transportation

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tarajean1962

New Member
You guys are awesome and you certainly have an awful lot of Disney knowledge. I have just one more question about transportation..We will be renting a car as we plan to go to USF one of the days we are at AKL. Is it necessary to use it as well to get to other parks in WDW? I have heard that AKL is pretty remote.

Thanks again!
Tara:D
 
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BigAL

New Member
Car

You will need a car to go to Universal. On Disney property the buses are just as efficient at AKL as anywhere else. I prefer to take my own car to all the parks except Magic Kingdom though. It just seems easier to go hop in your car and be back at your hotel quicker than the buses.
 
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zenatoad

New Member
I would consider strongly just renting the car for the days you will be off Disney property. There is a National Car Rental office right on the property. They will pick you up at your resort, so it's no biggy to get there. While on the Disney property, I would just use the WDW transportation (buses, boats, monorail).

We stayed on property two years ago and wanted to go to IOA, Universal and Seaworld while down there, so we only rented a car for the time we would be using it. Saved us lots of money and time. One of the days we had the car we drove to Magic Kingdom. It took us much longer to get inside the park than the days we just rode the buses.

One other thing - when renting the car with National, check out their website for booking. It saved us a lot of money by booking online. And you can still use coupons or discounts.
 
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Pioneer Hall

Pioneer Hall

Well-Known Member
If you have the car...then I say use it to everywhere but the MK.

You don't have to wait for busses when you use your car. The only reason I say use the busses to the MK are because you don't have to worry about the monorail or boat...you are dropped off at the main gate. Also...since AKL is on the corner of WDW and pretty far from a lot of things (except AK of course) it will probably be a lot quicker to take your own car.
 
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DisneyWorldGuru

DisneyWorldGuru

New Member
Transportation at the Deluxe resorts are faster than the cheaper resorts, so that shouldent be a problem but I always have my own car so I can just go in a hurry. If you have a tour (eg-Keys to the Kingdom) it is better to have a car because you need to get there early. Also it is hard to go from resort to resort. If you wanted to have dinner at the Poly. you would have to take 2 buses. Which means more time.
 
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RFBDisneyTree

New Member
I stayed at AKL in December and highly recommend using the buses. The service was excellent.

I used my car one morning to go to the MK early for the Steam Train Tour. Because I was on the tour, I could park right at the Contemporary. The next morning I had an early PS at Cinderella's Royal Table. This day I used the Character bus from AKL. The bus was much easier and a bit faster.
 
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Thespis

New Member
I depends on where you're staying.
If you're in a Boardwalk area hotel, you don't need a car. You can boat or walk to Epcot or MGM, bus to AK or MK.
A taxi from anywhere on property to anywhere on property costs about $10. You can do a couple of cab rides per day for the price of a car...
 
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Terp02

Terp02

New Member
If you have a parking permit for everywhere on property use it for everything but MK, like everyone else has said. If you don't have a permit for everywhere, park your car at the boardwalk when you want to go to MGM or Epcot, and bus to MK. I definitely recommend driving to the minor parks, i.e. Typhoon, Blizzard, Downtown, etc. because the buses are very unreliable back to the hotels and have to make massive stops as well as being consistently late.
 
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donaldduck1967

donaldduck1967

Member
We rent a car every time we go to WDW. I drive everywhere. Parking is free for resort guests @ all parks and i don't have the patience to wait for disney's transportation.
 
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DisneyWorldGuru

DisneyWorldGuru

New Member
Originally posted by Terp02
If you have a parking permit for everywhere on property use it for everything but MK, like everyone else has said. If you don't have a permit for everywhere, park your car at the boardwalk when you want to go to MGM or Epcot, and bus to MK. I definitely recommend driving to the minor parks, i.e. Typhoon, Blizzard, Downtown, etc. because the buses are very unreliable back to the hotels and have to make massive stops as well as being consistently late.
Click to expand...

I couldent agree more.
 
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Lance

Lance

Active Member
Just like the majority(I think) use the car for everything. With that Resort parking pass, you can park at any parking lot for free.

Over at the AK section, the cars always seem to get pretty hot, remember to bring one of those windshield shades. I went in August to the AKL and AK and parked, came out and had to wait 10 mins for the A/C to cool down the seats!
 
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mkt

mkt

Disney's Favorite Scumbag™
Premium Member
take a rental car!

i have too many bad experiences from Disney Transportation (except for the monorails.. nothing but good stuff). My old car was hit by a Disney bus in the MGM parking lot, and my new one has had too many close calls. Not to mention that when I saw a WDW bus pulled over by Florida Highway Patrol (yes they can, and yes they will) it was kinda depressing, and the guests probably wanted to KILL the driver.

also, most rental cars come w/ GPS installed (insist on one!) so you really won't get lost.
 
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DisneyWorldGuru

DisneyWorldGuru

New Member
Originally posted by mktiggerman
take a rental car!

i have too many bad experiences from Disney Transportation (except for the monorails.. nothing but good stuff). My old car was hit by a Disney bus in the MGM parking lot, and my new one has had too many close calls. Not to mention that when I saw a WDW bus pulled over by Florida Highway Patrol (yes they can, and yes they will) it was kinda depressing, and the guests probably wanted to KILL the driver.
Click to expand...

The buses are wild. I hate them because it takes forever. Also, they don't have enough buses.
 
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Thespis

New Member
If you don't have a permit for everywhere, park your car at the boardwalk when you want to go to MGM or Epcot, and bus to MK.
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I'm not trying to be the parking police, but parking at the Boardwalk and going to a park is convenient, but not the best thing to do. The parking at the Boardwalk is for guests visiting or staying at the Boardwalk. If enough people do it, the option will be removed as it has at the Contemporary and the Poly. If you try to park in one of their lots, you will be asked why you're there. If you don't have a PS, you may not be allowed to park.
Ignore this if you like, I just had to say it...
 
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Invero

Invero

Well-Known Member
Originally posted by tarajean1962
You guys are awesome and you certainly have an awful lot of Disney knowledge. I have just one more question about transportation..We will be renting a car as we plan to go to USF one of the days we are at AKL. Is it necessary to use it as well to get to other parks in WDW? I have heard that AKL is pretty remote.

Thanks again!
Tara:D
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AK Lodge is a great resort, I'm sure you'll enjoy it! :)

As for Transportation... Maybe it's because I work for Disney Transport, but I'd suggest trying out the busses. In regards to time... despite rumors to the otherwise... 95% of the time, the busses are going to be quicker than taking a car. And this is why...

We'll use MK for our example. Going to the Magic Kingdom in the morning, World Drive gets extremely congested and backed up around the MK Toll Plaza, and during busy seasons, it will back up for 1-2miles. With a car... sure, you get free parking as a resort guest, but you still have to wait in that line. Disney Busses can use alternate routes that will bypass that line.

With the bus, they'll drop you off right near the main entrance, whereas with a car, you have to take a parking tram to and from the entrance. And some of those tram lines can get long at night during an exit. Also, don't forget, you have to take the Monorail or Ferry boat to get to the MK from the parking lot.


But of course, it's all up to you... Happy Travels. :)
 
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Pioneer Hall

Pioneer Hall

Well-Known Member
Originally posted by DisneyWorldGuru
Take your rental car to the Polynesian or Cont. and park there and take the monorail to MK. I do this all the time.
Click to expand...

Why would you do that when you can take a bus which is much quicker. And as a disney resort guest you get free parking everywhere.
 
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