Wilderness Lodge to MK and Epcot transportation

nickys

Premium Member
You can’t get to Epcot by boat from WL.

You can take the boat to MK, then the monorail to TTC and transfer to the Epcot line. Or take the bus.
 

Weather_Lady

Well-Known Member
We stayed at Wilderness Lodge a few years ago, and the boat ride to the Magic Kingdom was about 15 minutes. This doesn't include the time you spend waiting for the boat -- the 36 minutes you saw quoted above appears to include a 15-minute boat ride, plus wait time and walking-to-park-gates time. The boat ride is nowhere near 36 minutes!!!

You can also reach MK by bus (about a 7-minute trip).

As others indicated, there is no boat to Epcot: the only way to get there directly from Wilderness Lodge is via bus.
 

Heppenheimer

Well-Known Member
In my rough estimation and imperfect memory, the boat ride from the Wilderness Lodge to the Magic Kingdom takes about 10-15 minutes from the time the boat leaves the dock, probably no longer than 20.

I want to say the trip to Epcot by bus takes about the same amount of time, provided it's a direct bus that doesn't stop at other resort hotels. Which of course, is not always the case, depending on the time of year.
 

COProgressFan

Well-Known Member
We stayed at Wilderness Lodge a few years ago, and the boat ride to the Magic Kingdom was about 15 minutes. This doesn't include the time you spend waiting for the boat -- the 36 minutes you saw quoted above appears to include a 15-minute boat ride, plus wait time and walking-to-park-gates time. The boat ride is nowhere near 36 minutes!!!

You can also reach MK by bus (about a 7-minute trip).

As others indicated, there is no boat to Epcot: the only way to get there directly from Wilderness Lodge is via bus.

We're going to back to WL this year. Last time we stayed there was about 15 years ago.

For anyone who's been there more recently -- does anyone know what time boat and bus service starts in the morning? Just trying to figure out plans for getting to MK as early as possible. In recent trips we've enjoyed getting to Main Street early and wandering around, grabbing coffee, etc. before rope drop. The boat is such a nice ride, but I've read in some places that boats don't start until 8 or after. I know busses are quicker, but do they start earlier?

Thanks to anyone with current info on the transportation schedule!
 

Heppenheimer

Well-Known Member
We're going to back to WL this year. Last time we stayed there was about 15 years ago.

For anyone who's been there more recently -- does anyone know what time boat and bus service starts in the morning? Just trying to figure out plans for getting to MK as early as possible. In recent trips we've enjoyed getting to Main Street early and wandering around, grabbing coffee, etc. before rope drop. The boat is such a nice ride, but I've read in some places that boats don't start until 8 or after. I know busses are quicker, but do they start earlier?

Thanks to anyone with current info on the transportation schedule!
I don't know the exact times, and they probably vary depending on when the park opens. But I will say that I've taken the boat to the MK and arrived well before rope drop.
 

LAKid53

Official Member of the Girly Girl Fan Club
Premium Member
In my rough estimation and imperfect memory, the boat ride from the Wilderness Lodge to the Magic Kingdom takes about 10-15 minutes from the time the boat leaves the dock, probably no longer than 20.

I want to say the trip to Epcot by bus takes about the same amount of time, provided it's a direct bus that doesn't stop at other resort hotels. Which of course, is not always the case, depending on the time of year.

The WL bus is shared with the Contemporary for Disney Springs.

Boat ride to MK us about 15 minutes max. And you go through bag check and metal detector once you get off.
 

LAKid53

Official Member of the Girly Girl Fan Club
Premium Member
We're going to back to WL this year. Last time we stayed there was about 15 years ago.

For anyone who's been there more recently -- does anyone know what time boat and bus service starts in the morning? Just trying to figure out plans for getting to MK as early as possible. In recent trips we've enjoyed getting to Main Street early and wandering around, grabbing coffee, etc. before rope drop. The boat is such a nice ride, but I've read in some places that boats don't start until 8 or after. I know busses are quicker, but do they start earlier?

Thanks to anyone with current info on the transportation schedule!

Buses start 45 minutes before the earliest park opening.
 

MaryJaneP

Well-Known Member
While multi-step processes to Epcot from WL are being discussed, a guest could boat from WL to any Monorail Resort and either ride Monorail to TTC (CR, BLT or GF) and/or walk (PV or GF) to TTC to catch Epcot Monorail. Seems unnecessarily confusing to take these many steps. Just take the Bus from WL to Epcot.
 

Heppenheimer

Well-Known Member
The WL bus is shared with the Contemporary for Disney Springs.

Boat ride to MK us about 15 minutes max. And you go through bag check and metal detector once you get off.
The bus situation varies over the years and will likely change again. On various trips I've taken, the buses to and from the Wilderness Lodge to the parks have been shared with the Grand Floridian, Port Orleans, and Fort Wilderness. Sometimes the bus goes direct, sometime not. I'm assuming Disney probably has some kind of dynamic control system that can shift buses on the fly, as needed.
 

LAKid53

Official Member of the Girly Girl Fan Club
Premium Member
The bus situation varies over the years and will likely change again. On various trips I've taken, the buses to and from the Wilderness Lodge to the parks have been shared with the Grand Floridian, Port Orleans, and Fort Wilderness. Sometimes the bus goes direct, sometime not. I'm assuming Disney probably has some kind of dynamic control system that can shift buses on the fly, as needed.

Several years ago, GF and WL shared a bus. But now it's WL and Contemporary sharing a bus to Disney Springs - at least they did today.
 

MaryJaneP

Well-Known Member
The boat from the WL only goes to the Contemporary (and Ft. Wilderness).

But I agree that the simplest route to Epcot from WL is bus.

Thanks for clearing up that confusion. It has been a while since we rode boats and we thought there was a flag system where some boats went to more resorts than just between WL and CR. A boatride to CR and then a short monorail ride to TTC would seem like one of the shortest indirect routes if you had to get a boatride in there. We appreciate your setting the record straight.
 

Phicinfan

Well-Known Member
Thanks for clearing up that confusion. It has been a while since we rode boats and we thought there was a flag system where some boats went to more resorts than just between WL and CR. A boatride to CR and then a short monorail ride to TTC would seem like one of the shortest indirect routes if you had to get a boatride in there. We appreciate your setting the record straight.
Actually for some clarity, the boat from WL goes to MK, not the CR, unless that has changed recently. You can go to Fort Wilderness as well.

As for the busses, issue is not a straight route to the parks, you will go to some other resorts first, including depending on the route - Port Orleans and such.

As I suggested earlier, you can boat over to WL, take the Monorail or boat over to the TTC, then hop on the monorail to Epcot. Bus waits for WL can be a bit long sometimes and they are not the most direct routes.
 

nickys

Premium Member
Actually for some clarity, the boat from WL goes to MK, not the CR, unless that has changed recently. You can go to Fort Wilderness as well.

As for the busses, issue is not a straight route to the parks, you will go to some other resorts first, including depending on the route - Port Orleans and such.

As I suggested earlier, you can boat over to WL, take the Monorail or boat over to the TTC, then hop on the monorail to Epcot. Bus waits for WL can be a bit long sometimes and they are not the most direct routes.

There are two boat routes.

One from FW and WL to MK.

The other does a circle around Bay Lake, stopping at CR, FW and WL. Sometimes they’ll have two going in opposite directions.
 

LAKid53

Official Member of the Girly Girl Fan Club
Premium Member
Actually for some clarity, the boat from WL goes to MK, not the CR, unless that has changed recently. You can go to Fort Wilderness as well.

As for the busses, issue is not a straight route to the parks, you will go to some other resorts first, including depending on the route - Port Orleans and such.

As I suggested earlier, you can boat over to WL, take the Monorail or boat over to the TTC, then hop on the monorail to Epcot. Bus waits for WL can be a bit long sometimes and they are not the most direct routes.

That is correct.

There are 2 boats at WL. One goes from WL to the MK. The other is a boat between WL and Ft. Wilderness. That boat is the one that also goes to the Contemporary.
 

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