Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer >>>I like to be able to walk around a resort. WDW is too spread out, and having to allow an hour commute from a non monorail hotel to the MK for a substandard park experience is not for me.<<< If it's taking you that long, you are doing it wrong! Are you driving or bussing? We stay off site and nearby... Can get from I-4 to the MK in 20 mins.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo Bussing, and yes, our last trip from leaving the room at Animal Kingdom Lodge to hitting the gates of the Magic Kingdom was nearly an hour on average.
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer ^ That's terrible. I'd never rely on Disney Transport... ever. Rental Cars are the only way to go.
Originally Posted By plpeters70 <<our last trip from leaving the room at Animal Kingdom Lodge to hitting the gates of the Magic Kingdom was nearly an hour on average.>> Had a similar experience when I was staying at the Port Orleans last year - using Disney's Bus System is absolutely horrible. And the sad thing is that WDW should have never been allowed to get to this point. They way over-expanded during the 90s without spending the money necessary to build a proper transportation system, and the hotel guests have been suffering ever since. WDW management needs to do something about this pronto - and I don't mean adding more buses. It's really long past time for them to expand the monorail system, and develop a true Master Plan for WDW transportation.
Originally Posted By Kennesaw Tom Dave I remember that trip and your right Disney's transportation was running a bit slow. The parks were very busy and as I recall your family missed a few dinner reservations. I have also stayed at the Animal Kingdom Lodge during a slower season and the ride was never as long as you experienced. You have to admit that AKL is further away from the MK than any other Disney resort. I happen to like it's location. Myself and my party prefer EPCOT so this has never been an issue. Part of the charm of the Animal Kingdom Lodge is the fact that it is remote and adjacent to Animal Kingdom.
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 I stayed at DAK Lodge literally days after Dave's bad experience (and many times before) and never really had bus issues there ... but I've had them all over property because of the fact the resort was developed/expanded in the 1990s and 2000s with no care to the transportation needs that were brought on by said expansion. The TDO answer is always 'Buy another dozen buses' ... and that just doesn't work. I've said it before (and love to repeat myself for emphasis and those with memory issues) but I find it amazing The Mouse can get folks to spend say $500 a night for a room at the GF ... or spend $30,000 on a DVC membership at the Beach Club Villas and then find themselves standing body to body on buses. From safety to comfort, it just is a system that doesn't work. People either need a car at WDW or they need to not have to go anywhere specific. There are times (such as my last on property stay last spring) when I hit the bus stop and go wherever the first bus is headed. I realize it's easier for me than it may be for someone coming from the UK who has a dinner ressie at France to change things up on the fly ... and that's why I tell folks to rent a car. Too many times I've sat at say PO and waited for a bus to say EPCOT and for 45 minutes watched 11 buses come and go and none are for EPCOT ... not fun.
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 That said, I'd add that I still feel WDW's strength is its natural beauty and space. I don't want to have parks next to each other, whether it works well in Anaheim and Paris -- and it does -- or not. Greenery and space are good things. If Disney had a reliable quality transport network, folks wouldn't be bitching about it taking too long to get from one place to another.
Originally Posted By Kennesaw Tom Aren't there plans for more of the area over by Animal Kingdom Lodge to be developed? I thought that Disney was considering building a Westside of the property Downtown Disney. What ever happend to those plans. Is that where the non-Disney properties are being built? As I recall Disney sold off some of the property to one or two of the hotel chains.
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 ^^Yeah, KT. You are thinking of Dead Flamingo Crossing. A waste of time, money and resources. They were going to bring 192 onto Disney property, but then the depression hit and no one wanted to go into business with the Mouse (much like Landry's Wharf on TSFKaPI ... credit for that nickname goes to Leewhateverthehellhecallshimselfwhenheisn'tbusybaskinginfanboidroolonaMAGICalsitefarfaraway) ... so you have a bunch of roads with manicured berms and nice rockwork sign pillars and not one bit of development on what was once some old abandoned orange groves near the tree farm. It's a great reason to have a rental car. You can drive over and plant your car in the middle of their 'big' intersection and not have to worry about anyone hitting you. Great example of TDO avarice and arrogance.
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer >>>If Disney had a reliable quality transport network, folks wouldn't be bitching about it taking too long to get from one place to another.<<< Monorails, TTAs, Moving sidewalks, Transportation Lobbies... All thought up in the 20th century, and here we are in the 21st century with only one being used the right way.
Originally Posted By CaptainMichael ^^^Universal uses the moving sidewalks to great effect. Although, they sort of have to. That walk from the parking garage to the parks is brutal enough as it is.
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer ^ I rather enjoyed it. Certainly more effective than DHS Trams! ;-)
Originally Posted By CaptainMichael ^How about the very Disneyland-ish set-up of parking, CitiWalk, and then the 2 parks all being in one area? I love how Universal is so different from Disney but in a good way.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo Well, bottom line, if someone can get from a Motel 8 or Travelodge to the MK faster than AKL can get you to the MK, then something is terribly wrong. Besides the weather, a very sub par MK experience and some of the clientele, I find the commute times at WDW one of the most off putting parts. I think it is fine if you are a fairly regular guest with a fav park you like to hang out at (e.g. Boardwalk and Epcot is a good combo, or the Poly for MK/Epcot fans. But if you are going to be there for any length of time, it's not cool. Having a car would have most likely made it more pleasurable. The reason we did not rent a car is we did not want to pay another $120 to rent 2 car seats on top of the car rental rates or pay the extra luggage fees, and we thought staying at a delxe would have good transport. Lesson learnt. But the service standards were also so poor (a lead in the shop insulting me for chatting to a cast member we became friendly with because she was trying for the 4th time to sort out our malfunctioning Pal Mickey), luggage arriving 6 hours later than promised (felt like 6 in the morning due to the jetlag), wrong room allocation and then being treated 2nd rate when I demanded a non smoking room. after that trip, I decided that WDW has the very worst customer service for a company of it's caliber (we did have some amazing experiences too, but less often than poor ones - Prime time diner was another major let down). After spending $8000 on a 12 day vacation, where the biggest highlight was visiting friends (which was great by the way), to then have far superior experiences in Paris and Anaheim for a fraction of the price, I am not keen to try it again. But as I hear improved experiences, I soften, but then when I hear recent accounts, and see they are offering $2250 off deals for UK guests, I am conviced they would rather further commoditise the product than improve it. So if we ever return, it will likely be off site or a very short break as a part of a bigger vacation (thinking maybe a week in a Marriott Villa, 4 nights Wilderness Lodge, 2 nights Hard Rock Hotel or Portofino. Or maybe just 2 weeks Marriott Villa.
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer ^ Hilton, 3 days, eat off site, go to IoA and Uni for a couple of days. All you need.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo Well that isn't quite the answer when you have a 5 year old and 7 year old. As much as I like IOA and USF, they are not good parks for little ones. Disney have forgotten their roots. when I was a little one, I could ride pretty much everything, and so could my 80 year old great grandmother. It meant we could be a family all the time. I do not fly 3000 miles (with $3000 in airfares) to be seperated as a family. It is not as big a deal when it is drivable.
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer Good point. Is it an issue of height, or the fact that they just don't want to ride things?
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo More the height issue. Although my son does not like rides that drench him either (so 3 of IOA's e-tickets are off the cards). When we last went to Fla, we realised they could/would do: IOA: Xmen tea cup thing Pteredon fliers (don't fly 3000 miles for that kind of thing) Sinbad stunt Show Poseidon carousseusel (again not worth the entrance) One Fish Two Fish Cat in the Hat USF: Shrek 3D The kids stuff that is not interest to us ET Animal Actors MIB Everything else at the time would have been unsuitable. The list is getting longer, but really it would still need to wait a couple of years (my eldest is still a few inches too short for most of the decent attractions - Twister, Terminator, Jaws, Mummy and Disaster are still likely to be too scary.
