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

[Minkishly]

My fiance and I are getting park hoppers for the first time! Our last trip to WDW was 6 years ago, so I can't really remember the layout of the world. Our trip is from 26 Nov - 13 Dec and we'll be splitting the time between Disney and Universal.

We will be staying off-site at The Point Orlando Resort and we won't be renting a car. We will be using the hotel's shuttle service to get to the parks. The pick up / drop off point is at Epcot.

I tried doing some research of my own, but I'm a little confused because most sites and maps seem to cater to on-site guests and focuses a lot on the resorts. Since we're staying off-site, I just want to figure out how to travel from park to park.

So far, this seems to cover it most succinctly:

These are my questions :

1. Do I need to travel to the TTC?

I know that to get from Epcot to Magic Kingdom (and vice versa), I'd need to change monorails at the TTC. For the other modes of transport such as the boat and buses, would I need to take a bus to the TTC and transfer to another one there? Or are there direct lines from one park to the other?

ETA:

Do WDW buses travel on a fixed schedule (ie there are certain intervals or timings listed on a board)? Or do they come... when they come?

2. How much time does it take (on average)?

Also, is it very time consuming to travel from park to park? We've never park hopped on previous trips, but this time, I find it quite a necessity due to the party nights (we won't be buying tickets for MVMCP). According to the crowd calendar, MK seems to be crazily crowded on non-party nights (ranging from 7 to 9 out of 10), as compared to party nights where the crowd seems to dwindle (around 4 to 5 out of 10). I'm thinking that our best bet would be to hit MK up till about 4pm when the party goers start streaming in, and maybe spend the rest of the day at another park.

(* I've been using Touring Plans as our itinerary planner and got my crowd level predictions from there.)

However, since AK and DHS close early at 7pm, I'm not sure if it'd be worth it to travel there only to spend about an hour or two before the parks close. I've read some horror stories where people wait about 45 minutes to an hour for a bus to arrive. Which leads me to my last question.

3. Are some park combinations better for park hopping?

Since distance is a factor, should I attempt to park hop to the nearest park? Or should I be considering crowd levels and pick a less crowded (albeit further) park instead?

For eg, on a MVMCP day, I spend the earlier part of the day at MK and decide to hop to another park after a late lunch (around 4pm). The crowd calendar tells me that it's a particularly busy day at Epcot (6/10 and closes at 9.30pm) whereas AK is less busy (2/10 and closes at 7pm). Which would be the better park to hop to (bearing in mind that I can choose to revisit the skipped park on a different day so I wouldn't be missing out on content)?

Sorry if this is all confusing! The truth is that I'm pretty confused myself. I'd appreciate all help and advice!

ETA:

[I added this in a reply, but since there have been multiple posts about this, I thought I'd include it in the main post as well.]

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 at all 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 will mostly be hitting that park in the day, and hop to Epcot after. 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.

 

[Calee]

There are buses from one park to another, so no you don't have to monorail to TTC everytime.

As for time you can look up the length of the actual bus ride from one place to another. As for the actual wait for a bus, you will hear varied answers. We never waited more than a couple minutes for a bus.

 

[kaybird]

Easiest Hops are MK to Epcot and Epcot to DHS and vice versa. AK is the longest Hop to anywhere else, as it is only by bus. Back and forth from MK to EPcot is the shortest, by monorail.

 

[Number Six]

There are buses from one park to another, so no you don't have to monorail to TTC everytime.

As for time you can look up the length of the actual bus ride from one place to another. As for the actual wait for a bus, you will hear varied answers. We never waited more than a couple minutes for a bus.

Except for MK to Epcot, because there's the monorail.

Many people use 60 mins as a rule of thumb for any park to park, but its often less.

 

[Minkishly]

There are buses from one park to another, so no you don't have to monorail to TTC everytime.

As for time you can look up the length of the actual bus ride from one place to another. As for the actual wait for a bus, you will hear varied answers. We never waited more than a couple minutes for a bus.

Oh, I see, thanks! It's good to know that we won't have to go to the TTC every time we want to park hop. I'll go look up those bus ride lengths as well. c:

Easiest Hops are MK to Epcot and Epcot to DHS and vice versa. AK is the longest Hop to anywhere else, as it is only by bus. Back and forth from MK to EPcot is the shortest, by monorail.

That's really helpful, thanks! I'll keep that in mind while planning the itinerary. In that case, I'll most likely hop to Epcot from MK after getting "kicked out" on a party night.

Except for MK to Epcot, because there's the monorail.

Many people use 60 mins as a rule of thumb for any park to park, but its often less.

60 mins sounds like a safe gauge! I'll probably plan my schedule with that time frame in mind, and if we get there sooner.. we'll treat it as a bonus. c:

=====================

Thanks guys!!

 

[kitkat4622]

Not to high jack your thread but I did not think you could take a bus from one park to another directly? Am I misinformed

 

[Minkishly]

Not to high jack your thread but I did not think you could take a bus from one park to another directly? Am I misinformed

That was actually one of my concerns as well! But according to the earlier replies, it seems like there are direct buses?

 

[gap2368]

Not to high jack your thread but I did not think you could take a bus from one park to another directly? Am I misinformed

I hop about every trip and all the parks besides MK to EPCOT you can take a buss directly and some like HS to EPCOT you can take a boat or walk. ( al thought the boat makes stops at the hotels and the bard walk along the way so it takes longer.

 

[kitkat4622]

I hop about every trip and all the parks besides MK to EPCOT you can take a buss directly and some like HS to EPCOT you can take a boat or walk. ( al thought the boat makes stops at the hotels and the bard walk along the way so it takes longer.

So for example if I wanted to go from Animal Kingdom to MK there is a bus at Animal Kingdom that will take me directly to MK?

 

[gap2368]

These are my questions :

1. Do I need to travel to the TTC?

I know that to get from Epcot to Magic Kingdom (and vice versa), I'd need to change monorails at the TTC. For the other modes of transport such as the boat and buses, would I need to take a bus to the TTC and transfer to another one there? Or are there direct lines from one park to the other?

ETA:

Do WDW buses travel on a fixed schedule (ie there are certain intervals or timings listed on a board)? Or do they come... when they come?

2. How much time does it take (on average)?

Also, is it very time consuming to travel from park to park? We've never park hopped on previous trips, but this time, I find it quite a necessity due to the party nights (we won't be buying tickets for MVMCP). According to the crowd calendar, MK seems to be crazily crowded on non-party nights (ranging from 7 to 9 out of 10), as compared to party nights where the crowd seems to dwindle (around 4 to 5 out of 10). I'm thinking that our best bet would be to hit MK up till about 4pm when the party goers start streaming in, and maybe spend the rest of the day at another park.

(* I've been using Touring Plans as our itinerary planner and got my crowd level predictions from there.)

However, since AK and DHS close early at 7pm, I'm not sure if it'd be worth it to travel there only to spend about an hour or two before the parks close. I've read some horror stories where people wait about 45 minutes to an hour for a bus to arrive. Which leads me to my last question.

3. Are some park combinations better for park hopping?

Since distance is a factor, should I attempt to park hop to the nearest park? Or should I be considering crowd levels and pick a less crowded (albeit further) park instead?

For eg, on a MVMCP day, I spend the earlier part of the day at MK and decide to hop to another park after a late lunch (around 4pm). The crowd calendar tells me that it's a particularly busy day at Epcot (6/10 and closes at 9.30pm) whereas AK is less busy (2/10 and closes at 7pm). Which would be the better park to hop to (bearing in mind that I can choose to revisit the skipped park on a different day so I wouldn't be missing out on content)?

Sorry if this is all confusing! The truth is that I'm pretty confused myself. I'd appreciate all help and advice!

1 no you do not only to go from MK to EPCOT

2 I would give about 60 minutes busses run every 20 minutes if you just miss a buss then you will be waiting 20 minutes even thought the parks are spread out once on a buss it normily ( some less some more) takes 20 minutes then you have the walk to the park ( some busses do park pretty fair away, bag check witch could take 5- 10 minutes. I have never had to wait for more then one buss when hopping ( some have been standing room only) but at the end of the night you will have to wait for multaple busses to come but they do come faster ( so not every 20 minutes) but these are normily for your big resrts not sure how it is for other parks

3 I have done all 4 parks in one day and use disney transpiration ( I do drive down but hate driving with a passion so I use the busses when I am there) so there is nothing that say you can only hope once but if you do this you really have to know what you want to do at each park. I think for you I would try and stick with 2 parks with the ocasanal 3 parks ( like if ak is really a 2 and you can get there by 2 pm and enjoy your self and leave but 6-630 then go over to EPCOT ( and since you have to be there to get your buss back to your hotel) you can enjoy some things there for a bit but I would not do this every day.

I would recommend not listing to touring plans for 100% accrucy they are good but some times they are way off.

 

[gap2368]

So for example if I wanted to go from Animal Kingdom to MK there is a bus at Animal Kingdom that will take me directly to MK?

yes

and as of September 26 ( so things could have changes or changed by the time you go if you are at MK and want to go to

HS you would take buss stop number 8
AK buss stop number 6 ( and make sure you are not going to AKL)

 

[Klayfish]

As someone who goes to WDW often and always stays off site, I am going to very, very strongly recommend you rent a car. Yes, you can rely on the shuttle and WDW buses, but it is going to add a lot of time to your travels and I suspect will be a great source of frustration. Having the car will allow you to go where you want, when you want. It will also allow you to do things off site of WDW property, which with a trip as long as yours (we do trips that long too), you'll want to do...even if it's just browsing the gift shops or going to a restaurant. If you can swing it, there is no question that you'll want a rental car.

As for getting from park to park, without a car, yeah, you're pretty much relying on the buses. There's the monorail that runs between MK and Epcot, so if you're hopping between those, you can use that. We normally do. There's also the boat to hop between Hollywood Studios and Epcot, which we do if we want to do something "different", but it's slow. For most hopping, we just take our car.

 

[Missyrose]

Not to high jack your thread but I did not think you could take a bus from one park to another directly? Am I misinformed

You are misinformed, there is park-to-park transportation at each park. For example at MK, there are buses to AK and DHS and the monorail to Epcot (with a changeover at TTC).

So for example if I wanted to go from Animal Kingdom to MK there is a bus at Animal Kingdom that will take me directly to MK?

Correct, there's a bus from AK to MK for you.

As someone who goes to WDW often and always stays off site, I am going to very, very strongly recommend you rent a car. Yes, you can rely on the shuttle and WDW buses, but it is going to add a lot of time to your travels and I suspect will be a great source of frustration. Having the car will allow you to go where you want, when you want. It will also allow you to do things off site of WDW property, which with a trip as long as yours (we do trips that long too), you'll want to do...even if it's just browsing the gift shops or going to a restaurant. If you can swing it, there is no question that you'll want a rental car.

As for getting from park to park, without a car, yeah, you're pretty much relying on the buses. There's the monorail that runs between MK and Epcot, so if you're hopping between those, you can use that. We normally do. There's also the boat to hop between Hollywood Studios and Epcot, which we do if we want to do something "different", but it's slow. For most hopping, we just take our car.

THIS. So much this. Budget for a rental car. The offsite shuttles are so unreliable. And the one you're describing is so restrictive with just a single drop-off/pick-up location. I don't think you've quite grasped just how big Walt Disney World is. Epcot really isn't convenient to everything, and not somewhere you'd want to start and end your days every day. You're talking about adding an extra hour-plus to your transportation each way to go to Epcot and then your destination. Rent a car.

 

[BlueFairy]

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.

Uber is a great way to get around WDW, but will add up over the length of a long trip or for destinations off property.

There is a Transportation Board that is best suited to the nitty gritty of your post.

If you stick with this plan, I would consider midday breaks and dining in some of the resorts near your chosen park to break up the trip. AK has a 5 min bus ride to AKL. You can walk or boat from Epcot or DHS to Swan, Dolphin, YC/BC, and Boardwalk. You can walk from MK to CR (10 min). You can boat from MK to FW and WL. You can monorail or boat to Polynesian or the Grand Floridian from MK. These resorts are all beautiful with nice table service dining options. Getting back to your park is easy. They also each have a bus stop that will take you to the more far away parks if you are hopping.

 

[Cinderella94]

THIS. So much this. Budget for a rental car. The offsite shuttles are so unreliable. And the one you're describing is so restrictive with just a single drop-off/pick-up location. I don't think you've quite grasped just how big Walt Disney World is. Epcot really isn't convenient to everything, and not somewhere you'd want to start and end your days every day. You're talking about adding an extra hour-plus to your transportation each way to go to Epcot and then your destination. Rent a car.

I was going to say this also. You will waste a ton of time dealing with your off-site shuttle.

 

[rwdavis2]

As someone who goes to WDW often and always stays off site, I am going to very, very strongly recommend you rent a car. Yes, you can rely on the shuttle and WDW buses, but it is going to add a lot of time to your travels and I suspect will be a great source of frustration. Having the car will allow you to go where you want, when you want. It will also allow you to do things off site of WDW property, which with a trip as long as yours (we do trips that long too), you'll want to do...even if it's just browsing the gift shops or going to a restaurant. If you can swing it, there is no question that you'll want a rental car.

As for getting from park to park, without a car, yeah, you're pretty much relying on the buses. There's the monorail that runs between MK and Epcot, so if you're hopping between those, you can use that. We normally do. There's also the boat to hop between Hollywood Studios and Epcot, which we do if we want to do something "different", but it's slow. For most hopping, we just take our car.

I will agree with this 100%. Has the OP checked the running time for the hotel shuttle? If I read it correctly that shuttle only stops at Epcot. Unless you end every night at Epcot you run the risk of not getting there in time for the shuttle. Although WDW transportation is usually good, it's not perfect and does experience delays.

 

[Mome Rath]

I will add in my opinion; first, I love park hoppers and use mine every day I'm there (I always hit at least 2 parks in a day, it's just always worked out that way). One of the ways I plan hops is indeed hours of operation. I hop from whatever park I rope dropped to the park I want to go to with the latest hours. So, for example if EPCOT is having a late night I usually rope drop MK.

I never rent a car and always use Disney transportation, BUT I stay onsite. The transportation itself (esp. monorails and boats) adds to my Disney vacation and I would loathe to drive. Because I see it as part of the Dis experience I'm not worried about time "wasted." My favorite hopping route is the boat from EPCOT's World Showcase to Studios. My second fav is the monorail to/from MK and EPCOT. Yes, the buses can be a drag, but I use it as people watching time, and buses do show up around every 20 min, that means sometimes you'll walk right up to a bus, sometimes you'll have to wait around 20 min.

Now, as others have pointed out, your hotel transport is the actual issue, and it may be worth it to rent a car or do uber because of that hiccup. It's the timing of your shuttle and parks closing that's the issue. If you want to stick to the hotel transport, you'll just have to always keep that schedule in mind and make allowances for it, making sure you ask when they run the shuttle, and then realize you need transport from whatever park you are at back to EPCOT, all before the transportation quits running. It's also always a good idea to have a back up plan in case something "unexpected" crops up, such as the monorail not running.

 

[gap2368]

You could use the buss to go to EPCOT then hop to a park then use a taxi to get back to your hotel if EPCOT dose not work / wrong pick up times. Not only will you have to pay for a rental car but also $20 a day to park at Disney.

 

[DOOM1001]

MK to Epcot: monorail or ferry to TTC then monorail to Epcot
MK to DHS:direct bus
MK to AK:direct bus

Epcot to MK:monorail to TTC then monorail or ferry to MK
Epcot to DHS:direct bus or friendship boats from front of DHS to Epcot's International Gateway(back)entrance,or walk this same route to the IG entrance
Epcot to AK:direct bus

DHS to MK:direct bus
DHS to Epcot:direct bus or friendship boat from DHS to Epcot's IG entrance,or walk same route
DHS to AK:direct bus

AK to MK:direct bus
AK to Epcot: direct bus
AK to DHS: direct bus

 

[Minkishly]

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.