Most Convenient Resort To Future World

[Jalva22]

Inspired by another current thread discussing the walk from Beach Club to Future World. One member mentioned that the Poly was actually more convenient for reaching Future World than Beach Club. I thought this was very interesting as I'd been considering Beach Club for our next trip, but prefer the theming of the Poly. So, I wanted to put that question up for a vote.

 

[mickeynut1]

Walking or taking the boat from the BC puts you at the International Gateway entrance, which is in the back of Epcot by the countries, where you would have to walk from there all the way up to the front where Future World is located. By taking the monorail from the Poly, this puts you at the front of Epcot, thus at Future World . Hope this helps .

 

[NancyIL]

I always stay in the Epcot resort area. Whether or not the Poly is closer, I'd much rather walk through the lovely World Showcase in the morning than take the crowded monorail. I also think the Beach Club is a beautiful resort.

Yes, the monorail puts you at the front of Epcot, but you still have to get TO Epcot, as well as have much longer bag check and ticket lines to go through.

**ETA that 5 resorts utilize the International Gateway entrance to Epcot, whereas 16 WDW resorts (including the campground), plus everyone staying off site enter through the front gates of Epcot.

If you take the monorail from the Poly, you stop at the GF, the MK, and the Contemporary before changing to the Epcot monorail at the TTC. If you walk to the TTC, the walk takes about as long as walking from the Beach Club to the International Gateway entrance of Epcot.

 

[Jalva22]

I always stay in the Epcot resort area. Whether or not the Poly is closer, I'd much rather walk through the lovely World Showcase in the morning than take the crowded monorail. I also think the Beach Club is a beautiful resort.

Yes, the monorail puts you at the front of Epcot, but you still have to get TO Epcot, as well as have much longer bag check and ticket lines to go through.

**ETA that 5 resorts utilize the International Gateway entrance to Epcot, whereas 16 WDW resorts (including the campground), plus everyone staying off site enter through the front gates of Epcot.

If you take the monorail from the Poly, you stop at the GF, the MK, and the Contemporary before changing to the Epcot monorail at the TTC. If you walk to the TTC, the walk takes about as long as walking from the Beach Club to the International Gateway entrance of Epcot.

Thanks for the response. Your points are well-taken.

Curious what others think about the relative time needed for walking from the Poly to the TTC compared to walking from the Beach Club to the Int'l Gateway. I guess it depends on the longhouse, but those on the TTC side of the Poly seem to be extremely close to the TTC to me (basically just across the street). Please correct me if my memory is faulty on this.

Thanks!

 

[spiceycat]

yea they are - but remember Epcot FW - does not start immediately once you are in Epcot - so you need to count that time too.

especially if you are say going to Soarin' - then both places are just about equal.

now if you are going to the other side - Mission:space or test track - then the guest coming in the front gate will get a jump on those using IG.

just depends upon what area you are walking about.

stayed in Tahiti - the walk to TTC was about 5 minutes to the monrail. from the monrail to the Land was another 5minutes might be 10 minutes if a bunch of people are walking with you. Slow people have a tendency to block the fast walkers.

from BC to land - about 7 minutes - might be 10 - if you get stopped at IG.

so from the Polyn to Land around 15 minutes
from BC to land around 10 minutes

this is assuming no blockage. (highly likely coming from TTC - there are always groups or even big families - who spread out and will block you)

 

[NancyIL]

Thanks for the response. Your points are well-taken.

Curious what others think about the relative time needed for walking from the Poly to the TTC compared to walking from the Beach Club to the Int'l Gateway. I guess it depends on the longhouse, but those on the TTC side of the Poly seem to be extremely close to the TTC to me (basically just across the street). Please correct me if my memory is faulty on this.

Thanks!

In both cases, it depends on where your room is located. You could be on the side of the Beach Club that is closest to Epcot, or on the far side of the resort. Even if you have a very short walk to the TTC from the Poly - you are dependent on the monorail's schedule. It's not unusual to wait for several monorails to the parks first thing in the morning. I have been on monorails that had long delays, whereas my feet usually don't break down on the walk through World Showcase.

 

[spiceycat]

are dependent on the monorail's schedule. It's not unusual to wait for several monorails to the parks first thing in the morning. I have been on monorails that had long delays, whereas my feet usually don't break down on the walk through World Showcase.

good one!

 

[BCV23]

We've stayed at the Polynesian over 30 times and at BC/BCV quite a few times (probably into the teens now).

I think part of the equation is how much you enjoy the monorail. Our family loves it....it's another attraction for us. And unlike the express and resort monorails, it is not usually crowded. It is also a fast ride. I need to time it but I don't think it's even 5 minutes from Epcot to the TTC. It's a bit longer going to Epcot as the monorail makes a slow loop through FW which we love!!

Nancy mentioned shorter waits at the IG entrance. There are far fewer people entering there but also far fewer people working the turnstiles and security. In our experience, it's usually a wash.

You're correct that the TTC is extremely close to the Eastern longhouses...probably a 2 minute walk from Rapa Nui and Tahiti. It's not even across the street. There's a short walkway that hugs a bit of a MK taxi parking lot. And of course, once you're in the entrance of Ecpot, SSE is right there.

A DVC DISser posted this cool map which helps with the BC distances. From the Main Gate of Epcot to IG is .6 miles. It's .31 from BCV to IG.

http://mosa.unity.ncsu.edu/photos/misc/epcotdvc.html

So my vote for convenience to FW is the Polynesian. To France and England, BC...probably another country or two past France. Even Canada might be a wash. For certain, Mexico and Norway are as convenient to the Polynesian as is BC...as long as you enjoy the monorail.

 

[BCV23]

Good point about the monorail delays but we've only had that happen once on the Epcot route. Does seem to happen much more frequently around the MK routes.

I disagree about the location of your room being the deal breaker though. Of course, it will make some difference. But the real difference is the sheer distance from IG to FW as well as the fact that the IG itself is farther from the edge of BC than the TTC is from the edge of Polynesian property.

 

[NancyIL]

I enjoy taking the monorail from the TTC to Epcot, especially at night, and even more so at holiday time when the Lights of Winter arch and Christmas tree are lit. However, I really don't like the front entrance of Epcot, and I much prefer to get to Soarin' via the International Gateway entrance.

Choose the resort where you would prefer to stay, because there isn't a whole lot of difference timewise...unless of course the monorail breaks down.

**Edited because the Poly is much farther from Epcot than the Beach Club - duh! It requires a monorail to get there vs. walking.

 

[NancyIL]

I disagree about the location of your room being the deal breaker though. Of course, it will make some difference. But the real difference is the sheer distance from IG to FW as well as the fact that the IG itself is farther from the edge of BC than the TTC is from the edge of Polynesian property.

I stand by my comment that the distance to either the TTC or the IG depends on where your room is located. The Poly is far more spread out than the Beach Club. I had lunch at Kona Cafe in April, and walked to the TTC from there. The people who stay in that area have a good hike to the TTC.

The distance from the International Gateway entrance to Soarin' (for example) is certainly farther than from the front entrance of Epcot to Soarin'. But if I start at the IG and you start at the TTC, I will be walking through Epcot while you're riding the monorail, going through the front gates, and also walking to Soarin'.

 

[BCV23]

I stand by my comment that the distance to either the TTC or the IG depends on where your room is located. The Poly is far more spread out than the Beach Club. I had lunch at Kona Cafe in April, and walked to the TTC from there. The people who stay in that area have a good hike to the TTC.

The distance from the International Gateway entrance to Soarin' (for example) is certainly farther than from the front entrance of Epcot to Soarin'. But if I start at the IG and you start at the TTC, I will be walking through Epcot while you're riding the monorail, going through the front gates, and also walking to Soarin'.

How did you walk to the TTC from Kona? It really isn't far if you take the most direct route. No more than 5 minutes tops. Although not the most scenic, the easiest route if you don't know the resort well is just straight along the parking lot.

Also disagree about the Polynesian being more spread out than BC. It is if you include the far reaches of the Luau but the longhouses aren't. Tikiman timed and measured the respective journeys once and the Polynesian beat the BC.

I think I'd beat you in that race most times if you time from outside the IG so admission is included both ways. But the question was convenience not just time. As I said, we enjoy the monorail so that time spent on the actual ride is not even a factor for us personally. But saving our feet a bit is very nice!

We'll have to race sometime, Nancy! Or I'll try to set a race up within my family. It would be easy to do that on a checkout Polynesian/checkin BCV day.

But the bottom line to me is that either resort is a great option for Epcot!

 

[NancyIL]

How did you walk to the TTC from Kona? It really isn't far if you take the most direct route. No more than 5 minutes tops. Although not the most scenic, the easiest route if you don't know the resort well is just straight along the parking lot.

We walked out the front door of the Ceremonial House and hung a left.

I can walk to the IG from the Swan (where I usually stay) in 10 minutes tops, and I know the Beach Club is considerably closer. I spend most of my time at Epcot (gotta hear Off Kilter whenever I can), so I will continue to stay at an Epcot Resort.

I'll be at WDW the end of this month and in December, if you want to have the race!

 

[BCV23]

We walked out the front door of the Ceremonial House and hung a left.

I can walk to the IG from the Swan (where I usually stay) in 10 minutes tops, and I know the Beach Club is considerably closer. I spend most of my time at Epcot (gotta hear Off Kilter whenever I can), so I will continue to stay at an Epcot Resort.

I'll be at WDW the end of this month and in December, if you want to have the race!

You took a good route then although not quite fastest.

We're going October and January so we'll miss our race this year. How about March of 09?

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Good point about the monorail delays but we've only had that happen once on the Epcot route. Does seem to happen much more frequently around the MK routes.

The only time my family and I ever had a delay on the Epcot Monorail was last August when we were returning to the TTC because there was a problem with the whole Monorail system, so it had nothing to do with the actual route. Every other time we never had any problems, so I would agree with you that the delays happen more with the Resort Monorail and the Magic Kingdom Express Monorail, because there are more running at the same time. With the Epcot Monorail there is at least a 5 minute or more gap between the Monorail going to Epcot and the one going to the TTC, so less of chance of getting delayed while on the track.

 

[NancyIL]

You took a good route then although not quite fastest.

We're going October and January so we'll miss our race this year. How about March of 09?

Sorry - I already bought my plane ticket for April 20-28, 2009! You might have to do this comparison within your own family - if you're still curious.

 

[BCV23]

Sorry - I already bought my plane ticket for April 20-28, 2009! You might have to do this comparison within your own family - if you're still curious.

Well, looks like no race then.

Not curious. I know the answer for our family. We've done both routes many times over the years.

Good for you to have your air for April. I haven't purchased March yet.

 

[NancyIL]

Good for you to have your air for April. I haven't purchased March yet.

I hadn't planned to buy a plane ticket for April this early, because I thought fares would be horrendous. But I saw a non-stop fare from Indianapolis to Orlando on Northwest for $203, and it's the week after Easter, so I bought it now. It also gives me something to look forward to.

 

[BCV23]

I hadn't planned to buy a plane ticket for April this early, because I thought fares would be horrendous. But I saw a non-stop fare from Indianapolis to Orlando on Northwest for $203, and it's the week after Easter, so I bought it now. It also gives me something to look forward to.

That's a great fare! I'm paying over $300 for January. Not quite up to what we used to pay in the 90s but getting there.

 

[NancyIL]

That's a great fare! I'm paying over $300 for January. Not quite up to what we used to pay in the 90s but getting there.

Where in IL are you? I'm in Champaign, and have flown from Champaign (AA wanted over $600 for April flights!), Bloomington, and Indy.