Best and Worst *Deluxe* Resorts for Transportation?

[triplefigs]

Reading the 'Why is WL so popular thread' now has me a little worried about transportation to and from the WL resort. We will be doing 2+ days MK, 2 days MGM, 1 day Epcot, and 1 day AK. I have triplets (2 of which have special needs). Waiting for hours for transportation is just not a good thing for them and really needs to be avoided! I am not only concerned about ease of transportation, but reliability and wait times.

So, which of the Deluxe resorts has the easiest and most reliable transportation overall? We would consider both MK and Epcot Resorts.

Which of the Deluxe resorts has the worst and least reliable transportation overall?

Does it vary by season? We will be going Nov 29- Dec 6 (value season).

Thanks!

 

[SqueakyMouse]

I've been at CBR when the buses fill up after the first stop at the resort. Fortunately, I was at the first stop. It wasn't so great for the big groups of people who were left standing as one full bus after another rolled by. On the flip side, I experienced very good bus service at AKL this past fall.

 

[BostonRob]

Overall is tough to say. Its all about compromises. There's no denying that the monorail resorts have the quickest and most convenient transportation to the MK. And though taking the monorail to Epcot requires a transfer; parents with baby carriges may find that more convenient than busses.

Personally I think the boardwalk area resorts, including the Swan and Dolphin, are most convenient because of the close proximity to Epcot and MGM. But you've still got to take a bus to the MK and AK.

In my opinion, AKL and all the moderates and values are tied for least convenient because in those resorts you're required to take a bus to get anywhere. So, unless you're going to spring for a Deluxe, you may as well stop using 'convenient' and 'transportation' in the same sentence.

 

[WDW LifeLong Fan]

You will probably get several different opinions on this subject.

We have always been impressed with what a good job Disney does with the overall transportation. We have never had to wait more than 25 minutes at any resort or park. Lucky I guess

Generally speaking we have found the following to be our results......

* Among the Best...
GF
AKL
Poly


* Not as quick....but really not bad....
WL
BWV

Best of luck!

 

[triplefigs]

So, unless you're going to spring for a Deluxe, you may as well stop using 'convenient' and 'transportation' in the same sentence.

Good point. We are currently booked at WL. We would likely only stay at another Deluxe.

So, of all the Deluxes, which one has the best and most reliable transportation?

 

[sk!mom]

With young kids, I would stay at one of the monorail resorts.

 

[Cinderella37]

I would have to agree that BWI, YC, BC, Swan, and Dolphin have the best transportation alternatives. All resorts have to take a bus to the AK. The transportation to the MK is convenient from the Monorail resorts (GF, Poly, Cont), but it can take up an hour to go to Epcot (you have a monorail change at the TTC) and you have to take a bus to MGM. In our years staying at the GF, the bus transportation was always a source of frustration and we're never really in a hurry while we're on vacation (and we don't have kids yet).

At the Epcot resorts, you can walk or take a boat to MGM and Epcot. The buses to the MK and AK are plentiful and we've never waited more than five - ten minutes at the BWI for a bus. Even if the bus would happen to have more than one resort on it, you can get off at any of the Epcot resorts and walk back to your resort.

 

[my3kids]

I'm going to go against the public tide here and say I like the Animal Kingdom Lodge transportation a lot! Yes, it is busses to everywhere, but in some respects that is good. With young children, sometimes choices are not the best thing! If they always know they go to the bus stop and take the bus to where ever, it cuts down on tantrums when someone wants to go on the boat again, so someone wants the monorail, or someone wants to walk. There, you have the bus, always coaught in the same spot, and that is that. The busses never stop anywhere else, which is also great....no meltdown because the bus stopped and they have to stay on it a while longer. They know once the bus stops, they get to go see Mickey, or whatever else you have in the works the day.

 

[BostonRob]

Even if the bus would happen to have more than one resort on it, you can get off at any of the Epcot resorts and walk back to your resort.

We did that when we stayed at the Swan. What a pleasure. It was nice being able choose from a number of buses and then be dropped off somewhere that was a short and very pleasant stroll from our room.

 

[WDW LifeLong Fan]

I'm going to go against the public tide here and say I like the Animal Kingdom Lodge transportation a lot! Yes, it is busses to everywhere, but in some respects that is good. With young children, sometimes choices are not the best thing! If they always know they go to the bus stop and take the bus to where ever, it cuts down on tantrums when someone wants to go on the boat again, so someone wants the monorail, or someone wants to walk. There, you have the bus, always coaught in the same spot, and that is that. The busses never stop anywhere else, which is also great....no meltdown because the bus stopped and they have to stay on it a while longer. They know once the bus stops, they get to go see Mickey, or whatever else you have in the works the day.

ITA

As you will see in my earlier post in this thread, we have had great success with the transportation from AKL. In fact, we have found it to have the best Bus Service. I ranked the GF a little higher because of the Monorail.

Also, others have made great points concerning the Epcot Area resorts. They are very convenient for Epcot and MGM when you factor in the boats and the ability to walk to Epcot.

 

[poohluvrs]

We have twins (2 yrs younger than your triplets) and are staying GF b/c well spend most of our time at MK and wanted to be on monorail resort...cant stand the thought of endless bus waiting on vacay, esp w/ 2 little ones - no way! Good luck

 

[ILoveWDW2003]

We love the WL and have never had an issue with the transportation - we love the boats!

I can also second the AKL transportation - very quick, never waited more than 10 minutes for a bus to anywhere.

 

[Tikiman]

Well the monorail resorts have the best because of the monorail access along with the busses but the Polynesian has an edge over the other 2 monorail resorts. It is within walking distance to the TTC. The other two do not have access to the TTC other than riding the monorail. Also the Polynesian is in a better location for the bus than the GF and monorail because it is not the last stop for pick-up like the GF is. I have seen both the monorail and bus full by the time it gets to the GF.

 

[tippytoe]

We stayed at the WL last Sept. The bus service was very slow. Also, it seemed like we were very far from some of the parks. I just felt that we were on those buses a long time. Also, we shared buses with GF which just added to the length of time. We have stayed at YC, BC, POFQ, and CBR and I thought the bus service at WL was the worst. A lot of it may be due to the location of the WL. However, we loved taking a boat to MK and FW!

 

[pmtaylor]

I have heard that for Moderate resorts that Coronado Springs has the best because of the convention center they have a lot of buses and rarely have to wait for one to appear.

 

[Hnymoon@Dixie]

But mid-day, your waiting 35 minutes!

At least the boat to MK is always running!

 

[jarestel]

I've read complaints about every resort's transportation at one time or another. If the monorail breaks down, there's a rash of posts about how long it took to get from the MK to the TTC. If 200 people leave the MK for the WL after wishes, they're not all going to fit on the first, or second boat. Sometimes Epcot resort busses are already full by the time they pick up guests at the last stop. These things happen, but more often than not, WDW transportation does a wonderful job of moving people around. So don't worry, in all likelihood whichever resort you stay at will work out just fine.

Don't make the mistake of taking a poster's one bad experience with transportation at a resort and making it the normal case. We've been to most of the resorts over the years ( more than 2 dozen trips to date ) and I can tell you that the bad transportation story is the exception and not the rule. Have a great time!

 

[Buzz2001]

Didn't care for the Cont's transportation. Shared with GF and Poly. As far as the monorail from the Cont, I can walk faster to MK than it takes to ride the monorail. Coming back is better

 

[Buzz2001]

I have heard that for Moderate resorts that Coronado Springs has the best because of the convention center they have a lot of buses and rarely have to wait for one to appear.

I agree

 

[Jasminetigger]

We have never had a problem with transportation at Wilderness Lodge. The boat ride to MK never seems to tak a long time. I believe I read they now have busses going to MK from WL. There was only one time last year I can recall waiting for a long time for a bus to DDT and that was only for about 20-25 minutes. I believe it was raining so that probably had something to do with it. Before our first trip to WL I kept reading on the boards about the transportation problems there, but we never experienced any. Overall we have been very happy with the WL transportation.