer.

 

[LAKid53]

Direct, but not non-stop. There is a difference between the two. Boat/bus/walking can all take similar amounts of time depending on if you miss the vehicle and have to wait, or where exactly you are going in the other park.



Not true. There are buses from park to park. One of the reported goals of the bus stop expansion at MK was to cut out the MK buses going to TTC not sure if that has happened yet, but at a minimum you can get a bus at Epcot, DHS or AK to any of the other 3.

Not true, either. You cannot take a bus from MK to any other park, at least not the last time we were there. You can take the monorail from MK to EPCOT. You can take a bus from EPCOT to some of the other parks. You can take a bus from both DAK & DHS to some of the other parks, also. And beware, the bus to DTD from either DAK or DHS (I cannot remember which) is a bus to DTD hotels, not DTD itself.

I never even thought about walking between EPCOT & DHS. I do enough walking around the parks each day.

I've never found the monorail to be a quick trip - usually a line to get on the monorail to go from EPCOT to MK or vice versa. We took the ferry instead one time.

If there is no park to park bus, we take a bus to the closest resort to the park we want to go to. If we want to go directly from a park to DTD, we take a bus to Port Orleans French Quarter (it's the 1st stop for the bus) and ride the boat to DTD (they reserve seats on the boats leaving PO Riverside for French Quarter and we've not had to wait for a 2nd boat if we get it at French Quarter). Just allow for plenty of time for whichever mode of transportation you use to get from park to park.

I wish Disney Transportation had park to park buses for ALL the parks. I understand why they discontinued the DTD to parks buses, but Disney, non-resort guests are using the buses to get around to other parks if they are available. So just face reality and make transportation around the World easy for ALL guests, please. I'm tired of spending 20% of my day on transportation....

 

[Tuvalu]

Not true, either. You cannot take a bus from MK to any other park, at least not the last time we were there. You can take the monorail from MK to EPCOT. You can take a bus from EPCOT to some of the other parks. You can take a bus from both DAK & DHS to some of the other parks, also. And beware, the bus to DTD from either DAK or DHS (I cannot remember which) is a bus to DTD hotels, not DTD itself.

I never even thought about walking between EPCOT & DHS. I do enough walking around the parks each day.

I've never found the monorail to be a quick trip - usually a line to get on the monorail to go from EPCOT to MK or vice versa. We took the ferry instead one time.

If there is no park to park bus, we take a bus to the closest resort to the park we want to go to. If we want to go directly from a park to DTD, we take a bus to Port Orleans French Quarter (it's the 1st stop for the bus) and ride the boat to DTD (they reserve seats on the boats leaving PO Riverside for French Quarter and we've not had to wait for a 2nd boat if we get it at French Quarter). Just allow for plenty of time for whichever mode of transportation you use to get from park to park.

I wish Disney Transportation had park to park buses for ALL the parks. I understand why they discontinued the DTD to parks buses, but Disney, non-resort guests are using the buses to get around to other parks if they are available. So just face reality and make transportation around the World easy for ALL guests, please. I'm tired of spending 20% of my day on transportation....

There ARE park-to-park buses at each park. The expanded bus depot at MK now has a gate for AK and DHS (and Epcot when the monorail is not operating. )

 

[LAKid53]

There ARE park-to-park buses at each park. The expanded bus depot at MK now has a gate for AK and DHS (and Epcot when the monorail is not operating. )

Like I said, the last time we were at MK, it wasn't available yet. Nice to know. Was getting tired of figuring out which resort to take the bus to from MK to go to another park. 'Bout time, Disney.

 

[Tuvalu]

Like I said, the last time we were at MK, it wasn't available yet. Nice to know. Was getting tired of figuring out which resort to take the bus to from MK to go to another park. 'Bout time, Disney.

Prior to the MK depot completion, you needed to take the monorail or ferry to the TTC and catch a DHS or AK bus from there. We did this many times when park hopping from MK. The new bus stops at MK make hopping much more convenient.

 

[Disvillain63]

I just posted on another thread that the "fastest" (or best) way between DHS and Epcot might be walking only under the best of conditions. Weather can be a factor~ I would not want to make that (hefty) trek in the rain, blazing sun or in the oppressive humidity. And if you are doing two parks in one day, that's already a lot of walking...do you want to add more steps going between the two?

The boat may be better, if and only if, they air-conditioning is on. We rode the boat from Swan/Dolphin to DHS, no other stops, it was so hot and humid and no air-conditioning on the boat that people were almost begging to jump off and swim! By the time we got to DHS, we were all racing for the 'door'. The only benefit is that getting off the boat felt cooler.

 

[allgiggles]

The boat may be better, if and only if, they air-conditioning is on. We rode the boat from Swan/Dolphin to DHS, no other stops, it was so hot and humid and no air-conditioning on the boat that people were almost begging to jump off and swim! By the time we got to DHS, we were all racing for the 'door'. The only benefit is that getting off the boat felt cooler.

We had a very similar experience but in reverse. We were going from DHS to EP just to grab dinner and maybe enjoy a ride or two. It was a few years ago when they were just trying out the park-to-park bus routes and the bus for EP was actually sitting at the temporary loading area when we walked out of DHS. But we had never taken the boat from DHS to EP so we wanted to try something new and chose to walk past the bus and head to the dock. BIG Mistake! It was late June...90+ degrees outside...humid...boat packed full of people and NO A/C!!!! It took 35 minutes from the time we got on the boat until we got off at the International Gateway. Never again. We would rather have walked and will probably never take that boat again.

 

[cw1982]

The boat may be better, if and only if, they air-conditioning is on. We rode the boat from Swan/Dolphin to DHS, no other stops, it was so hot and humid and no air-conditioning on the boat that people were almost begging to jump off and swim! By the time we got to DHS, we were all racing for the 'door'. The only benefit is that getting off the boat felt cooler.

Yeah... another drawback to the boat would be waiting for it to get there to pick us up. The boat versus walking between HS and Epcot thing may not matter all that much anyways, as I don't know for sure that we'll be going from HS to Epcot directly, but if we do, I imagine our decision for mode of transportation will depend on a variety of factors. The walk actually looks like a neat option to me, but to each their own.

 

[cw1982]

Try this website..... http://www.ourlaughingplace.com/aspx/twiz.aspx#.U2zNLF5Gb41 It might help. There is no bus from park to park. The busses run from the parks to the hotels or to the TTC. From the TTC you can catch a bus to any park or a boat to the MK. If you take the boat from HS to Epcot, you will make stops the Swan/Dolphin, Yacht and Beach Club and Boardwalk. It is a pleasant boat ride and takes you to the International Gateway in the back of Epcot.

That website rocks! Thank you!

 

[Disvillain63]

Yeah... another drawback to the boat would be waiting for it to get there to pick us up. The boat versus walking between HS and Epcot thing may not matter all that much anyways, as I don't know for sure that we'll be going from HS to Epcot directly, but if we do, I imagine our decision for mode of transportation will depend on a variety of factors. The walk actually looks like a neat option to me, but to each their own.

We've tested it a few times...walking vs. boat...walking is faster about 75% of the time.

 

[cw1982]

We've tested it a few times...walking vs. boat...walking is faster about 75% of the time.

Good to know. Thanks!

 

[TinkSassy]

On the boat vs. walking - I'm with the boat people. It is faster to walk, but the rest is priceless given the amount of walking when you get to Epcot.

I also take into account which side of Epcot I'm headed to - If I'm going to Future World I grab the bus so I don't have to cross the entire park, if I'm headed to World Showcase for dinner and Illuminations definitely the boat/walk as you enter on that side of the park. I've never been left waiting for a connection at the TTC so maybe I've been lucky.

My rule of thumb on a 5-7 day trip is conserve the feet, conserve the feet, conserve the feet!

 

[SMS55]

The best way to get around is with your own car. Sometimes Disney transport can take a little bit or during peak hours you might have to wait for a bus or two, but not everyone has that option. We drive but once we're on site we'll use Disney transport from park to park. We'll use the monorail from MK to Epcot and the boat from Epcot to MGM. We'll drive to DTD though.

 

[SMS55]

I don't think it is direct, but there is a boat. I prefer the boat to walking..

It makes a few pit stops. It's stop at the Carribean Beach Resort, Swan and Dolphin (only 1 stop for both), Boardwalk and the HS.

 

[Cathryne]

I was just about tonstart a thread to ask about transportation! Is there a direct monorail ride from Epcot to the Grand Floridian. Or would we be transferring somewhere? Trying to plan for dinner at 1900PF...

You would take the monorail from Epcot to TTC and then transfer over to the RESORT monorail which stops at the 3 bay lake hotels.

 

[MaxsDad]

I have found that if you take the boat from DHS to Epcot, you can get off at Beach Club and walk to International Gateway before the boat can go to Boardwalk, unload and load, and then travel to International Gateway. I like to rest on the boat, but after 10-15 minutes of it, I am ready to get going!

 

[DManRightHere]

It makes a few pit stops. It's stop at the Carribean Beach Resort, Swan and Dolphin (only 1 stop for both), Boardwalk and the HS.

It stops at swan, dolphin(were those only one stop?), yacht club, and boardwalk.

At least that's what it was 2 years ago I believe.

After all the walking we do at the parks we'd rather take the 20 minite boat ride, plus the boats just fun!

 

[cw1982]

It stops at swan, dolphin(were those only one stop?), yacht club, and boardwalk.

At least that's what it was 2 years ago I believe.

After all the walking we do at the parks we'd rather take the 20 minite boat ride, plus the boats just fun!

Oh, no doubt the boats are fun And I have no qualms with taking one form of transportation over another for the fun of it. In fact, if we have time during our trip, there are several transportation modes I want to do just for the fun of it lol... including the monorail. Thinking we may head to one of the monorail resort lounges after dinner one night for a drink, just depending on how the timing works out for us. But even if not, I'm determined that we're going to find a reason to visit the Contemporary, even if only for a few minutes, because I have so many childhood memories of that place. Yes, I'm that kind of dork

 

[SMS55]

It stops at swan, dolphin(were those only one stop?), yacht club, and boardwalk.

At least that's what it was 2 years ago I believe.

After all the walking we do at the parks we'd rather take the 20 minite boat ride, plus the boats just fun!

You're right it's the yacht club and it's one stop for both the Dolphin and Swan.

 

[Arty Cordova]

Seeing the thread about taking boats from HS to Epcot got me thinking about some of our plans. I know that the best way to get from Epcot to MK is the monorail, and I now know that the best way to get from HS to Epcot is walking... is there a site that spells out, in layman's terms, what the most efficient ways between the other parks are? I tried to figure that out on the Disney website a few weeks ago but didn't have much luck... maybe it's because the site was going slow.

Unless you are a triathelete, I would not recommend walking from HS to Epcot. The boat does go from HS to Epcot but it will spot at Yacht Club and Boardwalk resorts first.