Animal Kingdom travel

[anelson81]

How long would it take to get from AK to polynesian? Have Ohana reservation for 5:00. AK closes at 5:00.

 

[minnie mum]

Bus or car?

 

[anelson81]

Relying on Disney transportation.

 

[deakam]

I have a 6:45 Chef Mickey's on a night that the Animal Kingdom closes at 6pm. We are leaving the park about 5:30. Maybe earlier depending on how busy the place is. It might only be a 20 minute drive but then again depending on traffic it could be 40 minutes. I know that the Contemporary, The Grand Floridian and the Poly share buses. I do not know what resort gets served first. And I am not sure if they share from all of the parks at all times. Or maybe it is the Wilderness Lodge and the Poly. I am not sure but Disney says at least an hour on Disney transportation to make an ADR.

 

[Robo]

I have a 6:45 Chef Mickey's on a night that the Animal Kingdom closes at 6pm. We are leaving the park about 5:30. Maybe earlier depending on how busy the place is. It might only be a 20 minute drive but then again depending on traffic it could be 40 minutes. I know that the Contemporary, The Grand Floridian and the Poly share buses. I do not know what resort gets served first. And I am not sure if they share from all of the parks at all times. Or maybe it is the Wilderness Lodge and the Poly. I am not sure but Disney says at least an hour on Disney transportation to make an ADR.

Agreed. (Or more, depending on, well, EVERYTHING.)

Another wild card in this is that the buses will be busy near park closing time, so you might have to wait for another bus (or more) to arrive before you can finally board due to lines of guests waiting.

 

[anelson81]

My goal is to do Ohana for 5:00 and be back in our room at Contemporary at 8:00 to see the fireworks. Want to take advantage of our theme park view room, as we will only be in the room 2 nights max. We usually leave AK well before closing, but just don't want to be rushed. So leave AK early to make it back to our room or is it not even possible?

 

[deakam]

If your dinner reservation is at 5 you will be back to the Contemporary by 8pm. Why are the fireworks at 8pm? They are usually at 9.

 

[anelson81]

This is last week of Jan. They are at 8 during our entire stay. Guess that's the trade-off for the park being lightly attended.

 

[Msmithmd]

If your focus is maximizing park time, leave AK at 4:30. Eyeball the bus stop, and if the Poly bus is pulling up, take it for free. If not, take a cab for about $20-25 to Poly, and you will be there on time for the ADR. Or yes, leave the park at 4:00 if you want to be sure to use free transportation to Poly.

You will have no problem making it back to the contemporary by 8p, if your dinner is at 5. It's only a fifteen minute monorail ride back there after dinner.

 

[anelson81]

Thank you so much!

 

[katt789]

Disney advises something around an hour to 1.5 hours, and I FULLY agree with that.

You should be LEAVING the front of AK's gates around 4:00pm. You still have to wait for a bus to show up, then get to the other side of Disney property, and the bus will stop at the Poly, Contemp, GFlo & WL, I'm not sure about the order but I THINK the Poly is the second to last stop.

Especially at closing time of a park (although AK is usually not that busy) you never know how many people will be there, how fast the bus will come, and how fast it will leave.

If you arrive early, either check in early, have a nice lapu lapu at the bar, or wander the grounds, check out the beach & explore for a bit. Always better to be early than late!