Disney Transportation Question

[slowbee]

I need a little help from the masses... Everytime we've gone to WDW ,we always rent a car. The big reason is because we like the ability to jump from here to there without having to get on a bus.. etc. Plus we have to kids, one being a 9 month old who needs extra gear to bring to the parks

We're going back in December for 4 days and wondering how much of hassle it is to use the disney transportation system if you do alot of park hopping or going to resorts for dinners?

We're staying at Coronado Springs this time (still can't get a reservations at a Monorail resort), which is down in the AK area, so travel back and forth will take a little longer.

 

[tigsmom]

Its not hard to do, but do build some extra time into your plans. We drive down, but only use our car for waterparks,DTD and very late plans.

We usually do 2 parks a day (am in one - rest at resort- then back to another park/resort for dinner and evening fun). My kids are older now, but we have always done it this way. :wave:

 

[wannab@dis]

The Disney transport should be fine between your room and the parks or between the parks. However, between resorts is a little bit of a pain. We're calling a taxi for those times and have read the costs should be less than $10 with tip between any two spots on property. You can also request car seats when calling the taxi and they'll send a van to pick you up. Never forget that your resort front desk should be able to help you out if you have any problems.

 

[Yellow Shoes]

Remember that strollers need to be folded up on the busses.

Everyone sharing your bus will appreciate it greatly if you do this before the bus arrives.

Like has been said, resort to resort transportation takes a while, but is possible.

Even though the official literature may suggest using Downtown Disney as your intermediate stop, use a park instead. Bus service in DD is notoriously slow.

 

[col]

seems you are staying at coronado springs it will quicker to go to animal kingdom because its in that resort area. i myself enjoy disney transportation i find it better than using a car because disney buses drop you right by the entrances.

but they do get crowded and you have to wait for everyone to get on but that happens on all buses. you could always go to a resort that has a monorail going through it and get it to either another resort or a disney park.

 

[slowbee]

...... you could always go to a resort that has a monorail going through it and get it to either another resort or a disney park.

I've been trying since we made our reservations in August to get into either the Poly or Contemp. resorts. I've had ZERO luck. It's still very hard for me to believe that the Contempory, Poly and the GF are all sold out for Dec 1st thru the 4th. That is their value season (based on their rate scale) and 3 of the most expensive resorts are sold out.

 

[HunnyPot]

We've stayed @ Coronado before and it wasn't bad. The bus rides were a little longer than others, but as long as you plan ahead for that, you'll be fine. The only real hassel I see is having to fold down the stroller every time you get on/off, because you can't take them upright onto the bus.

When we went with my parents, we did some driving from park to park and we found it was actually harder to do it that way. At least for us. For example, at Magic Kingdom, you will have to monorail from the park to TTC, then catch the tram to take you to your car, walk to your car, get settled in, and drive off. If you just walked from the front gate of MK, to the bus stop, wait around 10 minutes or less for a bus, and your off. It makes more sense in my opinion.

 

[col]

ok so ive just been thinking what if you stayed at a resort like boardwalk or a resort that is in walking distance to epcot coz if you stayed at the boardwalk you could get the boat to epcot (you dont have to put the strollers down on the boat) walk through epcot and get the monorail from epcot to magic kingdom? just a suggestion!

 

[shoppingnut]

ok so ive just been thinking what if you stayed at a resort like boardwalk or a resort that is in walking distance to epcot coz if you stayed at the boardwalk you could get the boat to epcot (you dont have to put the strollers down on the boat) walk through epcot and get the monorail from epcot to magic kingdom? just a suggestion!

The walk through epcot to the monorail is quite a long walk and with all the walking does in a day in the parks, it's not something I'd do just so I didn't have to fold a stroller. Also that walk will probably take longer than going out front of your resort and catching the bus to the park.

 

[Moustronaut]

I've been trying since we made our reservations in August to get into either the Poly or Contemp. resorts. I've had ZERO luck. It's still very hard for me to believe that the Contempory, Poly and the GF are all sold out for Dec 1st thru the 4th. That is their value season (based on their rate scale) and 3 of the most expensive resorts are sold out.

Both Poly and Contemporary are in the middle of renovation so sizeable chunks of each resort is unavaible for booking. I'm sure WDW is trying to get as much done as possible before the Christmas holiday season so early December could be especially tight

 

[col]

The walk through epcot to the monorail is quite a long walk and with all the walking does in a day in the parks, it's not something I'd do just so I didn't have to fold a stroller. Also that walk will probably take longer than going out front of your resort and catching the bus to the park.

i know that but that was what i was thinking about- taking a nice walk through epcot then catching a monorail to magic kingdom or a monorail resort in that area. i myself am not a follower of the monorail or the boats i prefer the bus but they are a nice change of transport every now and again.

 

[Laura]

I will be honest. I absolutely do not like using the Disney bus transportation. We always drive the 11 hours rather than fly, even though sometimes flying costs less, because we like having our own vehicle.

Let's say you want to go to Boma for breakfast. This would require walking to the bus stop, folding up the stroller, getting 2 kids and a stroller on the bus (which you may not even get a seat and have to stand while holding all this stuff), riding the bus to the Animal Kingdom, unloading all your kids and gear, walking to a new bus stop and waiting for another bus, loading all your stuff onto the second bus, and riding to Animal Kingdom Lodge. Then to get back you'd have to do it all over again.

In 6 weeks I'm tagging along on my aunt's vacation and I could not persuade them to rent a car with me, nor do they have the money to stay anywhere except a value resort. Since we will be relying on value resort bus transportation (ick) we are only going to eat sit down meals in the parks, except for going to the hoop dee doo, which we'll be leaving straight from MK to go there so it will be a simple boat ride. So if you're going to rely on busses I'd recommend sticking with restaurants that you can access via boat or monorail from the park you'll be at that day.

 

[MickeyTigg]

We have been going to WDW since 1990. We have gone when on one trip, one of our kids was 2 weeks old. We went again when he was 1, 2 & 3 years old. We have taken a stroller and a diaper bag. Normally we stay for 10-12 days.

Never in any of those trips have we wished we had a car. We have always used Disney Transportation and never had a problem. The few times Disney could not accommodate us (either a too early breakfast at a resort or we didn't want to wait for a bus at the end of the day), we took a cab. You can get anywhere on grounds by cab for $10-15.

Unless you're going off grounds, I've never seen the sense in getting a car.

 

[Yoop33]

I personally do not like driving MY OWN TRUCK. I get so uspset at people not knowing where they are going that I would much rather take the bus. I admit the resort is very big and sometimes can be intimidating but come on people all you have to do is read the signs. (or get navigation which I recommend for every single passanger vehicle) I just stay a lot more cool, calm and happy knowning that I will get there safe,(besides the fact that I watched a Disney bus catch on fire at the Downtown Disney stop a couple weeks ago) in a somewhat timly mannor, and that I am saving a lot of money in gas by taking the bus. Oh and there is no back seat driver to yell at you too!!!
And the bus drivers are always very nice and helpful when it comes to getting info on where to go or what bus to take.