From the latest newsletter reply about transportation in Disney. - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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From the latest newsletter reply about transportation in Disney.
We have driven down and flown down. We have experienced all types of transportation within the parks. Depending on where you stay and time of year, the Disney buses to and from are ok. There are times that we have waited a long time for the bus to come, and those are usually the times we get out there early enough to make the breakfast before magic kingdom opens but the buses get delayed. Animal Kingdom, bus is really the way to go, it is so far out. We are DVC so we usually stay at Boardwalk. If you stay at Boardwalk, Yacht Beach Club, or Swan & Dolphin- you can walk to and from EPCOT and Hollywood Studios. If you do not have to be at Magic Kingdom early until after the front EPCOT opens, you can walk to front of EPCOT going in the back way to catch monorail, and if you are at Magic Kingdom you can catch the monorail back there. There are plenty of times when that is quicker than waiting for the bus, and I figure I would like to walk back maybe justify what I eat . When the kids were at stroller age we would bring our own and when as they were older and got a stroller from park but no where else we would make it a game to go without the stroller, my hubby would take one on boat back and the other and I would walk as fast as we could to see who would get there first. If we do have car, ours or rental, usually use it to go off grounds, grocery shopping, and Downtown Disney, shopping, although I have done bus there to for during the day and that works out better.
Keep in mind that if you do not have a park hopper ticket, do not walk through Epcot to go to MK. You will have to use your ticket at the Epcot IG and then it won't work at the MK gate because it's not a park hopper.
Keep in mind that if you do not have a park hopper ticket, do not walk through Epcot to go to MK. You will have to use your ticket at the Epcot IG and then it won't work at the MK gate because it's not a park hopper.
. WE usually stay at Epcot resorts for this reason. We're not fans of WDW bus system; we rent a car
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Driving to the park yourself vs. using Disney transportation is a very personal choice. I do agree with the OP that if you are staying at certain resorts it is easy to walk to Epcot or DHS rather than take the bus or water transportation. Like Straitlover said, however, you can only go through Epcot if you have a Hopper pass or an AP.
We prefer to drive to all parks except the MK. If I'm on a solo trip then I do not rent a car so I use Disney transportation. Since DH is with me most of the trips then we rent a car. It is just easier for us. Others prefer to not drive.
I just love that I can be completely on vacation and leave the driving to someone else! We do experience glitches on occasion, but overall find the bus system to be great!
We prefer not to drive on vacation and we have always found the WDW transportation to be more than acceptable. Of course, we make sure that we adjust our plans to minimize resort to resort travel as that eats a lot of time.
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I have never driven to the parks, but wondered with the tram system, do you really save any time over the bus system?
We usually stay off property, so we have to drive to the parks. The only one that it's a real "pain" at is the MK. First you have to park at the TTC, hop on a tram (since the lot is so huge) to the gates, and then finally get on the ferry or monorail to take you to the park. We usually leave an hour for that whole ordeal. The other parks, though, have smaller lots so we don't usually take the trams. Even if you get a spot in the back of the lot, it;s only about a 5 minute walk to the front of the park anyway. This year we're staying on property, but will have our car. We plan on driving to all of the parks, except for MK.
I think that alot of times, it depends on where you stay. At OKW, I think I would have been lost without the car. It took a long time to get anywhere on the bus, but they were also combined with the treehouses, and Villas at the Marketplace then (about 7 or 8 stops). I don't think they do that anymore. The last two trips we didn't rent a car, and didn't miss it, staying at POP. At AS Sports, we had a rental car for the week, and the only time we used it was to go to Wide world of Sports complex for DS's TKD tournament. So I think it just depends on the trip and your personal preference.
Great information! If we drive down in December, I'll need to know all this for planning. Right now the plan is to drive, but with 5 of us, if I can come up with discounted tickets for less than $1000 total we can fly. Otherwise, we'll have a car to contend with.
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From the latest newsletter reply about transportation in Disney.
. When the kids were at stroller age we would bring our own and when as they were older and got a stroller from park but no where else we would make it a game to go without the stroller, my hubby would take one on boat back and the other and I would walk as fast as we could to see who would get there first. If we do have car, ours or rental, usually use it to go off grounds, grocery shopping, and Downtown Disney, shopping, although I have done bus there to for during the day and that works out better.
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. WE usually stay at Epcot resorts for this reason. We're not fans of WDW bus system; we rent a car
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