Bus Transportation times and tips!

[sageandbelle]

Hello everyone, sorry for so many questions leading up to my trip! I am worried now that I have not budgeted enough time to bus from each park. We do have the option to take our car but we were trying to avoid parking (and the $$ for parking) completely and honestly thought it would take more time.
My question are what are the approximate bus times for each of these?
POP to Epcot
Epcot to AK
AK to HS

And how do you know if your bus is going to stop at other parks? I have heard that this significantly increases bus times. I also welcome any tips on how to make bus transportation work and be successful with it!
Thank You!!

 

[sharonabe]

Hello everyone, sorry for so many questions leading up to my trip! I am worried now that I have not budgeted enough time to bus from each park. We do have the option to take our car but we were trying to avoid parking (and the $$ for parking) completely and honestly thought it would take more time.
My question are what are the approximate bus times for each of these?
POP to Epcot
Epcot to AK
AK to HS

And how do you know if your bus is going to stop at other parks? I have heard that this significantly increases bus times. I also welcome any tips on how to make bus transportation work and be successful with it!
Thank You!!

First and foremost, if you're staying at a Disney resort, you do NOT pay for parking at the parks.

As to how long it takes to get from park to park, the actual drive time is not very long. It's the waiting time. Buses are supposed to come every 20 min, but we've all experienced longer waits than that. We usually allow about an hour for any and all bus transportation, but that doesn't include the time to exit park #1 or enter park #2. That hour is for waiting and then traveling. It may not take that long, and usually doesn't, but that's what I put into my plans.

I don't know of any park-to-park buses that stop at other parks. The destination will be on the scrolling screen on top of the windshield and on the side of the bus where you enter.

 

[holden]

Disney advises allowing 1.5hrs for transportation. I think as PP said, about an hour total time waiting for bus and traveling on bus is accurate. If you include the time from when you decide to leave a park/resort to the time you are inside the next park, 1.5hrs is close. It could take a little longer depending on security.

Bus wait times vary, and the times displayed on the screens at the bus stop are not necessarily true. We've had many times where the bus was scheduled to come at a certain time and that time came and went. Personally, I don't like taking the buses for this reason. When they are on time, they can be a good form of transportation. When they aren't, they are incredibly frustrating.

 

[joelkfla]

Hello everyone, sorry for so many questions leading up to my trip! I am worried now that I have not budgeted enough time to bus from each park. We do have the option to take our car but we were trying to avoid parking (and the $$ for parking) completely and honestly thought it would take more time.
My question are what are the approximate bus times for each of these?
POP to Epcot
Epcot to AK
AK to HS

And how do you know if your bus is going to stop at other parks? I have heard that this significantly increases bus times. I also welcome any tips on how to make bus transportation work and be successful with it!
Thank You!!

Are you considering using the Skyliner from Pop to Epcot (assuming it's running by the time of your trip)? It should be about 25 minutes, if Disney can get rid of all the unscheduled pauses and slowdowns.

Actual time on the road for any of those trips is normally 15 minutes or less. Add 40 minutes wait time, to allow for the possibility of being shut out of a full bus, and you're close to the hour quoted by PP's.

If you don't have to be at an ADR or some other set time, you can expect to arrive within 45 minutes most of the time. You might get lucky and walk right onto a bus, and arrive in 20 minutes.

 

[Kewpie982]

First and foremost, if you're staying at a Disney resort, you do NOT pay for parking at the parks.

As to how long it takes to get from park to park, the actual drive time is not very long. It's the waiting time. Buses are supposed to come every 20 min, but we've all experienced longer waits than that. We usually allow about an hour for any and all bus transportation, but that doesn't include the time to exit park #1 or enter park #2. That hour is for waiting and then traveling. It may not take that long, and usually doesn't, but that's what I put into my plans.

I don't know of any park-to-park buses that stop at other parks. The destination will be on the scrolling screen on top of the windshield and on the side of the bus where you enter.

The only park to park bus i know of is Blizzard beach to AK

 

[joelkfla]

The only park to park bus i know of is Blizzard beach to AK

Every park pair has a bus, except MK <-> Epcot.

 

[Robo]

The only park to park bus i know of is Blizzard beach to AK

There is "direct" transportation between all the WDW theme parks.
The frequency of departure for each is approximately every 20 minutes, give or take, all day long.
Most routes are via Disney Buses.
Here are the "park-to-park" Disney Transportation direct connections:

MK> Epcot = Monorail to TTC, Switch to 2nd Monorail to Epcot
MK> DHS = Direct Bus
MK> AK= Direct Bus

AK> DHS= Direct Bus
AK> Epcot= Direct Bus
AK> MK= Direct Bus

DHS> MK= Direct Bus
DHS> AK= Direct Bus
DHS> Epcot= Direct Bus (Epcot Front Gate) or Boat (Epcot Intl. Gateway)
......Boats ("Friendships") make 3 interim stops at the Epcot area resorts.

Epcot > MK= Monorail to TTC, Switch to 2nd Monorail to MK
Epcot > AK= Direct Bus
Epcot> DHS= Direct Bus (Epcot Front Gate) or Boat (Epcot Intl. Gateway)
......Boats ("Friendships") make 3 interim stops at the Epcot area resorts.

The buses have their destinations shown on them on illuminated signs.
The bus stops at the parks are also marked with signage.

As a rule-of-thumb, allow 40-60 minutes to get from the gates of one park to the gates of another park. The actual on-the-road time is far less than that, but you need to factor in the amount of time that it might take to wait for the next bus to arrive and load.

 

[AngiTN]

The only park to park bus i know of is Blizzard beach to AK

It truly shocks me just how prevelant this incorrect information is. There have always been park to park buses. Always. They sell park hoppers, want people to spend money on them. So yeah, they get you from park to park somehow. If not buses it is boat or monorail. Point is some mode of Disney transportation will get you to the parks and between the parks.