Originally Posted By Mickeys Gal Hi everyone! I'm going to WDW for the first time this April & I know that you guys will have some good advice for me. I've been talking to people who have been and they are scaring me with stories of taking 2-3 hrs getting from the hotels to the parks. I'm staying at the Pop Century and I just wanted to know if you guys could give me an idea of realistically how long it will take to get to the parks from there? Thanks for your help
Originally Posted By Mrs ElderP From the all-stars it took us anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes to use resort transportation to get to the parks. Not bad at all!! I would imagaine the Pop is similiar. Add to that somewhere from 0 to 10 minutes waiting for a bus and it was 30 minutes max. The only annoying part of resort transportation is getting from hotel to hotel. Comming back to the All Stars after the luau at the Poly was the worst experiance of the trip. To define worst: 45 minutes of standing room only busses with one tranfer at DTD, bad, but not horrible. After that experience we opted for a taxi when going to the Grand Floridian for V and A. I think that cost us around 15 each way, but my memory is really fuzzy. I could be way off on that taxi fare. I know it wasn't more than 20 though. So to summerize: from the resort to the parks, or from the parks back to a resort, (either your "home" or where you are going for a special meal) super easy. From one resort to another resort, some what difficult/annoying. (Exceptions made for going from one monorail hotel to another or from one "boat" resort to another.)
Originally Posted By Sport Goofy I've never had any difficulty using resort transportation. Sometimes you might wait 10-15 minutes for a bus, but it's probably equivalent to the amount of time it takes you to negotiate traffic, park, walk through the parking lot, etc. I think people understimate the time it takes to drive themselves around and usualy neglect time spent in parking lots. The buses will be full at peak transit times, particularly at night when the parks close. My main suggestion on making the most of resort transportation is to not overdo it -- you don't need to plan complicated transit plans between multiple parks and resorts in a single day. Keep your days simple. There's plenty to see and do without trying to rush all over WDW and attempt to take every attraction, restaurant, and resort offering in a single day. I've usually been happy with picking a single park to do each day, maybe a night out at a different park/restaurant. I've also found that I enjoy the resort I stay at more when I utilize all of the facilities where I'm staying instead of resort hopping to sample amenities from other locations across WDW. WDW is fun because there are so many diverse environments to enjoy, but I find it best to keep things simple and always remember that there will likely be trips in the future to have an entirely different experience instead of forcing everything into a single trip.
Originally Posted By StitchMom84 Sport Goofy, you have it perfectly correct. I believe the key is to try and keep some flexibility and enjoy your resort as well. I think sometimes people rush around too much and don't stop to enjoy their surroundings. Even if don't have a long stay, try and set some time aside to relax and explore your resort, you'll get so much more out of it! Have a great trip and please, come back and post a trip report for us. It's the way many of us can "re-visit" between real visits!!
Originally Posted By Mickeys Gal Thanks you guys for the info. My friend really had me scared that I would be spending forever each day on the bus just getting around. So in your experiance is park hopping possible? Since were from california and visit disneyland frequently we probably wouldn't want to spend a whole day at the magic kingdom. We were thinking of visiting the other parks and then doing the magic kingdom a few hours each evening since it stays open later than most of the other parks. Realisticaly would this be possible?
Originally Posted By Disney515 Park Hopping is definitely no problem. I usually do one park in the day go have dinner and then do the park that is doing the after hours that night. You'll have alot of fun, just don't stress and enjoy yourself.
Originally Posted By jodiefra I agree -- park hopping is definitely possible but plan on an hour to get from one to another so you don't stress out waiting. Sometimes you can take a launch or the monorail, but sometimes you will have to walk to a bus stop and wait a while. When I went on my birthday I wanted to go to three parks on the same day and get pictures on the thrill rides -- I pulled it off but I'm not sure it was the best use of my time : ). I go to Disneyland frequently myself, and park hopping at WDW is definitely more time consuming than just walking across the plaza to California Adventure, but not impossible! You will also be surprised to see the many differences at the MK even though it has similarities to DL. Things in Florida are much more spread out and many of the rides have differences ranging from subtle to in-your-face. (Hint: Pirates will seem REALLY short at WDW!) Have a blast!
