Are the monorail resorts really more convenient?

[onceuponadream]

I was searching another site today and found a transportation wizzard that alowed me to see average times (either by bus, boat, monorail or walking) to different places from the hotels. I was suprised to see that of the resorts I looked at (WL, AKL, BC, CR, CSR, ASMo and Poly) that BC, AKL and CSR had the quickest average times to the 4 major theme parks! I was really leaning toward the CR or Poly because of monorail access but according to this site it takes 24 minutes to get to Epcot from the CR and 20 minutes from the Poly . We had considered upgrading to a deluxe this trip to make our afternoon breaks more convenient but it looks like the time en route would really not be that different between the resorts (at least not better with CR or Poly). I guess I thought the monorail resorts would be a breeze just hop on the monorail and we would be there (MK and Epcot) in a heart beat. They seem to be a few minutes closer to the MK but much further to Epcot, MGM and AK.

Is CSR really the most convenient as far as quickness to the parks? Is there something I'm not thinking of? We could split our stay AKL and CSR rather than CR or Poly and AKL and save $$ if this is true. I was just suprised

 

[mkymouse4ever]

Monorail resorts are IF you spend the most time at the magic kingdom. To go to epcot you have to ride 2 different monorails (switching @ TTC). and all other parks are a bus ride. Magic kingdom resorts (looking at map) appear to be the farthest away from all other parks and resorts (unless you know a few short cuts / back roads / pay attention on the buses you can drive on these if you have a car). Epcot resorts (except CBR) are within walking distance or boat ride, to mgm or epcot, all other parks are bus. All other resorts are buses except DTD resorts have a boat to DTD.

Really you should base it on where you spend most of your time (which park) and which resort you prefer! MKY

 

[erikthewise]

The trick to tranportation times is how long you have to wait for it and how many stops are along the way. AKL and CSR have dedicated buses that don't make any intermediate stops, and that can help quite a bit.

Things are pretty quirky and it's hard to make generalizations.
From the Polynesian you may well get to Future World at Epcot quicker than someone walking from the Beach club, IF you catch the monorail right away. You may also get to MGM faster than someone at Beach Club without a car, who has to choose between a 20 minute walk and the Slow Boat. Someone at AKL may get to MK faster than someone at WL if the former doesn't have to wait for a bus while the latter has to wait for a boat. (Of course it could go the other way too.)

If you want to minimize transportation times, rent a car! Otherwise a split stay including a monorail resort plus something else makes sense.

 

[Gillian]

We stayed at the Polynesian and found that the resort monorail loop is very slow. It's still very convenient to the MK, especially with a stroller, but it seemed to take a long time to get anywhere! From the Polynesian you can also walk to the ticket & transportation center & catch the epcot monorail.

The AKL busses, because they don't make any stops, seemed to be the fastest, overall. The Beach club transportation all seemed slow, although we enjoyed the walk to Epcot & the boat rides.

This was just our perception, in September during a slow time. I would choose a monorail resort more for the large rooms than for the transportation.

 

[eeyore0062]

The most convenient resort we have found is the Contemporary.

 

[Mickymark]

There is nothing more convenient than a resort on the monorail loop. You have a choice of a launch, a bus, or of course the monorail. These of course all take you to the Mk, but as I said there are also buses to take you to all the other parks.

 

[susy]

Remember that at CSR there multiple bus stops and at AKL there is just the one.

Here are my personal trans. experiences:


ASSp- first to get picked up, then have to go to ASMu and Movies-didn't stop at Movies one morning since we were full. It was very quick , though. Getting dropped off is fine- first to be dropped off.


CBR- lots of stops within the resort. It took a few minutes to "get going". One evening went to Epcot -had to stop at BB then go to Epcot- I think this only happens after 5?

AKL- effortless! Longest bus ride- 15 minutes flat to MK. I was worried since I had an 8am PS at Cindy's. We were at the bus stop at 7am- they have CM's there every morning with radios,asking where you are going. Never had to wait more than few minutes for a bus- longest ride was to DTD- around 3pm. The bus stopped at TL and then went around the disney institute to get to DTD.


Contemporary- took the bus to DTD from here once- a nightmare!

Stopped at Poly, GF, TL, and all around the back to get to DTD. Could have walked quicker! About a 45 minute ride!

I am so glad you posted those "timed" results. We were so pleased with the transportation at AKL, that when we stay at WL in Nov , we are planning to use our car. All of that sharing buses wastes so much time!!!!

Maybe this will clear up all of the "AKL is so remote" business!

 

[gschmerl]

The "Boardwalk resorts" all have great transportation. You can walk or take the Friendship boats to Epcot or MGM. It's just a short bus ride to AK and MK.

 

[MNSusan]

I had some of your same questions when we were preparing for our trip, so we split the week AKL and Poly. If we had to do over again, we'd stay at AKL the whole time. The place is wonderful. The rooms are larger, it is less expensive than Poly, (even a savannah view room), the CMs seemed more interesting and less "tired." We had towel animals in our room everyday at AKL and nothing special at Poly. The only thing that Poly had over AKL as far as we were concerned was the volcano pool. Its pretty cool. Although the monorail is fun to ride, especially to Epcot, I think the buses were a lot faster.

 

[CuteKatCar]

We have stayed at the PO, GF and Cont. With small children and carrying two umbrella strollers, we found staying on the monorail the best. You spend more time at MK with small kids, so it is the best to just walk out of the Cont. and stroll over to MK - you are there in less than 10 min.

We love being on the monorail. And yes, coming out of MK at closing time, when it's crowded can be a nightmare. When you stay at Cont. or GF, you have more than one option to get back to your hotel.

We are splitting our next stay between the CBR and Poly. We won't have any strollers, so it should be a lot easier.

My ideal trip: stay a few days at a monorail resort and do MK during that time.

Then stay at an Epcot resort and do the parks closest to Epcot, etc.

If only the finances could coincide with the dreams......

Anna

 

[Micca]

Just wanted to make the point that riding the monorail isn't punishment. I believe in DL it is an attraction. WAITING for the monorail is another issue.

 

[freediverdude]

CR to Epcot takes 24 min? That's just B*&^. It usually takes about 15, and that's changing monorails and everything. I know when I stayed at CR, I was really surprised at how much less time I had to budget on travel times to meet someone at either MK or Epcot, it was MUCH faster usually to those two parks. When I was staying at CBR, if I had to meet someone or had a reservation, I usually had to make sure to be at the bus stop 45 minutes prior to ensure I would be there, in case I had just missed a bus or something. On the monorail, I could wait until about 15 min prior. The monorails seem to come much more frequently- I don't believe I've ever waited more than a few minutes for one unless there was a real problem going on. Huge difference usually to MK and Epcot, at least from CR.

 

[Gillian]

One of the problems with the resort monorail is which direction you are going. The stops are TTC, Poly, GF, MK, CR. So CR to Epcot is pretty fast, as the TTC is the first stop after the CR. But going from Epcot to CR will take longer because after the transfer you have to stop at the Poly, GF, & MK before you get to the CR.

I am sure it took us about 30 minutes to do Epcot to CR on our last visit. We had a lunch reservation at CR so we were watching the clock. We were there at a slow time, so we just walked right up, but we did have to wait for a monorail to show up on both legs. And then wait through those 3 stops before we got to the CR.

The AK & MK busses from the boardwalk resorts are a pain! They also share with several resorts. It won't stop me from staying at the Beach Club, but it's something to think about.

Really, no matter where you are staying, you need to leave extra time to get around.

 

[TigrLvsPooh]

We don't mind riding the monorail because our kids love it and they're quiet. On the bus they're squirming and miserable. I'd rather take a 20 minute monorail ride than a 15 minute bus ride... especially because I don't have to fold up my stroller on the monorail!

On the other hand... the boardwalk area (YC,BC,BWI) is awesome too because they're close to Epcot and MGM.

It's a toss up. No matter where you stay on property you're going to have a long ride somewhere. If you're on the monorail you still have to take buses to AK, MGM, and DTD. If you're at a boardwalk area resort you still take a bus to MK, AK, and DTD. So to me it's a wash.

 

[ASFCurly]

I love the monorail but am staying at ASMu this next time, so if I was waiting at the bus stop for the MK bus and the Epcot bus came first, I would probably take it and then ride the monorail to Mk just because I like the monorail that much, unless I had to make sure and be there at a specific time.

 

[chrisp]

We stay at the CR and have never felt that we took a long time to travel anywhere. The monorail is convenient and quick (and part of the fun), even with the change at TTC to go to EPCOT. The busses all stop at the CR at regular intervals and the trips are fast - plus we always get a seat on CR busses - we've never had to stand. The convenience and fun of a monorail resort, imho, can't be beat.

 

[onceuponadream]

Thanks for so much information!! I was thinking in minutes rather than fun You're right the monorail would be a much more pleasant ride than a bus..the kids did enjoy it last trip! I know there are no "bad" resort choices so we are finding ourselves looking for a specific reason to choose one resort over another. There are sooo many that look like fun. I think we're down to AKL, BC and CR as they all sound exceptional. Now to narrow it to 2.... thanks again!

 

[The Sybah Shelstah]

especially because I don't have to fold up my stroller on the monorail!

That's interesting, and your comment isn't the first time I have read this in places on this board. I'm curious why then when WE visited in Dec they told us each and every time that we had to fold up my daughter's stroller before boarding the monorail and to not unfold it until we were off the monorail?
*color me confused again*

 

[sandramaac]

While I do like staying at the YC, which really is very great for getting to Epcot and MGM, nothing beats staying at the Poly. You have the monorail to the MK and then you have the TTC for an easy ride to Epcot. The monorails are nice and cold, so you have that extra cooling off time going or coming. The ride by bus from the Poly to DTD can be a bit cumbersome, but then so is the ride on the bus from the YC and BC, which makes those stops in addition to the BW before arriving at the MK.

 

[twinmomto3boys]

Wow, I've NEVER been asked to fold up my stroller on the monorail. Maybe it's because you went during a busy time We love the convenience of the monorail. We have stayed at the Poly twice. VWL twice - the boats are convenient too. We also loved the convenience of the BC. I guess we love them all!