Approximate times from resort to the parks?

[newbie2013]

Hello All

I have tried to look for all of this information so my apologies in advance if it i salready here.
I am planning a vacatin for January 2012 - will have a 4 year old and an 8 month old (both girls). We are trying to decide where to sty keeping in mind we might want to go back to the resort midday for a rest and then head back out again. LIkely only at disney for 4 days - also probably just after new years so still pretty busy.
We would prefer not to spend an arm and a leg on a deluxe villa so how long does it actually take to get places?
If we stayed at AKL? what about if we stayed at the AOA? Also how long from BLT to the other theme parks?
Thanks it jsut seems so confusing - bus/monorail vs other vs possibly needing to switch and use 2 modes.
Alternatively we could rent a car and drive and park - thoughts you seasoned veterans?

So much appreciated! Thanks

 

[donaldude]

The bus rides back too the resorts take around 10 to 25 minutes. It depends on what resort you stay at and what park you happen to be at. Each resort is considered a different theme park resort depending on which park the resort is closest too. For example, POR and POFQ are DTD resorts.

 

[newbie2013]

We are still debating re which resort - trying to decide how much time we want to spend waiting for transportation vs price willing to pay.
We have thought about AoA, animal kingdom villa or bay lake tower (or maybe one by Epcot).
We will only be there for 4 nights so just trying to maximize our time there without an astronomical price tag.

 

[jimmytammy]

We like to drive to parks. You can stay at a value or mod with a rental car and be fine. Just follow signs. Staying at a monorail resort allows you fairly easy access to MK and Epcot.

 

[newbie2013]

Is it a pain to drive and park at the parks?
How might it take from parking to get I side the park gates?

 

[goofy4tink]

Hello All

I have tried to look for all of this information so my apologies in advance if it i salready here.
I am planning a vacatin for January 2012 - will have a 4 year old and an 8 month old (both girls). We are trying to decide where to sty keeping in mind we might want to go back to the resort midday for a rest and then head back out again. LIkely only at disney for 4 days - also probably just after new years so still pretty busy.
We would prefer not to spend an arm and a leg on a deluxe villa so how long does it actually take to get places?
If we stayed at AKL? what about if we stayed at the AOA? Also how long from BLT to the other theme parks?
Thanks it jsut seems so confusing - bus/monorail vs other vs possibly needing to switch and use 2 modes.
Alternatively we could rent a car and drive and park - thoughts you seasoned veterans?

So much appreciated! Thanks

Is it a pain to drive and park at the parks?
How might it take from parking to get I side the park gates?

First, I'm gonna assume you mean January 2013!!!
With that in mind....it all depends on which park you prefer to be closer to and how much you want to pay.
For a good, all around resort, try either AoA or Pop. If you stay at AKL, it's going to be a longer ride to parks other than AK!!
If you stay at a MK resort, yes, you can use the monorail but it does break down. And yes, you do have to monorail over to the TTC to get a bus to Epcot.
You could give WL a shot...nice resort, with boat service to MK, as well as bus service. Then, buses to all other parks.

As far as driving goes...many love driving and refuse to go without a car at WDW. I have done it both ways. The only park that is iffy when driving is MK. You have to park at the TTC and then take either the monorail or ferry over to MK. If you take the bus, from your WDW resort, to MK, you are dropped very close to the entrance to the park.

I think it's a good idea to choose a resort based on whether or not you like it there. All the resorts have good transportation, and make it very easy to head back for a midday rest. If you are thinking of a DVC villa, either BWV or BCV will allow you to walk to both Epcot and DHS..as well as use the boats. Staying at BLT?? Walk over to MK, monorail to TTC and then to Epcot. Bus to AK and DHS.

As far as 'times' go??? Hard to say. If you rent a car, the times will be about 15 mins from resort parking lot to park parking lots...maybe a bit less, or a bit more depending on time of day and park heading to. Using buses?? Figure on a total of 35 mins. You have to include possible wait times for the bus to get there. Same with boats.

 

[newbie2013]

Whoops yes 2013 it is!
To clarify a couple of things
- the 35 min via bus does or does not include bus wait times?
- the ttc is the transfer center? How long to transfer lines?
- bus from ttc to Epcot And I'm guessing the other parks as well

What about taking a cab - can they get you to the gates? How much are they?

This is all so overwhelming

You Mentioned picking based on resort we like but this is very hard to choose - I guess at this poor it might be blt ? The bcv or aoa ....

 

[goofy4tink]

Whoops yes 2013 it is!
To clarify a couple of things
- the 35 min via bus does or does not include bus wait times?
- the ttc is the transfer center? How long to transfer lines?
- bus from ttc to Epcot And I'm guessing the other parks as well

What about taking a cab - can they get you to the gates? How much are they?

This is all so overwhelming

You Mentioned picking based on resort we like but this is very hard to choose - I guess at this poor it might be blt ? The bcv or aoa ....

1. Yes. The buses tend to come every 20 or so mins. You usually can have a wait of right around 15 mins. Then the ride to a park is seldom longer than 15 mins.

2. Yep...TTC is Ticket and Transportation Center. This is the 'parking lot' for MK. You can get the monorail here, or the ferry. You can also get buses to AK and DHS. No resort buses come here....well, they do from offsite resorts, but not the WDW resorts.
The TTC has the ferry that runs over to MK. There are three monorail lines..the Express that runs between TTC and MK, and the Resort line that runs from the TTC to the Polynesian, Grand Floridian, MK, Contemporary Resort and back to TTC, and the Epcot line that runs directly to Epcot.
If you choose to drive a car here, you would park, and then take a tram to the drop off area so you could get either the monorail or ferry over to MK.
The lines can vary lengthwise, depending on time of day....can be longish first thing for park opening and then again when the park closes.

3. No bus to Epcot from there...just the monorail line. But, as noted above, you can take a bus to DHS or AK from the TTC.

4. Cabs vary in cost depending on where you are coming from. You can't take a cab to the MK gates..you would have to go to either the TTC or the CR. I seldom take cabs. The cab fare from YC over to POP (for instance) is about $10..and it's about an 8 min ride!! So, it would add up quickly if you take cabs around the area vs the transportation system.

 

[dzorn]

1. Yes. The buses tend to come every 20 or so mins. You usually can have a wait of right around 15 mins. Then the ride to a park is seldom longer than 15 mins.

2. Yep...TTC is Ticket and Transportation Center. This is the 'parking lot' for MK. You can get the monorail here, or the ferry. You can also get buses to AK and DHS. No resort buses come here....well, they do from offsite resorts, but not the WDW resorts.
The TTC has the ferry that runs over to MK. There are three monorail lines..the Express that runs between TTC and MK, and the Resort line that runs from the TTC to the Polynesian, Grand Floridian, MK, Contemporary Resort and back to TTC, and the Epcot line that runs directly to Epcot.
If you choose to drive a car here, you would park, and then take a tram to the drop off area so you could get either the monorail or ferry over to MK.
The lines can vary lengthwise, depending on time of day....can be longish first thing for park opening and then again when the park closes.

3. No bus to Epcot from there...just the monorail line. But, as noted above, you can take a bus to DHS or AK from the TTC.

4. Cabs vary in cost depending on where you are coming from. You can't take a cab to the MK gates..you would have to go to either the TTC or the CR. I seldom take cabs. The cab fare from YC over to POP (for instance) is about $10..and it's about an 8 min ride!! So, it would add up quickly if you take cabs around the area vs the transportation system.

Not to mention you will need car seats for the cabs.

Denise in MI

 

[newbie2013]

Interesting re the car seats in cabs - is that the law?

 

[conniehar90]

I have tried both and found that we like to have a car. We like to be in control of our own destiny and not have to wait for a bus. However, we usually stay offsite and need a car. Our last onsite trip, we stayed at Wilderness Lodge and we only ended up taking the bus to MK. I found it faster to drive to the other parks than take the bus. I also found the driving time from the onsite resort to be just about the same as the offsite condo we always rent - about 10-20 minutes.

There are a couple other things to weigh when traveling with a baby. I assume you will be bringing your own stroller. If you drive to the parks, you have to pack up the stroller to get on the tram (unless you get there early enough to not have to take a tram). I don't know if you need to pack up the stroller on the bus.

Some friends of ours went recently and stayed at the Swan. One of their biggest complaints was the time traveling on the bus and that it made multiple stops before getting to the parks. So, I think it depends on where you stay as to the travel time. We prefer to jump in our car and go.