Considering an AKV add-on, but...

[veenstra56]

I am terrified by the very thought of the isolation from the rest of WDW as far as Disney transportation is concerned.

The last time we stayed at OKW we made dinner reservations at Kona. Because we were using the busses we needed to first take the OKW bus to DTD (no direct bus from OKW to Poly) and then take a DTD bus to Poly. The whole trip took about an hour. I can't imagine how much longer this might take from AKV.

I am also looking into an add-on at SSR, partly because of it's proximity to DTD and the fact that one could take any resort bus directly from there.

My question is directed at those who have had to deal with bus travel from AKV to other WDW points of interest: is it really as bad as I imagine it is?

By the way, I know that I could take a taxi or rent a car (and may do that from time to time).

Thanks in advance!

 

[salmoneous]

The last time we stayed at OKW we made dinner reservations at Kona. Because we were using the busses we needed to first take the OKW bus to DTD (no direct bus from OKW to Poly) and then take a DTD bus to Poly. The whole trip took about an hour. I can't imagine how much longer this might take from AKV.

I am also looking into an add-on at SSR, partly because of it's proximity to DTD and the fact that one could take any resort bus directly from there.

Keep in mind there isn't direct bus service from any of the DVC resorts to the Poly. Anytime you have to do a transfer, it's going to take a while to do resort to resort. AKV isn't going to be any more isolated than the other resorts. In particular, a trip to the Poly from AKV won't take longer than from the other resorts.

In general, although Disney tells people to transfer buses at DTD, that is almost always the worst choice. Transfers at an open theme parks usually are much quicker. Then there are options like taking a bus to the MK, and taking a boat/monorail to the Poly. I honestly think such a trip will be quicker from the AKL than it was from OKW, and will probably be quicker than walking from SSR to a DTD bus stop, and taking a bus from DTD to Poly.

 

[Doctor P]

I am terrified by the very thought of the isolation from the rest of WDW as far as Disney transportation is concerned.

The last time we stayed at OKW we made dinner reservations at Kona. Because we were using the busses we needed to first take the OKW bus to DTD (no direct bus from OKW to Poly) and then take a DTD bus to Poly. The whole trip took about an hour. I can't imagine how much longer this might take from AKV.

I am also looking into an add-on at SSR, partly because of it's proximity to DTD and the fact that one could take any resort bus directly from there.

My question is directed at those who have had to deal with bus travel from AKV to other WDW points of interest: is it really as bad as I imagine it is?

By the way, I know that I could take a taxi or rent a car (and may do that from time to time).

Thanks in advance!

With due respect, your problem in the case you cited was with a lack of knowledge or ingenuity in using the WDW transportation system. What I would have done to get to Poly was take an OKW bus to MK and then ride the monorail to Poly (or walk if you are really ambitious). You remove a significant amount of wait time that way. Bus transportation at WDW is EXCELLENT, but requires patience and ingenuity to maximize its value. BTW, another way to have gotten to Poly fairly directly from OKW is to take the bus to Epcot and hop on the monorail. You can walk to Poly from the TTC. You could also get the Poly bus from Epcot, but that gives you two bus wait times just like at DD, though the wait times seem to be less at the parks than DD.

 

[wildernessDad]

Right, the bottleneck is the bus to and from DTD. The better bet as someone posted above is to go from OKW to MK then MK to Poly.

 

[dianeschlicht]

The above advice is spot on, and will be the same for AKV. Because AKV is a stand alone resort, it has excellent bus service, just as OKW and SSR do. THe big issue with Disney buses is having to transfer at DTD, and I avoid doing that at all costs. Bear in mind that going to any resort via the nearest park might work when parks are open late, but might not be a good choice if you are going when parks close early. In that case, I would go to the other resort (Poly) via a park bus, but know that it might be fastest to return with a cab or prepare for that long wait at DTD. One of the few reasons we rent a car at WDW is for inter resort travel for dining, and groceries.

 

[El&Asmom]

Bus transportation from AKL is supposed to be some of the best on property. Not sure how that is going to change with the addition of Kidani.
I agree with the above posters. A much better route from most resorts would have been from the original resort to either MK or Epcot and then monorail to the Poly. We did this several times last year from CSR and it was pretty quick for our ADRs at MK resorts. Granted CSR has wonderful bus transportation.

 

[rsinj]

.

 

[raidermatt]

Unfortunately, resort to resort transportation is a significant weakness in the WDW transportation system. In many cases it can take close to 90 minutes. You know its bad when you ask a CM about going from one resort to another and they recommend a taxi.

A lot depends on how long you end up waiting for the busses, monorail, etc, and if there are other stops on the route.

But it shouldn't be much worse for AKV vs. the other DVCs. You've still got to get from a resort to a hub. It actually might be a little better if AK is still open, because its a short trip there.

 

[jarestel]

People gauge transportation times and efficiencies differently so what is acceptable to one might not be to another. In other words, it's a very subjective opinion. But if you're seriously thinking of buying AKV but have doubts about the bus system, I would suggest taking a few hours on your next trip and trying it out for yourself. Go over to AKV/AKL and ride the buses to and from a few destinations. It might waste a little time but if it serves to give you peace of mind (one way or the other) over the purchase of an AKV contract it would be worth it.

Good luck!

 

[Sarah's Dad]

Unfortunately, resort to resort transportation is a significant weakness in the WDW transportation system.

I don't see this as a weakness, but an obvious calculation by those at WDW transportation. If you polled the amount of people who travel from resort to park instead of resort to resort the percentage would be highly in favor of the former.

I do agree, it is frustrating to have resort dinner plans and it takes a transfer to get there, but Doctor P was “spot on” with the suggestion of getting to Poly via MK.

You sometimes have to be creative to get around WDW, but one rule of thumb is no resort to resort transportation is going to be extremely easy.

 

[flyerron]

I've been a student on these boards re:transportation & it has become apparent that our best interest would be to rent a car for transportation around WDW. There are multiple threads addressing this issue & they are loaded with good advice.

 

[dlcharbonneau]

The buses to the parks at AKL are great it does take some time to get to the resorts though so if you are worried rent a car. For us it was nice to have some down time - even if it was on the bus

 

[Deb & Bill]

.... What I would have done to get to Poly was take an OKW bus to MK and then ride the monorail to Poly (or walk if you are really ambitious). ...

You'd have to be VERY ambitious since you can't walk to the Polynesian without either getting your feet wet (walking towards the GF and crossing the canal) or getting hit by a car (walking towards CR and going under the overpass). You could take the large ferry over to the TTC and walk from there or take the smaller Polynesian boat and be right there if you didn't take the monorail.

 

[veenstra56]

Just for the record, MK was already closed at the reservation time, so that was not an option.

 

[Doctor P]

You'd have to be VERY ambitious since you can't walk to the Polynesian without either getting your feet wet (walking towards the GF and crossing the canal) or getting hit by a car (walking towards CR and going under the overpass). You could take the large ferry over to the TTC and walk from there or take the smaller Polynesian boat and be right there if you didn't take the monorail.

Hmmm. I believe you, but am interested in why so many people walked that way to get home on New Year's Eve. Can you get as far as at least Grand Floridian going that direction?

 

[Tinkerbellcrafter]

We have found that it pretty much takes an hour easily when using Disney Trans. We did get lucky when returning from Boma to AK to be on the bus heading back to OKW since part of our group wanted to go back to the room and part wanted to go back in for more Everest this past trip. The driver had dropped off at OKW stop! We usually rent a car if we are going to be at the world for long stays. Also, quicker trip to the airport for return trip.

 

[KevGuy]

See now isn't that the beauty of having SSR as my home resort, I can walk to DTD in a few minutes and catch a bus to any resort anywhere in Disney!! Then take any DTD bus back to DTD and walk back. The Park busses can be picked up without even walking really and will take me to any park. Seems to me this is just as good as GF/CR/Poly as they have the monorail but also the TTC is right there too for going to other resorts. I never even realized this until I was looking at a map of SSR one day and thinking how can we get to the CR for a dinner on a day we were just gonna stay at the resort and not hit any of the parks. Just another reason why SSR rocks da houze!!!

 

[pilferk]

I am terrified by the very thought of the isolation from the rest of WDW as far as Disney transportation is concerned.

The last time we stayed at OKW we made dinner reservations at Kona. Because we were using the busses we needed to first take the OKW bus to DTD (no direct bus from OKW to Poly) and then take a DTD bus to Poly. The whole trip took about an hour. I can't imagine how much longer this might take from AKV.

I am also looking into an add-on at SSR, partly because of it's proximity to DTD and the fact that one could take any resort bus directly from there.

My question is directed at those who have had to deal with bus travel from AKV to other WDW points of interest: is it really as bad as I imagine it is?

By the way, I know that I could take a taxi or rent a car (and may do that from time to time).

Thanks in advance!

I've used WDW travel options both to and from AKL/AKV MANY times in the past.

It's not that bad, IMHO. To and from the theme parks is definitely not that bad. Getting to resorts can be trickier, but we always just use the closest theme park as our transfer point (for example, for the Poly, we use MK as our "hub" and take the monorail to the Poly or the boat to the TTC (depending on our mood).

Many of the posts I see on these boards concerning AKL transports go like this:

"I'm really worried about AKL transport" from someone who has not stayed there.

"Don't worry, it's not that bad" from someone who has.

"Wow, it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be" from the original poster, after thier visit.

Now, to be sure, there are those who really dislike AKV's transportation options, but I think that's true of every Disney offering: There's someone out there who doesn't like it.

Me? I think it's the most efficient bus service on property...

 

[EEyorelover22]

We have never had an issue with poor bus service at AKL. We've stayed there 5 times and always in June except for one trip the week of Christmas and never had troubles then either. It's always been great. It's one of the things we love about AKL. We rent a car and still use Disney transportation.

The exception: When the boys go to DTD because it's a long loop so they drive when they want to go to Quest. It stops at TL and just chews up extra time.

Otherwise, we use the bus service.