Commuting Between Resorts

[emilyclaire]

I read in the Unoffical Guide that in order to hop from resort to resort, I will have to first go to one of the parks, the Transportation and Ticket Center, or Downtown Disney, then go to the desired resort. Here is my situation: I am going to WDW in October 2007 and staying at the Pop Century Resort. I want to spend all day Friday in the Animal Kingdom (which I read closes at 5:30 during that time of year), then take a bus to the Animal Kingdom Lodge to eat dinner at Boma.

My question is, where should I commute to after dinner in order to get back to Pop Century? MK should be closing at 7:00 pm that time of year, so I think that's out...except I am confused about the TTC. Can I commute to that even though MK is closed? Epcot should be open til 9 for Illuminations, and Downtown Disney buses will obviously be running very late. I heard buses through DTD were a nightmare though. Any suggestions as to how I should orchestrate this? Also, if I leave Animal Kingdom at 5:30, what time should I make my reservation at Boma? How long will it take to commute to AKL from AK? Thanks so much to anyone who'll tackle this for me!

 

[DVC Grammy]

As far as your Boma ADR, 6pm would probably work (they hold them for a while). If you want to be safe, then 6:30-7 will give you plenty of time to walk around the gorgeous lobby! The AKL is close to AK, but the unknown factor is the bus schedule.
We've used DTD as a hub occasionally, and have never had a problem, but Epcot would do as well, since it's closer than DTD, and the connection is probably closer.
Good luck and have a great time on your trip.

 

[DaveO]

Or take a cab ... That is my plan in 9 days for bus situations as this. This will be one of the few times I will not have a car as I am trying ME. I figure even if I spend $50 - $100 on cab rides I will still be saving about $200.

Dave O.

 

[helenk]

I would not use the TTC as a hub, the buses from the parks go there, but not to the resorts.
After your dinner at Boma I would head for MGM then take the bus back to POP. You could go to Epcot but MGM is the closest.
The buses go back and forth to the parks for about 2 hours after their posted closing times. I would not however go back to the MK as that is the farthest park from the AKL and the POP.

 

[emilyclaire]

I would not use the TTC as a hub, the buses from the parks go there, but not to the resorts.
After your dinner at Boma I would head for MGM then take the bus back to POP. You could go to Epcot but MGM is the closest.
The buses go back and forth to the parks for about 2 hours after their posted closing times. I would not however go back to the MK as that is the farthest park from the AKL and the POP.

Thanks to everyone for the tips so far. The only reason I didn't consider MGM was I thought they closed at 7:30 or so, but since the buses run a couple hours over I guess that doesn't matter.

By the way, my husband is from Pottstown too! It's a small world after all...

 

[2BusyPlanning]

My rule of thumb has always been: closest park during park hours (day time) and DTD at night. It seems to work out great.

 

[MushyMushy]

Or take a cab ... That is my plan in 9 days for bus situations as this. This will be one of the few times I will not have a car as I am trying ME. I figure even if I spend $50 - $100 on cab rides I will still be saving about $200.

Dave O.

It's a whole lot less stressful this way. We took cabs from resort to resort, and from the parks at night when the buses were insanely crowded. We loved it!

 

[helenk]

My rule of thumb has always been: closest park during park hours (day time) and DTD at night. It seems to work out great.

This is okay for late at night when the other parks are closed, but DTD is so far from the AKL and the POP so you have to go all they way to DTD and then back to the POP.
The POP is not that far from the AKL cab fare probably would not be too bad, but if you want to use the bus system I would go to the closest park that would still have transportation, which would be MGM and then just hop a bus to the POP