Busses to WDW?

[adcadc]

Hello!

I really hope I'm posting this in the right section, huge apologies if I'm not.
I was just wondering how easy it is to get a bus to WDW? A couple of friends and I are looking at visiting Orlando in early September. We'd be travelling directly into Orlando from the UK. We have been looking at various deals, some offer car hire and some do not. Most of the hotels are situated quite close to WDW (most of them are between 10-20 minutes away). So I was just curious as to how easy it is to get busses around Orlando to and from WDW?

Are there any restrictions or negatives of doing this?
We may look into just renting a car but due to our age (21) we're just unsure how easy this will be (although we have held UK driving licenses for a few years now). So I'm just curious how difficult the bus route might be for us

Thanks in advance for any help anyone can provide!

 

[joelkfla]

Hello!

I really hope I'm posting this in the right section, huge apologies if I'm not.
I was just wondering how easy it is to get a bus to WDW? A couple of friends and I are looking at visiting Florida in early September. We'd be travelling directly into Orlando from the UK. We have been looking at various deals, some offer care hire and some do not. Most of the hotels are situated quite close to WDW (most of them are between 10-20 minutes away). So I was just curious as to how easy it is to get busses around Florida to and from WDW?

Are there any restrictions or negatives of doing this?
We may look into just renting a car but due to our age (21) we're just unsure how easy this will be (although we have held UK driving licenses for a few years now). So I'm just curious how difficult the bus route might be for us

Thanks in advance for any help anyone can provide!

If you mean public bus service, it is very limited. There are only 2 routes with all-day service to WDW.

Your best bet would be a hotel on Palm Parkway, which is served by Route 50 with buses every 20-30 minutes. Palm Pkwy is a growing area with a number of relatively modern chain hotels. It's a couple of miles from DTD. Route 50 runs every 30 minutes from about 6 a.m. to midnight, with increased service every 20 minutes during commute times. It stops at DTD, and at TTC. From TTC, you can get to the 4 theme parks, although DHS & AK require you to travel to MK first and transfer.

The other option is a motel along US 192 in Kissimmee, which is served by route 56. Route 56 runs to the TTC every 30 minutes from 6 a.m. until 11 p.m. You need to be careful with motels on US 192, as there are a lot of old run-down properties, so make sure you check any out on travel community sites like TripAdvisor or Yelp. Also, make sure it is located between WDW & downtown Kissimmee (Osceola Square Mall).

Go to http://www.golynx.com/ for bus info. Click on Maps to see the routes and schedules for 50 & 56. If you decide you do want to use Lynx, it would be to your advantage to purchase weekly passes on the website. (I don't know what their policy is as to mailing them overseas, but it's worth a try.)

There's no direct bus service to WDW from the International Drive area, which has the largest concentration of off-site hotels. It requires transferring between Route 50 and another bus, and can take quite a while.

You should also look into staying at one of WDW's budget resorts: Pop Century or All-Stars. Rates in September should be relatively competitive, and include transportation around WDW and transfers to/from OIA (but not Sanford Airport.) The Swan & Dolphin are 3rd party hotels located on WDW property that include WDW Resort transportation but not airport transfers, and sometimes have good deals. The DTD area hotels are located within walking distance of DTD and have complimentary shared bus service to the theme parks; not as frequent as WDW resorts, but serviceable.

 

[purple figment]

I would look into staying at one of the value resorts - All Stars, Pop or Art of Animation. Bus travel from offsite is limited as joelkfla explained. While you would probably save on room rates the trade off will be time consuming bus travel. While a hotel or motel might say it's only 10 or 20 minutes from DW, typically the description is to the edge of the property and not to a park. Most likely it will take 60-90 minutes and at least one transfer to get to a park. Then in the evening you'll have the reverse travel route.

 

[goofy4tink]

Hello!

I really hope I'm posting this in the right section, huge apologies if I'm not.
I was just wondering how easy it is to get a bus to WDW? A couple of friends and I are looking at visiting Orlando in early September. We'd be travelling directly into Orlando from the UK. We have been looking at various deals, some offer car hire and some do not. Most of the hotels are situated quite close to WDW (most of them are between 10-20 minutes away). So I was just curious as to how easy it is to get busses around Orlando to and from WDW?

Are there any restrictions or negatives of doing this?
We may look into just renting a car but due to our age (21) we're just unsure how easy this will be (although we have held UK driving licenses for a few years now). So I'm just curious how difficult the bus route might be for us

Thanks in advance for any help anyone can provide!

In short...it would be a nightmare! Our public transit system, generally speaking, throughout the country, is nowhere as good as it is in the UK. The public transit system in Orlando wasn't set up to service WDW and the immediate areas. So, it will be very difficult to get to a hotel, not at WDW, from the airport, using the public buses. Then, it will be just about as hard to get to the parks, from the hotel, using the Lynx system (the Orlando public transit system). It will take a lot of time, with a lot of transfers.

I would really look into staying in either a value resort, right on-site at WDW, or one of the Disney friendly hotels in DTD...at least they are close to WDW and provide shuttles, although the shuttles don't run all that frequently. Those are your two best bets.

 

[adcadc]

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the help, really appreciate it.

Yeah it seems that from what you are all saying, busses will not be the best option for us. I didn't expect it to be too difficult but I guess the bus services probably weren't designed for trips to WDW in mind!

I think I'll look at either getting a hotel very close to the resort so that transportation requirements are minimal or not needed at all, or alternatively just try and get a budget hotel close or onsite the resort itself!

Thanks again for all of the help