Good morning - Headed down next week and curious what the transportation is like for the Contemporary. First time staying there (normally at Coronado Springs) and wanted to better understand best practice for getting to EP, DHS, and AK early for rope drop. I assume that all of those resorts are serviced by busses. Any idea when the first bus comes through the resort? In the past, at Coronado, I could find a bus ready and waiting just over an hour before the park opens. Is that the case at the Contemp? Thanks for the information.
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Contemporary Bus Transportation
- Thread starter DisneyJacket
- Start date
Tuvalu
Premium Member
Officially buses begin operating 1 hour prior to park opening, and that was true during my recent visits in July and August. Due to capacity limits on buses, you may want to be at the bus stop a few minutes before the first bus is due in order to ensure a seat and the ability to arrive at the parks in time for rope drop.
I’m sure you probably know there’s no bus service from the Contemporary to MK. But you’re in a great spot because it’s a 15-20 minute walk. We were there last week. The only bus problem we encountered was the bus to DS around dinner time. 2 nights we waited close to an hour because lots of people were heading there for dinner. The dining options at the Contemporary are kind of limited.
We are GF right now and it's obvious they are making all kinds of effort around providing the bus service. They are pretty frequent and the drivers are really trying to organize the seating and even deal with "Who's going to EPCOT with me? Who was here first in line?" We've also seen occasional transpo superivors pulling up to ask people in line where they are headed and how long they've been waiting -- they're obviously trying to assist with staging busses to meet th need.
But the morning lines for park opening at DHS are very long. The parks are crowded right now and DHS is especially so at the 10am release of Rise boarding groups. We ended up leaving the bus line and using Uber one day (I would suggest leaving around 9am if you Uber because even Uber drives are going to share the line into DHS for a short time until ride-shares/cabs can peel away and pull up at the entrance while others pay for parking. It takes longer than you expect.) If you're going anywhere else, I wouldn't worry too much over the busses, and of course, if you're able you can walk to MK or take the monorail.
The lines for the dinner hours getting to Disney Springs have also been really long. It's very difficult to plan an arrival time for reservations, LOTS of people are trying to get to DS. It's the same situation as the morning rush for busses to DHS.
But the morning lines for park opening at DHS are very long. The parks are crowded right now and DHS is especially so at the 10am release of Rise boarding groups. We ended up leaving the bus line and using Uber one day (I would suggest leaving around 9am if you Uber because even Uber drives are going to share the line into DHS for a short time until ride-shares/cabs can peel away and pull up at the entrance while others pay for parking. It takes longer than you expect.) If you're going anywhere else, I wouldn't worry too much over the busses, and of course, if you're able you can walk to MK or take the monorail.
The lines for the dinner hours getting to Disney Springs have also been really long. It's very difficult to plan an arrival time for reservations, LOTS of people are trying to get to DS. It's the same situation as the morning rush for busses to DHS.
Last edited:
Figments Friend
Well-Known Member
I was over at the Contemporary twice last week for dining, and used the bus service from that Resort once to go over to Epcot.
I had observed earlier that their bus stop(s) are laid out quite differently from what I am used to at the 'Value Resorts'.
The way things are set up at the Contemp may be a little confusing for first timers, as I was, but this probably had more to do with me being so used to each destination having its own waiting area and bus stop.
Basically, all of the buses pull up to one area where Guests wait in a single line for everything - Parks, Springs, etc.
So unlike at the other Resorts I have stayed at, there are no seperate areas or different bus stops.
Everything happens in one spot.
So one basically lines up and waits for whatever destination they wish for to arrive.
There are benches there are well in this waiting area, and it is also shaded.
Only thing about the benches is if you sit down on one, you are now technically 'out of line'.
If you are traveling with others, that won't really be a issue since you can take turns standing in line.
Another thing to be aware of is you might wait a little longer then normal to board a bus due to the physical distancing restrictions.
They are not able to load as many Guests on the buses as they normally used to do in a effort to keep seperate parties apart.
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I had observed earlier that their bus stop(s) are laid out quite differently from what I am used to at the 'Value Resorts'.
The way things are set up at the Contemp may be a little confusing for first timers, as I was, but this probably had more to do with me being so used to each destination having its own waiting area and bus stop.
Basically, all of the buses pull up to one area where Guests wait in a single line for everything - Parks, Springs, etc.
So unlike at the other Resorts I have stayed at, there are no seperate areas or different bus stops.
Everything happens in one spot.
So one basically lines up and waits for whatever destination they wish for to arrive.
There are benches there are well in this waiting area, and it is also shaded.
Only thing about the benches is if you sit down on one, you are now technically 'out of line'.
If you are traveling with others, that won't really be a issue since you can take turns standing in line.
Another thing to be aware of is you might wait a little longer then normal to board a bus due to the physical distancing restrictions.
They are not able to load as many Guests on the buses as they normally used to do in a effort to keep seperate parties apart.
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