do you get lost ?

[kim wilson]

Hi
We went to wdw 5 years ago , with car hire.
Each time we went to a park it took about 15 mins to arrive.
Trying to find our way back was another story, it would take 1 hour 15 mins.we never did work out what we did wrong.

can anynone give us a clue

kim

 

[crisi]

Oh, all the time. We take Disney transportation and don't bother to rent a car knowing that while others may get there quicker in a car, we can get back to the WL from the MK via Tallahassee.

My only tip - use Disney transportation, take a cab if that is too slow, or be a better navigator than I am.

 

[XStAnt]

Kim,

I'll take a guess at what might have happened. Getting to the parks is easy since the road signs direct you to the park. Getting to a resort sometimes confuses people. The individual resorts aren't always listed on the road signs. (Tyler or someone else can correct me if I'm wrong on this). They are listed by where they are located. For example, the Poly is a "Magic Kingdom Resort," BC/YC is an "Epcot Resort," etc. If you don't know that to get to BC you follow signs to "Epcot Resorts" it could take you a while to find your way back.

That's my guess but how does it sound?

 

[SamSam]

If you're staying onsite , there will be WDW maps in the rooms which really help. I think the same WDW maps are available at some of the tourist centers. I'm not sure if it's still there, but one of the tourist centers used to be located on International Drive at the Mercado (sp) shopping center and they had the Walt Disney World transportation maps.

 

[Uncleromulus]

Like everything else new, it takes time to get oriented,
We always drive at WDW. At first, I was very unsure of where to turn, etcetc which road to take. Now, after 26 trips, I don't even think about it anymore. I know every turnoff, shortcut, parking spot, etc.

 

[Lewisc]

Originally posted by kim wilson
Hi
We went to wdw 5 years ago , with car hire.
Each time we went to a park it took about 15 mins to arrive.
Trying to find our way back was another story, it would take 1 hour 15 mins.we never did work out what we did wrong.

can anynone give us a clue

kim

If you follow Disney signage you may very well be leaving via a different route than arriving. If you list where you're going to be staying we might be able to give you some hints. If you're on Disney property know what park is near your hotel. If you're staying in a MK resort you can follow the signs to MK then when you get closer look for the resort signs.

 

[cigar95]

The Disney Transportation Map is very useful as a map of the entire property. It's very useful to get a basic feel of where things are and which things are near which other things.

For the most part, learn about the two main roads in WDW - World Drive running north/south, and Buena Vista Drive running east/west (except when it turns and runs north/south!). Most everything is near one of those two roads.

Once you have this map, another useful tip is simply to check out where you're going before you start - you'll see things like "oh, so to get from MK to Coronado Springs, we'll be right by the Swan and Dolphin when we turn off World Drive. Or, if you're trying to get from Epcot to Dixie Landings and you find yourself passing the parking lot for Blizzard Beach, you'll know to stop and say "OK, we're not where we thought we were!"

Some people are just naturally a lot better than others at knowing their way around different places. Try to find someone in your group who's good at it and let them be your navigator. Like Uncleromulus said, eventually it all just becomes second nature, like finding your way from the bedroom to the kitchen.

 

[wahaha1]

As I am staying at the downtown disney hotel (Wyndham Palace), it's technically very difficult for me to get lost in the park. There are a lot of road signs indicating direction to WDW. When I came back, I just followed the sign to downtown disney.

 

[lsyorke]

It became a standing joke the first time we rented a car ,"Hey Mom do we have to get on Route 4 to go anywhere". No matter what I did we were on route 4 again. I'm proud to say that three trips later I'm an expert!! Just don't move that lighthouse by OKW!