transportation

[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

 

[DisneyWorldGuru]

Originally posted by DisneyInsider


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.

I do this so I can take the monorail. But you only get a two hour parking pass so you have to be careful. Also, just like buses, cars can also take diff. routes to parks. All you need is the WDW transportation guide map, it shows almost all of the routes. I feel that a rental car is the better way to go. I feel that Disney buses are late or take a longer time to get places more times then if you were to take a rental car. I do take the buses sometimes. But if I want to get someplace quick I wouldent take a WDW bus. Also, I have other transportation workers tell me they are on time over 90% of the time, well heres my reply, "Have you ever waited for a bus at 11:30pm to go from Downtown Disney to the All-Star Movies?". I ask them this because one time I waited one hour for that bus. I thought mabye it was because of a problem. So I tried it again and the same thing one hour. The second time, everyone (about 150 people) was so mad we were about to take over an empty bus (Disney Institute's bus had no one. Disney knew that the DI had less than 200 staying there but still kept sending buses for a resort that had no one yet the All-Star people kept waiting).:fork: This is why I am for a rental car and not WDW buses. Now don't get me wrong, I love the monorails and boats (the only WDW transportation you can count on).

 

[Grumpy56]

Is there a difference between bus service at different resorts? We stayed last week at the Polynesian, and never waited more than 5 minutes for a bus. The only bus ride that was less than perfect was to DD and that was because you had to make so many stops. At the parks the bus was always right there. We didn't rent a car beacause we just wanted to relax and we were glad we did. Especially at the busy times it's nice to avoid all that mess.

 

[Erika]

I've used the busses on 4 trips- 2 at Dixie, 1 at All Star and 1 at Caribbean Beach-- and so far have never had a problem. Average wait was about 5 minutes, but it all depends on your luck. I love the drivers (lots of good stories there) and by the end of the day I am just too tired (lazy?) to drive anyway.

 

[zenatoad]

You got it Erika -- you're too tired to drive. It's a vacation -- I don't want to have to think about traffic or making sure there's gas in the car or where I parked my car or which road to take. That's not my idea of fun if I don't have to worry about those things - I drive at home.

We took the buses for 2 weeks the last time and had absolutely no real problems. We stayed at All Star Music and the buses were almost every 5-10 minutes. We resort hoped, went to DD, went to Typoon Lagoon and never had a problem. We never missed a priority seating, a show, or anything. The ONLY and I mean only problem I could see is if you stayed for the fireworks or one of the late night programs and left immediately afterwards with small children - you might have to wait for a few minutes because the buses are full and need to wait for another bus. We did that one night and wandered around in the park for 15-20 minutes after the fireworks and there was NO problem catching a bus.

It's all personnal preference. But I can find other ways of spending that money than on a stupid car that I don't need. I value you my money too much to just throw it away.

 

[DisneyWorldGuru]

Originally posted by zenatoad
We took the buses for 2 weeks the last time and had absolutely no real problems. We stayed at All Star Music and the buses were almost every 5-10 minutes.

You also went in October which is an off-peak time. I was there in the summer (peak time). The buses to the All-Star resorts during peak times is horrible.

 

[DisneyPhD]

We have been to WDW 7 times in the past 7 years, never rented a car and always took the buses. I like them. It is more of a vacation for my husband not to bother with driving, parking etc.... Buses have almost become part of the fun. We have only encountered a few problems over the past years and have noticed that Disney does work on "fixing" these problems. I also feel you get to connect with other guests better and have met some nice people while chatting on the bus.

Last visit was to Poly. I feel too many people park there and to take the monorail and this really makes it difficult for people staying at the resorts. It really isn't fair and doesn not make sense. After all you can park at TTC and then take the monorail or ferry from there. Those modes of transportation are designed to hold more people, where as resort boats and monorail is only for as many people as needed at the resorts or eating at restrant.

So please, park where you are supposed to!!!!!!:hammer:

 

[Invero]

Originally posted by DisneyWorldGuru
Also, just like buses, cars can also take diff. routes to parks.

Not always... To get to the MK Parking Lot... you must go through the Toll Plaza. Busses can circumvent that congestion by going back around by Fort Wilderness. Sure, a car can do that too... but then they can't get into the MK Parking lot. As for parking at the Polynesian, that's really not fair to those folks who are staying there, and I can tell you Disney WILL be cracking down on this very soon.

Originally posted by DisneyWorldGuru
Now don't get me wrong, I love the monorails and boats (the only WDW transportation you can count on).

LOL... I beg to differ. I wouldn't rely on those trains any more than I could throw one. Unfortunetly, our trains break down more often than we'd like... Usually the problem can be quickly fixed, however sometimes the train must return to shop, causing delays...

 

[Invero]

Originally posted by DisneyPhD
We have only encountered a few problems over the past years and have noticed that Disney does work on "fixing" these problems.

We are working hard to improve our service. In the past year alone, I've seen many significant changes that have decreased wait time. And there's still more to come

 

[DisneyKrazed]

Thanks god we have Fantasia Boi here to answer all our transportation questions.

 

[Dwarful]

I was reading on another post on this site that just this past week the parking lot at MK was closed because full capacity even to resort guests. Also AK parking lot is tiny. so if you do plan on taking a car be prepared to go early to wait in parking lines. We have done both car and busses. have had no problems with the busses. I do have a question...we will be going for 10 days in May. We were thinking of hitting the beach and Ron Jons for one day and maybe another day doing a different park. Can you rent the cars from National on a day to day basis? We want to take advantage of the E-ride nights so we cant go to the beach and other park on back to back days. (for example we cant do that on tues & wed)thanks

 

[Invero]

Originally posted by Dwarful
Can you rent the cars from National on a day to day basis?

I do beleive you can! They'll even pick you up and drop you off

 

[I love Mickey]

You can rent a car at Disney for just one or two days. I just got back from Disney at the end of March and that is what I did. I needed a car to get back to the train station. I did not want to use Mears shuttle since I have heard they do not always run on time. They will pick you up right at your hotel and take you to their office to rent your car. While we were at Disney we used Disney's transportation. We stayed at Coronado Springs and never waited more then ten minutes for the bus. Some of the drivers driving did make me a little nervous. They didnt even slow down around curves. If you are a nervous backseat driver I would say you might want to drive yourself around.

 

[mkt]

Maybe it's the fact that I'm at WDW DAILY, or the fact that I've seen Disney Transportation busses pulled over by FHP. Ot maybe it's the fact that I've been in near collisions w/ Disney busses, when they violate my right of way (and when I complained, the transportation managers IGNORED ME), or maybe the fact that I haven't had a single positive experience on a Disney bus..

I will forever drive at WDW.

 

[DisneyWorldGuru]

Originally posted by mktiggerman
Maybe it's the fact that I'm at WDW DAILY, or the fact that I've seen Disney Transportation busses pulled over by FHP. Ot maybe it's the fact that I've been in near collisions w/ Disney busses, when they violate my right of way (and when I complained, the transportation managers IGNORED ME), or maybe the fact that I haven't had a single positive experience on a Disney bus..

I will forever drive at WDW.

I agree!!! I like Disney Monorails and Boats, but sorry drivers, but I hate the buses.

 

[zenatoad]

Guess I'm just use to crazy driving - living in a big city and all - it's just SOOOOOOOOO NICE not to have to be the one dealing with other drivers while I'm down there on my vacation.

Disney transportation all the way!!!!!!

 

[DisneyPhD]

I am with you Zenataod!!!!!! sohappy: :sohappy: Part of the fun is not dealing with traffic yourself. (and for me not having to hear myhusband yell at other drivers!!!!) I like Disney transportation. I just wish they had alterntives for getting to "hard to get to places" ie other resorts, board walk, FW.
:animwink:

 

[Invero]

Yeah, there are some drivers out there that are a little... umm... off the wall in thier driving methods, so to speak... But for the most part, most of our drivers are good drivers. We do have to be defensive drivers though... you wouldn't beleive what cars (taxi's especially) will do to the busses... cut us off, pass us on double yellow lines, play games, and not allow us to change lanes or merge... It's a jungle out there

 

[DisneyWorldGuru]

Originally posted by Fantasia Boi
Yeah, there are some drivers out there that are a little... umm... off the wall in thier driving methods, so to speak... But for the most part, most of our drivers are good drivers. We do have to be defensive drivers though... you wouldn't beleive what cars (taxi's especially) will do to the busses... cut us off, pass us on double yellow lines, play games, and not allow us to change lanes or merge... It's a jungle out there

I don't mean to be rude to drivers but I just don't like the buses. I perfer to drive my own car. I have had nothing but trouble with the buses (eg-late to get places, late buses to get to stop, "wild" drivers, delays, driver changes, etc...) I do like the monorails though, and the monorail, by far is my favorite ride.

 

[Yellow Shoes]

Take your rental car to the Polynesian or Cont. and park there and take the monorail to MK. I do this all the time.

Alas, this is no longer allowed.

The resort parking lots have security guards who will ask for proof that you are a registered guest.

If you are not a guest, they will ask why you are there. It is OK to say that you just want to look around, or that you want to eat at the hotel. They will give you a 3-hour parking pass.

This is in response, no doubt to increased security after 9/11. But it is also in response to the fact that resort guests were having difficulty finding parking spaces because of the large number of non-guests in the lots.

I am guessing that they tow cars, but you really don't want to find out. Getting a car out of impound pretty much ruins your day.

Rules are there to be fair to everyone.

 

[Dwarful]

Either we have been extremely lucky or some people have had a few bad drivers but we have always had great luck on the busses. During our last trip I was pregnant and people always offered me a seat, and the drivers shared their knowledge of the parks as we rode along, never experienced any near misses...but alas we too are used to public transportation in big cities so these busses seem like grannies at the wheel compared to say..bus drivers from Chicago, Atlanta or St.Louis. We have driven our own vehicles to different parks but I definately dont recommend it to AK unless you plan on getting there super early b efore the park opens since its such a tiny lot.