Dolphin to Chef Mickey's to MK, Help!

[CharlieGrl]

Ok we are staying at the Swan & Dolphin. We have a reservation to Chef Mickey's at the <stirkeout>Poly</strikeout> (was thinking of Ohana) Contemp at 8:40am with my husband, son, mil and fil. After we are done there my husband, son and I will be wanting to go to MK. We will have a vehicle and we also have use of the Disney transportation. What should the game plan be? What would be the easiest way to get to one place to the other?

 

[prncess674]

Chef Mickey's is at the Contemporary.

 

[goofy4tink]

You have a couple of options...
1. take the bus from the S/D to MK and then walk over to the CR and Chef Mickeys. About an 8 min walk, along the sidewalk that runs under the monorail line
2. Drive your own car and park at the TTC (parking lot for MK), then take the monorail to CR, after breakfast walk back to MK to enjoy your day.
3. Drive to CR and pay to valet park. Then you can leave your car there. But if you try to self park, at no cost, you may run into issues. Parking at resorts, and then heading to a park, is frowned upon. Parking at a resort (other than your own) for park access is not provided.

If it were me, I would drive to the TTC and take the monorail over to the CR...nice way to do it. Then you can spend the rest of the day at the MK and have your own car to get back to the S/D.

 

[wdwgoofeeee]

As someone who really does not liking driving in an unfamiliar area I would simply take the bus from your resort to the MK.
From there take the short walk to the Contemporary. After your meal you can either walk to the MK or take the monorail over.
When leaving MK for the day just take the bus back to your resort.

I personally do not see the need to spend money on a rental car when Disney provides all the transportation guests need to get around WDW. I know many people swear that they cannot do without a car. This can be true if you plan on leaving Disney property. But for those staying inside WDW the need to drive form a Disney resort to a Disney park is something that makes little to no sense. I believe it is part of the culture today to hurry up and get from point A to point B. Relax, slow down, you are supposed to be on vacation.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

I would take the bus to the Magic Kingdom and from there use the walkway when going to the Contemporary.

 

[goofy4tink]

The bus to the MK and subsequent walk is a very good option. I just wasn't sure about others in the group wanting to walk.

On another note...lets try to remember that everyone has their own needs. While a lot of us have no problem using Disney transportation, there are plenty of others who love having their own vehicle with them. I have rented before but that was pretty much because I had to get someplace after my WDW stay. And I have to tell you....it was kind of nice. I have been with others who have rented cars and they have transported me fron point A to point B...again, it was very pleasant!!!
So...lets remember that nothing is going to be perfect for 100% of the guests.

 

[DVCBELLE]

You don't say how old your son is - but if you have a stroller then I vote for driving to the TTC and riding the monorail to the Contemporary then on to the MK. I find that it is VERY hard to ride Disney Buses with a stroller and always rent a car for that reason.

Now that we are out of strollers we are too spoiled by being able to get where we want to go when we want to go with a car so we will continue to use one. It is very hard to sit at a bus stop for up to 1/2 an hour with little ones excited to get to the MK or any other park for that matter and at the end of the day waiting with that little one is hard too!

 

[CharlieGrl]

Thanks everyone for their input.
Thinking about doing either CR Resort Fan 4 Life or DVCBELLE idea.

How far/how long would our drive be (using our own car) to TTC?
How much walking would it be from MK parking to Contemp? Don't want to tire out before we step foot in MK.

 

[HelenParr]

The drive to TTC (the MK parking) from Swan/Dolphin is no more than ten minutes. You will go through the gate to MK, and then follow signs to MK Parking (which is at the TTC). Once parked, then you need to take a tram (or walk) to the TTC monorail station from your parking aisle. Then take resort monorail to Contemporary.

If you take the bus directly to the MK, the ride itself takes 10-15 minutes, but hard to tell when next bus is coming. The walk over to the Contemporay once the bus drops you at MK is ten minutes tops.

Just to clarify, you cannot walk directly from "MK parking" (which is at TTC) to Contemporary (although you can wlak to the Poly from TTC). You walk from the MK itself (where the bus stops), or Monorail from TTC (the MK parking lot).

 

[CharlieGrl]

I made it harder than it actually is. I had forgotten to mention that MIL and FIL will be heading back to the hotel afetr breakfast. So we will all take our vehicle to the hotel, let them know we are just parking to ear. Than after our breakfast they will drive us to the park (or do they drop us off at TTC? This is my first time going that I am able to rememeber the trip.) and drop us off. Then time to come back we will use Disney's transportation.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

How much walking would it be from MK parking to Contemp? Don't want to tire out before we step foot in MK.

The walk takes about 10 minutes. Also if you post on the Theme Park & Attractions board there is a poster named Robo who posts overhead maps of WDW and here is one he posts of the Magic Kingdom - Contemporary walkway, so you can see exactly how close in distance they are to each other.

 

[goofy4tink]

If you decide to drive your own car, you will park at the TTC, then take the tram from the parking area over to the TTC proper. Then take either the express monorail or ferry to MK. From there you can walk to the CR..takes about 8 mins..sidewalk runs right underneath the monorail line.
Or, you could hop on the resort monorail and take it to the CR.
Or, you can just take the MK bus from the Dolphin and then walk over to the CR from there...again, about 8 mins.

 

[clkelley]

I made it harder than it actually is. I had forgotten to mention that MIL and FIL will be heading back to the hotel afetr breakfast. So we will all take our vehicle to the hotel, let them know we are just parking to ear. Than after our breakfast they will drive us to the park (or do they drop us off at TTC? This is my first time going that I am able to rememeber the trip.) and drop us off. Then time to come back we will use Disney's transportation.

I would just take the monorail or walk to the MK after eating at Chef Mickey's. If the MIL & FIL drove you after breakfast, then they would have to take you to the TTC and it is longer transportation from there than the Contemporary.

 

[CharlieGrl]

Sounds good to me clkelley I think that is what I will do.

 

[goofy4tink]

I made it harder than it actually is. I had forgotten to mention that MIL and FIL will be heading back to the hotel afetr breakfast. So we will all take our vehicle to the hotel, let them know we are just parking to ear. Than after our breakfast they will drive us to the park (or do they drop us off at TTC? This is my first time going that I am able to rememeber the trip.) and drop us off. Then time to come back we will use Disney's transportation.

Duh...that's what I get for skimming rather than reading!! Now, it's a whole different scenario than I 'skimmed'..dopey me.
Yes, just park at the CR for your breakfast. Then, the inlaws can drive themselves back to the hotel after breakfast, and you can walk over to MK. Still only about 8 mins along the sidewalk. Then take the bus back to your resort when you're ready to leave MK.

 

[CharlieGrl]

Duh...that's what I get for skimming rather than reading!! Now, it's a whole different scenario than I 'skimmed'

Hehe don't feel bad. my first post didn't really clarify that well that my in-laws weren't going to MK with us.

 

[nanceliz]

We are going to be doing this as well although all of us will head via monorail to MK after breakfast.
Does anyone know how much to valet park at CR?
Or I guess we could park at TTC and walk or get monorail to breakfast.
We have someone in our party that has trouble with long distance walking at a time. (has to stop and rest every so often) That is why we are thinking about doing the valet parking thing.