Driving to the parks

[uhdwsso]

Not sure if this belongs here... We're staying at Pop Century the week of Aug. 14.

Is it any faster/more convenient to drive ourselves to the parks rather than take the buses? Are the parking lots far from the parks that we wouldn't be able to say come back to the car for things that we might need?

Where can I find info. on the quickest/best method of getting from location A to location B?

Thank you!

 

[Robo]

Not sure if this belongs here... We're staying at Pop Century the week of Aug. 14.

Is it any faster/more convenient to drive ourselves to the parks rather than take the buses? Are the parking lots far from the parks that we wouldn't be able to say come back to the car for things that we might need?

Where can I find info. on the quickest/best method of getting from location A to location B?

Thank you!

This is one of the most-disussed of all topics.

There is the one camp that says, DRIVE,
and the other that says, BUS.

I will say that MK is the one park with the "unique" situation of guests who drive must ALSO take a monorail or ferry boat between MK and the MK parking lot.
Resort Guests taking Disney Transportation are driven to/from the MK front gate area.
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Here are some additional threads about this:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2648884

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2290623

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2289816

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2280680

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2278981

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2259290

 

[Madi's Mom]

No the parking lots are not close to the parks - but you certainly could go back to your car if you need to do so - you'd be better off taking your belongs into the parks and getting a locker. We drive to the parks and have found the roads within WDW to be very well marked and it is quite easy to get from the resorts to the parks and between parks simply following the road signs.

 

[John Paul]

Not sure if this belongs here... We're staying at Pop Century the week of Aug. 14.

Is it any faster/more convenient to drive ourselves to the parks rather than take the buses? Are the parking lots far from the parks that we wouldn't be able to say come back to the car for things that we might need?

Where can I find info. on the quickest/best method of getting from location A to location B?

Thank you!

We prefer to drive...moreso when we leave the park we do not have to wait on buses or stops. Our tired kids can relax in car until we get back to room. As Robo states it can be a bit more convenient to take buses to MK as they drop you off at gate area.

 

[ewspy87]

This is a really tough one. It really comes down to personal preference. Either way is about the same amount of time. If you drive you have further to walk (but not always), if you take the Bus you have to wait in a line (but not always). See what i mean.

I like the buses because they are easier to find than my car in a sea of cars and it its air conditioned the minute you get on. Of course then you have to ride with other people....I could go on for pages here.

 

[mjohnson96]

We have stayed at POP several times and only the MK would I say take the bus for sure When I broke my leg I did use the the parking lots at AK, Epcot, and DHS but at MK I took the bus to reduce the amount of walking I had to do.

We normally will take the bus when we stay onsite and go back to the hotel in the afternoon to swim and relax. This year with brining a 20mo old I think we might drive sometimes and bus others, prob always use bus to MK. Depending on how our travel goes that first day will make the decision for the rest of the week's trip.

 

[Robo]

No the parking lots are not close to the parks -

Except for Magic Kingdom, the parking lots at the all of the parks are right next to the front gates.

 

[willowsnn3]

Well you're gonna get lots of pro & con answers, lol. POP is our favorite value resort & we alway drive to the parks. Don't like waiting for buses or riding on crowded standing room only buses. Depending on when-what-where you are, the bus may or may not be crowded & might not have a long wait. If you get to the parks early enough you may get to park closer & not have to ride a tram (but I love the trams, lol). And you can walk back out to car or maybe rent a locker inside the park would be an option also. For Magic Kingdom you would have to park at the ticket-transportation center (TTC) & then catch the monorail or ferry boat the rest of the way to the park. For that reason many people prefer to use a bus for MK as the buses let you out near the park entrance. The only time we use a bus is for early EMH hours at Animal Kingdom because we have heard that sometime their parking lot sometimes is not open early enough for early EMH. Now I'm sure you'll get lots more answers but we prefer to drive even to MK.

 

[Madi's Mom]

Except for Magic Kingdom, the parking lots at the all of the parks are right next to the front gates.

True they are - but that doesnt mean the are "close" and convenient for a quick trip to your car. The lots are so large that even if the lot is close to the gate - your car may not be. The point I was trying to make was to not leave things in the car and plan on running back and forth to retrieve as this would be very time consuming depending on where you are parked.

 

[boufa]

A couple of my thoughts on the issue. I recently have been fighting with my plans on this subject also.

1) The parking lots (except MK) are close, but huge! A locker is a very minor cost. Our first day we thought my eldest daughter was gonna want a stroller. It was clear within 10 minutes that she was not going to use it. So I had to hike out to the car and take it back. Not pleasant. I would take everything you could possibly need and put it into a locker and then only carry what you need and go back to the locker again.

2) Sure the MK might be better by bus, but the monorail ride is one of the better parts of the process. Skipping them is actually a point against the bus to MK.

 

[Robo]

Sure the MK might be better by bus, but the monorail ride is one of the better parts of the process. Skipping them is actually a point against the bus to MK.

That can depend on if you mean a fresh arrival in the morning,
or trying to depart, en mass, near closing time.

 

[Brian_WDW74]

I've moved this thread to the Transportation board.