Driving from resort to park. How hard?

[vital]

How hard is it to find your way around driving? I'm either staying at ASMO or POFQ in October. We're going to AK and MK on the same day. How hard is it to find your way around and which resort would be best for those parks?

Thanks so much!

 

[Blondie]

Why not let Disney do the driving? Park your car at the resort and forget about it!

 

[Blondie]

Sorry, I didn't really answer your question, did I?

The first day or two you'll be somewhat confused, but after you get the layout of the land so to speak, you'll do just fine. There are signs all over place. The MK and AK are kind of at opposite ends of the property.

Even still, we always use Disney transportation. It's just one less thing for me to worry about. It's easy to catch a quick snooze too while in transit!

 

[vital]

Sorry, I didn't really answer your question, did I?

The first day or two you'll be somewhat confused, but after you get the layout of the land so to speak, you'll do just fine. There are signs all over place. The MK and AK are kind of at opposite ends of the property.

Even still, we always use Disney transportation. It's just one less thing for me to worry about. It's easy to catch a quick snooze too while in transit!

I should've said we're only going to be there for one day. I'm driving in and won't get to WDW until midnight Thurs night/Fri morning. Then we are going to AK that day and MK for MNSSHP that night. We are hopping on a DCL cruise that Sat morning! I don't want to spend my time waiting for a bus! I've only been in June and the crowds were intense. How are they in October?

 

[SlightlyGoofy]

MGM and AK are quite easy to drive to from the All Stars or even POP.

AK is just the second exit to the left after you pass McD and stay to the right.

MGM is right down the road straight on the right opposite the gas station at the Boardwalk.

I do not drive to the other parks as they are harder to get out of and I do not want to be with all the other people who have no clue as to where they are going either.

From what I understand I would not want to drive to the MK anyway as it is harder to get into the park from the parking lots there. I drive over to Fort Wilderness during daylight but everything looks different to me at night. The purple and red signs are wonderful in the daylight but disappear at night.

Will you be going to MK first or second that day?

Slightly Goofy

 

[byoung]

Most of the time we stay at Disney and use there transpertation. When we have had a car it's very easy to get around Disney, well marked.

 

[dunnhorn]

AK is a very easy drive from ASM - probably a mile away. My suggestion is that if you are going to be on prop that short of time, stay at All Star and drive to AK, then drive back to the resort and then ride the bus to MK. The parking situation at MK is ridiculous. Consider this: You have to park in the MK parking lot, then take a tram to the Transportation and Ticket Center, and then take a ferry or the monorail to MK - talk about a time burner! I would say this will take a min of 40 minutes - AFTER YOU HAVE PARKED YOUR CAR. Much faster/easier to take a bus from ASM to MK - it lets you out just yards from the front gate. It is a complete pain in the neck to drive to MK and I really don't know that you would be saving much time.

 

[vital]

We're going to AK that morning and MK for MNSSHP that night. It sounds like dunnhorn's plan would work perfectly! Now for the magic 8 ball question, how are the busses from All Star to MK? Which one gets picked up first?

Y'all rock! Thanks so much!

 

[crazy4wdw]

AK is a very easy drive from ASM - probably a mile away. My suggestion is that if you are going to be on prop that short of time, stay at All Star and drive to AK, then drive back to the resort and then ride the bus to MK. The parking situation at MK is ridiculous. Consider this: You have to park in the MK parking lot, then take a tram to the Transportation and Ticket Center, and then take a ferry or the monorail to MK - talk about a time burner! I would say this will take a min of 40 minutes - AFTER YOU HAVE PARKED YOUR CAR. Much faster/easier to take a bus from ASM to MK - it lets you out just yards from the front gate. It is a complete pain in the neck to drive to MK and I really don't know that you would be saving much time.

Not to mention that you'll have to do the same thing in reverse when you leave the park. You mentioned that you were staying at the MK for Spectro Magic so you'll be leaving the park with lots of other people which will compound the problem. I would definitely take the bus to MK - it will be much quicker for the return back to your resort.

 

[dunnhorn]

We're going to AK that morning and MK for MNSSHP that night. It sounds like dunnhorn's plan would work perfectly! Now for the magic 8 ball question, how are the busses from All Star to MK? Which one gets picked up first?

Y'all rock! Thanks so much!

I think Sports picks up and drops off first. So - that means on pickup you'll get a seat, and on dropoff you'll get off first.

 

[SlightlyGoofy]

If you are staying for the party I would manage to be around the MS ice cream parlor if it stays open late that night, as it often does, and enjoy a treat while the hoards rush to stand in line for the buses. BTW, the AS buses are all the way down to the left out of the park and the first few buses fill up quickly. POP buses are the very last in line.

We have learned, the hard way, that it is best to linger and then saunter and by the time we finally do get to the buses there is seldom a line at all. If we get to the bus stop and there is a long line we just sit on a bench until the lines clear out so that we get seats rather than have to stand. I fall easily.

BTW, if you happen to stay at one of the All Star resorts and you are away from the main building BUT closer to the bus stop of one of the sister resorts you might be better off taking that bus rather than the one of the resort you are staying at. Works that way with the food courts as well.

Good luck and have a blast!!

Slightly Goofy

 

[darkcyber]

No matter if you only staying one day, I would still leave my car parked at the resort and use the Disney buses. Then just use the bus to come back and get your car and leave. Much easier than trying to navigate all the mess yourself...but to each his own.

And besides, if you drive your car to the parks, they will charge you to park (don't they?). Leave it at the resort and it's free parking.

 

[mommyoftwinfants]

we used our car for the 1st 3 days when we were there last year and kept getting lost, so we said to heck with it and took the bus the other 7 . If you have never been before it is very confusing but after the trip this year and last we might try and drive around next year .

 

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

The very first time we stayed on property we used the buses just to get familiar with the place and every trip after that we had gotten a rental car b/c my father is a very impatient man and doesnt like to wait for the bus, so we would drive to a park in the morning except MK if staying at WL and park the car, move it in the afternoon for a rest/pool and then drive back at night and convince the parking ppl to let us look for a spot up close to the front b/c ppl would have left and we never had a problem convincing them to let us look for a spot. We are using ME in May b/c my dad is for certain it is not busy like in june so hopefully he doesnt regret not getting a rental car but we saved a ton of money and were able to afford the 300+ a nite at WL so good luck with the driving if you do it, if not, i'm sure the buses will work out fine too, and if you get tired of the car park it and let Disney bus you around!!!

 

[silmarg]

We always drive to and from the parks (one of us in our party is an Annual Passholders so we can get the room discount and the DDP discount... and added bennie is we dont pay for parking).

I think Coronado is the most centrally located hotel to all the parks.

But any property is easy to get to any park.

Plus if you have odd ball dining ressie, having a car is a big time saver.

 

[magicmouse2]

We find it quicker to take the car. Plus you then dont have to wait around for buses when the kids are tired. We tend to use Disney transportation when going to the MK though. Our first few trips to WDW we ended up getting lost but now we are pretty good navigating WDW. Do you have a Sat Nav ? that might help.

 

[Bell30012]

Three letters for you... GPS. I have a cheap Garmin on the dashboard and all of the Disney parks were pre-programmed so were all the resorts. Worked out great.

Also, came in real handy on the trip down... finding Ci-Ci's for a cheap meal.. etc, etc.

 

[vital]

HMMMM.......GPS!? Never even thought of it. We travel a LOT so that might be a good investment! I'll be doing a search on the net today just to check things out!

Thanks for all your wonderful ideas!!!!

 

[finedice]

When we were last at WDW, we found having the car was awesome. I much prefer the flexibility of being able to lock things in the trunk I might need for a "later in the day" stop. You park free as a resort guest everywhere.

Driving around WDW is very easy if you have any sense of direction and can read a map. Try downloading a current WDW road map before you go.

I never found traffic to be heavy except when in line to enter the parking lot first thing in the mornings.

For us, the car is a necessity. We also like the freedom to be able to go off property some evenings (not many). For some trips we might choose the resort transportation, but if you plan to move around, or go to multiple places within the world on the same day, it seems like a hassle with the TTC, transfers, multiple stops en route, and lines (at times).

 

[MiltInMadison]

Just back from POFQ and I can tell you Disney Transportation is phenomenal. Can't imagine using a car. We never waited more than 15 minutes (and that was when we saw the bus just leaving as we got there). Numerous times our wait was less than 5 minutes or a bus was already waiting.

On one occassion there was a very long queue after MK closed and we thought we'd be there long, but suddenly 2 buses appeared and lined up side by side to load. Same with the boats to DTD. Came back full from POR once but within 5 minutes another came to pick up only POFQ and headed right for DTD.