Fastest Route from Epcot to Contemporary??

[serenababy]

Help, we are first time visitors to Disneyworld. We are staying off site and driving. We plan on being at Epcot next Sunday and we have dinner reservations at Chef Mickey's at 6:15 pm. Should we drive from Epcot or take Disney transportation (we have park hopper passes)? And how early should we leave Epcot?

Thanks in advance for any assistance.

 

[JamesD]

Well, you have 3 choices in getting to the Contemporary from Epcot and back. You can take the monorails, drive over yourself, or take the bus. Each has its disadvantages.
You can leave your car at Epcot and take the monorail to the TTC, then transfer to the resort monorail and get off at the Contemporary. This is probably the slowest method, but the most fun, especially if you ask to ride up front!
You can drive over to the Contemporary, which is the fastest, but you have to go through the far right lane of the MK entrance, and then tell the guard at the Cont. that you are eating at Chef Mickeys. Since you have already paid for parking at Epcot, you shouldn't have to pay at the Magic Kingdom, you'll just have to stop and show your receipt. If you are comfortable driving around WDW property, then this is the way to go.
I believe you can also leave your car at Epcot and take a bus over to the Contemporary, but that's not very exciting, and busses can be very slow, especially when you're trying to make an appointment. Either way, I'd give yourself about an hour to get there.
Good luck and have fun!

 

[crystalb]

I would just take the monorail, unless you don't want to have to take it back to get your car.
Just allow extra time. You never know what could happen, and it will probably take more time than you think to get there.
I have even had a short monorail ride take almost 45 minutes due to the next monorail breaking down.
Better to be a little early for PS' than late.

 

[InstImpres]

You don't say what your plan is for after Chef Mickey.

I agree with the other posters, monorail is most fun but definetly longest. It is direct to Transportation Center (approx. 15 min) than it is the 4th stop once you switch monorails. Depending on your luck of waiting for each monorail, this could be well over an hour. If you are going back to Epcot for Illuminations, I would leave your car and either take the bus both ways or allow plenty of time going for monorail and bus for return.

If you are staying at Cont. for Water Parade and browsing, I would take the car, why have the hassle of back tracking if it is only to pick up the car.

Good luck
Sandy

 

[serenababy]

Thank you for all your help. I think I'm going to go with the monorail, if only for the experience. I have another question - after Chef Mickey's, what would you recommend we do? Is there something at the Contemporary we can do or should we return to Epcot for Illuminations (which I am assuming is a fireworks show)?

 

[GoldenOldie]

Originally posted by JamesD
...I believe you can also leave your car at Epcot and take a bus over to the Contemporary, but that's not very exciting, and busses can be very slow, especially when you're trying to make an appointment....

There is no bus service that runs between the Contemporary and Epcot.

 

[CarolynFH]

Re your question about what to do after dinner:

Returning to Epcot for Illuminations might be your best bet. It is a fantastic fireworks/laser light/music show that serves as the finale to every day at Epcot. It is a must-see, especially since this is your first trip. If you take the monorail to the Contemporary, you will need to return to Epcot to pick up your car, so viewing Illuminations seems to me the best idea.

Shortly after 9 pm the Electric Water Pageant arrives at the Contemporary. That is also one of my favorite shows. However, if you stay to watch it, you may have trouble getting back to Epcot to pick up your car! So if you choose to watch the EWP, I would drive from Epcot to the Contemporary.

 

[cindyfan]

By.......We plan on being at Epcot next Sunday .........I take that to mean Oct 5th.....
There is the MNSSHP that night at MK. You will not be able to get into MK without a ticket for this event.
There will be fireworks there that you can see from the Contemporary, but they won't be until 9:15. So I doubt you will want to hang around for 3 hours......unless you take your time eating then maybe do some shopping. Contemporary has some great shops!! If you choose to stay at Contemporary, then drive.
The fireworks are pretty good for MNSSHP. and the Water Pageant is great too.

I'd say your best bet is to take the monorail to dinner, then back to Epcot after dinner for the Illuminations at 9:00.


So it seems you just have to decide what to do after dinner and that will decide if you drive over or take the monorail.