First time Park Hopping - how do I get around + how long does it take?

[Accident]

Plan about an hour to get from park to park and into security once you are standing at the bus/boat/monorail stop. boats tend to take longer both in speed and more limited.

hotel shuttles generally drop off at the TTC for epcot and magic kingdom so you need to plan in the ride (monorail or ferry from mk, monorail from epcot) back to the ttc. HS and AK I believe offsite hotel shuttles drop off directly at those parks.

 

[glassslippergirl]

Hi guys, thank you all so much for the information!

There are several reasons which made us decide not to rent a car, despite the many benefits:

- We're from Singapore, which has right-hand drive vehicles. My fiance is a nervous driver and isn't confident that he'd be able to adjust to driving on the other side of the road.

- We're very unfamiliar with Orlando, and since I'm not 100% sure that we'd be able to acquire a sim card with a data plan, the territory will be very unfamiliar and we wouldn't have GPS to guide us (believe me, we're very dependent on Google maps, even in our own country). Also note that he is a nervous driver (I personally don't drive due to anxiety issues).

It's not a perfect situation, but I think it's one that we have to make the best of. Our latest shuttle departs from Epcot at 10.10pm so I figure we'd be good for days where the park closes at 7pm (AK / DHS) - 9.30pm (Epcot). MK has tons of party nights during our stay, so we probably will be hitting that park mostly in the day. We'd probably make an exception and stay late to watch Wishes / Illuminations maybe one or two nights. On those nights, we'll get a cab / Uber back to the hotel, but other than that, I think the latest shuttle ought to be good enough. At least, we wouldn't be in a position where we have to Uber / cab back every day.

Staying on-site would have been ideal, but it's too costly for us this trip. I managed to get a good deal for accommodations at The Point, so that's why we're staying off-site.

If you're not going to rent a car, budget in some extra money for Uber or cabs in case you miss the last shuttle of the night or are just too tired to get from your current park to Epcot to catch the shuttle. If I knew I had to make my way back to Epcot every night, I'd take advantage of it and plan some dinners in World Showcase. It's got the best array of restaurants, both table service and counter service.

 

[tmoo]

Have you considered how you'll get back to Epcot to return to your hotel each evening? I can't imagine buses running to Epcot after 9pm, and certainly not 10pm. Your shuttle will most likely have a set time to pick you up. I'd allow 60 min as your minimum to get there to meet it if you are using Disney transportation.

Disney World is a geographical oddity. Every single location is exactly an hour away from every destination.

I get not wanting to rent the car in a foreign country. You will be fine. Just stop at the hotel front desk the first day and get the contact information for a few local cab companies they recommend. That way if the Disney transportation or hotel shuttle causes issues you are ready.

As much as I crank about the bus system, Disney WILL get you where you need to be. Maybe not in your desired time frame, but they will take care of you. You can get from other parks to Epcot after Epcot closes. They run the buses to the closed parks until they shut down for the night for the exact purpose of taking people that park hopped during the day using Disney transportation back to their vehicles. I got a Disney bus ride back to Animal Kingdom from Epcot 2 hours after AK closed last year. Now, I will admit they doubled me up with the bus to Animal Kingdom Lodge, but they WILL get you back to the right spot. The bigger question is if your hotel shuttle will be picking up that late.

Use the shuttles and keep UBER and cab numbers in case they fail you. Just never schedule anything that leaves a tight window for the transportation. It may not have the clockwork precision you are accustomed to.

 

[bryanb]

Since your plan includes Uber, Lyft, or taxi on at least some nights, I'd definitely do whatever you can to get a mobile SIM card with data plan. This will ensure that you can use the service and travel with confidence.

What a great time of year to be at Universal and Disney World. Have a great time!!

 

[Minkishly]

Thank you so much for your advice, guys! Really helpful, and I'll definitely keep it in mind on my trip!

I really hope we'll be able to locate a SIM card. Do they sell those at the airport? Anyhow, we'll be using the first day of our trip to stock up on groceries and supplies so we'll make it a priority to pick up a card from one of the stores.

 

[joyjoy]

Inmotion Technology in the Main Terminal at MCO will no doubt have the SIM card. If you forget to look there, there is a camera shop just inside the gates at Epcot that carries them, too. Have fun!

Edit: Oh, I just saw that you'll be grocery shopping etc. You'll save a lot of $$ buying the SIM card at Fryes or Best Buy instead of the airport or a Disney Gift Shop. Save your money for a Disney Dooney & Bourke bag.

 

[Accident]

Inmotion Technology in the Main Terminal at MCO will no doubt have the SIM card. If you forget to look there, there is a camera shop just inside the gates at Epcot that carries them, too. Have fun!

In MK there is a sim card machine across from the bathrooms in adventureland near the entrance to swiss family robinson (it's in the walkway through the building to frontierland).

 

[Minkishly]

Wow, thanks so much for the tips, guys! This is really helpful.

By the by, I want a Disney Dooney Bourke bag so badly. It's just the tricky thing to settle on one.

 

[joyjoy]

Wow, thanks so much for the tips, guys! This is really helpful.

By the by, I want a Disney Dooney Bourke bag so badly. It's just the tricky thing to settle on one.

I hear ya, sister. We were there for a week in September and died over every one of them. I ended up with this one and I love it.

 

[Minkishly]

View attachment 203408

I hear ya, sister. We were there for a week in September and died over every one of them. I ended up with this one and I love it.

/flails.

Omg, that is so gorgeous.

 

[sharadoc]

Depending on the park, you could also use a hotel. If you are in World Showcase, walk over to Beach Club and grab a park bus, or vide versa, take a park bus to Beach Club and walk to Epcot World Showcase.

In MK, walk over to Contemporary and take a bus to a park from there to DHS or AK.

You're not breaking any rules, plus it gives you some meal options as well.

 

[Minkishly]

Awesome, we'll keep that in mind. Thank you!