Cars and buses and motion sickness...oh my!

[CeruleanMoon]

You guys have been so helpful, I was hoping to get some advice on my latest dilemma.

We want to stay at AKL for our 2018 trip, but I understand it's one of the more remote resorts with longer bus rides to most of the parks. I am terribly prone to motion sickness, particularly on buses, and have have varying results with Dramamine.

Just how bad are the bus rides? What makes me sick is the constant braking/accelerating that you get with frequent stop signs or bus stops. A longer bus ride with few stops is actually preferable to a shorter ride with many frequent stops.

I'm considering my options. We could try a split stay with another resort that is closer to some of the other parks (better bus rides?), or we could rent a car if the price is not crazy expensive.

I studied a map of resort locations, decided that both Port Orleans resorts looked promising (good price and location seemed central), yet later found a site with complaints of the long bus rides from that resort as well! Now I'm wondering if distance has nothing to do with it and the deciding factor is more how many resorts are shared among a common bus line.

Can anyone give me an idea of what bus travel is like (from AKL or others?) Would you recommend a car? We'd like to spend one day at each park and then one day at TL.

 

[Simba07]

I think it will be a little over 30 minutes on the bus to any park except AK from AKL.

 

[dansdad]

You guys have been so helpful, I was hoping to get some advice on my latest dilemma.

We want to stay at AKL for our 2018 trip, but I understand it's one of the more remote resorts with longer bus rides to most of the parks. I am terribly prone to motion sickness, particularly on buses, and have have varying results with Dramamine.

Just how bad are the bus rides? What makes me sick is the constant braking/accelerating that you get with frequent stop signs or bus stops. A longer bus ride with few stops is actually preferable to a shorter ride with many frequent stops.

I'm considering my options. We could try a split stay with another resort that is closer to some of the other parks (better bus rides?), or we could rent a car if the price is not crazy expensive.

I studied a map of resort locations, decided that both Port Orleans resorts looked promising (good price and location seemed central), yet later found a site with complaints of the long bus rides from that resort as well! Now I'm wondering if distance has nothing to do with it and the deciding factor is more how many resorts are shared among a common bus line.

Can anyone give me an idea of what bus travel is like (from AKL or others?) Would you recommend a car? We'd like to spend one day at each park and then one day at TL.

The only park I would consider a long ride to from AKL is Magic Kingdom. All the others are under 10 minutes.

The Epcot are resorts are good for less bus travel because you can walk to 2 parks, Epcot and Hollywood Studios. The walk to Hollywood Studios is a pretty good hike, but you can always boat there if you'd like. The bus ride to Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom from the Epcot resorts are under 10 minutes.

 

[dansdad]

I think it will be a little over 30 minutes on the bus to any park except AK from AKL.

Our last 4 stays at AKL the longest it ever took to Magic Kingdom was 21 minutes. And that was getting stuck behind an accident. The others averaged around 17. The other parks are all around 10 minutes. I'm a dork and take notes on these things every trip.

 

[CeruleanMoon]

Do the buses from AKL make lots of stops for other places on the way?

How is the trip to TL? I heard it requires a bus transfer to Disney Springs, and that the total trip could take up to an hour.

 

[Monima]

We are staying at the Caribbean Resort. Does anyone know how long the bus ride is from the resort to MK, AK and Epcot ?

 

[dansdad]

Do the buses from AKL make lots of stops for other places on the way?

The bus picks up at both Jambo and Kidani then no other stops.

How is the trip to TL? I heard it requires a bus transfer to Disney Springs, and that the total trip could take up to an hour.

It does require a transfer at Disney Springs. That is for all resorts.

 

[dansdad]

We are staying at the Caribbean Resort. Does anyone know how long the bus ride is from the resort to MK, AK and Epcot ?

MK ~ 16
AK ~ 9
EP ~ 5

 

[CeruleanMoon]

The bus picks up at both Jambo and Kidani then no other stops.


It does require a transfer at Disney Springs. That is for all resorts.

Thanks! This is very helpful. Sounds like the buses might not be too bad then.

 

[Monima]

MK ~ 16
AK ~ 9
EP ~ 5

Wow, thanks. That is a lot faster than what I thought and heard before.
Someone said since the bus goes to each village at Caribbean before heading to the park, it could take up to an hour.
We have breakfast at 8am at Epcot and 8:35 at AK. So we shouldn't have to leave more than 30 mins before ressie time ?

 

[Hopefully]

Wow, thanks. That is a lot faster than what I thought and heard before.
Someone said since the bus goes to each village at Caribbean before heading to the park, it could take up to an hour.
We have breakfast at 8am at Epcot and 8:35 at AK. So we shouldn't have to leave more than 30 mins before ressie time ?

Those are Actual driving time once you leave the grounds. Waits for a bus can be 20 minutes or more. Then there are multiple stops within the resort before you even leave the grounds depending on where your room is
For your AM ADRs I would plan to be at the bus stop 60-90 minutes before your ADR. Buses run less frequently then, you have to arrive at the park, go through bag check, go through security, go through the Tapstyles and finally walk to the restaurant. That all alone can take 30 or more minutes. If you leave your room 30 minutes before your ADR you will miss it

 

[Monima]

Those are Actual driving time once you leave the grounds. Waits for a bus can be 20 minutes or more. Then there are multiple stops within the resort before you even leave the grounds depending on where your room is
For your AM ADRs I would plan to be at the bus stop 60-90 minutes before your ADR. Buses run less frequently then, you have to arrive at the park, go through bag check, go through security, go through the Tapstyles and finally walk to the restaurant. That all alone can take 30 or more minutes. If you leave your room 30 minutes before your ADR you will miss it

Ok, thanks for the clarification. In this case I'm thinking Uber sounds really good

 

[gillep]

All but one time it took us about 15 minutes to actually leave CBR from when we were picked up in Aruba due to the route the driver took and the other stops we made.

 

[Best Aunt]

I am very prone to motion sickness and I felt queasy by the end of the bus ride from Epcot to AKL Jambo house. Twice. If I ever stay there again I will try Uber from the hotel to parks and see how I feel. My first choice is the Epcot area resorts so that I can walk to Epcot.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Our last 4 stays at AKL the longest it ever took to Magic Kingdom was 21 minutes. And that was getting stuck behind an accident. The others averaged around 17. The other parks are all around 10 minutes. I'm a dork and take notes on these things every trip.

When we stayed at AKL, the bus to Epcot took 13 minutes. DHS would have been shorter.

 

[CeruleanMoon]

I am very prone to motion sickness and I felt queasy by the end of the bus ride from Epcot to AKL Jambo house. Twice. If I ever stay there again I will try Uber from the hotel to parks and see how I feel. My first choice is the Epcot area resorts so that I can walk to Epcot.

Thanks for sharing your experience. I appreciate hearing from a fellow sufferer! Was there a lot of stop and motion on that bus trip?

 

[kimieko]

I am prone to motion sickness as well. It is worse for me if I sit facing either side of the bus so I try to sit in a front facing seat. If I have no option, I just turn to look out the window facing forward. It helps for the shorter rides.

 

[MeganS721]

We just stayed at AKL in April. Buses were much better than I expected. Longest ride was about 20/25 minutes to MK. Epcot and HS were about 10 and AK was a little less than ten. On the way to the parks we made no additional stops. On the way back we always stopped at Kidani Village before going back to Jambo House.

 

[Best Aunt]

Thanks for sharing your experience. I appreciate hearing from a fellow sufferer! Was there a lot of stop and motion on that bus trip?

I can't remember if there was a lot of stopping and starting - I just remember that length of time on the bus was not the problem. If I'm going to feel motion sick, there isn't a time cut off. It's not like I'm okay on a 9 minute ride but feel sick on a 10 minute ride.

I have found that iced tea with sugar and lemon is a big help after I get off a ride which made me feel queasy. Sucking on a hard lemon candy helps during a ride, especially if the vehicle (or airplane) smells a little funky. Sometimes whatever they use to clean the vehicle or plane sets me off. Wegman's sells them in the area where you choose how much candy you want and pay by the pound. If you don't have a Wegman's, check other grocery stores or drug stores.

I take Dramamine for the trip from home, but not every day during my vacation.

Sea Bands or other things which supposedly work by accupressure on your wrist - those don't help me.

 

[CeruleanMoon]

I can't remember if there was a lot of stopping and starting - I just remember that length of time on the bus was not the problem. If I'm going to feel motion sick, there isn't a time cut off. It's not like I'm okay on a 9 minute ride but feel sick on a 10 minute ride.

I have found that iced tea with sugar and lemon is a big help after I get off a ride which made me feel queasy. Sucking on a hard lemon candy helps during a ride, especially if the vehicle (or airplane) smells a little funky. Sometimes whatever they use to clean the vehicle or plane sets me off. Wegman's sells them in the area where you choose how much candy you want and pay by the pound. If you don't have a Wegman's, check other grocery stores or drug stores.

I take Dramamine for the trip from home, but not every day during my vacation.

Sea Bands or other things which supposedly work by accupressure on your wrist - those don't help me.

Yeah, sea bands don't work for me either. I eat peppermint candies and that helps settle my stomach, or sweet tarts. How the bus driver drives has a huge impact on how sick I get. People who accelerate rapidly and then slam on the brake at every stop sign are the WORST. I've trained my husband on how to drive gently so he doesn't set off my motion sickness.