Princess Transportation ????

[VickiHD]

Congrats to all the runners over the weekend !!

I've got a question about the transportation to and from race and would love to hear you're experience....

If you drove to the race what time did the parking lot open??

Was the host hotel transportation easy, efficient and convenient to use on race morning? What about getting back to resort?

Would you drive to race start even though you're at a host hotel just to avoid the bus??

I plan on running in the Princess 1/2 next year and I'm trying to figure out the details and how it's done. Thanks

 

[queen mimi]

We used the event transportation from the Polynesian. Got on a few minutes after 4:00. Not a long wait. After the event, was about a 7 minute wait. However, the line for the All Stars was huge. Some of the issues depends on the hotel. One year, we drove. No problem. But the event has grown by threefold. So, traffic is worse. If you read the princess thread, you will see comments on exiting by people who drove. I guess if you finished later, was taking 75 minutes just to exit. Hope this information helps.

 

[J-2]

I used the event transportation from POFQ. I got in line for the bus at 3:30am and on the bus about 3:45. We did not get dropped off at the staging area until about 4:45am. The traffic was horrible! From there, I didn't make it into my corral until 5:15. It was a bottleneck trying to get from the staging area to the corrals. There were lines for the porta potties that were blocking the walkway so it caused some slow down. Runners were still getting into the corrals nearly up to the race start.

In hindsight, I'm glad I was able to sit on the bus for as long as I did to minimize standing in the cold.

 

[joan4mickey]

First year drove..just over 6000 runners...piece of cake...going and leaving..

Second and third year stayed at all stars resorts...busy, crowded buses...long line to expo and race.

This year POFQ to avoid long lines and crowded buses and the only issue was traffic jam on way to race...what happened? No line on way back to resort.

I feel confident that the bus system will work although for marathon weekend a bus got "lost" on the way to start line for half and runners were late even missing start of race.

 

[Disneyland_emily]

I drove and arrived about 3:15-3:20 and was no where near the first car so it opened much earlier.. I followed their directions (exited the 192/world drive exit from I4) and hit zero traffic all the way to the parking spot (besides normal parking lot slowness)

Leaving.. Unlike the WDW 1/2 (with a very similar finish time) where I was out of the lot in 10 min they had some crazy weird parking lot configuration that took me 75+ min to exit the $^)& lot.

As for 'host resorts' I would think those who are naturally south of Epcot (All Stars/Pop/ Carribbean/DAK Lodge etc) would have easier and faster transportation to race start than those near (POR/OKW/Saratoga etc) or north (MK Resorts) simply due to how they direct the traffic to enter from the south.. Just my opinion though

The only race I've used transportation was Wine and Dine (stayed at All Star Sports) and had zero issues and very little delays (race start was at Wide World- Finish at Epcot)

 

[becky11]

If I should run this race again, I will absolutely stay at a host resort next time and use the busses. I stayed at Pop - which was NOT a host resort, BTW - and drove myself. Getting there wasn't a problem, but trying to exit was infuriating to say the least. I think I'll choose Caribbean Beach.

 

[Disfan11]

We stayed at the Caribbean Beach resort.
Were on the bus by 3:45 - no wait!
We had plenty of time to potty (twice) and still be in the corrals by 5:00AM.
We were some of the last people to leave after the end of the race.
We didn't have to wait in line for a bus, just walked right on.
It was all very convenient!
I would do it all again that way.

 

[rocio]

We stayed at port Orleans Riverside which was a host resort. No problem at all with the buses. I was texting a friend coming from another resort so I can see time stamps. We got in a short line for the bus about 3:30 and bus came shortly thereafter as I texted we were leaving the resort at 3:38. I texted we were walking through the parking lot to the staging area at 4am. We met up with friends and stood in a long line for a picture and then my group wanted to use the potties right after bag check. Long line and then even slower line/walk to the corral. Made it to B just under the wire at 5:33 when i texted my friend again. Learned not to dawdle at the staging area.

Transportation back was just as easy. Walked right onto a waiting bus and was back in our room by about 9:30.

 

[VickiHD]

Thanks for all the information.

Do the "spectators" also get on the same bus as the runners ???

 

[HockeyKat]

We stayed at OKW and drove. Left the resort at 4:10 and were parked by 4:30 or so (although we did have to go around via Victory Way). Gear check, porta-potty stop, and then it took for-freakin-ever to herd over to the corrals. We had to do another potty stop and then barely made it it into corral B before A started, maybe 5 min to spare.

No issues at all leaving but we had one runner who finished close to 4 hrs and we stayed for massages, customized I did it shirts, etc.

 

[kmg148]

I drove. I stayed with friends about 10 minutes from Epcot. I left exactly at 4:00am, and sat in traffic for about 15-20 minutes near the signs for the two Epcot lanes on the right. It kept moving though! I ended up waiting 5 minutes at the bag check and it took about 30 to get to the corral.

I was able to use the port-a-potties as well. I used the ones before you get to Overpass Road (back of Epcot) where the large "L" shaped row is.

 

[bungchiwow]

I stayed at All Star Sports. Got to the bus shortly after 3am, walked right on, no wait at all.

When I finished the race and saw the line to get back to All Star, I thought for sure this was going to take forever. Luckily, it moved pretty fast and at one point they had 4 buses ready to go just for the All Star resorts.

imo, It's definitely worth staying at a host resort.

 

[J-2]

Thanks for all the information.

Do the "spectators" also get on the same bus as the runners ???

Yes they do.

 

[kathleendsm]

I was at BWV. Got on the bus at around 4, didn't get to the parking lot until around 4:30. It took around 15 minutes to walk to the bag check area, and then I foolishly waited there for half an hour for the Porta Potty. I got really nervous but considering how many people were in line behind me, I figured I'd be fine.

The walk to the corrals got really jammed up around the second group of potties, very frustrating. I probably didn't get to my corral (C) until around 5:30 or so, but it was fine. They certainly weren't stopping anyone.

After the race DH and I decided to just walk back to the BoardWalk through the park. I knew there was a bus, but didn't really want to wait for it, and was afraid that if I sat down I'd never get back up!

 

[crmrrsn28]

We stayed at caribbean beach and had no issues getting there or returning! Will stay there again

 

[VickiHD]

Since spectators are allowed on the buses too....did ANYONE see any strollers on the buses in the early morning ?


I hope they are allowed since it would be nearly impossible for my husband and son to watch me run at different locations with out the stroller.

 

[EddieMccoy2]

dw and I stayed at the Yacht Club. We caught the bus at 3AM from the Beach club due to them not having it at the Yacht Club entrance even though it was a host hotel. The bus went to Boardwalk and then race area. We arrived at 3:30ish. After the race we used our Annual passes to cut through Epcot. I enjoyed that. Stayed at POFQ for the Half in January, and had not hardly any issues that weekend as well. I believe at the bus stop by 3am at latest.

 

[afnaechiquita]

We stayed at POR and got in the very long line in front of the lobby at 3:30 a.m. Several busses came, but they were all filled so not many got on each time. After we finally got on a bus, sat through traffic, and arrived at the race retreat, it was 5:15 and we were told to go to the corrals. I made it to corral C by 5:30. Not an ideal race morning, and we didn't get to enjoy the retreat. We thought we were fine by getting there at 3:30, because that's what we did last year, but I guess more people stayed there this year maybe?

Coming back, we got on a bus right away and had no issues. Semi-off-topic, we spent a while at the race retreat, but felt it wasn't worth the money aside from the line-free port-a-potties. It was packed afterwards. chEAR squad members were occupying seats while runners sat on the floor/stood around/etc. I appreciate their dedication, but please give those who just ran 13.1 miles a break.

 

[kmchisholm]

Stayed at BWV with no issues - had to wait about 15min for a bus to the expo, but bus to the race was there when we arrived and left within 5 min. Had a 10:30 reservation at Cape May so walked back through the park to hit the room for a quick shower before stuffing myself!