AKL to Polynesian????

[callaghan]

Is there a bus that goes from AKL to the TTC? And then back again. We are staying one night at the Animal Kingdom Lodge adn I have to go to the Polynesian to pick up our passes (UPH) and return for our morning in Animal Kingdom! Is there a bus form the AKL to TTC? And is there a bus that I can return AKL to pick up DH and the children? Thanks
callie

 

[MonorailRed]

Years ago, Disney used to operate buses from the resorts to the TTC. The buses that leave from the resorts take you to the four major theme parks, water parks, and Downtown Disney.

To get from one resort to another, you have to (what I like to call) ricochet. To do this, you wait for a bus at AKL. A good bus to pick would be one headed to the water parks, Epcot, MGM, or the Magic Kingdom. Get off the bus at any one of these places and board the bus (or other transportation) to the Polynesian. Returning to AKL is simply the reverse. If you're flexible, you can usually ricochet from the first bus that shows up at the bus stop.

To do this in the morning, you have to make sure that at least one of these ricochet locations is open. Buses also run to Downtown Disney but from AKL, it's a longer drive. The other important thing to remember is that this takes a good deal of time and it might be worth your while to coordinate a meeting place instead of returning to AKL.

Presumably, you're going to check in at the Poly to get your room keys and UPH passes. I would suggest calling your family from a guest phone at the Poly and try to meet at AK.

 

[puffkin]

There is no direct bus from the TTC to the AKL or vice versa. I would use the MK as your hub. Take a bus from the AKL to the MK and then monorail to the Polynesian to get your tickets. Then monorail back to the MK and get a bus to the AKL.

 

[pumpkinboy]

Originally posted by callaghan
...We are staying one night at the Animal Kingdom Lodge adn I have to go to the Polynesian to pick up our passes (UPH)...

Question: Why would you need to get your passes at Poly, rather than just getting them at AKL? ARe you going to be at Poly for the rest of your time at WDW, and you want your tix on your room keys? There must be an easier way. Perhaps you could have your tix issued at AK entrance or at AKL?

Your route over there and back will be nice and simple: take the MK bus from AKL to MK, which will drop you at the park entrance, then hop the express monorail to TTC and walk it over to Poly. For the return to AK park to meet up with the rest of the family, get the resort bus direct to AK (easiest), or take the monorail to MK entrance then take an AK bus.

 

[betterlatethannever]

Can you pick up everybody's UPH by yourself? Have you verified that?

Anyway, the bus from AKL to MK starts operating at 6:30 AM. HOWEVER, the resort monorail doesn't start operating until 7:00AM.

The bus back to AKL from MK may be a problem. There are no SCHEDULED busses going to AKL that early. If the dispatcher (or other bus drivers) see you in the AKL pickup, a bus will be sent to take you to AKL. This may take some time.

Better bet is to monorail or walk to the TTC from the POLY and take the AK bus. You can call and meet everybody else at AK. The bus starts operating sometime between 8:00 and 8:30.

Ed

 

[callaghan]

Do some poor planning and an unexpected guest we are in this predicament. My SIl is coming for a few days and has never been to any park other than AK. Our passes are hooked up to our room keys at the Polynesian and we going to Ak the first day our passes start.
Ed- Thanks for the advice about the all the people having to be there. we have checked into the Polynesian before and not needed everybody.
I can meet my Dh and kids at AK. That seems to be the easiest solution. Truth be told, I like to check in superearly, grab a cup of coffee and have some alone time, before the madness begins.
Thank you for all the help.
Callie

 

[sotoalf]

I have an even faster step: take the bus to Animal Kingdom, then take the direct bus to the Polynesian. It saves you all that walking and transferring!

 

[CRCrazy]

There may not be a bus heading back from AK to the Polynesian that early, and you would still have to take a bus from AKL to AK - there isn't a walking path there.


I would do what the last poster suggested - Get up early - take the bus from AKL to MK - then hop over on the monorail to the Polynesian. Once you have checked in, and gotten your tickets - take the Polynesian bus back to AK, and meet your family there - maybe they could eat breakfast at the Rainforest Cafe while they wait - you don't need tickets to get in there!

 

[betterlatethannever]

Originally posted by callaghan
...we have checked into the Polynesian before and not needed everybody...
Callie

Was it post 9/11?

Maybe I just had a tough CM when we were at the BWI in 2002.

Everybody had to sign their card at the desk. One person was missing and we couldn't get their room key.

Ed

 

[BCV23]

Wow, Ed.....we've never had to all be present much less sign our cards in front of the CM! Either my DH or I check in, get cards for everyone and distribute them. Sounds like a clueless CM or one on a power trip!

One other thought about transportation to the Polynesian. Tyler aka Chip'n Dale has reported about a character breakfast bus that will deliver resort guests to the appropriate site. Perhaps you could tag along with folks headed to 'Ohana??

After that you could catch the Polynesian bus to AK and meet your family.

Or change to MK for that day???

 

[jiminy14]

On our last two visits to WDW (8/03 & 12/03) any one who had a room key had to sign it in front of the CM at the check-in desk. This included my two teenage DDs who had wandered off at the Poly to do some exploring.
I don't think that it was a clueless CM since this happened at two different times of the year and at two different resorts. Maybe it only applies to the room keys with charging privileges. I'm not sure but it wouldn't hurt to call the front desk at the Poly and check before going over there.

 

[BCV23]

Originally posted by jiminy14
On our last two visits to WDW (8/03 & 12/03) any one who had a room key had to sign it in front of the CM at the check-in desk. This included my two teenage DDs who had wandered off at the Poly to do some exploring.
I don't think that it was a clueless CM since this happened at two different times of the year and at two different resorts. Maybe it only applies to the room keys with charging privileges. I'm not sure but it wouldn't hurt to call the front desk at the Poly and check before going over there.

Wow, jiminy...that's at least two of you. We get charging for all but one key. Our recent stays include Polynesian/BCV in March/April '04, same resorts in 11/03 and July/03, Polynesian in 3/03 and GF/BCV 12/03-1/04. We have never been "all present" much less required to sign in front of the cast member.

But I agree that I would call and check.

You know what..our keys are never with park hoppers on them as we have APs....with one exception when some were on a package but that stay we in Polynesian concierge. Do you think the addition of park hoppers is the difference?

 

[jiminy14]

It didn't affect us. We have annual passes also, and our room keys did not have any sort of passes on them. We still had to sign them in front of the CM. We had to do that at the Boardwalk Villas in August of '03 (and we're DVC members at BW) and at the Poly in December of '03.
Not sure if it is a new policy or if it is just not being strictly enforced. I still wouldn't risk it. It only takes a few minutes to call and check. It could end up saving someone a lot of inconvenience.

 

[callaghan]

Originally posted by betterlatethannever
Was it post 9/11?

Maybe I just had a tough CM when we were at the BWI in 2002.

Everybody had to sign their card at the desk. One person was missing and we couldn't get their room key.

Ed

Thanks for the info, Ed. We did check in post 9/11, Sept. 2003 to be exact. DH was with the children, 4 and 13 months, while I checked in with no problem. We were staying concierge, that might have made the difference. Our goal is not to waste any precious park time, because hours are short in September and with a little one needing a nap, they become even shorter!

Thanks for all of your help.
callie