bus transportation to EPCOT

[miranda1979]

My family is doing the half marathon in Janurary 2008 and we want to either stay at our home resort (boardwalk) or at the dolphin. Here is the thing will we be able to walk threw the international gate way at 4 in the morning or will they have the"special" buses to pick us up and bring us to the front of EPCOT? thanks for any information on this.

Miranda

 

[chimera]

Int'l Gateway won't be open that early. You'll need to take the bus.

 

[windwalker]

We stayed at the Boardwalk in Jan 2006 thinking we could do the same thing. We paid for Deluxe hotel and then had to take the bus anyway. This year we stayed at the Coranado which was just as nice and $1500 cheaper. We had some issues with our cards that open the room and get us in the parks but discoverd others at other resorts were having the same concerns.

Next year we are going to try the N.O. Riverside. I saw on the WISH boards where some people were able to just walk over to the starting area. It's an intermediate price resort like the Coronado. Anyone have any thoughts about this resort???

Dave

 

[miranda1979]

thanks we will take the bus or taxi..I have never stayed off property before so I don't know what riverside is like.

 

[windwalker]

thanks we will take the bus or taxi..I have never stayed off property before so I don't know what riverside is like.

The New Orleans is a Disney Resort that is right behind Epcot. There are two the Riverside and French Quarter right next to each other. We only do the Disney resorts so we can take advantage of the wonderful Disney Dinning Plan.

Dave

 

[o2bacelt]

I think the confusion is that it's Port Orleans and not New Orleans...

We LOVE Port Orleans French Quarter, it's small, quaint, and usually quiet. It's the smallest of the resorts and has a great atmosphere. I stayed at PO Riverside when it was Dixie Landings, it's also a very very nice place to stay. We've pretty much decided that we'll stay there when we go now, we love it and it's proximity to DTD and parks.

 

[windwalker]

I think the confusion is that it's Port Orleans and not New Orleans...

We LOVE Port Orleans French Quarter, it's small, quaint, and usually quiet. It's the smallest of the resorts and has a great atmosphere. I stayed at PO Riverside when it was Dixie Landings, it's also a very very nice place to stay. We've pretty much decided that we'll stay there when we go now, we love it and it's proximity to DTD and parks.

Thank you, your right. Thanks for the nice report on the resort to. Did you walk to the race strart or take the Bus from there?

Dave

 

[o2bacelt]

I haven't run a race there yet... I'm hoping for Minnie '08 but we love the resort, I can imagine that it's not too tough to get there from PO Riverside or French Quarter.

It's nice to take the boat over to DTD. Great ride. Fun to look at all the old tree house villas.

 

[sara]

Not sure if this is hijacking a thread, but...we've stayed at the French Quarters the past two marathon weekends for location purposes. My experiences:

2006 for the half, DH drops me off @ 5:15-5:30, yes, I like to cut it close. Oh, and yes, he drove me two blocks! Had a nice leisurely walk of about a mile with three other people. Found port-a-potties, without lines, along the way. Arrived at the start with time to spare. Perfect! Well, arrived back home and heard about people being turned away. Not able to walk to the start for the half. People were not turned away for the full.

2007, same scenario. We were turned away!!!! Policemen with cars were not letting anyone walk. So, we had to follow a long line of slow moving cars to Epcot parking lot. From there had a long walk to the corrals. Not a good way to start a run!!!

Marathon morning, once again, we were able to hop, skip and jump (the barriers) without a problem. So, my long winded suggestion, ride the bus for the half!!!!!

POFQ is a nice quiet resort. We really enjoyed our stay.

 

[windwalker]

Sara, thanks so much for that run down on walking over to the races. I was thinking about that. I would wear black and slip over through the forest area but when we were doing training walks we saw a ran-over-dead snake that looked about 6 ft long. Not even going to think about venturing off the road. I thought about that snake when I saw all the people peeing on the bushes.

Dave