Beach Club to MGM to Pop Century

[gigi1313]

If you are dining at the Beach Club and want to get back to Pop Century, (and have time to kill, want to "enjoy" the trip; but do not have park hoppers so cannot go thru Epcot) would it make sense to take the Boat from the BC to MGM and then the Pop resort bus from there? is there an easier/more "scenic" way to do it?

and can you get from the boat to the bus w/out going in the park?

thanks in advance

 

[bradk]

if i'm understanding you correctly, it's not the same at MGM as it is at Epcot. the boats and buses are next to eachother (sort of). it's very easy to go from one to the other and that would personally be my plan of attack. depending on how much time you have to kill and how scenic you want to get, you could walk too. especially cross over to check out the boardwalk area.

 

[nbodyhome]

If you are dining at the Beach Club and want to get back to Pop Century, (and have time to kill, want to "enjoy" the trip; but do not have park hoppers so cannot go thru Epcot) would it make sense to take the Boat from the BC to MGM and then the Pop resort bus from there? is there an easier/more "scenic" way to do it?

and can you get from the boat to the bus w/out going in the park?

thanks in advance

You can get to the Pop Century many ways (including taxi, which several people will mention).

You can walk or boat to MGM to get to a bus. You can walk through Epcot to get to the buses to get to the bus. I have photos from the walk around the BW and between MGM and Epcot here: http://www.denisesfitnessblog.com/disney/?pg=2

You can get a bus from the Beach Club to any open park or Downtown Disney (I do not suggest the latter normally) to get another bus to the Pop Century.

 

[gigi1313]

ooh, i had not thought about walking via boardwalk... whatta great idea, if the tootsies are not too tired!

yes, my concern is that at epcot one would need a ticket to get in the boat entrance to walk thru the park to get to the buses... having never boated (or even seen the boat dock?! how could that be?!) at MGM i just wanted to be extra sure that you don't have to go *into* the park to get from the boat to the buses... and if i understand your post, you don't (need a ticket to get from boat to bus), yes?

thanks!

 

[gigi1313]

You can get to the Pop Century many ways (including taxi, which several people will mention).

You can walk or boat to MGM to get to a bus. You can walk through Epcot to get to the buses to get to the bus. I have photos from the walk around the BW and between MGM and Epcot here: http://www.denisesfitnessblog.com/disney/?pg=2

You can get a bus from the Beach Club to any open park or Downtown Disney (I do not suggest the latter normally) to get another bus to the Pop Century.

thanks denise, epcot is not an option due to not having park hopper and being at another park that day... taxi is costly when other transport is free (and time is not an issue)... geographically, boat to MGM/bus to Pop is the most direct it seems (based on the map i peeked at) as DTD is out of the way...

 

[paults]

If you are dining at the Beach Club and want to get back to Pop Century, (and have time to kill, want to "enjoy" the trip; but do not have park hoppers so cannot go thru Epcot) would it make sense to take the Boat from the BC to MGM and then the Pop resort bus from there? is there an easier/more "scenic" way to do it?

and can you get from the boat to the bus w/out going in the park?

thanks in advance

if your dinning late remember MGM closes most nights at 7:30 and boats to MGM stop about 8:30
give or take a little

 

[gigi1313]

MGM CLOSES AT 7:30?!?! we're looking at late august and fantasmic isn't 'til 8:30! so i imagine it will still be open 'til 9, no?

our dinner ressie is at cape may at 7:40... would there not be a boat/bus at 9pm?

 

[bradk]

the earliest MGM closes in august is 8 and that's towards the end of the month when the peak season is over.

and no, you don't need to go through the park to get from the boat at MGM to the buses there as I mentioned. same as MK.

i think the walkway from epcot is technically closer to the buses, but the dock is close enough.

 

[gigi1313]

can you walk on the walkway to epcot and get to the buses w/out going thru the turnstyles?

 

[bradk]

are you changing the original question? between the international gateway at Epcot and MGM, there is no ticket required. walking, buses or boats.

 

[gigi1313]

no, the original question is: how to get to a bus stop to get to Pop from Beach Club w/out going thru a park? the nicer/more relaxing/most convenient/scenic way is best, but not costing money (i.e. taxi).

and that's still the question... i thought you were saying that you can get from Int'l Gateway to the EPCOT buses w/out going "thru" epcot but rather on foot "around" the oustide of epcot, which i had always thought was not do-able.

if MGM is still running buses, then MGM is a fine choice... if they are not running buses at 9pm then Epcot (without needing a ticket) would be the second choice.

 

[snowy76]

Gigi, using a ticket and walking through Epcot is the only way to get from BC to the buses in front of Epcot - so no, that's not an option for you bc/ you won't have hoppers.

Your best bet is to take the boat or walk to MGM. The boat dock is outside the entrance - as are the bus stops - you do not have to go into MGM itself. As previously mentioned, you can also take a bus from BC to DTD and catch the bus back to your resort from there, but personally I don't think that would be as fun.

And yes, if Fantasmic is running at 8:30 that night, you can expect MGM boats and buses running at least until 9 (going to the park) and probably as late as 10 (coming from the park). Worst case scenario is that you miss the last bus - in that case I'd just walk back to Boardwalk and get a bus to DTD(which always run late), then the bus to Pop - or cough up the money for a cab from BW.

 

[gigi1313]

thank you snowy, you confirmed what i thought... much appreciated!

and your "wonder baby" is absolutely adorable

 

[goofy4tink]

Your best bet is going to be either taking the Friendship boat from BC to MGM. It will make a few stops along the way, but you can hop off at MGM and just walk over to the bus stops, and board the POP bus..it's one of the closer ones.

Or, you can walk to MGM. At BC it's 6 of one, half dozen of another which way is faster. Me, I would head to BW, at the Village Green area I would go left and head for the Wyland Galleries on the right. You will see a tunnel like area there that leads to the pool area. Go through, go past the pool and behind it you will see the path to MGM. It's actually a very nice sidewalk that goes along the canal.It is very well lit at night. I have walked it by myself and never felt uneasy. Just follow it to MGM, and then hop on the bus.

The walk will take you about 25-39 mins from BC, the boat can take anywhere from 25-45 mins...depends on how long you have to wait for a boat. If a boat is there loading, then it will take about 20-25 mins to get to MGM. If you have missed the boat (so to speak) it could take another 15+ mins for the next one to come.

 

[bradk]

buses run for at least 2 hours after park closing. as i mentioned, the earliest the park closes in august is 8 pm which means the buses leave mgm up to 10 pm at a minimum.