Buses, Monorails, and Boats - Transportation Review 9/23 - 10/2

[carolina_yankee]

Given how antsy we all are about Disney transportation (and I get that way, too), here are our experiences from our recent trip. We chose to not rent a car because we wanted to splurge on some signature dining.

Magical Express - we had our confirmation, so we bypassed the counter and went straight to the red carpet queues for boarding. There were two checkpoints, both took about 30 seconds. We waited in our queue (MK resorts) for 5 minutes, then boarded. The queue was quickly full, and the bus departed 5 minutes after boarding.

I would not have wanted to be in the line for the check-in desk - it was long. It was 11:30 am on a Wednesday. We landed at 11:20, and checked in to our resort at 12:50. Luggage was delivered sometime that afternoon while we were at the MK.

The route was Poly, GF, WL, Contemporary. Since we were Contemporary, we were last off. It took 85 minutes from gate to Contemporary lobby. We should have hopped off at the Poly and taken the monorail.

For the return, we were picked up exactly 3 hours before the flight departure. The Contemporary was the only stop.

Buses - We stayed at BLT. We caught buses to AK and DHS, generally around 8 or 8:30. Never waited more than 5 minutes for a bus. Same for return. We used buses at AKL a couple of times after visiting to get to the MK - never waited more than 5 minutes.

Monorail - Never waited more than 5 minutes for a resort monorail. There weren't any lines at our travel times (8:15 or mid-afternoon). We did observe huge lines around 9:30 am one day. I won't endure that - either leave early or take different means of transport.

Both MK loops were down for about 24 hours due to an electrical short. They ran buses from Contemporary/BLT to both Epcot and MK (believe it or not). It was actually a non-park day for us, but we observed buses pouring in one after another, so they handled the glitch well.

The Epcot loop was always running only 2 trains, so the waits were generally 10-15 minutes for a train. That's why monorail from Contemporary to Epcot can be a pain. However, realistically, it's probably faster than a bus from most other resorts.

Boats - we took the boat from the Contemporary to Wilderness Lodge for lunch at Whispering Canyon. We just missed a boat at 11:30 and awaited 15 minutes for another one. The boat ran to FW then to WL, so about 15 minutes in travel.

Car - friends traveling on our dates but staying at AKL did rent a car. Good thing. They took us to urgent care for a bronchitis diagnosis one day (after Whispering Canyon lunch). Of course, one of them had bronchitis, too, so it was a dual trip. WDW was a veritable petrie dish for folks this September.

Overall, I was very pleased with the transportation. Since we chose to not rent a car, we lucked out - Really lucked out - in how convenient Disney transport was for our needs. I attribute it to location (MK very easy to get to just by walking) and time of travel (generally early risers or mid-afternoon).

Dirk

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

It's great to hear you had no issues with all their transportation options.

 

[bavaria]

First I lost SafetyMom, now it would appear that you too have been possessed by an alternate life form.

While you do state that you are relatively satisfied with the transportation, you do live in RealWorld. There are a lot of triggers in your post that could create a lot of drama for the residents of a different world, however....

If a different poster had encountered the same issues, there may have been a different tone to the first post.

 

[carolina_yankee]

First I lost SafetyMom, now it would appear that you too have been possessed by an alternate life form.

While you do state that you are relatively satisfied with the transportation, you do live in RealWorld. There are a lot of triggers in your post that could create a lot of drama for the residents of a different world, however....

If a different poster had encountered the same issues, there may have been a different tone to the first post.

I can't help it. I just generally see more pixie dust than cow poop.

Dirk

 

[DisneyNDecember]

Given how antsy we all are about Disney transportation (and I get that way, too), here are our experiences from our recent trip. We chose to not rent a car because we wanted to splurge on some signature dining.

Magical Express - we had our confirmation, so we bypassed the counter and went straight to the red carpet queues for boarding. There were two checkpoints, both took about 30 seconds. We waited in our queue (MK resorts) for 5 minutes, then boarded. The queue was quickly full, and the bus departed 5 minutes after boarding.

I would not have wanted to be in the line for the check-in desk - it was long. It was 11:30 am on a Wednesday. We landed at 11:20, and checked in to our resort at 12:50. Luggage was delivered sometime that afternoon while we were at the MK.

The route was Poly, GF, WL, Contemporary. Since we were Contemporary, we were last off. It took 85 minutes from gate to Contemporary lobby. We should have hopped off at the Poly and taken the monorail.

For the return, we were picked up exactly 3 hours before the flight departure. The Contemporary was the only stop.

Buses - We stayed at BLT. We caught buses to AK and DHS, generally around 8 or 8:30. Never waited more than 5 minutes for a bus. Same for return. We used buses at AKL a couple of times after visiting to get to the MK - never waited more than 5 minutes.

Monorail - Never waited more than 5 minutes for a resort monorail. There weren't any lines at our travel times (8:15 or mid-afternoon). We did observe huge lines around 9:30 am one day. I won't endure that - either leave early or take different means of transport.

Both MK loops were down for about 24 hours due to an electrical short. They ran buses from Contemporary/BLT to both Epcot and MK (believe it or not). It was actually a non-park day for us, but we observed buses pouring in one after another, so they handled the glitch well.

The Epcot loop was always running only 2 trains, so the waits were generally 10-15 minutes for a train. That's why monorail from Contemporary to Epcot can be a pain. However, realistically, it's probably faster than a bus from most other resorts.

Boats - we took the boat from the Contemporary to Wilderness Lodge for lunch at Whispering Canyon. We just missed a boat at 11:30 and awaited 15 minutes for another one. The boat ran to FW then to WL, so about 15 minutes in travel.

Car - friends traveling on our dates but staying at AKL did rent a car. Good thing. They took us to urgent care for a bronchitis diagnosis one day (after Whispering Canyon lunch). Of course, one of them had bronchitis, too, so it was a dual trip. WDW was a veritable petrie dish for folks this September.

Overall, I was very pleased with the transportation. Since we chose to not rent a car, we lucked out - Really lucked out - in how convenient Disney transport was for our needs. I attribute it to location (MK very easy to get to just by walking) and time of travel (generally early risers or mid-afternoon).

Dirk

I have a question about this because we go every December & use DME, "Magical Express - we had our confirmation, so we bypassed the counter and went straight to the red carpet queues for boarding. "

How did you do this? I know they send you the DME packet in the mail, but I thought you always had to go to the counter & get it stamped before you could get in line for the red carpet ques for boarding?? Please let me know how you bypassed the counter??

 

[zulemara]

Given how antsy we all are about Disney transportation (and I get that way, too), here are our experiences from our recent trip. We chose to not rent a car because we wanted to splurge on some signature dining.

Magical Express - we had our confirmation, so we bypassed the counter and went straight to the red carpet queues for boarding. There were two checkpoints, both took about 30 seconds. We waited in our queue (MK resorts) for 5 minutes, then boarded. The queue was quickly full, and the bus departed 5 minutes after boarding.

I would not have wanted to be in the line for the check-in desk - it was long. It was 11:30 am on a Wednesday. We landed at 11:20, and checked in to our resort at 12:50. Luggage was delivered sometime that afternoon while we were at the MK.

The route was Poly, GF, WL, Contemporary. Since we were Contemporary, we were last off. It took 85 minutes from gate to Contemporary lobby. We should have hopped off at the Poly and taken the monorail.

For the return, we were picked up exactly 3 hours before the flight departure. The Contemporary was the only stop.

Buses - We stayed at BLT. We caught buses to AK and DHS, generally around 8 or 8:30. Never waited more than 5 minutes for a bus. Same for return. We used buses at AKL a couple of times after visiting to get to the MK - never waited more than 5 minutes.

Monorail - Never waited more than 5 minutes for a resort monorail. There weren't any lines at our travel times (8:15 or mid-afternoon). We did observe huge lines around 9:30 am one day. I won't endure that - either leave early or take different means of transport.

Both MK loops were down for about 24 hours due to an electrical short. They ran buses from Contemporary/BLT to both Epcot and MK (believe it or not). It was actually a non-park day for us, but we observed buses pouring in one after another, so they handled the glitch well.

The Epcot loop was always running only 2 trains, so the waits were generally 10-15 minutes for a train. That's why monorail from Contemporary to Epcot can be a pain. However, realistically, it's probably faster than a bus from most other resorts.

Boats - we took the boat from the Contemporary to Wilderness Lodge for lunch at Whispering Canyon. We just missed a boat at 11:30 and awaited 15 minutes for another one. The boat ran to FW then to WL, so about 15 minutes in travel.

Car - friends traveling on our dates but staying at AKL did rent a car. Good thing. They took us to urgent care for a bronchitis diagnosis one day (after Whispering Canyon lunch). Of course, one of them had bronchitis, too, so it was a dual trip. WDW was a veritable petrie dish for folks this September.

Overall, I was very pleased with the transportation. Since we chose to not rent a car, we lucked out - Really lucked out - in how convenient Disney transport was for our needs. I attribute it to location (MK very easy to get to just by walking) and time of travel (generally early risers or mid-afternoon).

Dirk

the cycle must have been off on the blues. 15 minutes is the maximum amount of time you should have to wait on that route, so know that it can't get any worse than that. Also, you must have gone in the AM when they go CR-->FW-->WL. After 3pm they switch directions and go CR-->WL-->FW so it would have been your first stop.

yeah I was working when rails were down. not fun, but everyone stepped up to the plate. They will usually run 3 trains on the EPCOT line, but since they weren't letting rails run on the resort and express lines, my best guess is they were unable to add trains to the EPCOT line since it requires a transfer from one of the other 2 lines.

anyway, glad you enjoyed.

 

[carolina_yankee]

the cycle must have been off on the blues. 15 minutes is the maximum amount of time you should have to wait on that route, so know that it can't get any worse than that. Also, you must have gone in the AM when they go CR-->FW-->WL. After 3pm they switch directions and go CR-->WL-->FW so it would have been your first stop.

yeah I was working when rails were down. not fun, but everyone stepped up to the plate. They will usually run 3 trains on the EPCOT line, but since they weren't letting rails run on the resort and express lines, my best guess is they were unable to add trains to the EPCOT line since it requires a transfer from one of the other 2 lines.

anyway, glad you enjoyed.

Our wait was exactly 15 minutes after having just missed a boat, so I guess the cycle was pretty close. There was also a wheelchair transfer involved, so that may have slowed things down a minute or two. I had forgotten about the FW->WL route in the AM, or we would have left earlier and been on the boat we missed!

The Epcot line seemd to be consistently 2 trains - but we were always using it in the early afternoon or right at 8:15 am. We only passed one train between the TTC and Epcot each trip. I imagine they have more on for closing?

Dirk

 

[Tozzie]

I have a question about this because we go every December & use DME, "Magical Express - we had our confirmation, so we bypassed the counter and went straight to the red carpet queues for boarding. "

How did you do this? I know they send you the DME packet in the mail, but I thought you always had to go to the counter & get it stamped before you could get in line for the red carpet ques for boarding?? Please let me know how you bypassed the counter??

This is something they started doing recently and there have been reports that it isn't consistent. They have a podium actually two by the bus lines and if you have your voucher they send you straight to the lines instead of the DME counter. I did it in August and I will see if it is that way again this comming week

 

[DisneyNDecember]

This is something they started doing recently and there have been reports that it isn't consistent. They have a podium actually two by the bus lines and if you have your voucher they send you straight to the lines instead of the DME counter. I did it in August and I will see if it is that way again this comming week

Thank you Tozzie !! I am curious about this one, that would be great to bypass that line, not that it is that bad when we have gone, it usually always goes very quickly, but that would be great if it could be bypassed !!

 

[zulemara]

Our wait was exactly 15 minutes after having just missed a boat, so I guess the cycle was pretty close. There was also a wheelchair transfer involved, so that may have slowed things down a minute or two. I had forgotten about the FW->WL route in the AM, or we would have left earlier and been on the boat we missed!

The Epcot line seemd to be consistently 2 trains - but we were always using it in the early afternoon or right at 8:15 am. We only passed one train between the TTC and Epcot each trip. I imagine they have more on for closing?

Dirk

I rode it the other day around 3:30 and we passed one other train, yet for some reason had to stop outside the TTC station for clearance. I was confused so I asked the pilot when I got off and she said there were 3 trains on the line. Because of the design of the loop, if one is leaving hte station while you are entering, you won't see it unless you look for it. Then the 3rd train you actually pass en route.

 

[carolina_yankee]

That makes sense. Thanks.

Dirk