A couple of questions about International Gateway -- inspired by another thread

[Obi-Wan Pinobi]

The thread asking if WDW buses stop at the International Gateway brought a couple of questions to my mind.

First one is one Tyler can probably answer -- The IG is a great perk of the Epcot area resorts (BW, BC, YC, S&D). Is this one reason buses don't run to those resorts from other resorts? If they did, I could see the IG and the resort-to-resort buses being very overused as an alternative. I know it may not be the only reason but just wondered if it might be a reason.

Second one is for long-time visitors -- Was there ever bus service to the IG? As I recall, there is a fairly good size plaza outside the IG by the boat dock. It almost seems like there might have been bus or other service there at one time before the resorts were built.

 

[Andrew Bichard]

I will answer the second.

When International Gateway opened, it had a tram service around the Boardwalk side of Bay Lake, from the tram stop near the boat dock to the area between the the Swan & Dolphin. This was before the Boardwalk Inn and Villas opened and it continued to run for a little while after. I stayed at Boardwalk Inn a few months after it opened (Flying Fish was still being fitted out). I even got to ride the tram. When I returned to Boardwalk Inn a year later, the tram had been discontinued. Perhaps it was considered unsafe to have a tram service running along the Boardwalk with so many people walking, and the possibility of children running between the cars. In any case, the Friendship boats made the trams redundant.

There is now an identical tram running to the beaches at Castaway Cay. Possibly its the same one!

Andrew

 

[spiceycat]

there is NO resort to resort bus transportation period.

never had been.

that would require several more buses.

WDW provides tranportation to their theme parks, water parks and DD.

if you want to go somewhere else - then be prepared to ride several buses - on a bus and monrail or a bus and boat or a bus and walking...

to get to Epcot resorts - the best way is to get on the Studios bus and then walk or boat to these resorts.

if you get on the Epcot bus - then you go to the front of Epcot and must go through Epcot (use a ticket) to get to the Epcot resorts.

Even back when there were only a few resorts - WDW never gave resort to resort bus tranportation.