Taxi/Uber from Animal Kingdom Lodge to park?

[mariak]

So we will be staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge (Jambo) in early April, and I've heard that wait times for buses at this resort in particular can be really long. Does anyone have experience, or would you recommend, calling a cab or an uber service rather than waiting for a bus?

My main concern is missing ADR's when we inevitably decide to take a rest back at the resort mid day! I think this is one of the things that gives me the MOST anxiety on a vacation at Disney.

I'd really appreciate any input or tips! Thank you!

 

[21stamps]

So we will be staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge (Jambo) in early April, and I've heard that wait times for buses at this resort in particular can be really long. Does anyone have experience, or would you recommend, calling a cab or an uber service rather than waiting for a bus?

My main concern is missing ADR's when we inevitably decide to take a rest back at the resort mid day! I think this is one of the things that gives me the MOST anxiety on a vacation at Disney.

I'd really appreciate any input or tips! Thank you!

We used a taxi once during our trip. We used Uber several times. Uber is much cheaper than the taxi, and I never waited more than 5 minutes for one. I definitely recommend Uber for dining reservations. The parks, it's just up to you. Busses were always posted at 20 minute intervals, I chose Uber because we were running late quite a few times and I didn't even want to wait 10 minutes for a bus, and then the loading etc. Uber was also nice after the parks, much easier to just walk out of the front gate and hop into a waiting car (most are already there before you even book them or reach the exit).

 

[mariak]

We used a taxi once during our trip. We used Uber several times. Uber is much cheaper than the taxi, and I never waited more than 5 minutes for one. I definitely recommend Uber for dining reservations. The parks, it's just up to you. Busses were always posted at 20 minute intervals, I chose Uber because we were running late quite a few times and I didn't even want to wait 10 minutes for a bus, and then the loading etc. Uber was also nice after the parks, much easier to just walk out of the front gate and hop into a waiting car (most are already there before you even book them or reach the exit).

Ah okay, that's some good info! Thank you!

I remember the last time we were there, we waited for a bus back to POFQ from the magic kingdom at night (well before close) for at least an hour. I was furious after awhile because we were so exhausted and my feet were killing me. I don't know why it didn't occur to me to try any other means to get back on that trip.

Might be a stupid question, but how do you spot the difference between a driver who might be waiting for someone whose already called, vs. waiting just in hopes of giving someone a ride?

 

[21stamps]

Ah okay, that's some good info! Thank you!

I remember the last time we were there, we waited for a bus back to POFQ from the magic kingdom at night (well before close) for at least an hour. I was furious after awhile because we were so exhausted and my feet were killing me. I don't know why it didn't occur to me to try any other means to get back on that trip.

Might be a stupid question, but how do you spot the difference between a driver who might be waiting for someone whose already called, vs. waiting just in hopes of giving someone a ride?

I've never waited too long for a bus, but at Epcot and Animal Kingdom I just like to be able to jump in a car immediately without waiting, then dealing with everyone getting on the bus, and having a little more personal space.lol We did use the bus a couple of times too, just really depended on our mood and exhaustion level.

With Uber they do not take cash for the ride itself, you order on the app and it automatically charges your card after you complete your ride. It's nice because you know the cost up front, there is not a meter....but be aware -the price can go up in a matter of minutes apparently on the app. This happened to us when we used Uber from our resort to the airport, I was kind of shocked bc it literally was within 2 minutes of the first time I checked. This is only before you have selected a car. The price will not go up once you have reserved a car though, only when you are looking. (The airport ride was the one time that I noticed this, so for travel within WDW you shouldn't have that same experience)

How it works- you open the app and put in where you want to go, it will show you all of the cars in your area and approximate arrival times. Then it shows you the name and type of car of the person closest to you, then you choose to reserve or not. You then get a call from Uber with the driver on the line, when at the parks typically they will tell you they are already outside of the gates and give a more detailed description of their car.
I think right now there is a "first ride free" special. I know there is always some kind of promotion, so your first ride will be free.
You can not tip on the credit card though, the driver's can accept cash tips only.

 

[AndrewsJ]

Ah okay, that's some good info! Thank you!

I remember the last time we were there, we waited for a bus back to POFQ from the magic kingdom at night (well before close) for at least an hour. I was furious after awhile because we were so exhausted and my feet were killing me. I don't know why it didn't occur to me to try any other means to get back on that trip.

Might be a stupid question, but how do you spot the difference between a driver who might be waiting for someone whose already called, vs. waiting just in hopes of giving someone a ride?

You will get a description of the car and a picture of the driver when you book.

 

[mariak]

I've never waited too long for a bus, but at Epcot and Animal Kingdom I just like to be able to jump in a car immediately without waiting, then dealing with everyone getting on the bus, and having a little more personal space.lol We did use the bus a couple of times too, just really depended on our mood and exhaustion level.

With Uber they do not take cash for the ride itself, you order on the app and it automatically charges your card after you complete your ride. It's nice because you know the cost up front, there is not a meter....but be aware -the price can go up in a matter of minutes apparently on the app. This happened to us when we used Uber from our resort to the airport, I was kind of shocked bc it literally was within 2 minutes of the first time I checked. This is only before you have selected a car. The price will not go up once you have reserved a car though, only when you are looking. (The airport ride was the one time that I noticed this, so for travel within WDW you shouldn't have that same experience)

How it works- you open the app and put in where you want to go, it will show you all of the cars in your area and approximate arrival times. Then it shows you the name and type of car of the person closest to you, then you choose to reserve or not. You then get a call from Uber with the driver on the line, when at the parks typically they will tell you they are already outside of the gates and give a more detailed description of their car.
I think right now there is a "first ride free" special. I know there is always some kind of promotion, so your first ride will be free.
You can not tip on the credit card though, the driver's can accept cash tips only.

Ahh thank you for the detailed explanation! This is very helpful. Gonna help with the anxiety big time!

 

[21stamps]

Ahh thank you for the detailed explanation! This is very helpful. Gonna help with the anxiety big time!

You're welcome! I didn't plan on using it as much as I did, but after the first time the convenience is addicting.

Have a wonderful trip!!

 

[Disney4family]

We've used the taxi service before Uber kicked in. It saved stress and worry over missing reservations when our day was starting early or a bit magically fun but crazed. At that point, the extra $ spent was worth it. We would do something like that again. Have a great trip!

 

[Weather_Lady]

There are bus arrival/wait time screens at the resort bus depots so you'll have a rough idea of how long the wait for a bus to a given park will be. You may want to check the wait time estimates before using Uber.

FWIW, on our 8-day trip just a few weeks ago in November (when we stayed at CBR and returned to the resort every day for a nap break before heading back to the parks/dinner ADRs), we used Uber just once (to get from CBR to AKL) and buses the rest of the time. Our waits at CBR and the parks were almost all less than 10 minutes (and were always the same or less than the projected time on the screens in our CBR bus depot). Obviously the situation may be different at AKL, but we were pleasantly surprised with how good the Disney bus service was... on the occasion when we did use Uber instead (my first time ever using it -- I downloaded the app just before we left for Disney), our driver arrived within minutes and the whole process was very easy and user-friendly. After our dinner at AKL, we wanted to head to Epcot, so we took a bus from AKL to the park, after waiting at the AKL depot for a grand total of about 2 minutes...

 

[graphite1326]

HAH! I can't even afford to stay at AK Lodge let alone spend the extra money for a taxi/uber.