Designated busses and resort questions

[DrunkJam]

Agree. My sister stayed at GF and said the transportation was the worst. Getting from MK to gf on monorail took them a good 45 minutes at the end of the night.

Arrgh! I booked GF cos I thought the transport would be the best, or at least amongst the best.

 

[DisBuckMan]

To MK:

AKL....8 miles
CSR...5.5 miles
AS....6.5 miles
AoA...6.3 miles
POP...6.5 miles
CBR...6 miles
SSR...7.4 miles
OKW...6.5 miles
BWI...5.4 miles
BC/YC...6.2 miles
POFQ...5.3 miles
POR....5.1 miles

Other than the "MK resorts" (Poly, CR, GF, WL)...what's really THAT much better than AKL...especially given the dedicated buses?

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Arrgh! I booked GF cos I thought the transport would be the best, or at least amongst the best.

The thing about GF is that you cannot walk to MK, you have to boat or monorail. You have to take the monorail to TTC and transfer for Epcot. And the buses are shared for AK and DHS with Poly, and is the second stop for both buses.

GF's transportation is not the reason to stay there. If anything, it's a point against.

 

[DrunkJam]

The thing about GF is that you cannot walk to MK, you have to boat or monorail. You have to take the monorail to TTC and transfer for Epcot. And the buses are shared for AK and DHS with Poly, and is the second stop for both buses.

GF's transportation is not the reason to stay there. If anything, it's a point against.

Eek. Good transport was a big reason we picked it. To be fair, it was the only not AKL deluxe available when we booked, but, ease of getting to and from the room was a HUGE factor. I have a small child (4) and an adult with Leukaemia (huge fatigue issue) and an 11 yr old who may need to escape parks fairly easily due to ASD. I assumed that, as flagship hotel, being on the monorail loop, with boats and buses it would be a good choice. Everyone is going to hate me if transport is bad!

 

[Shanti]

Deluxe resorts without multiple stops within the resort (AKL, OKW and SSR) will have dedicated buses during peek times of the day only... The rest of the times it will have other stops. Examples I have seen: WL and GF, Poly and CR sometimes these will change and sometimes it may stop at 2 other resorts...

AKL does not ever share buses with any other resort.

 

[Shanti]

Eek. Good transport was a big reason we picked it. To be fair, it was the only not AKL deluxe available when we booked, but, ease of getting to and from the room was a HUGE factor. I have a small child (4) and an adult with Leukaemia (huge fatigue issue) and an 11 yr old who may need to escape parks fairly easily due to ASD. I assumed that, as flagship hotel, being on the monorail loop, with boats and buses it would be a good choice. Everyone is going to hate me if transport is bad!

When we stayed at GF, we loved being one monorail stop away from MK. We were there in just a few minutes. So for MK transportation, it's a great resort. None of the resorts have ideal transportation to all four parks.

One recommendation: Take the monorail from the GF to MK, and the boat from MK to GF at the end of the day. However, as long as the monorails aren't mobbed (like they are after fireworks), taking the monorail from MK to GF will not take anywhere near 45 minutes. Don't worry.

 

[DrunkJam]

When we stayed at GF, we loved being one monorail stop away from MK. We were there in just a few minutes. So for MK transportation, it's a great resort. None of the resorts have ideal transportation to all four parks.

One recommendation: Take the monorail from the GF to MK, and the boat from MK to GF at the end of the day. However, as long as the monorails aren't mobbed (like they are after fireworks), taking the monorail from MK to GF will not take anywhere near 45 minutes. Don't worry.

Ok. Thank you for this reassurance!
I shall cross my fingers.

 

[monica9]

Eek. Good transport was a big reason we picked it. To be fair, it was the only not AKL deluxe available when we booked, but, ease of getting to and from the room was a HUGE factor. I have a small child (4) and an adult with Leukaemia (huge fatigue issue) and an 11 yr old who may need to escape parks fairly easily due to ASD. I assumed that, as flagship hotel, being on the monorail loop, with boats and buses it would be a good choice. Everyone is going to hate me if transport is bad!

Can you look into poly or cr? I'd try to change if I were you. I'm sure you will even have a price cut with the change.
Good Luck with everything!!

 

[monica9]

When we stayed at GF, we loved being one monorail stop away from MK. We were there in just a few minutes. So for MK transportation, it's a great resort. None of the resorts have ideal transportation to all four parks.

One recommendation: Take the monorail from the GF to MK, and the boat from MK to GF at the end of the day. However, as long as the monorails aren't mobbed (like they are after fireworks), taking the monorail from MK to GF will not take anywhere near 45 minutes. Don't worry.

Do they have busses from MK to gf? thought I saw one once for CR

 

[Shanti]

Do they have busses from MK to gf? thought I saw one once for CR

To my knowledge, only if the monorail is down. The monorail is a lot faster, really. It takes basically one minute on it to get from GF to MK, and monorail trains show up more frequently than buses. It takes 10 minutes or so to monorail from MK to GF.

Some posters on this board really dislike the monorail, but the fact is that the monorail resorts are the most expensive because the monorail is the quickest way to get around the Magic Kingdom area.

 

[Lynne M]

Just a bit of an expectations-check.....

The GF really does have very good transportation compared to some other resorts: there are multiple ways to get to MK, you're on the monorail line so no buses to Epcot and you've got easy access to dining, shopping and recreation at two other resorts. it doesn't have a bunch of internal bus stops that delay your trip to a park. You DID make a good choice for your group.

That said, the Disney transportation system isn't like a taxi service, it doesn't get you directly from point a to point b on demand. It's mostly like a major city's mass transit system. They're moving tens of thousands of people a day around a forty-square mile zone that has 30 hotels, 4 theme parks, 2 water parks and an entertainment district. Stuff doesn't happen instantly, or even quickly. You will wait for buses, monorails and boats. You will stand on buses, monorails and boats, occasionally. You'll deal with big crowds and longer waits when theme parks open and close, and thousands of people descend on the transportation system all at once. And that's true no matter where you stay.

 

[lady_hlh]

Definitely don't want CR. It's too plain for us and part of our resort experience is the theme. I think we are going to stay with AKL and take our chance. I really would like to stay there and maybe the bus ride will be a break in itself from all the walking. Our dd9 loved the busses the last few times we went. She would run to the back to try to get "her seat". It was part of the experience for her

I was never interested in staying at CR because I thought it was boring but one year l let my DD pick the resort and that was her choice. Now I look at the theme as being iconic Disney and really enjoy everything about the resort. Also walking in and out of MK is just amazing, I wish we had had stayed there when my DD was still in a stroller instead of at POP. Plus taking the monorail to TTC and then to Epcot is really nice. We have always stayed in the garden wing to keep the costs down and made sure to get a 1st floor for the patio. We stayed at AKL one year and I loved it but now my spoiled teen only wants to stay at resorts where you can walk to a park.

 

[monica9]

To my knowledge, only if the monorail is down. The monorail is a lot faster, really. It takes basically one minute on it to get from GF to MK, and monorail trains show up more frequently than buses. It takes 10 minutes or so to monorail from MK to GF.

Some posters on this board really dislike the monorail, but the fact is that the monorail resorts are the most expensive because the monorail is the quickest way to get around the Magic Kingdom area.

As far as the monorail, I've been hearing they are really old and need a reboot. Is this true or is it only for the blue one everyone is talking about? I've heard a few people are trying to avoid even using the monorails because of how old they are. This is another big reason we didn't look into monorail resorts this time even though we have our 13 month old with us and taking more breaks this vacation. Can you or anyone give me any info on this?

 

[lady_hlh]

As far as the monorail, I've been hearing they are really old and need a reboot. Is this true or is it only for the blue one everyone is talking about? I've heard a few people are trying to avoid even using the monorails because of how old they are. This is another big reason we didn't look into monorail resorts this time even though we have our 13 month old with us and taking more breaks this vacation. Can you or anyone give me any info on this?

We never ran in to any monorail issues when staying at CR in 2014 and 2015. They are old and beyond their normal life expectancy, I know other posters have reported issues. I guess I will take my chances again this summer, if they do break we can just walk over to the MK bus stops and they do add buses over to Epcot from the resort

 

[Shanti]

As far as the monorail, I've been hearing they are really old and need a reboot. Is this true or is it only for the blue one everyone is talking about? I've heard a few people are trying to avoid even using the monorails because of how old they are. This is another big reason we didn't look into monorail resorts this time even though we have our 13 month old with us and taking more breaks this vacation. Can you or anyone give me any info on this?

There is a handful of vocal posters on Dis who hate the monorail. (Just like a handful of Disers hate Chef Mickey's & say never to eat there, etc.) But most Disney guests find the monorail very convenient. The monorail fleet is aging, but it functions perfectly the vast majority of the time. See my signature to get an idea of how many trips we've taken in the past few years. We have used the monorail at some point during each of those trips, and never had an issue with it.

Don't let someone else's opinion keep you from trying and enjoying something at Disney. That's the one downside of using Dis prior to a trip. There is always the chance that someone else's negativity could rub off on you and impact what you're willing to try. We enjoy using the monorail because it's more efficient and pleasant than bus service. A lot of other visitors feel the same way.

 

[monica9]

There is a handful of vocal posters on Dis who hate the monorail. (Just like a handful of Disers hate Chef Mickey's & say never to eat there, etc.) But most Disney guests find the monorail very convenient. The monorail fleet is aging, but it functions perfectly the vast majority of the time. See my signature to get an idea of how many trips we've taken in the past few years. We have used the monorail at some point during each of those trips, and never had an issue with it.

Don't let someone else's opinion keep you from trying and enjoying something at Disney. That's the one downside of using Dis prior to a trip. There is always the chance that someone else's negativity could rub off on you and impact what you're willing to try. We enjoy using the monorail because it's more efficient and pleasant than bus service. A lot of other visitors feel the same way.

I love the monorail and have many memories from using it. Getting off the monorail in cs has the same smell it did when I was a child and brings back memories! The monorail to me is part of the experience. I just wasn't sure if they were still safe based on others views.

 

[Shanti]

I love the monorail and have many memories from using it. Getting off the monorail in cs has the same smell it did when I was a child and brings back memories! The monorail to me is part of the experience. I just wasn't sure if they were still safe based on others views.

It's as safe as any other form of transportation.

 

[DrunkJam]

Just a bit of an expectations-check.....

The GF really does have very good transportation compared to some other resorts: there are multiple ways to get to MK, you're on the monorail line so no buses to Epcot and you've got easy access to dining, shopping and recreation at two other resorts. it doesn't have a bunch of internal bus stops that delay your trip to a park. You DID make a good choice for your group.

That said, the Disney transportation system isn't like a taxi service, it doesn't get you directly from point a to point b on demand. It's mostly like a major city's mass transit system. They're moving tens of thousands of people a day around a forty-square mile zone that has 30 hotels, 4 theme parks, 2 water parks and an entertainment district. Stuff doesn't happen instantly, or even quickly. You will wait for buses, monorails and boats. You will stand on buses, monorails and boats, occasionally. You'll deal with big crowds and longer waits when theme parks open and close, and thousands of people descend on the transportation system all at once. And that's true no matter where you stay.

Absolutely aware on the not a taxi thing. We don't drive at home, so we are used to public transport. Was just getting anxious with the negative comments about GF transport. We stayed at WL when we got married, and never had any big problems, really, we just thought being on the monorail loop plus boats and buses would increase our chances of efficient movement from a-b. Some waiting is inevitable, but, general efficiency is beneficial.

 

[monica9]

Absolutely aware on the not a taxi thing. We don't drive at home, so we are used to public transport. Was just getting anxious with the negative comments about GF transport. We stayed at WL when we got married, and never had any big problems, really, we just thought being on the monorail loop plus boats and buses would increase our chances of efficient movement from a-b. Some waiting is inevitable, but, general efficiency is beneficial.

I personally think WL has the best transportation out of all the resorts I've stayed at. CBR had the worst

 

[piccolopat]

You might also consider taking only one break at MK. If your child will sleep in a stroller, you can find a quiet corner someplace for a nap. You can even walk to the CR and find a bench to sit on without traveling all the way back to your resort.