When staying at an EPCOT resort, how many of you take the boat?

[durangojim]

I'm just curious how much the Friendship gets used. I know when we stay at BC or YC we rarely take the boat, but if we do, it's only to or from DHS (75% of the time we walk and 100% of the time we walk to EPCOT). For guests who are older or who might have medical problems, I think the boat is great, so I'm just curious how many people on the board use it.

 

[sxeensweet]

We use it if staying somewhere on the Boardwalk or visiting the Boardwalk. We walk as well sometimes but take the boat a lot.

 

[Phonedave]

It depends on a number of factors

The weather (how hot, is it raining, etc)
How we feel (is the start of a new day, or have we been out and about for 12+ hours and are dead on our feet)
Where is the boat (sometime as we leave Boardwalk, there is it, sitting at the dock, why not take it)

Last vacation was a week at boardwalk. I think there were three Epcot trips (one way) on the Friendship, and two trips to DHS. But then, most of the family is not DHS fans, and I will walk everywhere unless the boat happens to be right there.


-dave

 

[Kevin_W]

the boats usually seem pretty full and I see very, very few people walking, so I assume most take the boats.

That said, walking is so much faster and more pleasant. Last summer, we stayed at BWV for the first time and saw a boat pulling up right as we were leaving DHS, so we opted to ride the boat. We still should have walked. By the time the boat finished docking, unloaded people, we loaded, then we sat there for a few extra minutes, then we made our way down to the crescent resorts, walking would have been much faster. Plus, it's a pretty walk and the boats are hot.

 

[nolatron]

We'll always walk in the morning to both parks. In the afternoon/evening it's usually if the boat is there, we can walk on and the feet could a rest we'll hop on. Otherwise we find it's easier/quicker to just keep walking than wait around for a boat.

 

[WDW_Jon]

Epcot always a walk unless raining heavy when we leave!
DHS isn't a particularly nice walk IMO so we always take it there

 

[MinnieM123]

Whenever I've stayed at the SWAN, I found the Friendship boats to be very convenient. I enjoyed the boat rides to either EPCOT or DHS.

 

[correcaminos]

Well I cannot vote really. We sometimes take the boat to/from DHS but not always. It depends on the weather and if it is there or not. Often you will beat the boat by walking if you leave DHS and it just is arriving there or is not there yet.

Epcot we never take the boat no matter which resort we stayed in (BW, Y&BC, Swan/Dolphin)

 

[yedliW]

We took the boat from DHS on a day we had dinner at the Yacht Club.. It was a day that the park closed early for an employee party, so the line was kinda long.. it took 3 or 4 boats before we got on..

 

[Souvenir]

We stay at YC, BC, and BW frequently. We avoid the Friendship boats because we enjoy walking, but also because they are so uncomfortable. They're super slow moving (no wake zone, I think) so we actually can out pace them on foot if departing simultaneously. No matter what season it is they are always super hot inside with no air circulation. There is a small uncovered seating section in the back but the smell of fuel fumes is really heavy there. They are always crowded so it's hard to get a seat, which doesn't really matter because the seats are unbelievably uncomfortable.

 

[IanDLBZF]

I've walked from BC to Epcot after ADRs at Beaches and Cream, but I've mostly taken the boat between HWS and Epcot.

 

[graphite1326]

We usually take the boat from HS to EPCOT. We get off early at the second stop (the lighthouse) and walk to EPCOT. The boat then goes over to Boardwalk. We always beat the boat to EPCOT.

 

[wendysue]

We take them every trip because it is relaxing to ride the boats back and forth from boardwalk to either Epcot or HS. Won't be the same without them. Every week it seems like something else now costs extra or it's gone!

 

[Maelstrom Troll]

We frequently stay af YC and always walk to Epcot and HS. If we keep a decent clip, it's just as fast (if not faster), we love walking by the other resorts/boardwalk, and it's a little bit of quiet time after a busy park day.

 

[jaklgreen]

I take the boat to DHS and back but walk to Epcot. I actually like the boats but I vacation at a slower pace now then I used to so being on the boat for so long is more relaxing then annoying.

 

[Bartledvd]

Boat is just too slow for me and my wife when we stayed at BC great if i ever have issues walking or my kids are very tired but if its quicker to walk no way i am going to use a boat bus or any other transport

 

[Spike-in-Berlin]

We always took the boat to the DHS when we were staying at the YC, that walk is really a tad too far. We also take it when we are at EPCOT and we want to change to DHS and vice versa. We sometimes took the boat when we were at EPCOT to return to the YC when we were staying there and too tired to walk. We rarely took it to go to EPCOT from the YC, we normally walked to the International Gateway because we were not tired at that time but it is really nice to go back from EPCOT in the evening when your feet kill you.

 

[Souvenir]

We take them every trip because it is relaxing to ride the boats back and forth from boardwalk to either Epcot or HS. Won't be the same without them. Every week it seems like something else now costs extra or it's gone!

I'm confused now. Disney is cutting the Friendship boats? or making them an upcharge? I thought this thread was just asking who uses them, out of curiosity. I didn't realize there's a change coming.

 

[AndrewsJ]

We take them every trip because it is relaxing to ride the boats back and forth from boardwalk to either Epcot or HS. Won't be the same without them. Every week it seems like something else now costs extra or it's gone!

What are you talking about? The boat service was suspended because of a hurricane. Did you miss that part? Florida was pummeled by a category 4 hurricane and it's Disney being stingy because they had to stop service until it could be safely continued?

 

[AndrewsJ]

I'm confused now. Disney is cutting the Friendship boats? or making them an upcharge? I thought this thread was just asking who uses them, out of curiosity. I didn't realize there's a change coming.

Neither is happening. Service was discontinued temporarily after Hurricane Irma and has since be reinstated but the lovely folks here immediately blamed it on cheap Disney's cost cutting measures. Fake news.