Transportation?

T

tabby1222

Active Member
So we have several days already planned out, but I am wondering how the easiest way to get from All-star movies to Fort Wilderness is. We will have a car, but I would rather not drive once I am on property. The day we are going is a resort/possibly DS day.

My mom is a staunch "I will not do ride sharing like Uber/Lyft" person. She was willing to do a Minnie Van, but holy $$$. And then she realized they get scheduled from Lyft and not WDW, and we are right back to square one. And the stupid Minnie Van is so much more than a regular Lyft.

So, help me. I don't really want to drive, but I also don't want to have to take a bus to a park, then to a new resort, and do it all over again after our 8:30 Hoop-dee-doo show.

TIA!
Tabby
 
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Queen of the WDW Scene

Queen of the WDW Scene

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
No
Well sounds like someone is going to have to compromise somewhere.
Either drive your car.
Take a bus to a park/DS and then transfer to the fort. (I'd probably suggest MK and then someone correct me if I'm wrong but then take a boat?)
Or take a Minnie Van which while yes is operated by lyft the drivers are CM's.
 
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Hcalvert

Hcalvert

Well-Known Member
Queen of the WDW Screne said:
Well sounds like someone is going to have to compromise somewhere.
Either drive your car.
Take a bus to a park/DS and then transfer to the fort. (I'd probably suggest MK and then someone correct me if I'm wrong but then take a boat?)
Or take a Minnie Van which while yes is operated by lyft the drivers are CM's.
Click to expand...

OP can take a boat from MK to Fort Wilderness. I personally rather take a Minnie Van.
 
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JohnD

JohnD

Well-Known Member
tabby1222 said:
So we have several days already planned out, but I am wondering how the easiest way to get from All-star movies to Fort Wilderness is. We will have a car, but I would rather not drive once I am on property. The day we are going is a resort/possibly DS day.

My mom is a staunch "I will not do ride sharing like Uber/Lyft" person. She was willing to do a Minnie Van, but holy $$$. And then she realized they get scheduled from Lyft and not WDW, and we are right back to square one. And the stupid Minnie Van is so much more than a regular Lyft.

So, help me. I don't really want to drive, but I also don't want to have to take a bus to a park, then to a new resort, and do it all over again after our 8:30 Hoop-dee-doo show.

TIA!
Tabby
Click to expand...

If time isn't an issue, bus to MK. Boat from MK to Ft. Wilderness. You'll have to go through security at MK to do this, though. Personally, I'd drive, but that's just me. In fairness, it has taken me several years before I got used to driving around.
 
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nickys

nickys

Premium Member
Since your Mom won’t do ride sharing and you don’t want to drive or take a bus, I don’t really know what to suggest.

You could get a regular taxi, they do still exist! But at FW, a taxi (or Uber) can only drop off and pick up at the main gate parking lot. Same for driving yourself. To get to Hoop de Doo, you’d then need to get an internal bus. A Minnie Van will take you to the door.

Personally I’d go to MK and get the boat. After the late night HDDR, they will have buses to take you back. But sometimes all the buses end up going back to MK where you have to change. It happened to us on New Year’s Day, but luckily we were staying at Bay Lake so we just walked back.
 
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T

tabby1222

Active Member
Original Poster
thanks for the replies. I’m not sure what we are going to do. I just enjoy the idea of parking the vehicle and not driving. To me, it’s a perk to staying on property. We’ve always had good luck with buses, so it’s never been a problem. My mom is worried about times, and I’m in the group of we leave early and see the resort before our time. She would rather leave at last possible minute and hope it all works out. Not happening. :)

I know my youngest would love a Minnie van, but double the price makes me want to puke. That’s ridiculous. It already costs a fortune to go, especially for a teacher/single mom, let’s not price gauge for a stupid van. But I also know it is part of the price you pay to go to Disney, nothing is cheap. ;)
 
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Queen of the WDW Scene

Queen of the WDW Scene

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
No
tabby1222 said:
thanks for the replies. I’m not sure what we are going to do. I just enjoy the idea of parking the vehicle and not driving. To me, it’s a perk to staying on property. We’ve always had good luck with buses, so it’s never been a problem. My mom is worried about times, and I’m in the group of we leave early and see the resort before our time. She would rather leave at last possible minute and hope it all works out. Not happening. :)

I know my youngest would love a Minnie van, but double the price makes me want to puke. That’s ridiculous. It already costs a fortune to go, especially for a teacher/single mom, let’s not price gauge for a stupid van. But I also know it is part of the price you pay to go to Disney, nothing is cheap. ;)
Click to expand...

I'm hearing a lot of complaints and excuses in this post.
Its difficult to give advice to someone that just wants it their way.
Minnie Vans are not going to bring down their price just because you feel its "ridiculous".
And the teacher/single mom card is lost on me since my sister is a teacher and single mom and she's not saying "oh its so hard on me and expensive".
If you want to get there early and take the free transportation Disney offers then do so and if your mom wants to use a different mode of transport to arrive just in time then let her make her own choice.
 
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T

tabby1222

Active Member
Original Poster
Queen of the WDW Screne said:
I'm hearing a lot of complaints and excuses in this post.
Its difficult to give advice to someone that just wants it their way.
Minnie Vans are not going to bring down their price just because you feel its "ridiculous".
And the teacher/single mom card is lost on me since my sister is a teacher and single mom and she's not saying "oh its so hard on me and expensive".
If you want to get there early and take the free transportation Disney offers then do so and if your mom wants to use a different mode of transport to arrive just in time then let her make her own choice.
Click to expand...

I’m sorry that you feel I’m making excuses, and I’m sorry that you feel the need to address my post so negatively. But you have no idea what anyone’s circumstances are. And have no right to criticize mine.

If you weren’t a new member, and had any idea of how to respond appropriately, and knew the slightest thing about me, it might be a different story. I was looking for an alternative to a scenario. Lots of people have different ways of moving from resort to resort, and I thought I might find a different option, which I did. I had no idea a boat could take us from MK.

As for money, I have my right to say it is ridiculous. And as a teacher and single mom, I am also saving every spare penny for an adoption and the fees associated with one. Which I have posted about many times. Which, I guess, is an excuse if you want to call it that. And when I have already paid a small fortune to take my three kids and my mom on a week long vacation, I can absolutely choose to complain about the price of a Minnie van. I also have a family of AP’s, and this is our third trip in less than a year, so I have given Disney plenty of money.

Regardless, your post was uncalled for. Lots of people post many things complaining about money. If that is all you took away from my post, please stop responding. Your tone is not appreciated.
 
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Weather_Lady

Weather_Lady

Well-Known Member
The boat to FW from the gateway of MK (but also near the monorail station, if you were coming from Epcot) that @JohnD mentioned is the best, most direct way to get to the Hoop-Dee-Doo Revue, and it will drop you off near Pioneer Hall, which is the end of FW where you'd want to be. (Buses will drop you at the front entrance, and you'd then have to catch an internal shuttle to Pioneer Hall).

If you can adjust your plans for the day so you're at the MK already, that would save you the extra bus ride from your hotel to the MK. Either way, I'd allow 60 minutes to get to MK if you have to go there from the hotel, and another 30 minutes for the boat from there to Fort Wilderness.

For Hoop-Dee-Doo, they'll tell you you need to be there 30 minutes before showtime to get checked in. You don't need to do that but you should aim to arrive then anyway, so that if the boat takes longer or you are otherwise delayed, you've got an extra <30-minute cushion. Actual check-in takes all of 30 seconds and the tables are pre-assigned, so there's no advantage to lining up early. The reason they tell you to arrive early to Pioneer Hall is just so they can take your family's picture and pressure you to buy it while you stand around in the elements, waiting for the doors to open. (Should you find you have time to kill before your ADR, there is a playground conveniently located nearby with some picnic tables and seating.)

This means that if you are heading to FW from your hotel, you're going to be leaving 2 hours before your Hoop-Dee-Doo showtime. If leaving directly from the MK, you'll want to be waiting for the boat 1 hour before showtime.
 
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zeebs758

zeebs758

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
Yes
There are only a few options for you to get to Hoop Dee Do
  1. Drive yourself and park at FW. Then take internal bus system (I would suggest doing this)
  2. Take Uber/Lyft to FW. Then take internal bus system
  3. Take Minnie Van directly to Hoop Dee Do (fastest but most expensive)
  4. Take bus to MK then take boat which drops you off right near Hoop Dee Do (it will take the longest but it's free)
Those are the fastest and most efficient ways but in your original post you said you didn't want to do any of these. Unfortunately, you will have to do one of the options above to get to Hoop Dee Do. I would suggest that you should just use your car for this one time, park at the lot and then take the internal bus system. It won't cost you anything and will be very time efficient. Disney does not make it easy to get to Hoop Dee Do.
 
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T

tabby1222

Active Member
Original Poster
Awesome. Thanks for so much info!!! I think after looking at the info and seeing how long other options will take, then adding in the horrible heat right now and two very chaotic boys we will probably just do the Minnie van. Ugh. At least the positive is that my little guy will be so stoked! My mom feels better knowing that it is CM’s driving so it looks like that’s the plan.
 
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JohnD

JohnD

Well-Known Member
Weather_Lady said:
The boat to FW from the gateway of MK (but also near the monorail station, if you were coming from Epcot) that @JohnD mentioned is the best, most direct way to get to the Hoop-Dee-Doo Revue, and it will drop you off near Pioneer Hall, which is the end of FW where you'd want to be. (Buses will drop you at the front entrance, and you'd then have to catch an internal shuttle to Pioneer Hall).

If you can adjust your plans for the day so you're at the MK already, that would save you the extra bus ride from your hotel to the MK. Either way, I'd allow 60 minutes to get to MK if you have to go there from the hotel, and another 30 minutes for the boat from there to Fort Wilderness.

For Hoop-Dee-Doo, they'll tell you you need to be there 30 minutes before showtime to get checked in. You don't need to do that but you should aim to arrive then anyway, so that if the boat takes longer or you are otherwise delayed, you've got an extra <30-minute cushion. Actual check-in takes all of 30 seconds and the tables are pre-assigned, so there's no advantage to lining up early. The reason they tell you to arrive early to Pioneer Hall is just so they can take your family's picture and pressure you to buy it while you stand around in the elements, waiting for the doors to open. (Should you find you have time to kill before your ADR, there is a playground conveniently located nearby with some picnic tables and seating.)

This means that if you are heading to FW from your hotel, you're going to be leaving 2 hours before your Hoop-Dee-Doo showtime. If leaving directly from the MK, you'll want to be waiting for the boat 1 hour before showtime.
Click to expand...

I indicated that you have to go through security. Now, I'm not so sure. I think that, after disembarking the bus, you can walk directly to the boats and monorail without going through security. That would definitely make things more convenient.
 
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Smiley/OCD

Smiley/OCD

Well-Known Member
Queen of the WDW Screne said:
I'm hearing a lot of complaints and excuses in this post.
Its difficult to give advice to someone that just wants it their way.
Minnie Vans are not going to bring down their price just because you feel its "ridiculous".
And the teacher/single mom card is lost on me since my sister is a teacher and single mom and she's not saying "oh its so hard on me and expensive".
If you want to get there early and take the free transportation Disney offers then do so and if your mom wants to use a different mode of transport to arrive just in time then let her make her own choice.
Click to expand...
Geez, a little snarky, aren't we? AND for a new member at that...the OP had legitimate questions to ask for transportation. As much as sarcasm reigns supreme on here, (and I'm just as guilty as the next guy), tone it down a little.
 
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"El Gran Magnifico"

"El Gran Magnifico"

Bring Me A Shrubbery
Premium Member
Bus to MK. Walk to Contemporary. Boat to FW. No Security and you get to resort hop as a bonus.

Just confirm that they'll still be running after HDD (I think it runs to about 11 or an hour after park close). Otherwise the return trip could turn out like:

377763
 
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