Do You Consider Disney Transport When You Choose You're Home Resort?

[Mkaiser1]

Hi all,

I wondered if you considered Disney Transport when you chose you're home resort?

We'd be looking to stay in a 3 bed when we came, so I've looked at Resorts at WDW that have 3 beds and then reviewed transport options. I've RAG rated them (Red, Amber, Green) and marked red where buses are the only option suggesting it's a negative. I've marked green where I could walk or use a boat/monorail/skyliner/walk suggesting that's a positive. Feel free to ignore the amber, but it's just my view of where could possibly by linked via a Skyliner Phase 2 which is obviously totally down to opinion.

If a resort has 2 or more 'green ratings', I've marked the resort as green.



Any comments/input welcome!

 

[sethschroeder]

Yes

Plus stayed at AKV to see if we could deal with it for the discount and it was a no go. In the course of a week we had like a dozen waits of 45+ mins for a bus and another like 2 or 3 of 1hr+.

We own BWV for walking to both parks and now Riviera (sold off 2 of 3 contracts) for skyliner (we rode it last December and was great).

I had looked at adding on at CCV over BLT because of theme (BLT is not impressive) but just ended up at RIV instead.

My mantra is buy where you want to stay. Having a home resort where you eliminate the bus roughly 50% of the week is a major plus.

 

[OKW Lover]

I wondered if you considered Disney Transport when you chose you're home resort?

No. When I bought into DVC there was only one choice - what is now called Old Key West.

When I added on, I didn't worry about Disney Transportation either because I always had a car.

 

[EM Lawrence]

I think its worth considering, but I’m not sure I would make it a deal breaker either way. I think the resort overall and the experience it offers is more important than the transportation. But then, I don’t mind the Disney busses. I kind of like riding in them, unless its park closing when the lines are long and the busses are standing room only.

 

[GenerationsDVC]

Great chart! Transportation was our top consideration with our first three purchases (BLT, BCV, and BWV). We are now under contract at BRV, our first theming focused purchase. We stayed there in December and found the bus stop proximity convenient and liked having the boat to Magic Kingdom. Since we had to pass the bus stop to get to the parking lot, our plan was to drive unless the bus was there. We rode the bus more than I expected. We live in Georgia, so we have a car at Disney for nearly every trip. With little ones, nothing beats the convenience of walking to MK, so BLT is the winner. With teenagers, we really like BCV and BWV. We stayed at RIV in September to try out the Skyliner. I was most disappointed when we discovered the Skyliner does not operate in inclement weather. When we most wanted transportation convenience, we were stuck waiting for buses.

 

[HappyDisneyWife]

Yes, I do.

That said, I also firmly believe in buying where you want to stay. So, even though AKV has bus only transportation, I love it and we own there. However, when we’re going to MK a lot (like around Christmas), I love the convenience of walking from BLT. Theming and proximity to the monorail (when it’s working) made us love the Poly. Riviera’s skyliner access to 2 parks is a huge draw for my kids and we love it there too. But walking is king (to me), so we’re adding on again with a 2042 contract (which I said I’d never do!) where we found that the pool matters more to us than we realized ... I can’t wait to be an owner at BCV!!!

(Poly & RIV -plus VGF- take the top spots when looking at studio size & layout though!)

 

[princesscinderella]

Our first DVC purchase I definitely considered transportation and we chose BWV for that reason. We were used to the crazy long bus rides at OKW because my in law bought back in 95 and didn’t want that with our home resort.

 

[amcnj]

I guess it would be one consideration if I was purchasing today. How big of a factor might also depend on the ages and mobility of your traveling group.

 

[Lorana]

Our primary consideration was theming/our favorite resorts. We bought at BRV & CCV because we love the Wilderness Lodge, and admittedly aside from the theming, one of the things we love is the boat ride to MK. But we also love AKV and bought there, and many complain about it only being buses. However, we DID purchase Riviera with transportation being a primary factor: that Skyliner access to Epcot/Boardwalk area and Disney Studios was a huge draw for us, especially as we do enjoy split stays.

 

[ValW]

My number one priority is transportation. I have stayed at almost every deluxe and moderate resort over the years and have found that I HATE wasting time waiting for transportation. Especially at the end of the night when I'm tired and just want to get back to the room. Therefore, I purchased at only resorts where I could walk - BWV, BLT - contracts for BC and VGC in ROFR. It's so convenient to just come and go as I please. I do split stays between BLT and BWV. The Skyliner does nothing for me to alleviate the wait. I thought about RIV and then realized that I would have to wait in two lines to get to Hollywood Studios and have heard a couple of negatives of waiting to get to Epcot, where most of the gondolas were full from Caribbean Beach - we haven't even seen how that's going to be when the crowds return to normal.

 

[supersnoop]

Why did you leave off VGF?

In my opinion, walking would be green and boat/monorail/skyliner would be amber. Well, not always; it can be situational.

BLT or VGF to Epcot on the monorail is probably worst than a bus except during peak times (NYE). These methods avoid traffic, but otherwise have all the same operational issues as a bus; standing in long lines, capacity, maintenance/breakdown delays. The Epcot monorail from PVB, however, would be green in my analysis since I can walk to the TTC in the same time I can walk to the bus stop.

I own at BLT and BWV, largely because of the location and walkability.

 

[Mkaiser1]

Great chart! Transportation was our top consideration with our first three purchases (BLT, BCV, and BWV). We are now under contract at BRV, our first theming focused purchase. We stayed there in December and found the bus stop proximity convenient and liked having the boat to Magic Kingdom. Since we had to pass the bus stop to get to the parking lot, our plan was to drive unless the bus was there. We rode the bus more than I expected. We live in Georgia, so we have a car at Disney for nearly every trip. With little ones, nothing beats the convenience of walking to MK, so BLT is the winner. With teenagers, we really like BCV and BWV. We stayed at RIV in September to try out the Skyliner. I was most disappointed when we discovered the Skyliner does not operate in inclement weather. When we most wanted transportation convenience, we were stuck waiting for buses.

The reliance on skyliner is something that concerns me. I suspect Riv will be all the better placed if skyliner has a second phase as I think it will but it wil be totally reliant on skylines alone or buses. But that would be the same for AKV too. It’s what’s making me look at BWV more and more.

 

[Mkaiser1]

Yes, I do.

That said, I also firmly believe in buying where you want to stay. So, even though AKV has bus only transportation, I love it and we own there. However, when we’re going to MK a lot (like around Christmas), I love the convenience of walking from BLT. Theming and proximity to the monorail (when it’s working) made us love the Poly. Riviera’s skyliner access to 2 parks is a huge draw for my kids and we love it there too. But walking is king (to me), so we’re adding on again with a 2042 contract (which I said I’d never do!) where we found that the pool matters more to us than we realized ... I can’t wait to be an owner at BCV!!!

(Poly & RIV -plus VGF- take the top spots when looking at studio size & layout though!)

I love the idea of BCV. I just wish they had 3 beds. The theming is a big deal for me too. It’s part of the pull of Riv for me too if I’m honest. BWV is themed too which is great but I worry it offers no escape from everything to unwind and that there will always be a lively atmosphere (which is great but when you want to escape and unwind it’s not so much).

 

[Mkaiser1]

Our first DVC purchase I definitely considered transportation and we chose BWV for that reason. We were used to the crazy long bus rides at OKW because my in law bought back in 95 and didn’t want that with our home resort.

This is my thinking exactly at the minute behind BWV.

 

[Mkaiser1]

Why did you leave off VGF?

In my opinion, walking would be green and boat/monorail/skyliner would be amber. Well, not always; it can be situational.

BLT or VGF to Epcot on the monorail is probably worst than a bus except during peak times (NYE). These methods avoid traffic, but otherwise have all the same operational issues as a bus; standing in long lines, capacity, maintenance/breakdown delays. The Epcot monorail from PVB, however, would be green in my analysis since I can walk to the TTC in the same time I can walk to the bus stop.

I own at BLT and BWV, largely because of the location and walkability.

I think I’ve just overlooked VGF! I’ll add tomorrow (it’s 7:05pm here in the UK) and re-attach the chart tomorrow. Great suggestion. Thank you.

I guess if we REALLY wanted to use Lyft/Uber/Minnievans to get around a bit we could and it’s not as huge a cost to add in as some the price differences between buying into different resorts.

We actually submitted an offer for a 2057 OKW contract about a week ago (which would go against the transport factor totally!) but not 100% we’ve settled on a home resort yet.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

I consider all things including transportation. However I do not make buses an immediate Red and monorail is definitely not an immediate green. How the bus service is operated makes a difference - AKV is great IMO as it's dedicated to the resort. Bus at the monorail resorts is pretty tough. And monorail to Epcot is a red except for PVB but the Bungalows wouldn't be on your list.

Bus at OKW and SSR is ok and the resorts are very centrally located to all parks which gives it a bump.

 

[Lumpy1106]

In a word, yes. We steered clear of OKW and SSR because, not only is the bus your only option, but the bus service is notoriously , shall we say, slow? We bought at BLT for the walk to MK, but will be staying at BWV on our next trip for the walk to EPCOT and the Skyliner (steered clear of buying BWV because of the 2042 end date FWIW).

ALL THAT SAID;
Right now, I would give a little bump to SSR for the walk to DS. The bus lines to DS were the worst we saw with the reduced bus seating. Monorail resorts are decidedly less "monorail" with the EPCOT line down. This is all temporary though, right? That what I keep telling myself anyway...

 

[Mkaiser1]

I consider all things including transportation. However I do not make buses an immediate Red and monorail is definitely not an immediate green. How the bus service is operated makes a difference - AKV is great IMO as it's dedicated to the resort. Bus at the monorail resorts is pretty tough. And monorail to Epcot is a red except for PVB but the Bungalows wouldn't be on your list.

Bus at OKW and SSR is ok and the resorts are very centrally located to all parks which gives it a bump.

This is a great bit of detail!! I would never have know this!!

 

[Mkaiser1]

In a word, yes. We steered clear of OKW and SSR because, not only is the bus your only option, but the bus service is notoriously , shall we say, slow? We bought at BLT for the walk to MK, but will be staying at BWV on our next trip for the walk to EPCOT and the Skyliner (steered clear of buying BWV because of the 2042 end date FWIW).

ALL THAT SAID;
Right now, I would give a little bump to SSR for the walk to DS. The bus lines to DS were the worst we saw with the reduced bus seating. Monorail resorts are decidedly less "monorail" with the EPCOT line down. This is all temporary though, right? That what I keep telling myself anyway...

Ha ha! It HAS to be temporary. It has to be...

Yeah, the 2042 expiration bothers me a bit. I wonder if it’s possible Disney will offer an extension like they did with OKW?

 

[Lumpy1106]

Ha ha! It HAS to be temporary. It has to be...

Yeah, the 2042 expiration bothers me a bit. I wonder if it’s possible Disney will offer an extension like they did with OKW?

They stopped offering the extension because it wasn't very popular. Hard to say, but I would guess they are rethinking offering at all now that they have the complication that is conflicting end dates.

Anyway, you have to go with what you know, and that is the end date is 2042. They will have to do something with the DVC properties as the end date approaches, but no doubt it will not be free or anything like that.