Boardwalk Boats

[Ever_After]

Where does the Boardwalk boats go to? thx

 

[wdwgoofeeee]

The Friendship boats make continuous runs from Epcot to the Epcot resorts with stops at Yacht/Beach clubs, Boardwalk, and Swan/Dolphin. The boats then continue on to the Disney Studios. The route is then reversed from the Studios back to the Epcot resorts and then on to Epcot (International Gateway entrance/exit).
Very nice relaxing ride, but if you are in a hurry or just missed a boat it's faster to walk. Epcot is only about a 10 minute walk from the Boardwalk area and the Studios is a 15-20 minute walk.

 

[CoolDisneyCat]

I thought the boats went to either Epcot or MGM, not both on the same route. I know you have MGM on one side of the dock and the Epcot boat on the other.

Does it change depending on time of day or season?

 

[Andrew Bichard]

Routes changed a couple of years back. Each boat goes Epcot Boardwalk Yacht/Beach Swan/Dolphin MGM Swan/Dolphin Yacht/Beach Boardwalk Epcot.

Different sides of the dock at Yacht/Beach and Boardwalk are used depending on whether boat is heading towards MGM or Epcot.

You can now ride Epcot to MGM without changing boats. This routing is all year, not seasonal.

Andrew

 

[betterlatethannever]

Originally posted by Andrew Bichard
Routes changed a couple of years back. Each boat goes Epcot Boardwalk Yacht/Beach Swan/Dolphin MGM Swan/Dolphin Yacht/Beach Boardwalk Epcot.

Different sides of the dock at Yacht/Beach and Boardwalk are used depending on whether boat is heading towards MGM or Epcot.

You can now ride Epcot to MGM without changing boats. This routing is all year, not seasonal.

Andrew

I didn't realize that a one time you had to change boats. The routes must have changed at least four years ago. I remeber taking the boat from Epcot to MGM and back to Epcot in 2000 without changing.

Ed

 

[Ever_After]

Thank you everyone so much. It goes to alot more places than i thought.

Does anyone know the operating hours? Is it all year round? Thanks again.

 

[Ralph&Pam]

Originally posted by betterlatethannever
I didn't realize that a one time you had to change boats. The routes must have changed at least four years ago. I remeber taking the boat from Epcot to MGM and back to Epcot in 2000 without changing.

Ed

I remember taking the boat from Epcot to MGM in December 1997 and again in June 1998 without changing. We stayed at the Dolphin in December 1997 and at the BoardWalk in June 1998.

Ralph

 

[Ralph&Pam]

Originally posted by Ever_After
Thank you everyone so much. It goes to alot more places than i thought.

Does anyone know the operating hours? Is it all year round? Thanks again.

The boats operate prior to park opening until after park closing. Since Epcot Future World usually opens at 9 am (and at 8 am for early entry), the boats are running in time to be at the World Showcase entry by the time it opens (this is earlier than the World Showcase opening at 11 am, so you are blocked from walking through the World Showcase until after that time). When MGM opens at 9 am (or 8 am) as well, it is also on the boat route. When MGM closes earlier than Epcot (which always closes after the 9 am Illuminations show except for special events like New Years Eve), the boats continue to serve MGM to serve passengers departing at the conclusion of Fantasmic. They then get lined up to provide transport back to the resorts after Epcot closes. Boats running at park closing can be crowded, so it's sometimes more convenient to walk back to any of the Epcot resorts from Epcot, particularly YC/BC or BW. Personally, I'd walk back from MGM after Fantasmic, but DW prefers to wait for a boat.

Boats run all year around, and the usual schedule is a boat every 20 minutes in each direction. I think this takes 3 boats running at the same time, since it takes about 30 minutes for a boat to go from Epcot to MGM or from MGM to Epcot with all the stops in between. More boats are added during peak times to handle the increased traffic (the Friendship boats that operate on the lake between Future World and the World Showcase in Epcot do not start up until World Showcase opens at 11 am and these stop running in the late afternoon/early evening, so there are extra boats available).

Ralph

 

[Ever_After]

Thanks Ralph!!