Drive or Car/Taxi to MK for 8:30 am Tour

[keishashadow]

Help please

we are booked @ PORFQ this December (our 1st visit to the resort) & im not familiar with their transportation; let alone the bus system as we typically drive to the parks.

Im trying to decide which Keys to Kingdom tour to book @ the MK (8:30, 9 or 9:30 am.). Im leaning toward the first tour, having read reviews as to the uncrowded photo ops of main street/castle etc as it likely won't open until 9 am that day

Family members aren't keen on waking up any earlier than necessary, already a couple of very early days in the trip. im thinking it might be shorter to either take resort bus or cab vs driving???

Q#1 - Do resort buses start running to MK that early? (6:30 am - 7:00 am ish)

Q#2 - Would a cab be better choice/available @ PORFQ (not sure if i would have to arrange it beforehand with front desk or if they hang out that early?)

Q#3 - Will said cab drop us @ bus stop near MK? I'd hate to wind up @ TTC, as we could probably make the same time ourselves driving.

Q#4 - if we do drive, will either the monorail or boat be operating to transport us to MK around 7:30 am?

[CleveRocks]

A bus will get you there in plenty of time. During my recent stay at Polynesian, I started seeing buses pulling into MK as early as about 6:45 a.m., even on days when it opened at 9 a.m. Remember, there are people with 7:00 a.m. ADRs at Cinderella's Royal Table.

A taxi will only be able to drop you off at the TTC ... it can't go to the MK bus area.

If you do decide on a taxi, they are outside POFQ just like at every other resort. If there isn't one waiting, a Bell Services CM can get you one very very quickly ... there's no reason to try to reserve one in advance for a specific time.

Really, truly, you can take the bus and be totally fine without stressing or rushing. And if for some reason you feel you are waiting too long for a bus, the POFQ bus stop is just steps away from Bell Services ... in other words, you could always "wimp out" and take a taxi.

If you drive and then park at TTC, you can catch the resort monorail, as it starts running at 7:00 a.m.

[keishashadow]

[quote=CleveRocks;33357595]. ... in other words, you could always "wimp out" and take a taxi.
quote]

thanks for the laff & detailed answer -

by car or by bus we shall prevail

next mission, is to get confirmation that PORFQ will have buses that go to FW for Hoop De Doo & i'll be all set

[CleveRocks]

[quote=keishashadow;33358947]

Originally Posted by CleveRocks

next mission, is to get confirmation that PORFQ will have buses that go to FW for Hoop De Doo & i'll be all set

Well, there's no such thing as a bus from one resort to another, so NO, you can't take a bus from POFQ to FW.

The very very best way to get there is: bus from POFQ to Magic Kingdom, and then boat from MK to Fort Wilderness. From the dock, Pioneer Hall (the site of Hoop) is about a 2-minute walk.

If you are at the last show of the night, and if the Magic Kingdom is closed for the night, there will be some buses nearby that will take guests back to their resorts ... they'll be mucho grouped together, it's not like at a park where there is a bus for each resort, etc.

[helenk]

Originally Posted by keishashadow

Help please

we are booked @ PORFQ this December (our 1st visit to the resort) & im not familiar with their transportation; let alone the bus system as we typically drive to the parks.

Im trying to decide which Keys to Kingdom tour to book @ the MK (8:30, 9 or 9:30 am.). Im leaning toward the first tour, having read reviews as to the uncrowded photo ops of main street/castle etc as it likely won't open until 9 am that day

Family members aren't keen on waking up any earlier than necessary, already a couple of very early days in the trip. im thinking it might be shorter to either take resort bus or cab vs driving???

Q#1 - Do resort buses start running to MK that early? (6:30 am - 7:00 am ish)

Q#2 - Would a cab be better choice/available @ PORFQ (not sure if i would have to arrange it beforehand with front desk or if they hang out that early?)

Q#3 - Will said cab drop us @ bus stop near MK? I'd hate to wind up @ TTC, as we could probably make the same time ourselves driving.

Q#4 - if we do drive, will either the monorail or boat be operating to transport us to MK around 7:30 am?

As others posted the buses will be running early enough to get to the tour. I did the early tour and had no problem getting there in plenty of time and I even left from the POFQ. Just give yourself plenty of travel time as the buses do not run as frequently in the early a.m. For the 8:30 tour I would be at the bus stop by 7:30
If you prefer to take a taxi, have the driver take you to the CR, from there its a 5 or 10 minute walk over to the MK.

[keishashadow]

[quote=CleveRocks;33365700]

Originally Posted by keishashadow

Well, there's no such thing as a bus from one resort to another, so NO, you can't take a bus from POFQ to FW.

The very very best way to get there is: bus from POFQ to Magic Kingdom, and then boat from MK to Fort Wilderness. From the dock, Pioneer Hall (the site of Hoop) is about a 2-minute walk.

.

one of my guidebooks (UG or passporter, can't remember which one), indicated that disney offered bus service from 'select' resorts directly to HDD-FW

figured it could easily have changed with all the cutbacks, etc., which is why i asked...another Q for Disney when ii call, yet again lol

[CleveRocks]

Originally Posted by keishashadow

another Q for Disney when ii call, yet again lol

Please, do yourself a BIG favor ... DON'T call 407-W-DISNEY and ask questions about transportation routes. The CMs who answer the phones are trained in only 3 things: resort reservations, dining/special event reservations, and ticket SALES. They don't know anything (collectively, as a group ... you might get a few rogues who know their stuff) about transportation, restaurants, theme parks, ticket upgrades, theme park policies, and so on.

My best advice to you is to start a new thread and ask that specific question here on the Transportation Forum ... word the title as specifically as you can, in order to attract the experts who can tell you that.

I may not be an expert, but I know more than the average bear (as Yogi Bear might have said), and I'm not aware of any Disney resort providing transportation directly TO Fort Wilderness/Hoop Dee Doo Revue except for Wilderness Lodge, since those two resorts share a lot of transportation.

[helenk]

[quote=keishashadow;33381468]

Originally Posted by CleveRocks

one of my guidebooks (UG or passporter, can't remember which one), indicated that disney offered bus service from 'select' resorts directly to HDD-FW

figured it could easily have changed with all the cutbacks, etc., which is why i asked...another Q for Disney when ii call, yet again lol

Each time I go to WDW with family we go to the HDDR, there have not been buses from "select resorts" to the HDDR. We go to the MK and take the boat to FW from there.
If you go to the shows when the MK is open late then you just take the boat back to the MK and then the bus back to your resort.
We've gone to the last show and the MK was closed, there were buses outside at the bus stop to take you back to your resort. There are not individual buses to each resort but rather they share buses with resorts in the general area.
What I do also if I am going during the holidays is book my HDDR reservation on a night when there is a MVMCP that way I know I can get back to the MK with no problem.

[clkelley]

As a frequent Fort Wilderness guest (several times a year). I can confirm that there are NO buses TO the Hoop De Doo.

You need to take a bus to the Magic Kingdom, then a boat to Ft. Wilderness. Then it is a short walk to Pioneer Hall from the dock.

Ft. Wilderness DOES provide shared/direct transportation BACK to resorts after the 7:15 and 9:30 Hoop De Doo shows every night. There is a sign on the boat dock stating this.

This has been SOP for over a year now.

(FYI, if you are traveling to the Hoop De Doo from Epcot, Studios, Downtown Disney, or AK, then once you arrive at Ft. Wilderness, you needed to board a Settlement bus to the other end of the campground.) Yellow is fastest, then Purple, then Orange is the slowest. However, Orange will give you almost a full tour of the campground if that is something you desire.