getting to fort wilderness for hoop de doo from AKV?

[Kim Gillihan]

I am planning our vacation, and we plan to have a rest day at the resort but that night I was thinking it would be fun to do a fun dinner and I am leaning towards the Hoop de doo show. Question is how hard is it to get to Fort wilderness? We may or may not have a car, but there is always Uber also! How would you get there via bus transportation?

Thanks!! KIM

 

[SPLzero]

You would be able to take a bus to MK then take a boat to ft wilderness.

 

[BillPA]

That is about as far apart as you can get at WDW. I would take the bus to MK then boat to the camp grounds, It will not be fast. Even Uber will drop you at the front of Ft Wilderness then the internal bus to the Hoop-De-Doo. Allow 1 1/2 - 2 hours minimum. You could go early, to EPCOT, monorail to the MK loop and check out the resorts there, then boat from the MK dock or BLT dock. Make it a exploring day then dinner.

 

[jarestel]

Whether you Uber, drive yourself, or bus to Ft Wilderness, you will end up at the "Outpost", where you can board an internal bus (Yellow, Orange, or Purple) to the "Settlement" where Pioneer Hall and the HDDR reside. The internal buses make multiple stops in the loops associated with their color before arriving at the Settlement. This sounds like it takes much longer than it actually does, but if you're running late it can add to stress levels.

As already mentioned, you can also bus to the MK (or Wilderness Lodge or Contemporary), walk over to the boat dock for Ft Wilderness and the boat will deposit you at the "Settlement" where Pioneer Hall is just a short walk away.

No matter which way you decide to travel to Ft Wilderness, leave plenty of time for all of the connections.

Have fun!

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

I'd do the bus to MK then boat to FW. It's a great boat ride! And it drops you off at the Settlement where Hoop de Doo is.

 

[Dean]

We just did this 9 days ago. Even getting there from BLT was quite a chore. I needed to get there early to have them refund tickets bought on cash in favor of using DP credits. I barely missed the boat, then one never came, then an employee came through saying they were shutting down the small boats and going with the larger boats though how long it take was unknown. We did have cars to I drove over to work on the tickets and the rest of the family continued getting ready and also drove. They cut it awfully close in their typical style. If you drive, I'd leave a good hour before the show starts if all you have to do is checkin, at least 30 minutes extra if you need to use the ticket window. Remember you have to check in at a place separate from the ticket window even if you have to go there for some reason. If weather cooperates, it's a barrel right out front of the entrance. I'm not 100% sure where they do so if it's raining but I'd suspect it's close in a covered area.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

We just did this 9 days ago. Even getting there from BLT was quite a chore. I needed to get there early to have them refund tickets bought on cash in favor of using DP credits. I barely missed the boat, then one never came, then an employee came through saying they were shutting down the small boats and going with the larger boats though how long it take was unknown. We did have cars to I drove over to work on the tickets and the rest of the family continued getting ready and also drove. They cut it awfully close in their typical style. If you drive, I'd leave a good hour before the show starts if all you have to do is checkin, at least 30 minutes extra if you need to use the ticket window. Remember you have to check in at a place separate from the ticket window even if you have to go there for some reason. If weather cooperates, it's a barrel right out front of the entrance. I'm not 100% sure where they do so if it's raining but I'd suspect it's close in a covered area.

That would have been the resort boat line, yes? I generally have nothing but misery with them if I'm under a deadline - even leaving plenty of time which we keep adding to and still have issues. That seems to be the time they reverse a route because someone else has to get somewhere.

With the MK boats to the resorts I haven't had the same sort of issues and found them relatively consistent.

 

[Dean]

That would have been the resort boat line, yes? I generally have nothing but misery with them if I'm under a deadline - even leaving plenty of time which we keep adding to and still have issues. That seems to be the time they reverse a route because someone else has to get somewhere.

With the MK boats to the resorts I haven't had the same sort of issues and found them relatively consistent.

But the larger boats are sometimes closed due to weather also both for the MK and EPCOT/DHS routes. That was my main point that weather could play a role.

 

[aoconnor]

Take the Minnie Van service that Disney just rolled out - they will drive you straight to Pioneer Hall unlike Uber, Lyft or even the Disney Bus. Any of those other ways you have to get out at the entrance to Fort Wilderness and transfer to their internal bus loop.

 

[TeeKo]

How about from GF? Won't have a car.
Is a boat the only way? The Minnie Van would be great but have a party of 11

 

[Dean]

How about from GF? Won't have a car.
Is a boat the only way? The Minnie Van would be great but have a party of 11

Using the transportation system a boat or monorail to MK and boat to FW would likely be best. One could also get to the TTC, I think there's still a bus to Ft. Wilderness. Or monorail to contemporary and take the boat there. Remember if you use anything besides the boats, you still have to take an internal bus, that adds another 20-30 minutes. The boat marina is close to the settlement where HDDR is located. If I weren't driving, I'd likely see if I could get mears to run a large van and take the entire group for a package deal, else I'd monorail to MK (since it's the first stop anyway) and then boat to HHD. If the weather is bad causing boat concerns, I'd reconsider the taxi route, but if not, I'd go to the TCC and take a bus.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Using the transportation system a boat or monorail to MK and boat to FW would likely be best. One could also get to the TTC, I think there's still a bus to Ft. Wilderness. Or monorail to contemporary and take the boat there. Remember if you use anything besides the boats, you still have to take an internal bus, that adds another 20-30 minutes. The boat marina is close to the settlement where HDDR is located. If I weren't driving, I'd likely see if I could get mears to run a large van and take the entire group for a package deal, else I'd monorail to MK (since it's the first stop anyway) and then boat to HHD. If the weather is bad causing boat concerns, I'd reconsider the taxi route, but if not, I'd go to the TCC and take a bus.

TTC is no longer used for any resort nor park bus transportation. It has all moved to MK.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

How about from GF? Won't have a car.
Is a boat the only way? The Minnie Van would be great but have a party of 11

As Dean said I'd recommend monorail to MK and then catch the FW boat over to the campground. If weather is a problem and boats are not running then you can bus from MK over to FW but that will probably drop you off at the Outpost and you'll need to catch one of the internal campground buses to the Settlement (there are 3 routes and all go to the Settlement. One is more direct than the others so just check the map - I think it may be Purple that is the most direct but double check). But if the buses are running because boats are down it's possible they would make a stop at the Settlement.

OR, another route if the boats are down is monorail to MK, bus to WL and from WL there is a bus that operates over to FW Settlement. I'd allow a good 1 1/2 hours plus to do all this. The actual travel doesn't take that much time but since you can't count on the wait between changes in transportation switches it's better to be safe than sorry. Once at the settlement there are a few things to do if you arrive early. There are the horse barns, small petting zoo and the Settlement store to look thru. Depending on the time of the year you can also walk thru the campgrounds and see decorations if it's during a holiday season.

Or do 2 Uber XL's to FW and the internal bus to the Settlement.

 

[Dean]

TTC is no longer used for any resort nor park bus transportation. It has all moved to MK.

Thanks. I was thinking they still ran the WL and FW bus there but sounds like not

 

[sndral]

I've always done the MK boat to FW for HDD. I like the boat ride out there (seems to me it takes maybe 20 minutes?)
I take bus/monorail or boat to MK depending on where I'm staying and then catch the FW boat there and once the boat docks I walk on up to Pioneer Hall where HDD is, which is where many of your fellow boat riders will be headed as well. If you're early, and we always seem to be, you can wander around, especially nice at night during Dec. when the campers have their lights & decorations up. After the late show they have buses that will take you back to your resort from Pioneer Hall, although you may have several stops at different resorts.

 

[TeeKo]

As Dean said I'd recommend monorail to MK and then catch the FW boat over to the campground. If weather is a problem and boats are not running then you can bus from MK over to FW but that will probably drop you off at the Outpost and you'll need to catch one of the internal campground buses to the Settlement (there are 3 routes and all go to the Settlement. One is more direct than the others so just check the map - I think it may be Purple that is the most direct but double check). But if the buses are running because boats are down it's possible they would make a stop at the Settlement.

OR, another route if the boats are down is monorail to MK, bus to WL and from WL there is a bus that operates over to FW Settlement. I'd allow a good 1 1/2 hours plus to do all this. The actual travel doesn't take that much time but since you can't count on the wait between changes in transportation switches it's better to be safe than sorry. Once at the settlement there are a few things to do if you arrive early. There are the horse barns, small petting zoo and the Settlement store to look thru. Depending on the time of the year you can also walk thru the campgrounds and see decorations if it's during a holiday season.

Or do 2 Uber XL's to FW and the internal bus to the Settlement.

Wow, thanks Kat4disney and Dean.
I had no idea how elaborate that would be. I think I thought that because FW is sort of neighbors to GF that some how it would be easier...secret trail through the woods or something.
Better to learn this now rather than be 90 minutes late for the HDDR

Thank you for the advice

 

[Kim Gillihan]

Thanks for all the tips! I am going to check out the Minnie van service!! Among others!!