First-timers! DME and shuttle help

[wampuscat7]

Hi, all,

My family will be first-timers to Disney World in January. We're only going to be there for three nights, and I've got a couple of questions. I'd really appreciate the help from some DIS pros.

First, we arrive at MCO in midafternoon on Wednesday, and we're staying at Kidani Village. I should figure 1.5-2 hours for the DME trip from MCO to Kidani, right? What about the bus ride from Kidani to MK? 45 min? I'm wondering about heading to MK for the evening and EMH, but I'm not sure if all that travel time is going to be too much for my toddler.

Second, we're scheduled on a (non-Disney ) cruise out of Port Canaveral on Saturday. Does anyone have a transportation option they recommend for making that trip? We were thinking about renting a car for the one-way. Is renting from the Car Care Center a pain?

 

[Elizhodge13]

From landing at MCO, you can expect to be at Kidani in 1.5-2hours. The bus ride itself from MCO to Kidani should be about 35-50 minutes. As far as the ride from Kidani to MK, once on the bus, it really should only take about 20-25 minutes. The problem comes when waiting for the bus as that amount can vary greatly. I would expect time from bus stop to Main Street USA to be about 1 hour (thats including bag check, and ticketing).

As far as transport to the cruise, there is an Alamo rental station near the Magic Kingdom. They do a shuttle that can pick you up at your resort and take you to the Alamo.

Hope this helps! Have a great trip!

 

[bumbershoot]

I should figure 1.5-2 hours for the DME trip

That's total, from getting off the plane. Not once you're on the road.

What about the bus ride from Kidani to MK? 45 min?

On the road? no, not unless something bad has happened. It can take a bit to get to the bus stop and wait for a bus to the park you're going to, though.

Is renting from the Car Care Center a pain?

Not even a little bit.

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/guest-services/car-care-center/

 

[wampuscat7]

Thanks for the info. It really helps. It sounds like renting a car might be the best way to go for Saturday morning.

 

[Julylady]

Another option. There is also a Alamo rental counter at the Dolphin hotel. We planned an EPCOT day for the day we rented the car. After lunch at Via Napoli, I walked out of the International Gateway and boarded the Friendship cruise to the Dolphin. The rest of the group continued to tour at EPCOT. I was next in line to rent the car at the Alamo counter. After picking up the car, I drove back to our hotel and then took the bus back to EPCOT (I didn't want to drive back to the hotel later than night But, you could just as easily drive around and park the car in the EPCOT parking lot. For us, this was less disruptive to our day than waiting at the hotel for a ride to the Car Care Center.

 

[wilkeliza]

Hi, all,

My family will be first-timers to Disney World in January. We're only going to be there for three nights, and I've got a couple of questions. I'd really appreciate the help from some DIS pros.

First, we arrive at MCO in midafternoon on Wednesday, and we're staying at Kidani Village. I should figure 1.5-2 hours for the DME trip from MCO to Kidani, right? What about the bus ride from Kidani to MK? 45 min? I'm wondering about heading to MK for the evening and EMH, but I'm not sure if all that travel time is going to be too much for my toddler.

Second, we're scheduled on a (non-Disney ) cruise out of Port Canaveral on Saturday. Does anyone have a transportation option they recommend for making that trip? We were thinking about renting a car for the one-way. Is renting from the Car Care Center a pain?

There are some great car services that will pick up from your hotel, make a grocery/alcohol stop, and take you to the port. I can't remember who we used but it was equal or less then a one day car rental and you get dropped off directly at the port and picked up directly at the hotel so not all that run around of having to get to the rental location drive back to hotel, pick up everyone, drive to drop off in Port Canaveral then get luggage and everything onto a shuttle and to the port. So worth it to me to not deal with that hassle and with many you can request a car seat.

 

[wampuscat7]

There are some great car services that will pick up from your hotel, make a grocery/alcohol stop, and take you to the port. I can't remember who we used but it was equal or less then a one day car rental and you get dropped off directly at the port and picked up directly at the hotel so not all that run around of having to get to the rental location drive back to hotel, pick up everyone, drive to drop off in Port Canaveral then get luggage and everything onto a shuttle and to the port. So worth it to me to not deal with that hassle and with many you can request a car seat.

Thanks for the info. I've checked a few private car services, and they have been more than a 1-day rental. But it might be worth it for the convenience.