Boat transportation

[lgruender]

I thought that I read somewhere that there is boat transportation from Hollwood Studio's to the Boardwalk. I can't seem to find any information on this; does anyone know if this is true? If so, can you tell me were the boat will launch from and about how long the ride would be?

 

[2infinityandbeyond]

Yes, you can take a boat from DHS to BW. Once you leave DHS, the boat will stop at the Swan/Dolphin, BC/YC, BW and finally Epcot.

It's a little quicker, if you don't mind the short walk, to exit at the S/D then walk over the bridge to the BW.

 

[Andrew Bichard]

can you tell me where the boat will launch from and about how long the ride would be?

Keep hard left as to exit DHS the boat dock is on the left hand side of the canal, right over the fence from the back of Fantasmic.

The boat ride takes around 20 minutes. As 2infinityandbeyond says, you can shave a few minutes of the ride by getting off at Swan/Dolphin dock and walking the last bit.

If there is a huge line for boats (as there will be at the end of Fantasmic), it will be faster to walk all the way, on the pathway that runs along the right hand bank of the canal.

Andrew

 

[WillCAD]

Here's an aerial photo showing where the dock is in relation to the park exit:
DHS Dock on Live.com

The walkway to Boardwalk actually goes to the right in that pic, along the water; the sidewalk leading to the dock dead-ends at the dock.

 

[retired and happy]

Is that the same boat the docks near the French Pavilion at Epcot?

 

[WillCAD]

Is that the same boat the docks near the French Pavilion at Epcot?

They use the same types of boat - called Friendship Launches - but the boats outside Epcot don't go inside, and the boats inside Epcot don't go outside.

 

[MinnieLee]

Is that the same boat the docks near the French Pavilion at Epcot?

The Friendship boats come in at International Gateway. You go through the entrrance, past the gift shop a bit and you will be at United Kingdon. France would be just over the bridge to your right.

 

[WillCAD]

The Friendship boats come in at International Gateway. You go through the entrrance, past the gift shop a bit and you will be at United Kingdon. France would be just over the bridge to your right.

Just to clarify:

The Friendship Launches do not come into the park at all. The loop from DHS to Epcot, stopping at docks at Yacht & Beach Clubs, Swan & Dolphin, and Boardwalk, is completely separate and not connected to the loop that runs inside the World Showcase Lagoon.

Likewise, the boats that run inside the park, in the World Showcase Lagoon, do not exit the park at all; they only run to the docks at Showcase Plaza, Morocco, and Germany.

The last stop on the DHS-Epcot loop is outside of the International Gateway entrance to the park.

The two separate operations DO both use Friendship Launches as their watercraft, which often leads people to think that the routes enter and exit the park.

NOTE: During periods of heavier attendance, such as summer, Disney sometimes runs two overlapping routes outside the park; one will start at Epcot and stop at Boardwalk and Y & BC, while the other will start at DHS and run to S & D and Y & BC. This shortens the travel time of each boat and allows them to run more boats at the same time, but requires you to transfer at Y & BC is you want to ride the boat all the way from DHS to Epcot or vice versa.

 

[GranddadTom]

That's interesting about the overlapping routes. I didn't know that. The point that isn't mentioned is that the wait time for the launches to arrive can be pretty long. It depends on how many launches are in service (which depends on how busy the area is). I believe that the normal number is either three or four launches although when we were there at Christmas time a launch driver told me that they had eight! running that day. A launch takes about 60 minutes to make the full round trip so if 4 are running, the average (the average!) time between launches (if they are spaced out evenly) will be about 15 minutes.

 

[Robert P]

General boating times from HS to BW (do not include wait times, or laod/unload, just travel):

HS to S/D - 8 minutes
S/D to YC/BC marina - 4-5 minutes
YC/BC to BW dock - 4 minutes

Getting of at S/D dock, walk to BW, will always beat the boat there from HS, by 3-5 minutes.
Walk, unhurried pace, from HS exit to BW theme pool - 13 minutes