Disney Bus To WDW After Cruise

[pmurph]

If we take Disney transportation to WDW after Dream cruise, will there only be one bus? We probably will prefer to eat breakfast at Cabanas rather than have the super early dining room time. So will we have a certain time we catch the bus?

 

[Ravenne]

No, there are tons of buses. Once you go through customs, there will be people from Disney transfers (Mears) ready to help guide you to the appropriate bus to where you need to go. They will try to fill up the buses as much as they can before leaving, so you may have a wait. But there's no all aboard time for the buses. You do need to get off the ship by a certain time though so they can prep it for the next cruise.

 

[anricat]

We came out of customs just as a bus was driving away (of course) so we had to sit for awhile for our bus to fill up. So make sure you have a carry on with activities for the kiddos. There's a video that plays, but it doesn't start until the bus leaves.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

If we take Disney transportation to WDW after Dream cruise, will there only be one bus? We probably will prefer to eat breakfast at Cabanas rather than have the super early dining room time. So will we have a certain time we catch the bus?

As noted, there's not just one bus that goes to your resort. As you exit the terminal and head for the buses, there's a DCL CM "checking you in". Basically, they look to see what slip has the bus going to your resort. One note - each bus may stop at up to 3 resorts, so it may take up to 90 minutes to actually get to your resort (if you're the last stop) after departing the port.

 

[CarolinaDD1997]

Im not sure about this but my family has paid for the bus that takes you from the port to the airport and then we take the Magical Express from the airport to my WDW resort.

Is there a bus that takes you directly from the Dream to your resort? Is it the same payment we've made of Port-Airport?

Thanks

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Im not sure about this but my family has paid for the bus that takes you from the port to the airport and then we take the Magical Express from the airport to my WDW resort.

Is there a bus that takes you directly from the Dream to your resort? Is it the same payment we've made of Port-Airport?

Thanks

DCL transfers go from the port to either MCO or WDW resorts. Both options have a cost ($35 per person each way). Magical Express is a free shuttle service between MCO and WDW resorts. If you've been taking a bus back to the airport and then a bus to to your resort, you've wasted a lot of time.

 

[CarolinaDD1997]

DCL transfers go from the port to either MCO or WDW resorts. Both options have a cost ($35 per person each way). Magical Express is a free shuttle service between MCO and WDW resorts. If you've been taking a bus back to the airport and then a bus to to your resort, you've wasted a lot of time.

Haven't done it yet, we were going to on our next cruise on August. However now that I know this we will take the bus directly from DCL to WDW. Thanks for this info.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Haven't done it yet, we were going to on our next cruise on August. However now that I know this we will take the bus directly from DCL to WDW. Thanks for this info.

OK, what you've done is purchase DCL transfers. I'd suggest contacting DCL and confirming that they have you down for "Port to WDW resort" transfers. Once you leave the terminal, turn left (toward the bay where the buses are) and check in with the CM there letting them know the resort you are heading for. They will direct you to the bus that goes to your resort. Some buses only go to MCO, others go to the resorts. As far as I know, there are no buses that go from port to MCO to resorts.

 

[CarolinaDD1997]

OK, what you've done is purchase DCL transfers. I'd suggest contacting DCL and confirming that they have you down for "Port to WDW resort" transfers. Once you leave the terminal, turn left (toward the bay where the buses are) and check in with the CM there letting them know the resort you are heading for. They will direct you to the bus that goes to your resort. Some buses only go to MCO, others go to the resorts. As far as I know, there are no buses that go from port to MCO to resorts.

Okay, thank you so much! Thats what I wasnt sure about. Im going to call DCL and ask them if what we've purchased is right so they can put as in "port to WDW".

So, if we have second dinning turn, im pretty sure the breakfast is 8 am, and you must be out of the ship at 9 am. If so, how long does it take customs + waiting for the bags? And then the bus ride for the resorts? So if Im out of the cruise by 8:45-9, at what time should I expect being at my resort? Ill be staying at the Poly.

 

[anricat]

With second seating, we were off the Dream, through customs, on the bus and to our resort, which was I think the second stop (POR) around 10:30, I think?

 

[HoneyHoneyPot]

We just did this and I will never do it again!! We were on the bus for over 2 hours. We had to wait for the bus to get filled up and then we were the last stop (Grand Floridian) out of 6 total stops. It was seriously the absolute worst experience! Next time I'll pay for a car service to take us directly to the resort!

 

[PrincessShmoo]

We just did this and I will never do it again!! We were on the bus for over 2 hours. We had to wait for the bus to get filled up and then we were the last stop (Grand Floridian) out of 6 total stops. It was seriously the absolute worst experience! Next time I'll pay for a car service to take us directly to the resort!

Were you on the last bus from the port? That one always takes a long time to fill, and they have to do the "clean up" of whatever resorts people still need to go to.

We've always used the DCL bus and it's been great. Last time we took the transfer from port to Coronado and we were on a small van, but still stopped at 3 resorts (we were #3). We were at our resort by 9:00 with no issue.

 

[HoneyHoneyPot]

Were you on the last bus from the port? That one always takes a long time to fill, and they have to do the "clean up" of whatever resorts are left.

We've always used the DCL bus and it's been great. Last time we took the transfer from port to Coronado and we were on a small van, but still stopped at 3 resorts (we were #3). We were at our resort by 9:00 with no issue.

No, we were on the 2nd bus that left the port.

Edited to add: I had made FP reservations for 11:30 thinking we would have plenty of time to make that based on other people's experiences of being at the resort by 9am. Just want to caution that it's not always the case!! I had to change around our FPs on the bus.

 

[iambrink]

We were on the bus over 2 hours this past December...i still love the convenience, but the air conditioning didn't work and we were all dying!

 

[pmurph]

Makes me think of reconsidering Disney transport after the cruise! I suppose if you hired a car service, you could just meet them at a certain time (somewhere?), and away you would go?

 

[iambrink]

My last trip on the bus in December was a bit of a bear, but it kind of keeps the whole Disney atmosphere going when you are feeling sad about leaving the ship. it is also kind of nice to see the other resorts as we drive up to drop others off. so, yes, you could be one of the last off the bus, but you could also be one of the first... I don't know how many people you will be transporting, but private cars can be more economical.

 

[pmurph]

My last trip on the bus in December was a bit of a bear, but it kind of keeps the whole Disney atmosphere going when you are feeling sad about leaving the ship. it is also kind of nice to see the other resorts as we drive up to drop others off. so, yes, you could be one of the last off the bus, but you could also be one of the first... I don't know how many people you will be transporting, but private cars can be more economical.

All very good points. Thanks!

 

[tink too]

We've used the DCL bus transport from port to WDW twice. The wait to fill the bus can be long, it's just your luck on the day with that unfortunately.

Our worst experience with this was actually when we were allocated minivan transportation. Both the CM at the podium and my DH thought "Yes! Quick, easy transfer." Wrong! We sat in the van for about 1/2 an hour on our own watching all the larger buses fill up and leave, then finally 2 more couples joined us. As we were in the back, we were at a bit of a disadvantage because after our first stop, the young couple in front asked the driver to go to their resort next (ours was nearer) and he did as they asked!!! It took us almost 3 hours to get to the resort after leaving the ship.

Last cruise out of Port Canaveral, we used private transfers - so much easier!

 

[pmurph]

We've used the DCL bus transport from port to WDW twice. The wait to fill the bus can be long, it's just your luck on the day with that unfortunately.

Our worst experience with this was actually when we were allocated minivan transportation. Both the CM at the podium and my DH thought "Yes! Quick, easy transfer." Wrong! We sat in the van for about 1/2 an hour on our own watching all the larger buses fill up and leave, then finally 2 more couples joined us. As we were in the back, we were at a bit of a disadvantage because after our first stop, the young couple in front asked the driver to go to their resort next (ours was nearer) and he did as they asked!!! It took us almost 3 hours to get to the resort after leaving the ship.

Last cruise out of Port Canaveral, we used private transfers - so much easier!

Oh wow!