BLT To Epcot - & Opinion on Resort?

[zmanandshan]

Sorry if there is a recent post, but I did a search and couldnt really find what I was looking for. I have a 8-day resi for BLT and a two seperate 4-day waiting lists for BCV in October. I have it setup so if one waitlist is activated, to cancel the other one. We would like to hit the F&W. I think I would take the CR monorail to the TTC then to Epcot, but not sure if the bus is better (if available). If I remember the monorail drops off in future world, where the walk from BCV would be right into the WS area. My home resort is BCV, but I am a new owner and didnt have the opportunity to book at the 11 month window.

How easy is it to go from BLT to Epcot?

Is your best choice the monorail?

Approx. How long would it take?

Thanks, John

If you were me, would you hang on to the waitlist for a split stay at BCV & BLT, or would you just stay at BLT? I will be travelling with a 1YO, 5YO, 2 adults, and 2 seniors, so there is a little bit of a hassle regarding the split stay issue, but it seems acceptable.

 

[TaraPA]

You are correct from BLT/CR to Epcot you have to take the resort monorail to the TTC, get off, walk to the Epcot monorail & take that to Epcot FW. I know I'm in the minority here, but I think the monorail is a complete waste of my time! There is no direct bus from BLT/CR to Epcot (unless they add one at very busy times of year), you have to use the monorail to get to Epcot if using Disney Transportation.

How mobile are the seniors & young children going? Are there strollers involved? We stayed at BLT in November & had someone with walking issues. It was a complete hassle to walk from BLT to the monorail station at CR, then off the monorail, walk over to the other monorail, etc. Walking to a bus stop & getting on the bus for a direct ride worked much better for us, in our situation. It took 20 -25 min. to get from BLT/CR to Epcot depending on how long we waited for the monorail to arricve at CR, then again at the TTC.

Personally I'd hold out for BCV for the location. You can't beat the 10-min. walk to Epcot WS or the boat ride (much slower, but still very nice & convenient). Direct bus to MK, DTD & AK as well.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

I have always found the Monorail from the Contemporary to the TTC and then Epcot Monorail from the TTC to be very fast when going to Epcot. Now when going from the TTC - Epcot if you just missed the Monorail chances are it will be at least a 5 minute wait for the next one, because it takes the other Monorail a bit to arrive back from Epcot.

 

[Disneycouple99]

An off the wall idea is to walk over to MK and take a bus to YC/BC. Then use the IG to enter Epcot at WS.

 

[cg1200]

I know I'm in the minority here, but I think the monorail is a complete waste of my time! There is no direct bus from BLT/CR to Epcot (unless they add one at very busy times of year), you have to use the monorail to get to Epcot if using Disney Transportation.

How mobile are the seniors & young children going? Are there strollers involved? We stayed at BLT in November & had someone with walking issues. It was a complete hassle to walk from BLT to the monorail station at CR, then off the monorail, walk over to the other monorail, etc.

It is a bit of a hassle getting from BLT to the monorail station at CR. It takes longer than you think. Still, there is something special about it. Maybe its all the time I log on the NYC subways. The monorail is just so cool. Plus we had a stroller a and prefer the monorail to packing/unpacking the stroller for the bus. And very few buses are direct from your resort to the parks. They generally share routes with at least 3 other hotels.

Whatever you do DON'T take the monorail from BLT to MK. It is 10x faster to just walk. The monorail goes all the way around the lake before arriving at MK stopping at the other 2 hotels plus the TTC. The walk is like 5 min.

 

[goofy4tink]

An off the wall idea is to walk over to MK and take a bus to YC/BC. Then use the IG to enter Epcot at WS.

That isn't all that 'off the wall'..it's actually not a bad idea. The walk to MK is about 8 mins...at a nice, reasonable pace...maybe 10 mins if someone doesn't walk normally. Then, onto the YC/BC bus. GEt off there and then head to the International Gateway. It's really not any worse than getting all those people to the TTC, transferred to the Epcot monorail and then walk all the way through FutureWorld.

 

[zmanandshan]

Thank you all for your helpful responses!

I would have to admit, being close to Metro North trains as well, The Monorail is a great treat! I probably do enjoy them more than the buses, esp. since I will have at least one in a stroller.

With the information you provided, Please Check my thought process and see if you find any flaws in my thinking: So bottom line, if I walk to Epcot from BCV, I can get to the WS in Epcot in less than 10 min. BLT to MK less than 10 min. BCV to Epcot (walk) to Monorail to MK in 25-30 min, and BLT to Epcot in about 25-30 min.

I still am kind of torn between having the ease of 1 resort for 8 nights at BLT, with a longer "commute" to Epcot, or a split stay BLT and BCV (if waitlist comes thru) where I can perhaps concentrate on MK for the BLT stay, and Epcot and HS during the BCV stay. Hmmmm.

I should have also mentioned that both MK and Epcot are our favorite parks, however, we do plan on visiting Epcot more for dining.... And yes, we will have AP or at minimum park hoppers.

 

[cg1200]

Thank you all for your helpful responses!

I would have to admit, being close to Metro North trains as well, The Monorail is a great treat! I probably do enjoy them more than the buses, esp. since I will have at least one in a stroller.

With the information you provided, Please Check my thought process and see if you find any flaws in my thinking: So bottom line, if I walk to Epcot from BCV, I can get to the WS in Epcot in less than 10 min. BLT to MK less than 10 min. BCV to Epcot (walk) to Monorail to MK in 25-30 min, and BLT to Epcot in about 25-30 min.

I still am kind of torn between having the ease of 1 resort for 8 nights at BLT, with a longer "commute" to Epcot, or a split stay BLT and BCV (if waitlist comes thru) where I can perhaps concentrate on MK for the BLT stay, and Epcot and HS during the BCV stay. Hmmmm.

I should have also mentioned that both MK and Epcot are our favorite parks, however, we do plan on visiting Epcot more for dining.... And yes, we will have AP or at minimum park hoppers.

Your "commuting" times look spot on.

As far as the split stay, all I can say is we personally avoid them. We have 3 kids and would find it a pretty big hassle to have to pack/unpack twice. I think you might be over-estimating the inconveniece factor of traveling to either MK from BCV or getting to Epcot from BLT. It really isn't all that bad in either case. We own points at both BWV and BLT and have stayed at both. The bus to MK from BWV is quick and painless. It shares a route with the swan and dolphin but they are close so it does not take too long to get there.

When we stay at BLT the commute to Epcot isn't so bad either. Just allow enough time and you'll be fine. Both areas are beautiful and offer some nice perks. Personally, I wouldn't do a split stay but many do and enjoy the change mid-trip. If you only get to WDW once in a while maybe a split stay makes the most sense. Get the best of both worlds.

Incidentally, this is why we chose to buy two contracts! We could not decide which resort we'd want to stay at more often. So we alternate every year.

 

[Halle]

We are finding that the rooms are ready later than 4:00, especially during busy times so this may impact your decision too.