BWV Walk to MGM

[rlduvall]

My husband, me and our 4 year old son will be staying at BWV in late September. We will have a rental car, but I wondered how long does the walk take to MGM? I absolutely despise waiting for transportation (Type A all the way, lol) and figure we'll usually make the walk. My only fear is it will wear our 4 year old out as we do not have a stroller. Any thoughts?

 

[disney queen]

hhhmmm......it is about a 15-20 min walk to mgm. maybe a few minutes less. how does your son do when you are at the mall or grocery w/him? it is a nice walk. and there is always the boat that goes to mgm, but then again you have the wait! LOL!!

 

[abeyst]

We walked it in February, it's about 20 minutes from Beach Club. I'm a type A as well, and thought I'd walk quicker than the boat could drive (and make 4 more stops at hotels!). I think the boat beat us by 5 minutes! If Bw is the last boat stop on the way to MGM, ride the boat. If it's the first, it's a toss up. You'll have to watch the boats to see which way they are picking up people.

I found myself tired after walking to MGM. The heat can get to you a little while you're walking, and it made it a little hard to deal with the crowds after I was in the park. My son was fine, he was in a stroller for the walk.

It really is a judgement call, though. I'm normally a walker (even at home), but this next trip we'll be taking the boat!

 

[dimimi]

Hi. This wasn't in your post, but I thought I'd offer a suggestion. We went to Disney in April when our son had jus turned 5. We brought our old stroller. My husband thought I was crazy. However, we all loved having the stroller. My son sat in it when he was tired, remember you do A LOT of walking and we cold store things in the bottom. My nine year old was mad he couldn't use it! We are returning in April this year and we may use it one last time! Have fun!

 

[rlduvall]

Apparently, I sold the stroller prematurely. I have thought about purchasing an inexpensive umbrella stroller, but I really don't think my son would be comfortable in it. He weighs about 40 pounds and is tall for his age. Besides, my husband doesn't seem too pleased with the thought of having to take our carseat (because I have heard how nasty the rental car ones are) Can you imagine now telling him about the stroller. (aren't men a bunch of whiny ---) What to do, what to do, lol.

 

[wdwdvcdad]

My wife & three little ones beat the boat back to the boardwalk by about 10 minutes. We walked from then on.

 

[dimimi]

rlduvall: husbands are all alike! We did not use an umbrella, we had an old sroller, a little bigger with a basket underneath. Mine wouldn't have fit in the umbrella either. We figured by the time we waited in line to rent one, and paid for the rental, bringing this was ok. Although I've seen ours for about $30, I know my dh would not have been pleased if I bought anothr one! LOL All I know is that without the stoller, we would have had a crabby kid, been walking very slow and probably ended up carryin him some! I wonder how old other people here let their kids use strollers.

have fun

 

[Desnik]

When we were at the BWI we walked to MGM. Myself, DH, DD 4yo at the time, my sis, 10 at the time, and my mom. We beat the boat. We all have very little patience and didn't want to wait in line for the boat on the way back and we beat it again. BWV are the closest to the walkway to MGM and it seemed like a fast walk, maybe 15min.

DD was in a stroller. I cannot stress enough how helpful it is to have a stroller, your own. Your DS will probably be more uncomfortable in a rental stroller, have you seen those things?
Epcot strollers:
http://wdwig.com/strepc1.jpg
MGM:
http://wdwig.com/mgmst1.jpg
MK:
http://wdwig.com/mk_stro1.jpg
AK:
http://wdwig.com/akstrol.jpg

He will definately get tired walking. It will be easier around the resort if you want to take a stroll around the lake, hang by the BW at night.

An umbrella stroller or any stroller can be wheeled up to the gate and I think they or you can store it on the plane so it can be waiting for you when you land. I bet a stroller would come in hand while at the airport. I can see yuour DH point about the carseat being a pain to lug around, but a stroller would help you more than a hinderence. JMHO!! I know you didn't ask, but I thought I'd give my 2 cents

dimimi on the family board there was a discussion about how old was too old for a stroller and I think I remember seeing kids as old as 7 or 8 still needing/using a rented stroller.

FYI
This is the stroller I used:
http://www.babysupermall.com/main/products/kol/kol36506.html
It says to 35lbs., but DD is 5yo and is 37lbs. and used it.

 

[swilphil]

You can go to the Family Disboard for more info about strollers. I remember seeing a thread about a 50 lb. toddler in a stroller, or just post a question about a good umbrella stroller for a larger child. Since you are in the epcot area, and don't like to wait for transportation. I think bringing a stroller would be preferable to having a tired, dare I say whining, child. We also were able to check our stroller at the airport gate.

 

[NotTooGoofy]

From the Boardwalk area to either MGM or EPCOT is a good 15 minute walk. Wouldn't want to do it in the heat of summer but it's not a bad walk considering all the walking you will do in the parks.

 

[paults]

the boat goes in this order: MGM to S&D to YC/BC to BW to Epcot coming back it goes from Epcot to BW to YC/BC to S&D to MGM.

 

[lowkat]

We just walked it a couple of weeks ago in 90+ weather. We asked the guards, just to make sure we were on the right path. I think they thought our brains had got baked. For us it was a nice walk, and had we stayed there longer we would have surely used it after Fantasmic (we are also 50ish grandmarents)

 

[welovedis]

Just an FYI-Check out the Stroller Swap post on the top of the Budget Board. Many DISers have been using a lightweight but sturdy Eddie Bauer stroller while at WDW and swapping with another DISer at the end of our stay. It might fit your needs.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=361259

I don't know what dates you need but check it out!

 

[abeyst]

rlduvall,

I have to agree with the stroller use. My son is 4 1/2 and 40 lbs. but he'll still be in one. It will save my sanity for the week we're there! If your child can walk, put the car seat in the stroller to carry it through the airport then check the stroller at the gate. If not, you can buy a carrying bag for your stroller (I got mine from One Step Ahead, but I'm sure they have them other places) and you can check it with your other checked luggage.

Last resort, rent one from the company that will deliver them to the hotel. It will be a little more than buying an umbrella stroller before you leave, but it may be worth it if it saves some hassle with DH. Someone here could probably give you the web site or the thread it was being discussed on.

BTW, when are you traveling? We'll be there 9/28-10/6 at BCV.

 

[chinamom3]

When we were there in December, our tall 6 year old daughter begged for a stroller in every park, and we did it-and were glad we did! She was a tight fit, lenthwise, in some, but to her it beat walking!!

 

[Minnie's Mate]

Seems I remember that you can rent a stroller for length of stay. Don't remember how much or whether you had to do it at the gate or could rent one at the resort. All of the Disney strollers are fairly new and pretty sturdy. I have seen kids that must have been at least 10 in the double strollers. Our son is six and walked the whole time during our visit in July. He'll definately be walking from now on.

 

[rlduvall]

What great replies everyone. Thanks so much. The "stroller swap", what a cool idea. Checked it out, but it is unavailable for our stay. We will be there September 27 through October 1st. We thought a longer stay would be too hard on everyone, lol. Of course, I am more confused than ever. It's obvious we'll need one, especially while we are at the Boardwalk; something I suspected. I do not relish the thought of carrying an exhausted child, lol. Guess I'll have to brainstorm this one through. Why our vacations so tiring?!?!?!

 

[welovedis]

rlduvall-sorry the swap won't work for the dates you need. If you are thinking of buying an inexpensive stroller for the trip post over on the families board. There are lots of posters there with much more knowledge that I have about the different inexpensive options out there.

Renting from the parks would be a good idea except for those times you are walking to buses or to your resort.

HTH!

 

[Danauk]

When I stayed at the Beach Club a few weeks ago we caught the boat to MK. When we left the park it was raining and thundering badly and the line for the boat was really long (perhaps 3/4 boatfuls long) so we decided to walk. I'm glad we did. We got back before the boat has made it's first stop. From then on we always walked to and from MK as it is so much quicker. Some days it was really hot whilst we were walking but you walk around a lot in the parks anyway so walking to the park is no extra hastle.
Have a great trip.

 

[Minnie's Mate]

I'm sure Danauk meant MGM. There is no boat service between the Boadwalk and MK. I know it is just a minor mistake, but don't want anyone to be confused. Only bus service between BW and MK.