Bus vs. Driving?

[k_k_100]

I have noticed on many posts that some people who stay at Disney Resorts drive to the parks. We are going to be at the Dolphin for 2 nights in Dec. We are going to meet family for breakfast one morning in the MK on an EE day. Last year when we went we were running late for breakfast. It seemed to take FOREVER to get to the MK. The wait for the bus was only about 10 minutes. It stopped at the other Epcot resorts en-route. I think it seemed like such a long time because we were running late and did not allow enough time.

My thinking has been it would be an even bigger pain to drive to the MK. We would have to load into the car, drive over, get onto a little shuttle that would take us to the TTC. We would then have to either take the boat or monorail to the MK. It just seemed easier to get on the bus at our door and be dropped off at the front door of the park?

I am traveling with my 2 yo daughter and my parents. DH will not be with us. Either way you have to fold the stroller and get it onto public transportation (the bus or the shuttle to the TTC). Am I missing something? I'm not a morning person and would like to make my "commute" to the park as easy as possible.

Thanks!
~Kim

 

[Chip 'n Dale Express]

Indeed, most likely because you were running late, it just felt like it was taking forever. From the Dolphin, it should take 15-20 minutes (tops) to get to the Magic Kingdom via bus, plus average wait time. Because it's EE, there's a chance that the bus might not go to all the stops. Plus, the bus will take you directly to the MK front gate.

I have found that actual wait times, and percieved wait times are very rarely the same. Do this: Look at your watch when you get to the bus stop. Don't look at your watch until the bus arrives. When the bus does arrive, try and guess how long the wait was. See how accurate you are.

More often then not, you'll think it was 20 (or more) minutes, when it was really 10-15. The more rushed/late you are, the greater your percieved time will be. And the kicker is the domino effect. Once one person starts to complain, all of a sudden, everyone else joins in, and things just escalate from there... even if the bus really is on time.

On the flip side...

If you were to drive, you'd be parking at the TTC. At that hour of the morning, there would be no tram service. You would have to walk into the Monorail. (Plus, at the end of the day, because of where you parked, you'd still need to walk) Only the Resort Monorail will be in operation at that hour, so you'll still have to go to the Polynesian, and then the Grand Floridian before the Magic Kingdom.

 

[jwfla422]

I agree that the bus is still the best way, especially from the S/D to MK. The S/D's bus stop is the closest to the entrance which makes for a quick walk to the front gate. If you drive you have to walk to the car, load it up, drive to the park, park at TTC, walk to the monorail, wait for that and then take it to MK. Believe me, that takes <B>at least</B> a 1/2 hour!

I made the mistake of driving to EPCOT from our FW cabin back in February. It turned out to be quite a hike from the parking space to the front entrance as we just missed a tram.

I learned from that and wouldn't do it again. Although the buses sometimes take a while I still prefer to leave the driving to the wonderful CMs at WDW

*The only exception is when you have to transfer buses (like going from one resort to another, ie, POLY to the Swan), that can take a while by bus. That would be the only time we'd drive IF we didn't have a lot of time

 

[k_k_100]

Thank's for your responses. No responses from anybody who drives? I'd really be interested in your experienes and why you prefer to drive.

~Kim

 

[smfnj]

Originally posted by Chip 'n Dale Express
If you were to drive, you'd be parking at the TTC. At that hour of the morning, there would be no tram service. You would have to walk into the Monorail. (Plus, at the end of the day, because of where you parked, you'd still need to walk) Only the Resort Monorail will be in operation at that hour, so you'll still have to go to the Polynesian, and then the Grand Floridian before the Magic Kingdom.

I don't understand why the Express Monorail wouldn't be running. Doesn't it run until after park closing?

steve

 

[Figaro]

We drive everywhere except to the Magic Kingdom (buses are so convenient because they drop you off right at the gates). When we do take the buses, we try to always be at the first bus stop so that we are first on the bus. It is just easier that way when the wheelchair has to be loaded in. And for going around to different resorts, we always drive and usually drive to Downtown Disney, as some of the longest waits for buses have been there, not at the resorts.

 

[Rhonda]

We always take the buses/boats/monorails! For us, it's part of the Disney experience!

But, we have friends that will never step foot on a bus, and they prefer to drive everywhere!

It's just a matter of personal choice.

 

[tazz]

We always get a car (actually we've only been 1x and next week will be our second trip). We don't get to Florida that often so when we go we stay longer than some coming from the east coast or somewhere closer - over 2 weeks this time, 11 days last time. By the time we pay for transportation to and from the airport and then from a Universal hotel to Disney, it's not much more to have a car. Last trip we stayed at POR and we used the car for daytimes but usually preferred to take disney transportation in the evenings....allows us to have a drink at dinner or after dinner without any worries. This time, we're going to blizzard beach while staying at HRH since it will be closed while we're staying at YC. I hate paying the extra for it since we will have the UMP but don't want to go all the way there and miss out on it.

A car to the water parks is much easier and you can leave a little wet and don't have to worry about others in the bus. You can make a quick stop to a store or restraunt or on a down day you can head out to the outlets or any other place you want without using public transportation.

The car may sit a few days at a time, but it's nice to have it when you want it.

 

[arminnie]

I'm often a solo traveler and I ALWAYS get a car. I always did when I traveled on business too. The only places that I do not get a car are London and NY- they both have great public transportation.

I love the freedom of being able to go when ever and where ever I want. Lots of times after the park I might not want to go back to my hotel. If I feel like it I may go to the outlet malls, DTD, or a movie. I can just leave my stuff in the car. I may go to another hotel to check it out - I will use the monorail if I can though.

If I were to take my park stuff - sunglasses, visor, etc back to the room each night I would never remember it in the morning. Also I have extra stuff in the car - sweatshirt, long pants in case I need to change.

When I stayed at BWI I did walk to Epcot and take the boat to MGM. I like the monorail and the boat transportation - I guess it's the buses I avoid. I have used them to go from park to park but it took forever.

I am always traveling during off season - not the summer - I get to the parks pretty quickly by car. Because I have an annual pass and I go several times a year I don't feel like I have to stay all day at a park.

Maybe I'll try a bus to MK next week, but the monorail is kind of fun to ride - often coming back I'll loop around a couple of times just for fun. Again I'm not there when the crowds are.

I can understand that someone doesn't want to drive on vacation, but I was born in So. Calif and have lived most of my life in CA and TX so a car is like my right arm to me.

 

[HopperFan]

We always have a car.

In recent years we decided if you have the car, it is so much faster to drive to the parks ESPECIALLY when we are hopping.

When we left MK one Saturday after the parade, we walked out the front gate, rode the monorail, walked to our car, drove to MGM and within 30 minutes of walking out the MK gate we were walking in the front gate of MGM.

BUT ---- You may want to check to make sure IF you drove to MK on EE that the ferry or monorail will run that early. The last few trips we went on a regular day and they did not open the gates at the TTC until 10 minutes before the park opened, getting us to the park entrance at opening time. The resort guest buses had been running for awhile and they were all through the gates already. Worth asking before you decide to drive.

 

[Chip 'n Dale Express]

Originally posted by smfnj
I don't understand why the Express Monorail wouldn't be running. Doesn't it run until after park closing?

steve

What I meant was that at that hour of the morning, the Express would not be in service.

The Express Monorail generally runs from 8:45am until one hour after the park closes. However, it is Inbound ONLY until noon (give or take) and Outbound ONLY after park close.

 

[MinnieGi]

We use both Disney tranportation and our car. It also usually depends on where we stay. For instance at OKW we used the car alot since its parked right outside the door, it was just too convenient! We'll be staying at BWV this time and plan to use mostly Disney transportation. However to our character breakfast before the park opens at MK I will probably use our car. We did this last year and it worked out super. At MK parking lot we got front row parking! We had a short walk to monorail, waited for the resort monorail and enjoyed the ride to MK. We left with plenty of time. I just wasn't sure what time and when the character breakfast bus would come and didn't want to chance it. We'll probably do that again.