TheGuyThatMakesSwords
Well-Known Member
my friend and I tried this today (partly because I wanted to see if it would be worth it to use with my sister who has two kids under 3, and partly because we both were curious about it and decided $15 really wasn't a bad cost to try it out). ideally, we would have split this up to have one test the express, and one go through regular transportation, but we both wanted to see how the express worked so it's not really a perfect experiment.
anyway, on to the info.
we started at MK. headed to the check-in by buzz around 11:45 to see if we could get the tickets there (both of us had only heard of purchasing them at the ticket booths). good news was we could, and I saw this happen at another location, so I'm assuming it wasn't a one time thing. we bought the tickets and then headed to get something to eat before leaving. we wanted to go from MK to DAK first, because it was the longest distance and this was a test in our minds(this wasn't an ideal strategy - but more on that later).
A guest relations cast member walked us to the backstage area and handed us off to another guest relations CM. we were waiting in corral like areas and there were signs for each park. the GR told us that buses had to wait until their assigned leave time (i.e. if they go to MK at 2:15 but weren't supposed to leave until 2:20, they had to wait those five minutes). they also told us they weren't checking tickets, but did keep a tally of guests in & out for counting purposes.
MK --> DAK
Waiting area: backstage, behind where Buzz lightyear meets.
Check in time: 1:05p
Bus pick up: 1:26
Bus left MK: 1:31
Bus drop off: 1:55
In park: 1:58
We really didn't have much we wanted to do in DAK, but we were thirsty so we stopped and got water before heading back to the bus to go to DHS.
DAK --> DHS
Waiting area: both onstage and backstage, but we chose to wait backstage
Check in time: 2:11p
Bus pick up: 2:30
Bus left: 2:40
Bus drop off: 2:53
In park: 2:55
this is where we got smart and asked the CM at the gate what time the epcot bus would be back (our next stop). they told us on the hour and half hour. we had fast passes for Toy Story at 3:20, so we did that and also stopped to meet moana.
as I mentioned above (and was told a few other times), the buses were supposed to wait until their assigned time to leave. we checked in at 3:55 for Epcot, and the CM told someone in the back we were there for that. we got all the way to to the back stage area, and then someone radioed the second CM we were with that the Epcot bus had "just left." this was no later than 3:56, so the "stay until assigned time" (supposedly 4:00), is not always accurate. the CM was nice enough to give us fast passes for our inconvenience. we came back around 4:15 and there were two epcot buses waiting (which we would have missed if we had waited until the designated 4:30 time).
DHS --> Epcot
Waiting area: near club villain (I'm not sure if you classify this as "backstage" since I don't really think it is, but it also isn't an area you see normally)
Check in: 3:55p (first attempt); 4:17p (second attempt)
Bus pick up: 4:18
Bus left: 4:18
Bus drop off: 4:31
In park: 4:31
Our last stop was MK, which we were told was at 10 after and 40 after (though this time it was mentioned those weren't always accurate, so be there 10 minutes before). we, again, didn't really have much we wanted to do in Epcot, so we just stopped in the stores for a few minutes before heading back.
Epcot --> MK
Waiting area: on stage, near the bathrooms to the left of spaceship earth by guest relations
Check in: 4:51p
Bus pick up: 5:17
Bus left: 5:18
Bus drop off: 5:36
In park: 5:38
and now for some notes:
Pros
Cons
- not having to go through security at every park
- starting off in the park. I honestly never realized how much the park entrance stressed me out until today.
- being able to ride the bus almost all by yourself (there never was more than two people with us, but that could be because it's new)
- cost is very effective. I was told that anyone can get the seven day ticket, but it would have to be used in seven consecutive days. so even if you are doing just two days, it would be better to just get the multi-day ticket.
- When the timing is right, this is much more efficient (see the second attempt at DHS to Epcot).
I wanted to ask about the buses and whether or not it was pulling away from regular transport, as I know that was something that was brought up here, but I forgot. all in all, I would recommend this to people who are annoyed/frustrated with the entrance process (especially those with a lot of bags!). however, if you take <5 minutes to get through security & the touchpoint, this probably isn't going to be any kind of value added. I personally would do it again if my goal is to get to 3-4 parks in one day, and get some of the major attractions at each park. I would also use this with my sister, if we were planning on 2+ days in the parks.
- inconsistent times. if we had things planned (dinner reservations, fast passes) based on what we were told the bus leave times were, we could have had a lot of things screwed up just with the DHS to Epcot fiasco.
- not offering up information on when buses would be leaving. I don't know if this is tied to not having the times worked out yet, but we had to ask to get information on when the buses were leaving. I think that is something that should just be available (ideally in a times guide or even the app, but I doubt that will happen)
- Being in backstage areas. MK was definitely the most jarring, and DHS was least.
- MK waiting area was hot because of the sun, and it was cool outside. there wasn't any kind of shade available, except a small umbrella for the cast. I was sweating by the time the bus picked us up.
there's probably a lot of things I'm forgetting that people would be interested in, so if you have questions please ask!
My complements on running a really GOOD Experiment
. Solid data, no conjecture .
