Best way back to hotel

[dragitoff]

We're staying at the Dolphin and will have park hopper tickets for Saturday. With that in mind, what would be the fastest way back to our hotel after the half on Saturday?

Bus
Boat from Epcot
Walk through Boardwalk

We are attempting a crazy plan to hit key attractions in all 3 (non-MK) parks after the half so we need to get back to the room to shower and get ready as quickly as possible.

Also, a follow up question regarding pre-race arrival....


From the Dolphin/Swan, what is the recommended time to be downstairs at the bus pickup? Is the bus the best or only way to get to the starting area from those resorts? I stayed at the Contemporary last year so I've never had to use a bus for a Disney race, but I've heard the waits could be pretty long sometimes. We don't want to be late, but we also would love to squeeze a few extra minutes sleep out if we could. lol.

 

[paxsarah]

We're staying at the Dolphin and will have park hopper tickets for Saturday. With that in mind, what would be the fastest way back to our hotel after the half on Saturday?

Bus
Boat from Epcot
Walk through Boardwalk

We are attempting a crazy plan to hit key attractions in all 3 (non-MK) parks after the half so we need to get back to the room to shower and get ready as quickly as possible.

Also, a follow up question regarding pre-race arrival....


From the Dolphin/Swan, what is the recommended time to be downstairs at the bus pickup? Is the bus the best or only way to get to the starting area from those resorts? I stayed at the Contemporary last year so I've never had to use a bus for a Disney race, but I've heard the waits could be pretty long sometimes. We don't want to be late, but we also would love to squeeze a few extra minutes sleep out if we could. lol.

Assuming your party is fairly speedy (like I know you are), you wouldn't be able to walk through Epcot because it won't be open yet. I think bus would be your only bet (unless you drive). If you have later/slower runners in your group, then Epcot might be open but you'd have to walk all the way to the entrance and then all the way through the park and then walk or boat to Dolphin. It's probably a toss-up, but I'd go for the bus even then - assuming the travel time would be in the same ballpark, and knowing that you'll be hitting three parks and will have no lack of walking to keep the legs loose for the rest of the day.

 

[cewait]

I am thinking you do have a 3+ hour runner in the group. I am a fan of walking to the resort if they finish up in the 8:45 or later time period.

The bus may be faster if you could simply walk on and be the last person allowed on and the bus took off. There is a traffic delay leaving the parking lot and making way to Buena Vista. Any line or delay in leaving could make this the slower option

Walking to the resort would require walking all the way through to the iGate. Keep an eye on the Friendship as you approach the World Showcase. I believe they run early to ferry folks up from the back. If you could catch the one to the Morocco area it may save a minute or so. Then after leaving the park, grab the boat at iGate if it is boarding. Ride it to the first stop (Yacht I believe) and then hop off and walk the remainder of the way. You will lose time if you ride all the way to the resort as the boat first crosses the Crescent Lake then continues to the Swan/Dolphin.

 

[dragitoff]

Assuming your party is fairly speedy (like I know you are), you wouldn't be able to walk through Epcot because it won't be open yet. I think bus would be your only bet (unless you drive). If you have later/slower runners in your group, then Epcot might be open but you'd have to walk all the way to the entrance and then all the way through the park and then walk or boat to Dolphin. It's probably a toss-up, but I'd go for the bus even then - assuming the travel time would be in the same ballpark, and knowing that you'll be hitting three parks and will have no lack of walking to keep the legs loose for the rest of the day.

Why thank you for the compliment! While I do expect to finish the half sometime around 7:30, there are two first timers running with us and they are all the way back in corral M. The slowest of the two expects to finish in around 2.5 hours so I had estimated her finishing sometime around 8:30-8:45. I was trying to be conservative with my 9am estimate. I'd rather get to the parks earlier than expected rather than later, especially when we're trying to do 3 parks in a short day.

 

[dragitoff]

I am thinking you do have a 3+ hour runner in the group. I am a fan of walking to the resort if they finish up in the 8:45 or later time period.

The bus may be faster if you could simply walk on and be the last person allowed on and the bus took off. There is a traffic delay leaving the parking lot and making way to Buena Vista. Any line or delay in leaving could make this the slower option

Walking to the resort would require walking all the way through to the iGate. Keep an eye on the Friendship as you approach the World Showcase. I believe they run early to ferry folks up from the back. If you could catch the one to the Morocco area it may save a minute or so. Then after leaving the park, grab the boat at iGate if it is boarding. Ride it to the first stop (Yacht I believe) and then hop off and walk the remainder of the way. You will lose time if you ride all the way to the resort as the boat first crosses the Crescent Lake then continues to the Swan/Dolphin.

So what you're essentially saying is it's pretty much a toss up? Lol. I wasn't even accounting for Epcot not opening until 9 like Sarah brought up in her post. Seems like the bus may be our only alternative if the last runner finishes more in the 8:30 range. Isn't there a walking path to the Swan/Dolphin from Epcot? How far is it? With the traffic jam you mentioned, seems like it may be a viable option.

 

[cewait]

So what you're essentially saying is it's pretty much a toss up? Lol. I wasn't even accounting for Epcot not opening until 9 like Sarah brought up in her post. Seems like the bus may be our only alternative if the last runner finishes more in the 8:30 range. Isn't there a walking path to the Swan/Dolphin from Epcot? How far is it? With the traffic jam you mentioned, seems like it may be a viable option.

If they are 8:30 then bus it.

Yes there is a path from Epcot to the Swan/Dolphin. It is much faster to walk than take the boat - unless the boat is loading and immediately departing as you walk by. If one walks the Boardwalk route is a smidge shorter at about .6 miles from iGate to door.