Boat from WL to MK

[fey_spirit]

How long does it take to catch the bus from MK to WL? And from WL to MK? And does the boat let you off on the same side as the parking lot, or where the Disney Busses let off?

 

[Quinn222]

How long does it take to catch the bus from MK to WL? And from WL to MK? And does the boat let you off on the same side as the parking lot, or where the Disney Busses let off?

I never took the bus, the boat drops you off and picks you up right in front of the entrance (pretty much dead center on the station.) Right now the buses go to the TTC since there is construction going on at the bus stops.

 

[Kick Save]

How long is relative to when you walk up...you could have just missed a boat or bus, or get lucky and show up just before the boat/bus.

We just stayed at VWL in August, and usually caught the boat. It seemed to run every 15 or 20 minutes, or at least that's about the longest we waited at any one time.

Of note, the boat makes a circuit of WL -> MK -> Fort Wilderness in the mornings, but in the afternoons (2-ish?) switchest to MK -> WL -> Fort Wilderness.

 

[Star Wars Guy]

It switches direction at 3 p.m. You want the Green flag ships (the Blue flags will take you to the Contemporary.)

Also, one thing we found out the other day at 7 a.m. is that the boats to MK don't start until 7:30. Luckily one of the captains told us, so we hoped the boat to the Contemp and then the monorail to MK from there.

 

[LaraK]

It switches direction at 3 p.m. You want the Green flag ships (the Blue flags will take you to the Contemporary.)

Also, one thing we found out the other day at 7 a.m. is that the boats to MK don't start until 7:30. Luckily one of the captains told us, so we hoped the boat to the Contemp and then the monorail to MK from there.

That's important to know....we're staying at WL in April and have an early (8:00) ADR in MK.

 

[EnnEss]

I recently stayed at the WL and I found that the boat was nearly always faster, if you take a bus to the TTC you have to tranfer again which will result in more waiting and the trip from the TTC to MK is only mildly shorter to begin with.

 

[Kick Save]

Odd, when we were there they had a bus direct to the MK, no TTC transfer needed. And a direct return bus.

That was before they took down the bus stop at the MK for refurb, though.

 

[EnnEss]

When i was there in September there was no direct bus, that would of made a large difference. The boats were great fun though, and lots of times there arent many people on it, the captains are great fun.

 

[Carnator]

Does anyone know when the construction at the bus stops are to be completed?

Dec 06 for

 

[Hugpug]

Slated completion is Dec.20th All hoping it will be by Thanksgiving

 

[tardin1964]

When the direct bus to MK is back up and running the end of December it is by far the quickest way. It is at most a 5 minute ride. If you're like me in the morning I want to get where I'm going as quick as possible so we always took the bus to MK. Going back to WL we would take the boat and enjoy the relaxing ride.

 

[fey_spirit]

First thank you for all of your advice - I think I'm going to go ahead and take the boat over to the WL from MK and then take the boat back to MK... I still think that would be faster then driving my car back and forth, esp with parking right?

To clarify - we're not staying at the WL (We're staying at the POFQ) but I have a dinner ADR there at 5:30 (When they open, so I couldn't get it any earlier) and I am going to the Christmas Party that night so I want to get there and back as quickly as possible. I'm hoping via this method I can get back no later then 8:00 or so. (I don't mind being just a touch late as I want to stay till the end and avoid the majority of the crowds, which means I'm counting on early bedtimes for most of the little ones)

 

[almburr]

We leave in 2 days we have ADR for CP on Friday @ 8:05a. Would we be able to take the boat from WL to MK?

 

[EnnEss]

Sorry, I haven't been on the boards much of late, CP?

When i was there in september the boat was not listed as running early enough to make it from WL to MK at 805 am. Taxis are fairly inexpensive from one place to another given that WDW is fairly small when traversed by car mind you. It's possible the times have changed, but I'm not sure. When you check in you recieve a large package with all types of information on there, the boats operating hours are included in that.

 

[tardin1964]

The boat to MK starts running about an hour before park opening. So unless it is a EMH at MK that morning and the park opens at 8:00am you need to do one of the following:

Take the resort boat (blue flag) which starts running at 7:00am from WL to the Contemporary and either walk from there or take the monorail to MK.

You can also take the bus to TTC and hop on the monorail from there to MK.

 

[eliza61]

How long does it take to catch the bus from MK to WL? And from WL to MK? And does the boat let you off on the same side as the parking lot, or where the Disney Busses let off?

Don't know if you guys are 1st timers or not but I'd like to mention that the boat from the Lodge and campground are relatively slow boats. I love them, but a lot of disers post complaints about the lack of speed on these boats. They go at a leisurely speed, (which I love) so there is no wake. (you'll see signs all along the shore warning boats to keep speed down to 5 mph).

Please keep this in mind when planning early morning ADR's

 

[tardin1964]

Don't know if you guys are 1st timers or not but I'd like to mention that the boat from the Lodge and campground are relatively slow boats. I love them, but a lot of disers post complaints about the lack of speed on these boats. They go at a leisurely speed, (which I love) so there is no wake. (you'll see signs all along the shore warning boats to keep speed down to 5 mph).

Please keep this in mind when planning early morning ADR's

From WL To MK it's only about a 10 to 12 minute ride which isn't bad at all.

I think what people complain about more is when you throw on top of that a 20 minute or so wait time (which can easilyhappen if you just miss a boat) it seems like forever.

 

[EnnEss]

Ya, they dont move that fast, but the distance they have to cover is pretty small. I found that it was almost always faster to take the boat then transfer from the TTC as even then you end up waiting for the bus and then the monorail then taking it nearly the entire loop around.

If we were going to the MK at a time that the boat was running in reverse, like the afternoon, where the boat would go to the campground then MK, sometimes we'd take a resort boat to the contemporary and go from there. I just found the boats more reliable than the buses, which multiples just would not come for a very long time.

 

[lake queen]

We didn't have to wait long for a boat each time, but boy are these boats SLOW<SLOW<Slow!!!! We are always so excited to start our day and it took so long it seemed like when you were a kid and Christmas morning would never get here!!

 

[tardin1964]

After they finish the construction at the MK bus stop and the direct bus route is back on line the bus is much quicker than the boat.

Think about it. Even if they only have 1 bus doing the run, the ride is at most 5 minutes. So even if you just miss the bus in the morning it will be back in 10 minutes or so. Remember...since it's first thing in the morning the bus doesn't have to load any people to bring back to WL.