DL Regular with Specific Questions for WDW Regulars! Any Help Greatly Appreciated!

[running2disney]

I will also say the bus system has never really failed us either. Sure after a long day in MK, post fireworks, the line can be long. But overall the bus system is great. And if you have young kids, the bus will probably be a highlight of the trip!

 

[kaytieeldr]

We took whichever came first (if you do this, make sure you cancel the Minnie Van if you take the bus!).

Oh! You can cancel a Minnie Van ride more than two minutes after requesting it, without a cancellation penalty like you would have with a regular Lyft request?

 

[stephk1981]

We have used Minnie vans several times, when ordering one, it does give you the wait time.....I have had the time be a bit shorter and a bit longer. More often than not though, I have seen the next available time and and ditched my plan to get a Minnie van, and instead opted to just take the resort park busses because the wait for the Minnie van was so long. Our car seats have always been in the second row. If you are at Boardwalk, the transportation options are fairly quick...walk to Epcot and HS. We never take the boats to HS anymore, they take forever. I can walk there faster than waiting for a boat to arrive, unload, reload and make it's way there. We have never had too many issues with the busses to MK and AK from BWI either. Have a great trip!

 

[nkereina]

-Are Minnie Vans the fastest way to get around? We’re a party of 6. Based on a bunch of horror stories, I’ve written off the resort busses, and figure we’ll pay for the Minnie Vans as needed (cost be damned). But I’ve also read that the wait for Minnie Vans to arrive can be as long as waiting for the busses. What’s usual? If Minnie Vans are inconsistent, is renting a car a better option? I figure we will be waiting in lines enough as it is, so I want to be able to go where we need to go when we need to go without potentially waiting 20 or 30 minutes just for a ride to show up.

What horror stories? Like anything, you'll find a wide variety of opinions and stories regarding transportation, but generally speaking, the buses are fine. Staying at the Boardwalk, you'd only need to bus to Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, and Disney Springs. Minnie Van would be faster, but you certainly will pay for that. It's pricey.

-I’ve filled in all the pre-check in info so I can skip check in and go straight to my room. When should I expect to get the room assignment, or am I misunderstanding how this works?

On your arrival day. At some point on your arrival day if you are eligible, they will either text your or email you with your room number once your room is ready. Not everyone is eligible for this, and there really isn't any rhyme or reason as to how that's determined. Also, some receive texts but I always receive an email even though my mobile number is on file and eligible for texts with Disney. I've also found that my email with my room assignment always comes through after I scan my band at Magical Express at the airport. Others have reported receiving their room text/email while they're still at home, before they even get on the plane to come to Orlando. So it really varies.

-Do travel agents get some kind of special access to hotels, ADRs, and FP+? This is more of a general curiosity. I ask because we just booked our trip a couple days ago, and we got the ADRs we wanted, even though I was prepared to not get any of them because we were booking a trip after the ADR window opened. My agent also has suggested it won’t be a problem to get the FP+ that we want… even though I’ve got FoP and SDD on my list. I trust her, I’m just curious.

No, they don't. TAs just see the availability more often than others so she probably has a good idea of the probability of getting what you want based on your plans, time of year, party size, etc. FoP and SDD aren't terribly hard to get, especially if you're looking to get these later in your trip.

 

[sponica]

@dieumeye I think you've gotten some good responses so far, but I added my answers to your questions.


Are Minnie Vans the fastest way to get around? We’re a party of 6. Based on a bunch of horror stories, I’ve written off the resort busses, and figure we’ll pay for the Minnie Vans as needed (cost be damned). But I’ve also read that the wait for Minnie Vans to arrive can be as long as waiting for the busses. What’s usual? If Minnie Vans are inconsistent, is renting a car a better option? I figure we will be waiting in lines enough as it is, so I want to be able to go where we need to go when we need to go without potentially waiting 20 or 30 minutes just for a ride to show up. Your mileage may vary, everyone has their own opinions. Minnie Vans are however the best option for 2 kids that need car seats if you're doing a resort character breakfast. I'm fine with Disney busses, my husband is on the road a lot and is perfectly content to let someone else do the driving.

-Ive booked Magical Express. When can I expect to receive my luggage tags? The luggage tags arrive about a month before your trip. Or at least that's when ours arrived.

-I’ve ordered Magic Bands for my group (some free, some premium). When can I expect them to arrive? I believe these ship immediately after being ordered now, if you're based in the US. If you're not, they will be at your resort.

-I’ve filled in all the pre-check in info so I can skip check in and go straight to my room. When should I expect to get the room assignment, or am I misunderstanding how this works? Some people get the text when they're at the airport, some people don't get the text. I'm in the latter group.

-What is the seating arrangement in Minnie Vans for 4 adults + 2 kids that need car seats? Are the car seats in the 3rd row or the 2nd row? It matters because I’ve got some adults in our party that will have no trouble sitting in the second row, but might have difficulty crawling into the 3rd row. I asked this on a Minnie Van thread and literally got two opposite answers (one said car seats are always 3rd row, the other said they’re always 2nd row). I literally cannot remember. I think the car seat was in the second row?

-How early do the parks actually open? Here at Disneyland, the gates open 15 to 30 minutes before the posted opening time and people are held at a rope at the end of Main Street. Is it the same for the parks at WDW? I am a rope drop person so I’m wondering what time I should actually show up at the gates for each park. I'm deferring to others, I'm barely there just after RD let alone before rope drop.

-I know Space 220 opens later this year. I see no option to book an ADR for it in March 2020. Is that because it’s already booked, or because it hasn’t opened yet? I figure we probably can’t get in, but if ADRs are going to open at a later date I‘d at least like to know we have a chance, slim as it may be. It hasn't opened for ADRs yet

-Will Hollywood Studios be doing Extra Morning Magic breakfast ever again for Toy Story Land? We’ve got Galaxy’s Edge here in California, so we won’t need to see that on our WDW visit. I’d rather not wait in a 60+ minute line for the few rides we want to experience (SDD, ToT, RnR), but since everything seems to be Tier 1, it’s tough to figure out how we’re going to do it without a really long wait since we can’t schedule/guarantee it with FP+. (Side note: having every ride except Star Tours be tier 1 seems kind of broken to me. Especially since I don’t see any scenario where Hollywood Studios is worth spending 2 park days.) That's the 64 million dollar question

-Do travel agents get some kind of special access to hotels, ADRs, and FP+? This is more of a general curiosity. I ask because we just booked our trip a couple days ago, and we got the ADRs we wanted, even though I was prepared to not get any of them because we were booking a trip after the ADR window opened. My agent also has suggested it won’t be a problem to get the FP+ that we want… even though I’ve got FoP and SDD on my list. I trust her, I’m just curious. Some agencies get magical discounts. But I don't think they have any advantage to ADRs/FPs. They're all using the same system we do.

 

[Betty Rohrer]

Good to know about the buses. I have read through literally years of posts and the overwhelming message is that they are wildly inconsistent and sometimes require waiting for 30 minutes or more!

As for the boat to DHS, what should I expect from Boardwalk Inn to DHS? Again, reading thru the boards I’m under the impression that it is NOT a good option to use if we want to arrive at the park in time for rope drop.

last trip 4 year old granddaughter cried when she found out she was going to have to ride in car home not a Disney bus. she loved the buses. they were another ride to her. also one big thing with MK unlike Disneyland there is no parking at the park if you would rent a car you would still have to take either a ferry or the monorail to park and same back to your car. no way tom walk from car to park gate

 

[DisneyWishes14]

Oh! You can cancel a Minnie Van ride more than two minutes after requesting it, without a cancellation penalty like you would have with a regular Lyft request?

Yes. I cancelled at least 3 Minnie Vans on our last trip and was never charged a penalty.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Yes. I cancelled at least 3 Minnie Vans on our last trip and was never charged a penalty.

Thanks. Good to know. You need to see me panicking to cancel a Lyft quickly when it's a vehicle I can't get into!

 

[DisneyGirlMI]

Magic Bands ship as soon as you have ordered them IF you have ordered any premium bands, which I believe you said you did. It can take up to 10 business days once you receive the confirmation.

We received our luggage tags about 4-5 weeks before we left.

Our experience for park opening from August is:

• Magic Kingdom will let you in an hour before opening and you can go as far as the castle. It’s nice because the stores and bakery are open then then, so you can leisurely wander, get breakfast, shop, and get pictures in front of the castle before it’s super crowded.
  Epcot from the IG will let you in about 30 minutes early, but they hold at the hill into the UK until about 10-15 minutes before opening
• Animal Kingdom let us in about 45 minutes before opening and they walked us straight back to Pandora and let us in line for FoP about 20 minutes before opening. The practice for this seems to be really random, so YMMV with this one.
• HS - we got to after opening, so I don’t know

Space 220 reservations should open up as soon as they announce the opening date.

 

[dieumeye]

Thanks everyone for the great replies! Really appreciate all the help!! Regardless of busses, vans, boats, or walking, a lot of my transportation questions really boil down to this:

What time should we arrive at the GATE for each park in the morning if we want to be at the "front of the pack" at rope drop (considering that the gates open prior to actual park opening and I assume people start lining up even before that).

For example... what time do the first people on FoP get to the AK gate? Or, what time do the first people on SDD get to the DHS gate? Or, when do the first people on 7DMT get to the MK gate?

I'm not obsessed about being first, I just want to understand what time people start lining up so we can chose to be that early if we want, or at least be prepared for the crowd/wait we'll encounter at whatever time we do arrive.

Also, I'm not concerned about the busses for general transportation, but mostly just for park opening. Most of the "horror stories" I've heard revolve around people who lined up for the bus in the morning, but the line was so long they weren't able to get on the first bus, which meant another 20 minutes wait for the next bus and they end up being way behind when they thought they'd get there even though they showed up to the bes stop relatively early.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Buses start around 6:30 every day, or an hour before parks open whichever is earlier. Be at the bus stop before 6:30. Even if you can't get on the first bus, you will get on the next one and still be at or toward the front of the tapstiles line.

 

[nkereina]

What time should we arrive at the GATE for each park in the morning if we want to be at the "front of the pack" at rope drop

I think this will vary by park and also depending if there are AM EMH. It also varies depending on the rope drop procedure. I'm not a hardcore rope dropper, but in the last 18 months, my own experience has been that they will allow you into DHS and AK maybe 20 minutes before park opening, but then they hold you at interior "ropes" and walk you back to Toy Story Land and Pandora as a large group. So even if you're first at the tapstile, you may not be first at the interior "ropes" or you may lose your front spot on the ridiculous walk-run back to those lands. People are aggressive and it can be difficult to keep up. Because of these factors, I wouldn't bust your butt to get to the parks super early and wait around, because it could be all for nothing. Hopefully some more of the tried and true rope droppers can opine.

 

[dieumeye]

Buses start around 6:30 every day, or an hour before parks open whichever is earlier. Be at the bus stop before 6:30. Even if you can't get on the first bus, you will get on the next one and still be at or toward the front of the tapstiles line.

Is that the case for all parks? The WDW website says busses start going to each park 45 minutes before posted park opening. But I know “posted info” and “how things actually work” aren’t always the same.

 

[LizGirl]

Is that the case for all parks? The WDW website says busses start going to each park 45 minutes before posted park opening. But I know “posted info” and “how things actually work” aren’t always the same.

This particular detail may be better asked in it's own thread over on the strategies board. Lots of rope drop conversation there. It seems to me that most of things are rolling before the officially stated times on most mornings.

I know you have a ton of bus/Minnie Van advice already. I'm really surprised that no one advised renting a car (that I saw). We typically drive ourselves everywhere *except* the Magic Kingdom because of the whole ferry/monorail time suck. I normally prefer to be able to just go when we want to go. This also lets you leave your car seats installed.

 

[dieumeye]

This particular detail may be better asked in it's own thread over on the strategies board. Lots of rope drop conversation there. It seems to me that most of things are rolling before the officially stated times on most mornings.

I know you have a ton of bus/Minnie Van advice already. I'm really surprised that no one advised renting a car (that I saw). We typically drive ourselves everywhere *except* the Magic Kingdom because of the whole ferry/monorail time suck. I normally prefer to be able to just go when we want to go. This also lets you leave your car seats installed.

I’m a “go when we want to go” person as well so I wondered about renting a car. Although now that I know we’ll be walking to Epcot and DHS, and we wouldn’t want to drive ourselves to MK anyway, we’d only be renting a car for AK and Disney Springs which seems unnecessary.

 

[kiford]

Good to know about the buses. I have read through literally years of posts and the overwhelming message is that they are wildly inconsistent and sometimes require waiting for 30 minutes or more!

I've never waited that long for a bus. From your resort, you can go into the MDE app and find out when the next buses are due from your resort to each park (and water park and Disney Springs). If you time it properly, you can show up pretty much when the bus arrives. It's less predictable when heading out from a park but unless you are there late at night when absolutely everybody is leaving and you have to pass up a full bus, you usually will wait about 10 minutes or so.

We only ever take a taxi if we're heading somewhere pre-park opening like for a tour that requires we be there before the buses start typically running or when we go to V&A for dinner (I'm not riding a bus in a fancy dress and high heeled shoes).

 

[Mainsail Minnie]

I’m a Disneyland weekly visitor here in California, and I’ve done a lot of research on our upcoming WDW trip so I understand the differences, but there are a handful of random things that I just can’t figure out. I’d appreciate any advice from regulars to help me understand some things. (I’ve searched the boards and gotten a lot of answers to other questions already - thanks! - but these below I can’t figure out.)

FYI we’re staying a week at Boardwalk Inn in March 2020.

-Are Minnie Vans the fastest way to get around? We’re a party of 6. Based on a bunch of horror stories, I’ve written off the resort busses, and figure we’ll pay for the Minnie Vans as needed (cost be damned). But I’ve also read that the wait for Minnie Vans to arrive can be as long as waiting for the busses. What’s usual? If Minnie Vans are inconsistent, is renting a car a better option? I figure we will be waiting in lines enough as it is, so I want to be able to go where we need to go when we need to go without potentially waiting 20 or 30 minutes just for a ride to show up.

-Ive booked Magical Express. When can I expect to receive my luggage tags?

-I’ve ordered Magic Bands for my group (some free, some premium). When can I expect them to arrive?

-I’ve filled in all the pre-check in info so I can skip check in and go straight to my room. When should I expect to get the room assignment, or am I misunderstanding how this works?

-What is the seating arrangement in Minnie Vans for 4 adults + 2 kids that need car seats? Are the car seats in the 3rd row or the 2nd row? It matters because I’ve got some adults in our party that will have no trouble sitting in the second row, but might have difficulty crawling into the 3rd row. I asked this on a Minnie Van thread and literally got two opposite answers (one said car seats are always 3rd row, the other said they’re always 2nd row).

-How early do the parks actually open? Here at Disneyland, the gates open 15 to 30 minutes before the posted opening time and people are held at a rope at the end of Main Street. Is it the same for the parks at WDW? I am a rope drop person so I’m wondering what time I should actually show up at the gates for each park.

-I know Space 220 opens later this year. I see no option to book an ADR for it in March 2020. Is that because it’s already booked, or because it hasn’t opened yet? I figure we probably can’t get in, but if ADRs are going to open at a later date I‘d at least like to know we have a chance, slim as it may be.

-Will Hollywood Studios be doing Extra Morning Magic breakfast ever again for Toy Story Land? We’ve got Galaxy’s Edge here in California, so we won’t need to see that on our WDW visit. I’d rather not wait in a 60+ minute line for the few rides we want to experience (SDD, ToT, RnR), but since everything seems to be Tier 1, it’s tough to figure out how we’re going to do it without a really long wait since we can’t schedule/guarantee it with FP+. (Side note: having every ride except Star Tours be tier 1 seems kind of broken to me. Especially since I don’t see any scenario where Hollywood Studios is worth spending 2 park days.)

-Do travel agents get some kind of special access to hotels, ADRs, and FP+? This is more of a general curiosity. I ask because we just booked our trip a couple days ago, and we got the ADRs we wanted, even though I was prepared to not get any of them because we were booking a trip after the ADR window opened. My agent also has suggested it won’t be a problem to get the FP+ that we want… even though I’ve got FoP and SDD on my list. I trust her, I’m just curious.

-I also have a bunch of “how long does it take to get from A to B” questions as well, but I think I’ll consolidate those in a post on the transportation board.

Really appreciate any insight anyone can provide. And I’m happy to return the favor if anyone here is ever planning a visit to Disneyland Resort!

In my experience taxis are quicker and cheaper than Minnie Vans. They just wait outside of the deluxe resorts, so you can easily walk out & hail one yourself.

When we used a Minnie Van, it took 15 - 20 minutes for the guy to get there, negating any time saved by using the van. He also couldn't drop us off very close to the front of the park (HS) because he wasn't a bus, which was a pain because it was raining.

 

[Mainsail Minnie]

Is that the case for all parks? The WDW website says busses start going to each park 45 minutes before posted park opening. But I know “posted info” and “how things actually work” aren’t always the same.

The buses really do run very early so that you can get to rope drop at any park. You need to get yourself to the bus stop early enough not to miss the early buses, is the main issue.

 

[Mainsail Minnie]

Good to know about the buses. I have read through literally years of posts and the overwhelming message is that they are wildly inconsistent and sometimes require waiting for 30 minutes or more!

The longest waits occur in the afternoon, when fewer people are riding the buses & more drivers are on break. The shortest waits are in the morning, when all the buses are running to get everyone to the parks. The waits can also lengthen at park closing & right after fireworks, just due to the sheer volume of people who have to be transported in a short window of time (the morning rush to the park is spread over 4-5 hours, whereas the post-fireworks/park close rush is typically crammed into 1-2 hours). But at least at night all of the buses are running again, so that mitigates the issue somewhat.

When you keep those factors in mind, average bus waits at WDW are fairly predictable.