Busses at The Fort

[dekraut]

Hello all,

My family and I are arriving to Ft. Wilderness in about two weeks, and it is the first time we have been there since 1996.

I am wondering how the transportation works now, specifically the best routes to take to get to/from each of the four main parks. We are familiar with the boat to the MK, and we like that ride, but are more interested in the best ways to get to EP, HS, & AK with the least amount of wasted time.

Also, in planning our FP+ and arrival times in the parks, as well as considering park hopping, I was hoping someone could help with information on about how long it takes to move from place to place, so we can make sure to allow enough time.

Our goal is to go to a park first thing in the morning, come back to Ft. Wilderness a little after lunch, and then head back in late afternoon to the same or a different park.

I am new to the forums, and I did a search, but I didn't find what I was looking for. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

 

[WDWCP96]

Hi there! We are arriving at the same time as you!

In terms of buses they run quite regularly. For us we usually take the boat to the TTC and take the monorail to Epcot.

I can't really answer about FP+ as this is our first trip using them but from what I read the best thing to do is schedule them in the same area to minimize travel time or to give yourself time between each one.

If you are up for a DISmeet let me know. I know there are a couple of us staying at the Fort during that time.

 

[Chief Powhatan]

Will you have a car at the Fort, or are you planning on only using Disney transportation?

 

[sippican]

The buses do run constantly, but inconsistently. A trip to a park (other than MK) from a campsite involves the internal bus to the outpost (unless you use a golfcart or bike), then a wait for another bus to the park of your choice. We allow an hour travel time. Usually it is less, but can be more.
I am not aware of a boat directly from the Fort to the TTC. For Epcot, some like to catch the resort boat to the Contemporary, then the monorail.
If you have a vehicle, you can drive directly to a park, using your camping pass, parking is free. We like to do that on check-out day.

 

[dekraut]

Great help so far, thanks.

We will have our tow vehicle there, so driving to parks is possible. My parents are camping next to us (hopefully) and I am not sure my dad would be easily convinced to drive to the parks, unless there was a pretty good argument for it.

We are planning to take a double stroller for the kids, and one of my big concerns was getting that on the busses, so driving to parks (other than MK) might help if it is easier/faster.

 

[loislane]

We found the internal bus system to be pretty quick, but once we got to the Outpost bus stop, it was a crap shoot how long it would take the bus we wanted to show up. We had a few days where it seemed like all the buses were going every place BUT where we wanted to go and we waited a good 20 minutes or more. Other days, we got there and the bus we needed was the first one to show up. You really just don't know.

We drove the second day we did the water parks - just seemed easier lugging all our stuff and we were able to get there nice and early.

Next trip, we may do a little more driving than busing - we'll have to see. We tend to go laid back and low key, so not sure how the new FP+ might change that for our next trip.

 

[dekraut]

Hi there! We are arriving at the same time as you!

In terms of buses they run quite regularly. For us we usually take the boat to the TTC and take the monorail to Epcot.

I can't really answer about FP+ as this is our first trip using them but from what I read the best thing to do is schedule them in the same area to minimize travel time or to give yourself time between each one.

If you are up for a DISmeet let me know. I know there are a couple of us staying at the Fort during that time.

New to the forum quote feature, think I've got it now. We have a lot of moving parts on this trip including in-laws meeting us on the first day and my parents meeting us for two days after that, (grandparents first time seeing the kids at WDW )so I am not sure how much I will be able to get away for a meet - but I do appreciate the offer. If I figure out our schedule a bit better, I will let you know. Thank you for your kindness.

 

[Chief Powhatan]

Between the internal busses and outpost busses, taking them has always been a crapshoot for us. It seemed like there was always one that required a long wait. A few years ago, we decided that we did not want to waste vacation time waiting on a bus. We take a car to Epcot, HS and AK and the boat to Magic Kingdom.

I hope you and your family have a great trip!

 

[ParistoDisney]

my next questions were about transportation, glad you asked. This was helpful to me too!

I think I will use the boat to MK and drive to the other three parks. If I don't have park hopper and leave mid day(to tend to my dog for a potty break), can I come back to the same park later in the evening?

Also what does TTC stand for? I keep seeing it but not sure what it means. LOL

 

[Chief Powhatan]

Paristo - You can absolutely leave and reenter the same park later. The park hopper is only needed to go to multiple parks in the same day.

TTC = the Ticketing and Transportation Center - the main transportation hub.

 

[dekraut]

Thanks for the info!

If we drive to the parks other than MK (the only park we ever went to in a car before), are the lots right near the gate? Meaning, at the MK you have the boat or the monorail, but with the other three do you park right at the park, so that you just either all to the entrance point or do they run trams from the lot to the gate?

About how long of a drive is it from Ft. Wilderness to the other parks? I guess I can probably look that up on google maps...

Thanks again.

 

[Chief Powhatan]

Yes, HS, Epcot and AK run trams from the parking lots to the gate. However it is also possible at times to park close enough to walk.

From the Fort, it is about 15-20 minutes to drive to HS, Epcot and AK. In the Frommer's Unofficial guidebook, they have a chart that gives transportation times from the various resorts to each of the parks, with a comparison of driving versus using Disney transportation.

 

[Mmketeer]

Their are a ton of internal buses that run and they will get you to the front, middle of the resort for the main pool and the back of the resort. They run like every 15min. But, we ride our bikes to the front and back and it's a bit faster. Golf cart rentals are like $63 a day! Geeze, I remember when they were $25.

Anyway, the buses at the front run every 20 min. We headed over to DAK and our bus was the third to arrive at the front entrance, we waited like 15 min. tops and the ride over was faster than I thought it would be even though that is the furtherest theme park from our resort. It didn't take more than 35 min total even with the wait time for the bus to get there.

Be careful if your heading to MK at 9pm as the water transportation will have a line down the dock on the weekends and they will not run after due to the water boat parade etc. Found this out the hard way as we arrived on 5/31 (Sat) at 8:55 to go over to the Contemporary. The boat driver said he was only going to Wilderness Lodge and then they we wouldn't be running for a while. We had 9:45 reservations for the California Grill and should have had plenty of time to get to the resort for our almost $200 meal. But, no way to go from resort to resort without the boat or transferring from a park or downtown Disney and we had no time for that. So, I called the front desk to complain and they sent us a courtesy van. Now we know...avoid the boats from 9pm-10pm. Keep that in mind if you have FP for MK.

PS
We did not drive to theme parks or resort's due to our extended cab dooley pick up truck which is hard to park in car spaces.

Have fun!

 

[PEC]

Here was my experience.
Would try to catch the internal bus at 7:40 with parks opening at 9:00. The results are as follow.
MK - Got to the loading Dock around 8:00 discovered that the first boat did not depart until 8:30. Still an advantage because we were near the front when the boat came. If we would have waited until 8:30 we would have had to waited for another boat or two because not everybody made that boat. Arrived at MK arrive 8:40. Would have liked to have been a little closer to the front at RD but we were fine. Return was where there was a problem that day. We left at park closing at 11:00. There was a long line for the boat to FT Wilderness and WL. Took forever for the boat to arrive and it was after 12:30 beforewe made it to our Campground. I may be wrong but I think a boat must have went down and there was only one boat working that evening.
DHS - Waited a little for the internal bus and a little while for bus to DHS. Got at the park around 8:30. Wasn't at the front of the line but wasn't bad either.
EPCOT - Internal bus was there when we showed up at bus stop. Bus to EPCOT was there when we showed up at that bus stop. Got to the park at about 8:00. Literally front of line. In fact only other person there thought that EPCOT had EMH at 8:00.
AK - I think the family moved a little slow that day. Anyway got on internal bus around 750. Waited for bus to AK. Got there about 8:40-8:45. Far from front of the line but we were fine. Did Park Hop from AKL (where we ate supper) to MK around 7:00. Stayed to 1100 but this time no problem with the boat to the Fort (that is why I believe the boat was down the first day).

If I had to sum it up. The Disney Transport is convenient but a crap shoot. Time to park could be 15-20 minutes or close to an hour. I would do it again to the parks but after researching I will drive to Typhoon Lagoon. As far as a stroller (assuming it folds you will have no problems). You can use Disney Transportation a few days and if it works no problem. If it doesnt work for you then drive.

 

[dekraut]

Awesome information, thanks. Kids are unaware of the green flag boat to MK, so I can't wait to let them experience that. Thanks for the tip about getting there early.

Being front of line isn't important to us necessarily, except that I understand the advantage in getting some rides done with little to no lines. We are driving a standard 1/2 ton pickup so parking wouldn't be an issue.

I like the concept of parking and not driving anywhere, but I hate to waste too much time on Disney transportation. My wife tells me I just need to relax and let things happen, so it is entirely possible that me overanalyzing how to get from point A to point B is a waste of energy. I get way too anxious about a little wasted time, especially for the price we are paying, first trip for the kids and all.

Truth is, if we are leaving first thing in the morning, aiming for RD, it really doesn't matter how long it takes, since we are traveling before the parks open anyway.

Our plan is to come back to the Fort for an afternoon break. When going back to the parks in the evening, would driving be any better then? Thinking around 5-6PM time frame? Is the Disney trans pretty much the same schedule no matter the time of day?

 

[John VN]

Quickly scanned replies and didn't see mentioning of the YELLOW Internal bus to Wilderness Lodge from the Settlement stop and then the bus from WL to MK. Can get you to MK earlier than the boats.

Last Friday it took us 1 hour to get from Outpost to HS. Other Parks had 2 to 3 busses come and go before the HS bus finally showed up. Just one of those bad happenings.

 

[RVMH]

Taking the YELLOW internal to WL is a good idea and also works on return if you take the bus back to the Lodge and the Fort bus from there - a shorter trip if you're in a loop closer to settlement especially for Epcot and HS buses that stop at the Lodge before going to the Fort.

If you take the boat to the MK, you have to take the monorail to TTC and then take another monorail to get to Epcot.

There's something to be said for relaxing and letting others do the driving unless time is a major concern. Having fun is the object!

 

[Teamubr]

We are generally down during busier times (summer, spring break). I rarely drive to any of the parks.

Like others, we take the boat to MK. generally 20-30 minutes from our site to the gate.

For EPCOT we also take the boat to the Contemporary and then the monorail to the TTC and onto EPCOT. - we figure 30 minutes +/-.

For DHS and AK we planned for 45-60 minutes.

Unlike my non-WDW life where I am very time focused, I relax and give myself an hour to get anywhere. If it's less than that, it's a bonus. I actually enjoy the boat, buses and monorail. All party of the Disney magic.

j

 

[dekraut]

Unlike my non-WDW life where I am very time focused, I relax and give myself an hour to get anywhere. If it's less than that, it's a bonus. I actually enjoy the boat, buses and monorail. All party of the Disney magic.

j

That is my problem. I've spent everyday for the last 18 years commuting near Washington DC, so beating traffic is part of the fabric of my personality. And then I teach all day, so I am constantly managing time. I have to learn to slow down and let the magic happen. Good advice.

Thanks.

 

[jsmla]

Is there still an early boat over to the Contemporary? I remember one that began around 6:30 AM.