Commute time to parks and preschoolers

[Yellow Sub]

Hi everyone,

Former lurker, first-time poster. Great board. Lots of good ideas.

We're planning to go to WDW around Dec 16-21. We have a 2 and a 5 year-old. We'll definitely hit MK a couple days, Hollywood Studios a day, and probably AK. We'll probably do full mornings, go back for naps, and then return to the park for a few hours in the evening.

If we take Disney transportation from, say Coronado, is the wait time going to be a problem? I can imagine time walking to the bus stop, waiting for the bus, etc. adding up to where we don't want to bother heading back to the park in the evening. Short of staying at Poly or other very close resorts, is the commute time going to be an issue with Disney transportation?

Thanks.

 

[cmr154]

Good luck with this one, it depends...everyone you ask will have a different answer for you. The actual bus time wait varies, you never really know what it's going to be. And the bus ride itself takes some time (depending on where you're staying and where you're going)

We find it does take a fair amount of extra of time out of our day going back but with a small child is worth it for us. We like to go back, hit the pool, lay in the bed and relax before going back to the parks.

 

[Missytara]

The closer you get to the holiday week, the longer the wait is going to be for buses and the busier it is going to be.

You have asked a very subjective question; that comes with hundreds of different answers.

I am usually by myself, or with friends my own age, so we don't mind a wait for a bus, because it is one of the perks staying on-site. However, with small children (or older ones - which is my next story) it may seem like an utter eternity.

Last year, I took two college aged girls with me, and I couldn't believe how restless they would get. Geez, we would wait about five minutes for the bus and already they would be complaining. One couple walked up behind us and asked how long we had been waiting and they said, "Twenty minutes." I was like, "Are you serious?"

Second story, my mom went with me to POR one year. We loved to ride the water taxi down to DTD and back every night. Sometimes we would just wander through one store and then get back on it. We thoroughly loved the long, slow ride back to the resort. One night, we sat next to an older well-dressed couple and the conversation went something like this after they had only been sitting for a minute or two:

Why are we still at the dock; when is this guy going to get this thing moving?
Why is he talking to the guy that drives the other boat? We need to get back to the hotel.
Why are we going so slow.
Great, now they are going even slower and telling us about that egret on the shore.
Great, now they are slowing down by the golf course to see the crocodiles. Who needs to see a bunch of sleeping crocodiles?
Geez, we are stopping at French Quarter. Those people can wait; they need to get to Riverside first and then come back and drop them off.

They saw the ride as a chore to get back to the resort; we saw it as a wonderful way to end the evening....

So everyone is different about the transportation times and waits.

 

[madalex]

Short of staying at Poly or other very close resorts, is the commute time going to be an issue with Disney transportation?

It will only be an issue if you make it an issue. If you expect a bus to magically appear every time you show up at a bus stop, you will have a problem. But, if you accept that wait times are part of the game, you will be fine.

WDW transportation generally works pretty well. Buses show up about every 20 minutes (on average), so sometimes you may have a 2 minute wait for a bus and sometimes you may have a 20 minute wait. At peak times of the day (like, right after the fireworks at MK), there will be long lines for the buses and at other times (say, early afternoon), there will be no lines. As long as you plan for and expect this, WDW transportation will get you to where you want to go fairly easily and efficiently.

 

[HaleyB]

With the longer hours that time of year it is less of a problem, but IMHO yes it can add up to too much lost time. However the kids might be able to nap in a stroller, but you can't. You are going to need a break as much as they will.

What I would do is budget $25-$30 in cab fare. Your being able to take a break and enjoy the evening is well worth the $25-$30, which is really not that much money all things considered. I know some people are reluctant to use cabs with car seat aged kids, but you can actually call ahead and request a van with car seats (no extra charge). Most points in WDW will be under $20 in fare, seems like we were under $15 every time on our last trip. $10 is the minimum (they will charge a flat rate if you are going somewhere really close by).

Going from the park to the resort midday is normally easy, returning to the park after your break is where I would opt for a cab. It also is just fun if you don't normally use cabs. I also would think about using a cab to return to the resort at the very end of the day. I always misjudge and stay too long. Cranky kids waiting for a bus is no fun for Mom & Dad.

Renting a car is another option but driving when it is busy can be frustrating for us. I think the Disney signs make sense to some people, they just get us lost. There are onsite rental agencies so you can rent a car for only the days you will need it.

And while I am at it, that time of year it is vital you use one of the pay-to-view websites with best days advise. I have used both touringplans.com and tourguidemike.com I like Mike better but both worked for avoiding crowds. Since things change fast and often that time of year I found Tour Guide Mikes style of not just saying which park was best but also WHY was the most useful because I knew how to adapt when hours changed and such.

Disney at Christmas is something very special. Enjoy!

 

[MFLetou]

Hi everyone,

Former lurker, first-time poster. Great board. Lots of good ideas.

We're planning to go to WDW around Dec 16-21. We have a 2 and a 5 year-old. We'll definitely hit MK a couple days, Hollywood Studios a day, and probably AK. We'll probably do full mornings, go back for naps, and then return to the park for a few hours in the evening.

If we take Disney transportation from, say Coronado, is the wait time going to be a problem? I can imagine time walking to the bus stop, waiting for the bus, etc. adding up to where we don't want to bother heading back to the park in the evening. Short of staying at Poly or other very close resorts, is the commute time going to be an issue with Disney transportation?

Thanks.

Honestly, if you can afford it, I'd try to rent a car/minivan. It really makes a world of difference, particularly at a place that isn't "connected" to any of the theme parks. While you may hit it lucky with Disney transport, you really don't know and it makes it tough to plan. As a parent of a 16 month old and a 3.5 year old, I really like predictability, and so I like knowing my car is sitting there in the parking lot (where i parked it for free) and I can leave NOW if I need to. (yes, it can be a little bit of a trek to the car in the parking lot, but they generally let you drop off close in so I've dropped off my whole crew and then parked the van.

You won't typically get the best deals on rental cars until right before--the pattern seems to be for the car rental places to drop their prices dramatically as the date inches closer, unless demand exceeds their inventory. And you'll have to play with the codes you see on mousesavers on on these boards.

You will indeed hear different things from different people, but that's my recommendation. Besides transportation, another nice thing is that you suddently have a place to stash stuff at the parks--not sure about weather? Bring a couple of different jackets, you can always go back and switch off if things change. Get soaked on kali river rapids? keep a second set of clothes in the car. want to have some extra snacks--keep them in teh car...and so on.

 

[mzozzietj]

We've gone the week prior to Christmas before and it really wasn't too bad. (This was before all the free dining and room only discounts though) The only times I usually worry about wait times for buses is early mornings or leaving closer to closing time or after a parade/fireworks/fantasmic, etc... I don't think you should run into unusually long waits in the middle of the day as the crowds are typically morning/night.

Of course, with that said... we usually rent a car as the previous poster said. I personally do not want my 18 month old traveling without a car seat. Just my personal preference though.

 

[spiceycat]

even if you get a car. take the WDW transportation to the MK.

you might look into renting a reservation from a DVC member for BLT or VWL - they might be a little more. then you can take their transportation (or walking from BLT) to the MK. then you can drive elsewhere.

CSR will not take long for Studios or AK - but Epcot and MK it will take longer.