Best of three options to get from Swan to Magic Kingdom???

[jasper]

Of the following options, which one tends to work best or which one would you recommend:

1. Drive to the transportation center and park, we'll have our family minivan.

2. Take the bus from the Swan to MK, I'm not a big fan of busses, but you might convince me that's the best way to go, as long as we don't have to wait on a long line at the end of the night when everyone is tired to get back (DH, DW, DD's 8 and 13). How good is the bus transportation between the Swan and MK?

3. Walk through the International Gateway of Epcot to the monorail and ride the monorails to MK. The problem with this option is I'm guessing I can't cut through Epcot early enough to get to MK for opening, and I might not be able to get back through Epcot late at night after MK closes.

4. Park at Epcot and take the monorails. Would this make any more sense than parking at the transporartion center parking lot? I know I would have to switch monorails at some point.

Also, can anyone ride the monorail to visit the three resorts near MK??? When you park at the transportation center, do you go straight to MK, or through the resorts?

TY

 

[LibertyBelle]

In my opinion, Your quickest and easiest way would be to drive to the TTC and take the monorail over. You don't have to pay for parking because you are a resort guest.

As far as the monorail goes there are 3 at the TTC. One that goes to Epcot, one that goes to MK (the Express monorail) and one that goes to the resorts and also stops at MK (the resort monorail). Anyone is welcome to ride any of the three.

 

[Mark P.]

Hi,
I'd opt for taking the Bus from the Swan. We've stayed at the Dolphin three times and have had great service.

Hopefully someone can elaborate as I'm not 100% sure on this, but for leaving for the MK, I think the bus route was something like Swan, Dolphin, Yacht, Beach, Boardwalk, and then to the MK. Maybe we didn't stop at all of them, but I think crowds and seasons can affect the order, and amount of stops.
As far as coming back from the MK goes, the first to be dropped off is the Swan (Unless that has changed...)

We usually try to go during off-season, so IMHO, the bus transportation has always been great.

Have Fun!
-Mark

 

[Got Quattro?]

take the bus

 

[Rajah]

I'd either drive and park at TTC, or take the bus.

 

[elgerber]

Originally posted by Mark P.
Hi,
I'd opt for taking the Bus from the Swan. We've stayed at the Dolphin three times and have had great service.

Hopefully someone can elaborate as I'm not 100% sure on this, but for leaving for the MK, I think the bus route was something like Swan, Dolphin, Yacht, Beach, Boardwalk, and then to the MK. Maybe we didn't stop at all of them, but I think crowds and seasons can affect the order, and amount of stops.
As far as coming back from the MK goes, the first to be dropped off is the Swan (Unless that has changed...)

We usually try to go during off-season, so IMHO, the bus transportation has always been great.

Have Fun!
-Mark

We just came back yesterday. I always take the bus to the MK from the Boardwalk. We had to wait a little longer than ususal, 10-15 minutes or so. They have now separated the bus routes. It's now Boardwalk, Swan and Dolphin, in that order to get to the park. The YC/BC have their own bus now. On the way back, it was different who was dropped off first. Some drivers did the Swan first, and some did the Boardwalk first. It's definitely eaiser now though, with only 3 resorts.

 

[Mark P.]

That sounds much better, Erika!

 

[POOH&PIGLET]

Don't do option 3. It's a hike to get from the Swan to the front to Epcot!

 

[tjmw2727]

First choice would be the bus - it will drop you off and pick you up at the MK rather than the TTC, much more convenient IMHO.

Second choice would be driving to TTC although this means driving, parking taking a tram to the TTC and then another means of tranport to MK. You still need to take a boat or monorial from TTC to the MK.

Third choice would be park at Epcot and take the monorail. You will need to switch at the TTC from the Epcot monorial to the MK monorail.

Last choice would be to walk to Epcot, walk through Ecpot and then get the monorial to TTC. From the TTC you still have to take boat or monorial to MK.

IMHO the bus is the best option.

Remember that the monorial has three "loops" one to and from TTC and Epcot, one to and from TTC and MK and the resort monorial, MK, CR, TTC, Poly and GF in that order.

HTH
TJ

 

[05ChristmasSurprise]

Can you keep kids in strollers on the "bus" or is it a traditional bus?

 

[swilphil]

We stayed at the Swan this summer and found bus service to MK to be excellent. We never waited more than 5 minutes to catch a bus from the Swan, and the bus went directly there after picking up at the Dolphin. I don't know if it went to the Boardwalk first or not.

On the way back to the Swan, we did have to wait a bit longer--or maybe it just seemed longer with tired toddlers. We also left the park before the fireworks were over, and it seemed like all the busses waited until that was done. One evening, we hopped on the Boardwalk bus at MK, got off at the Boardwalk, and then just walked back to the Swan from there. It was really easy. You do have to fold up strollers to get on the bus, but we didn't find that a problem even with our double stroller. There's a handicapped place you can sit and hold your stroller, as long as there are no handicapped people needing that sport, of course. It WAS nice not having to fold up the stroller when we took the boat to the other parks. Of course, if you were driving, you would have to fold up the stroller too.

I love the walk thru Epcot and catch the monorail idea, but it does take time to walk through the park. I think you have to change monorails at the TTC too. You will not be able to take the monorail from Epcot to get to MK's opening. It is fun to do in the evening on the way back though as Epcot is almost always open later than MK. And to answer your question, anyone can ride the monorails to the 3 resorts.

 

[kilee]

I myself would just drive over to TTC. Parking will be free since you're a resort guest. You can come and go as you please, ect...

 

[CamColt]

Another bus vote.

 

[Muffy]

I would take a bus.

 

[jasper]

Sounds like the bus rules! Thanks for your opinions.

 

[TammyC]

Originally posted by elgerber
We just came back yesterday. I always take the bus to the MK from the Boardwalk. We had to wait a little longer than ususal, 10-15 minutes or so. They have now separated the bus routes. It's now Boardwalk, Swan and Dolphin, in that order to get to the park. The YC/BC have their own bus now. On the way back, it was different who was dropped off first. Some drivers did the Swan first, and some did the Boardwalk first. It's definitely eaiser now though, with only 3 resorts.

Do you think this is seasonal or a permanent change? This was needed for the Boardwalk, as busses were often full when they got there.

Either way I would suggest the bus from the Swan. You get "door-to-door" service.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Originally posted by 05ChristmasSurprise
Can you keep kids in strollers on the "bus" or is it a traditional bus?

You have to take the kids out of the stroller and fold it up.

 

[AimeeM]

05ChristmasSurprise-
You have to take the kids out of the stroller and fold it up. Its best to bring the smallest, lightest, most compact stroller you can find if you are riding the buses. They really cram you in there, especially at night, and strollers are a pain to get on and off a crowded bus.

 

[goofy4tink]

Take the bus!! No matter what you do you are going to find a line when the park closes!!! The bus really is the easiest, especially to MK.

We were at BWV in August and it was BWV, Swan, and Dolphin then too. If we used the bus mid-day then they included Y/BC.

 

[elgerber]

Originally posted by TammyC
Do you think this is seasonal or a permanent change? This was needed for the Boardwalk, as busses were often full when they got there.

Either way I would suggest the bus from the Swan. You get "door-to-door" service.

I think the splitting of the buses was a permanent change, as they had separate stops at the MK, with signs stating Boardwalk, Swan and Dolphin at stop number 6. The YC/BC was across the other side of the busstop area with it's own sign.