Pop Century transportation wait times

[Wellhello]

Hey all,
My family and I are heading to WDW in the next few weeks staying at pop. There are 7 of us in total and was curious if any of you had an idea on wait times in the morning for the busses and skyliner. Also, about what time does the transportation start running to the parks? I appreciate any and all info!!

 

[Figments Friend]

Transportation typically begins an hour before the Parks open, and continues until about an hour and a half after Park closing.
I would be sure to check when you arrive, as they do have signage out indicating the operating times each day where you await the buses and Skyliner at 'Pop'.

I was staying a 'Pop Century' all of last week, and the lines in the morning to get to any of the Theme Parks were VERY long.
The primary reason for this was that they are requiring Guests to keep six feet apart while lined up, so the long lines can be misleading and visually intimidating.
The other reason for the long lines is that they are not able to load as many Guests onto the buses or gondolas as they normally would due to the spacing restrictions. So instead of 60 to 80 people packing onto a bus, they are only allowing six small groups of people on at once...which may be about 15 to 20 people at a time.

The Skyliner and Bus lines are both quite long in the morning.
They greatly diminish as the day wears on.

I waited about 45 to 60 minutes to board a morning bus to Magic Kingdom...on a Tuesday morning around 8:30am.
Waited about 25 to 35 minutes to board the Skyliner on a Thursday morning about 9:00am
I would allow at least an hour, hour and a half travel time to any of the Parks if taking Transportation in the morning when most other Guests are doing the same thing.

If you want to avoid the wait times and the long lines, wait and depart for the Parks around 11pm or after.
Very short wait...at both Bus and Skyliner.

Hope this helps, and have a great visit !



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[Wellhello]

Transportation typically begins an hour before the Parks open, and continues until about an hour and a half after Park closing.
I would be sure to check when you arrive, as they do have signage out indicating the operating times each day where you await the buses and Skyliner at 'Pop'.

I was staying a 'Pop Century' all of last week, and the lines in the morning to get to any of the Theme Parks were VERY long.
The primary reason for this was that they are requiring Guests to keep six feet apart while lined up, so the long lines can be misleading and visually intimidating.
The other reason for the long lines is that they are not able to load as many Guests onto the buses or gondolas as they normally would due to the spacing restrictions. So instead of 60 to 80 people packing onto a bus, they are only allowing six small groups of people on at once...which may be about 15 to 20 people at a time.

The Skyliner and Bus lines are both quite long in the morning.
They greatly diminish as the day wears on.

I waited about 45 to 60 minutes to board a morning bus to Magic Kingdom...on a Tuesday morning around 8:30am.
Waited about 25 to 35 minutes to board the Skyliner on a Thursday morning about 9:00am
I would allow at least an hour, hour and a half travel time to any of the Parks if taking Transportation in the morning when most other Guests are doing the same thing.

If you want to avoid the wait times and the long lines, wait and depart for the Parks around 11pm or after.
Very short wait...at both Bus and Skyliner.

Hope this helps, and have a great visit !



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Thank you so much!!! Just trying to figure out the best way to get to the parks in the morning. We’re traveling with a toddler who still needs a car seat or we would Uber. My wife suggested just driving to magic kingdom but I assume we would run into the same problem with wait times at the TTC to take us to the park. Again, thank you so much for the help!!

 

[Figments Friend]

Thank you so much!!! Just trying to figure out the best way to get to the parks in the morning. We’re traveling with a toddler who still needs a car seat or we would Uber. My wife suggested just driving to magic kingdom but I assume we would run into the same problem with wait times at the TTC to take us to the park. Again, thank you so much for the help!!

With the shorter hours of operations at the moment, the real crowd crunch times are indeed early morning.
Magic Kingdom has been opening at 9am over the past couple of weeks, so Guests start lining up for the buses at the Resort hotels like 'Pop Century' by 7:00am.
Buses will start departing at 8am.
Ditto for the Skyliner if you are going to Epcot or Hollywood Studios from 'Pop Century' Resort.
People start lining up early.

If you want to try to avoid getting up so early during a vacation, or avoid the long lines waiting for Transportaion, I recommend leaving your Resort hotel later in the morning...such as 10am or 11am.
The crowds should already have left the area.

The best time to be in any Park during this current unusual period is the last two or three hours of operation before closing for the day, or the first hour in the morning after opening in my own personal experience as of last week.
Not as overly crowded and wait times had dropped considerably in many cases when compared to earlier in the day.

Naturally with the shorter operational hours most Guests want to rush to the Parks as early as possible to get a 'full day'.
But arriving to a Park later in the morning can help you avoid the masses of people wanting to all do the same thing and flood the Transporation venues.

This is the same as for when the Park closes for the day.
Avoid getting swept up in the massive long lines awaiting to return to your Resort hotel by staying in the Park and enjoying the scenery or shops.
All of the Theme Parks have their main entrance shopping areas open up to an hour past their scheduled Park closing time.
So you can still stay past closing and enjoy the shops on Main Street, MouseGear at Epcot, a couple of the shops on Discovery Island in Animal Kingdom, or the shops on Hollywood Blvd. at the Studios.

If you get into a queue line for a Attraction right before the Park closing time, you will still be able to ride said Attraction past closing.
This is a great way to get a 'last ride' of the night in...or try to experience something you missed earlier in the day due to long waits.
As long as you are IN the queue before closing time, you will get to ride.


These are both great ways to stay in the Park longer to avoid getting yourself into the crowded mess that is known as 'Park Dump'....when everyone tries to leave at once as soon as the Park closes.
Be smart...and take your time to leave.
When you do eventually depart ( half hour or hour after closing time ) the Transporation lines should be all but gone and you can have a more enjoyable experience getting back to your Resort without dealing with the masses.
Keep in mind however that Transporation typically stops running an hour and half after closing time, but do check during your visit.

If you choose to use Uber of Lyft services, I beleive that you will need to request a drop off at the Contemporary Resort as they are not allowed to drop off directly in front of the entrance to the Magic Kingdom.
It is a very short walk from the Contemporarty Resort to the Magic Kingdom turnstiles.

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[Figments Friend]

Photo i snapped of the long bus line for Magic Kingdom at 'Pop Century' on the morning of Tuesday, September 21st, around 8:30am.
An example of how long they can become in the morning due to the physical distancing and limited capacity allowed on the buses.

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[RevRemy]

@Figments Friend nailed it. We just got back from PoP and the transportation lines were as described. In fact, on one of my morning runs, I noticed 3 people in line for the skyliner before 7 am.

For MK, if you plan to rope drop, be in line no later than 8 am. The line may look long but they had 9 busses lined up and making the loop the Monday morning we went.

For HS, we were in line by 8:15 and got in to the park at 9:40. Where the line is long at PoP, where it really gets long is the Caribbean station because of the mass merger from three resorts.

For EPCOT, we decided to get moving about 930 and were to the Park by 1030 and in line for Frozen by 1045.

For AK we got in line just a little after 7 and were there at the park by 730 - 740. This was the easiest morning of transportation.

Do not let the long lines intimidate you (and they will). Remember they are spacing people 6-7 foot apart. The lines moved fast for all modes and Disney did great to make sure they kept moving.

**Side note. The bus line at Disney Spring for POP can get a little long in the evening but we still only waited a max of 20 minutes.

 

[lilmzkitty]

I was just at Pop Sept 27 - Oct 3. As others have said, transportation lines were long!

On Monday - we decided to skip rope drop, but I was waiting for my mobile order and decided to watch the bus situation for Animal and Magic Kingdoms. Parks opened at 10 and I think I started watching the busses around 8:45. I timed one party who waited ~35-40 minutes to board the MK bus. They had cast members out trying to direct people to the right lines, but guests were just yelling and complaining to them (the guy directing traffic was super nice and had a manager nearby to deal with the complaints).

With a Tuesday 10am Animal Kingdom opening, we got in line for the bus at 8:30, the busses started running at 9am, we were on the third bus, in the park by 9:20, did Pandora before official park opening. On Friday with a 10am Magic Kingdom opening, got in line at 8:30 for the busses, they were already running. Getting a bus back to the hotel not at park closing was a 5-30 minute wait.

Skyliner for Epcot was super easy, got into Epcot just after 10am (11am opening, Skyliner hours said they start running at 10:30). Walk on from Pop, transfer at CBR took 5 minutes. For our HS day we did a 8:20 breakfast reservation at Boardwalk, lyfted over and after breakfast we walked over to HS, got in the park around 9:20. We were rained out of the Skyliner back from Epcot one day and I think they forgot they needed to send busses to pick us up. After waiting 30 minutes (not moving), I called a lyft to take us back to the hotel as the bus line was a mess of people not distancing, not wearing masks, and not knowing what was going on (as busses were not coming).

 

[castlecake2.0]

@Figments Friend nailed it. We just got back from PoP and the transportation lines were as described. In fact, on one of my morning runs, I noticed 3 people in line for the skyliner before 7 am.

For MK, if you plan to rope drop, be in line no later than 8 am. The line may look long but they had 9 busses lined up and making the loop the Monday morning we went.

For HS, we were in line by 8:15 and got in to the park at 9:40. Where the line is long at PoP, where it really gets long is the Caribbean station because of the mass merger from three resorts.

For EPCOT, we decided to get moving about 930 and were to the Park by 1030 and in line for Frozen by 1045.

For AK we got in line just a little after 7 and were there at the park by 730 - 740. This was the easiest morning of transportation.

Do not let the long lines intimidate you (and they will). Remember they are spacing people 6-7 foot apart. The lines moved fast for all modes and Disney did great to make sure they kept moving.

**Side note. The bus line at Disney Spring for POP can get a little long in the evening but we still only waited a max of 20 minutes.

I love morning runs at pop! I was wondering about mask situation for this, if I had to wear one or it’s not needed during jogs?

 

[RevRemy]

I love morning runs at pop! I was wondering about mask situation for this, if I had to wear one or it’s not needed during jogs?

I did not wear one on my runs and no one said anything. I run early as well. Something to be aware of, they have barriers set up on the running trail around hourglass lake. Some are a little easier to get around than others. One day, I ran the path taking a right out of the resort out back and ended up following the sidewalk around the outside of Art of Animation. Never was stopped. Another time, I went around barriers, and was not stopped then either.

 

[Figments Friend]

I love morning runs at pop! I was wondering about mask situation for this, if I had to wear one or it’s not needed during jogs?

The official statement from Disney is that while you are on their Property and in areas with other Guests, a face mask must be worn...even if outside.
Naturally that doesn't apply when in your hotel room since you are isolated from others, but even walking around outside on the grounds of the hotel or hanging around the corridors one is requested to have a mask on.

Cast were doing a pretty good job patrolling around making sure everyone had one on when I was there, but your milage may vary in your own experience while visiting.
So give it a go and see what happens.
I would image having to wear a mask while doing exercise like jogging would be very uncomfortable and restrict breathing.

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[codatwin]

We considered renting a car. We will need to rent scooters because of my bad back and knee. Is using a car easier than waiting in long lines for transportation or does a car present it's own challenges?

 

[NelleBelle]

I'd say prior to this covid mess and the limited-opening schedule for parking it was easier to rent a car. You didn't have to rely on Disney transportation or wait in their lines for transportation. Unless you were renting an outside scooter/bringing one from home, that was kinda a pain with a rental--my grandfather brought his own scooter than collapsed and would fit in the back of an SUV/minivan (which we needed with 6 of us) but it was doable. A plus was that with his handicap placard, we were able to park fairly close and didn't need to use the parking lot tram (which currently isn't even running). The parking lots now are only opening a very short time before the park does to avoid a large collection of people at the main gates, so cars back up at the booths waiting to pay/get in.

 

[LovePop]

We considered renting a car. We will need to rent scooters because of my bad back and knee. Is using a car easier than waiting in long lines for transportation or does a car present it's own challenges?

Cars are easier if you don't mind driving. I hate driving, but most people say a car is better in WDW.

 

[starwarsfan2]

My son and I were there last year after the Skyliner opened way prior to Covid, and were amazed that nobody was riding them. We sometimes were the only ones cued up.

 

[Pooh'sBuddy]

If anyone is staying now or has recently stayed at Pop or AoA, would you please update us on what the various modes of transportation times, especially Skyliner, are like?

 

[DisneyTransport]

My son and I were there last year after the Skyliner opened way prior to Covid, and were amazed that nobody was riding them. We sometimes were the only ones cued up.

Well, Skyliner is really just for the hotel guests, and not a lot of people can get to it /know how to. I used to go there a lot and rarely saw a long line the Trinidad Station.

 

[PolynesianPrincess]

Well, Skyliner is really just for the hotel guests, and not a lot of people can get to it /know how to. I used to go there a lot and rarely saw a long line the Trinidad Station.

A lot of people I know who are locals and not staying at Disney resorts use the Skyliner. When they visit the resorts they'll hop over to one of the other resorts via the Skyliner. Also quite a few people take the Skyliner from MGM over to Epcot and go to the Boardwalk area hotels. It's not really just for resort guests only. Trinidad station is ALWAYS busy in the mornings now.

 

[DisneyTransport]

A lot of people I know who are locals and not staying at Disney resorts use the Skyliner. When they visit the resorts they'll hop over to one of the other resorts via the Skyliner. Also quite a few people take the Skyliner from MGM over to Epcot and go to the Boardwalk area hotels. It's not really just for resort guests only. Trinidad station is ALWAYS busy in the mornings now.

interesting, I've never seen it packed with people (minus when it was first opening) but I too use it to travel the various hotels, but a lot of locals in my circle don't know where to park to access it and end up not bothering with it when they visit HS or epcot. I'm interesting in the statistics actually. Who rides it more? resort guests or others just wanting the free ride?

 

[castlecake2.0]

If anyone is staying now or has recently stayed at Pop or AoA, would you please update us on what the various modes of transportation times, especially Skyliner, are like?

Stayed a few weeks ago and rarely waited, but we travelled at off peak times. Longest wait was after Epcot closed one day and it was only 45 mins from leaving the park to being in our room.

 

[NelleBelle]

Stayed a few weeks ago and rarely waited, but we travelled at off peak times. Longest wait was after Epcot closed one day and it was only 45 mins from leaving the park to being in our room.

I dare say you’d probably ha e waited the same for a bus (if they ran one to the resort...I don’t know if they off that as an option for “skyliner” resorts or not)