CBR and taking the buses?

[felix367]

So this is our first trip to Disney (my wife has been, but never stayed on-site and never with our daughter, so it was some time ago) so we don't really know what to expect. We booked the Caribbean Beach Resort just based on theme and cost, without knowing anything else about the Resort or trip times. Then she buys the Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World (or something like that, the one that allows you to access www.touringplans.com).

Anyway, she just read in that book that travel times to and from the parks are about 2-3 hours per TRIP from the CBR! So, according to the book, you shouldn't plan on getting back to your hotel for a mid-afternoon nap, which we wanted to do with our 5 year old. Did she read this wrong or is that about right for this resort? Can we change the travel times if we rent a car and drive ourselves?

Frankly, spending 6 HOURS per day waiting for and riding a bus doesn't sound like a very nice vacation.

Thanks for any advice on this!

Sean

 

[CleveRocks]

I am still a bit surprised that it takes so long for a bus to get to Epcot from the CBR, because the CBR looks like it's across the street from Epcot (at least according to Google Earth, as I've never been to Disney).

CBR is across the street from Epcot. If you start out at Aruba, building 56, walk across the grass and then cross Buena Vista Drive.

After you cross, then walk across the grass and the marsh, and probably through a mine field or two. Hop a fence, scale a wall, and then if the machine guns don't get you, you should find yourself behind and in-between Italy and Germany in Epcot's World Showcase.

CBR is across the street from the BACK of Epcot. Buses only drop off at the front (main) entrance, and hence the longer driving time than just driving across the street.

From CBR, the shortest bus ride is to MGM, not Epcot. Once you leave CBR, you might be on the bus only 3 or 4 minutes, and that's if you get a red light or two.

 

[felix367]

CleveRocks, certainly walking is probably not practical for Epcot from CBR, but according to the charts in the Unofficial Guide (pg. 358), a bus ride from CBR to Epcot is 41 minutes (average case) to 55 minutes (worst case), whereas for a car its 18 to 23 minutes (average to worst). Just wondering, when assuming the maximum wait for the bus to be 15 - 20 minutes, the average time would be so much more for a bus than a car (assuming an average wait of 10 minutes and the same travel time for a car and bus I would expect the bus' average time to be around 28 minutes [average time for car plus 10 minute wait for bus].

Also, the trip to DTD from CBR is 40 to 52 minutes for a bus, and 7 to 8 minutes for a car! That's a lot of time not enjoying Disney.

 

[CleveRocks]

CleveRocks, certainly walking is probably not practical for Epcot from CBR, but according to the charts in the Unofficial Guide (pg. 358), a bus ride from CBR to Epcot is 41 minutes (average case) to 55 minutes (worst case), whereas for a car its 18 to 23 minutes (average to worst). Just wondering, when assuming the maximum wait for the bus to be 15 - 20 minutes, the average time would be so much more for a bus than a car (assuming an average wait of 10 minutes and the same travel time for a car and bus I would expect the bus' average time to be around 28 minutes [average time for car plus 10 minute wait for bus].

Also, the trip to DTD from CBR is 40 to 52 minutes for a bus, and 7 to 8 minutes for a car! That's a lot of time not enjoying Disney.

I can see 41 minutes from CBR to Epcot only as a worst-case scenario, and I defy anyone from the Unofficial Guide to dispute what I'm about to say.

I would say the farthest walk from a room to the nearest bus stop to be 4 minutes. Let's say you JUST MISSED the Epcot bus, and wait 20 minutes for the next. Then let's say you're at the first of CBR's seven stops, and it takes 7 minutes to leave CBR. Then a 10 minute drive to Epcot.

4 + 20 + 7 +10 = 41 minutes as a worst case scenario.

I hope they're not calling their worst case scenario someone with a room in Trinidad South who walks to Old Port Royale (stopping twice to tie their shoes), goes to the food court for a coffee and muffin, and only then goes to the bus stop. That's the only way I could fathom it taking 55 minutes to get from CBR to Epcot.

I've never driven at WDW, so I can't comment on the driving side of things, since I have no knowledge of it whatsoever.

EDITED TO ADD: As for DTD, just my anecdotal spidey-sense tells me that DTD buses run less often than park buses, so I can see that taking longer in the worst-case scenario of just missing the first bus.

 

[bradandsarabr]

My family stayed in Trinadad South & had a vehicle.
We drove some day & rode the bus on others.
The total travel time was about the same either way.

 

[slappy magoo]

slappy magoo, love your sig. Reminds me of what someone said about the film Amadeus: "A movie no one understood, about music no one listens to."

Len

Thanks for the compliment, but I have to disagree with your quote about Amadeus on both counts. It's a phenomenal film. Plus, any movie with Vincent Schiavelli in it, even for 2 minutes, is watchable.