DCL transportation from WDW to Port question

[Dug720]

I'm doing DCL transportation to the port (and back to the airport) for my February Wonder cruise. Being solo and not driving, it is by far the cheapest option for me, so I'm not even entertaining any of the car services.

What I am pondering is staying on property the night before. I haven't left on a Sunday before, so I'll be able to catch the first flight down on Saturday and have all day (as opposed to a flight out in the evening on Friday and leaving Saturday morning for the port). I currently have the Hampton Inn Gateway reserved - which has been my go-to in the past.

BUT with the ability to have the day, I want to explore Disney Springs since I haven't been there in ages, so I was pondering staying on property. Of course, my cruise is over Presidents' Week - so while at this point there are no length-of-stay restrictions, rates for a single night (or even 2...I looked) are pretty much maxed out. That puts my dream of the Poly completely out of reach, and even AKL would be a stretch. Most likely my budget would be Value - possibly Art of Animation - which would be about the same as staying put at the Hampton and doing Lyft back and forth.

I am not sure where I got the idea that the transportation to the port is tiered based on the resort you're at and that Values would be the last picked up, but for some reason I have this in my head. Is there any truth to that, or just something I've made up? Has anyone stayed at Value and then a higher category and done DCL transfers and noticed the Value pick-ups being a lot later?

Thanks.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I'm doing DCL transportation to the port (and back to the airport) for my February Wonder cruise. Being solo and not driving, it is by far the cheapest option for me, so I'm not even entertaining any of the car services.

What I am pondering is staying on property the night before. I haven't left on a Sunday before, so I'll be able to catch the first flight down on Saturday and have all day (as opposed to a flight out in the evening on Friday and leaving Saturday morning for the port). I currently have the Hampton Inn Gateway reserved - which has been my go-to in the past.

BUT with the ability to have the day, I want to explore Disney Springs since I haven't been there in ages, so I was pondering staying on property. Of course, my cruise is over Presidents' Week - so while at this point there are no length-of-stay restrictions, rates for a single night (or even 2...I looked) are pretty much maxed out. That puts my dream of the Poly completely out of reach, and even AKL would be a stretch. Most likely my budget would be Value - possibly Art of Animation - which would be about the same as staying put at the Hampton and doing Lyft back and forth.

I am not sure where I got the idea that the transportation to the port is tiered based on the resort you're at and that Values would be the last picked up, but for some reason I have this in my head. Is there any truth to that, or just something I've made up? Has anyone stayed at Value and then a higher category and done DCL transfers and noticed the Value pick-ups being a lot later?

Thanks.

I'm not sure if there's a hierarchy in resort pickups. We were picked up at 12:30 at Coronado Springs, and somewhere around 11ish from Port Orleans, when we used DCL transfers (I know, not value resorts). I think the routing/timing just depends on what resorts need to be picked up at and how many are going from each resort.

They try to fill the buses as much as possible by routing the buses to the 2 or 3 resorts that will fill them up the most. Sometimes a bus may pick up at just one resort, if there's enough people going from that resort to the port.

Maybe someone has been able to track the various times and put it into some format can figure out if the values got picked up last.

 

[Dug720]

I'm not sure if there's a hierarchy in resort pickups. We were picked up at 12:30 at Coronado Springs, and somewhere around 11ish from Port Orleans, when we used DCL transfers (I know, not value resorts). I think the routing/timing just depends on what resorts need to be picked up at and how many are going from each resort.

They try to fill the buses as much as possible by routing the buses to the 2 or 3 resorts that will fill them up the most. Sometimes a bus may pick up at just one resort, if there's enough people going from that resort to the port.

Gotcha. Thanks.

 

[Garyjames220]

Does the dcl bus pick up at any Hilton hotel ?

 

[Dug720]

Does the dcl bus pick up at any Hilton hotel ?

No. Only WDW resorts or MCO.

And you need to be staying at the WDW resort to catch the bus there. You can't stay off-property and then go to one of the resorts. You'd need to get to MCO.

 

[mevelandry]

I don't think there is a hierarchy in pick-up times.

I find that moderate resorts, combined with a promo, are not that much more expensive than a value and much more comfortable and quiet than a value (my favorite being Port Orleans Riverside). The Port Orleans Resorts also have access to Disney Springs by boat, which I find very cute and fun.

 

[bumbershoot]

I didn't notice a hierarchy. And they stop at multiple resorts. When we were picked up at POR a stop after that was at Poly. So Poly was last or among the last to be picked up on that run.

 

[dcassetta]

Like others have said, I think it really depends on how many people are going from each resort to the cruise. Last fall, we were picked up at Pop at 11:15, went to Art of Animation and then onto the cruise. So that bus picked up only two resorts.

Pop is my favorite value, because of the theming and dedicated bus service.

 

[Dug720]

I don't think there is a hierarchy in pick-up times.

I find that moderate resorts, combined with a promo, are not that much more expensive than a value and much more comfortable and quiet than a value (my favorite being Port Orleans Riverside). The Port Orleans Resorts also have access to Disney Springs by boat, which I find very cute and fun.

Like others have said, I think it really depends on how many people are going from each resort to the cruise. Last fall, we were picked up at Pop at 11:15, went to Art of Animation and then onto the cruise. So that bus picked up only two resorts.

Pop is my favorite value, because of the theming and dedicated bus service.

Thanks!

POR/POFQ are not really on my list because I am not a fan of the themeing. CBR is out right now because of the massive construction and limited food options (a problem when you're gluten-free). I was not impressed with CSR the one time I stayed but *might* give them a chance.

I am not counting on any specials as it's a holiday weekend and I'm only staying one night.

I liked POP ok before they started their room renovation. Now? EW!

So probably AOA. Or *maybe* CSR.

 

[mevelandry]

Thanks!

POR/POFQ are not really on my list because I am not a fan of the themeing. CBR is out right now because of the massive construction and limited food options (a problem when you're gluten-free). I was not impressed with CSR the one time I stayed but *might* give them a chance.

I am not counting on any specials as it's a holiday weekend and I'm only staying one night.

I liked POP ok before they started their room renovation. Now? EW!

So probably AOA. Or *maybe* CSR.

I''ll be honest with you. The first time I booked POR, I wasn't a fan of the theme either... Nothing in the pictures I had seen was particularly appealing to me. I booked it because it was affordable.

Then, we arrived there... And I fell in love! I believe that you can only capture all the charms of the resort when you are on site. Also, I loved the Aligator Bayou room we had (we had a princess themed room once too very cute).

Unless you have been there once and thought the resort was very "bleh", I would recommend to give it a chance. Like you said, it is only for one night.

I like POR French Quarter too. It would be my second choice.

The last time I went to CSR (Nov 2014), their rooms were is a serious need for refurbishment. I hope they refurbished them since.

AOA is gorgeous but the beds are hard and the soundproofing horrible.

 

[Dug720]

I''ll be honest with you. The first time I booked POR, I wasn't a fan of the theme either... Nothing in the pictures I had seen was particularly appealing to me. I booked it because it was affordable.

Then, we arrived there... And I fell in love! I believe that you can only capture all the charms of the resort when you are on site. Also, I loved the Aligator Bayou room we had (we had a princess themed room once too very cute).

Unless you have been there once and thought the resort was very "bleh", I would recommend to give it a chance. Like you said, it is only for one night.

I like POR French Quarter too. It would be my second choice.

The last time I went to CSR (Nov 2014), their rooms were is a serious need for refurbishment. I hope they refurbished them since.

AOA is gorgeous but the beds are hard and the soundproofing horrible.

Love the assumption there in the first couple of sentences. I *HAVE* stayed there. I hated the Mansions - felt like I was in my grandmother's house which is NOT a good thing in this case - and have ZERO desire to stay in the junky-trashy themed bayou section. If I wanted to stay on a log bed, I'd be camping in a mountain cabin somewhere.

I cannot stand New Orleans (really bad personal experience there and zero desire to revisit it or anything themed after it), so FQ is out.

They are redoing the rooms in CSR, but I'm not really a fan of the design - not a ton of Disney there, definitely catering more to the business crowd. But I'm not one who goes looking for issues or things to be redone if I do stay somewhere. The one time I did they didn't put me anywhere near my request (which was "Either Ranchos or Cabanas section") - right in the middle of the way-too-corporate-looking Casitas, and the first room they assigned me to had someone in it. So yeah, not the best experience.

As for AoA, I'm not noise sensitive (I live in NYC for pete's sake) and I don't mind harder beds.

 

[mevelandry]

Love the assumption there in the first couple of sentences. I *HAVE* stayed there. I hated the Mansions - felt like I was in my grandmother's house which is NOT a good thing in this case - and have ZERO desire to stay in the junky-trashy themed bayou section. If I wanted to stay on a log bed, I'd be camping in a mountain cabin somewhere.

I cannot stand New Orleans (really bad personal experience there and zero desire to revisit it or anything themed after it), so FQ is out.

They are redoing the rooms in CSR, but I'm not really a fan of the design - not a ton of Disney there, definitely catering more to the business crowd. But I'm not one who goes looking for issues or things to be redone if I do stay somewhere. The one time I did they didn't put me anywhere near my request (which was "Either Ranchos or Cabanas section") - right in the middle of the way-too-corporate-looking Casitas, and the first room they assigned me to had someone in it. So yeah, not the best experience.

As for AoA, I'm not noise sensitive (I live in NYC for pete's sake) and I don't mind harder beds.

Regarding "assumption", please review my third paragraph...

 

[Dug720]

Regarding "assumption", please review my third paragraph...

Probably should have led with that rather than what you did.

 

[mevelandry]

Probably should have led with that rather than what you did.

Nope. And I am not going to apologize for it as I did nothing wrong.

What you seem to be taking for an offense really isn't.

 

[Dug720]

Nope. And I am not going to apologize for it as I did nothing wrong.

What you seem to be taking for an offense really isn't.

You are free to feel as you do, and I am free to feel as I do. Starting with "I wasn't a fan of the theme either until I stayed there" distinctly implies that I'm judging without staying there in pretty much any interpretation.

But this is not the topic at hand.

Bottom line is if someone says they do not like a resort or want to stay at a resort, there is likely a good reason for that and "I thought that until I stayed there" isn't likely to change their opinion.

 

[mevelandry]

You are free to feel as you do, and I am free to feel as I do. Starting with "I wasn't a fan of the theme either until I stayed there" distinctly implies that I'm judging without staying there in pretty much any interpretation.

But this is not the topic at hand.

Bottom line is if someone says they do not like a resort or want to stay at a resort, there is likely a good reason for that and "I thought that until I stayed there" isn't likely to change their opinion.

Sometimes, "stating an experience and suggesting to give something a try" is nothing more than "stating an experience and suggesting to give something a try". Sometimes backed up with good intentions... Which was absolutely the case with my comment.

(Now, I'll be moving on from this conversation. Have a nice day.)

 

[polyqueen]

Good Morning! From previous posts, I'm assuming you're in the education field, as am I. If I were in your shoes, I'd probably think of the 5 worst kiddos I've put up with over the years (for me 34), and come to the conclusion that I DESERVE the Poly! Perhaps the WL, SSR or Contemporary are an option? You are always the source of good information on these boards--Thanks!

 

[Fyrefly]

It seems like all of the resorts you actually want to try are priced out because of President's week. It also sounds like a crapshoot whether or not the values will get picked up last. Unless you break into the Disney transportation office to figure out how many cruise passengers are at each hotel and figure out what the routes might be, you're not going to know until you're committed and have your pickup time. So I'm gathering the following two options are equivalent in price:

1) You stay on property at a value and go to Disney Springs via shuttle and be locked in to whatever time the transfer decides to get you. But you get to stay on property, go visit other resorts if you want, and Disney Springs is easier.

2) You stay at your usual Hampton, take a Lyft to/from Disney Springs that day, or rent a car for the day if you are so inclined, and you get to decide what time to go back to the airport to get your cruise transfer.

Personally, since you're not looking at any OMG I GOT THE BEST DEAL ON THE HOTEL I'VE WANTED TO TRY FOREVER I would do the second option and keep control of my arrival time. But that's up to you.

 

[Dug720]

Good Morning! From previous posts, I'm assuming you're in the education field, as am I. If I were in your shoes, I'd probably think of the 5 worst kiddos I've put up with over the years (for me 34), and come to the conclusion that I DESERVE the Poly! Perhaps the WL, SSR or Contemporary are an option? You are always the source of good information on these boards--Thanks!

Thanks!

Yep - enjoying my last day of freedom before school starts with PD tomorrow. (Don't be jealous...we go until the end of June.)

I have not totally written off AKL. SSR in a studio could be an option also - the advantage AKL has is I could do breakfast at Boma.

Lots to ponder.

 

[Dug720]

It seems like all of the resorts you actually want to try are priced out because of President's week. It also sounds like a crapshoot whether or not the values will get picked up last. Unless you break into the Disney transportation office to figure out how many cruise passengers are at each hotel and figure out what the routes might be, you're not going to know until you're committed and have your pickup time. So I'm gathering the following two options are equivalent in price:

1) You stay on property at a value and go to Disney Springs via shuttle and be locked in to whatever time the transfer decides to get you. But you get to stay on property, go visit other resorts if you want, and Disney Springs is easier.

2) You stay at your usual Hampton, take a Lyft to/from Disney Springs that day, or rent a car for the day if you are so inclined, and you get to decide what time to go back to the airport to get your cruise transfer.

Personally, since you're not looking at any OMG I GOT THE BEST DEAL ON THE HOTEL I'VE WANTED TO TRY FOREVER I would do the second option and keep control of my arrival time. But that's up to you.

Thanks!