Getting to the Magic Kingdom

[ArthurAmish]

I'm looking for some guidance on the best way to get from BCV to the Magic Kingdom. I will have a rental car (we haven't had the best experiences with the buses.) I've tried walking through the Epcot International Gate and then taking the monorail, but that seems like an awful long walk with a 4 year old. Driving and parking to the Magic Kingdom lot is OK; but sometimes, especially when the parks close, there are masses of people to deal with. My idea I'm thinking of is parking at VWL and taking the boat to the Magic Kingdom gate. Is this allowed for people staying at the Beach Club Villas? How frequent are the ferry boats from VWL to MK? Thanks for your help.

 

[jade1]

I'm looking for some guidance on the best way to get from BCV to the Magic Kingdom. I will have a rental car (we haven't had the best experiences with the buses.) I've tried walking through the Epcot International Gate and then taking the monorail, but that seems like an awful long walk with a 4 year old. Driving and parking to the Magic Kingdom lot is OK; but sometimes, especially when the parks close, there are masses of people to deal with. My idea I'm thinking of is parking at VWL and taking the boat to the Magic Kingdom gate. Is this allowed for people staying at the Beach Club Villas? How frequent are the ferry boats from VWL to MK? Thanks for your help.

We usually take the bus if we are not already at EPCOT. Its no different than most every other resort.

 

[tjkraz]

Unless you are staying at a resort with monorail service, the best route to the MK is almost always the bus. The bus drops you off right outside the gates. If you drive, you need to park in the TTC lot, often take a tram to the TTC itself, wait for the monorail / boat, and then complete the trip to the Magic Kingdom.

Driving may make sense if you will later be going on to another destination that's not easily reachable by bus, it will still take longer than the direct bus service to the MK.

 

[DebbieB]

I stayed at VWL last month. The boat to MK goes to Fort Wilderness after WL, then heads to MK. I think it would take more time than the bus or driving to the TTC.

 

[DrTomorrow]

Not sure how the VWL Security deals with folks parking there to go to the MK, even if they are DVC owners.

I do know that at park close, the boat dock to WL and FW is just as overloaded as the ferry and monorail - don't think it'd be any quicker back....

 

[spiceycat]

go ask on the Transportation board - but Tyler a couple of months ago - say that all Epcot resorts now had their OWN bus to the MK - now at low times like lunch - there is still one bus - but for the morning rush there should no longer be the d/s, yc, bc then BW then go to the MK or AK or DD. So this should cut the wait time in half if not more. Ride the BUS!!!

 

[ArRzrbk]

We tried two routes on our trip...

1.) Drove, then took tram, then took Monorail. Easy, and not too much walking, but we thought it took a long time...until...we tried our second bright idea.

2.) Drove to VWL and parked, walked to boat dock, rode boat to MK. Going seemed to take forever. We had to wait for the boat in the cold wind. Not fun. Coming back was better, but still a long ride. Wouldn't recommend this, unless you want to take a tour of the villas. We did walk around while we were there.

I think bus is the way to go. The only reason we didn't do it was that we had a stroller with us, and I thought that would be a pain. Should have asked people on these boards first. Maybe it's no biggie.

Also, I thought about doing the Epcot monorail. I think that is actually a good idea. My three year old did lots of walking when we were there. I am sure they'd be fine. And if not, piggy back rides work

 

[crisi]

When we did the Epcot monorail we would rent a stroller at the IG, walk through Epcot, drop the stroller off, ride the monorail, switch monorails, pick up new stroller.

Another option we used (particularly in the mornings - this was when BWVs was the last stop, so usually only half the people on the stop could get onto a SRO bus), was the good old cab. Drops you off at the TTC, and you take the ferry or monorail in from there.

If you are there at closing, consider walking (or taking the resort monorail) over to the CR for a drink (or a peek) before returning - the buses run for quite a while after closing.

 

[jekjones1558]

Tyler a couple of months ago - say that all Epcot resorts now had their OWN bus to the MK - now at low times like lunch - there is still one bus - but for the morning rush there should no longer be the d/s, yc, bc then BW then go to the MK or AK or DD. So this should cut the wait time in half if not more.

Can anybody verify that BWV has its own MK buses now? In February the long sharing ride was still going on.

 

[spiceycat]

go ask on the Transportation board - Chip n' dale express is Tyler - he is a bus driver for WDW.

when I complainted about the bus situation at the EPcot resorts on the resort board - he says that is no longer a problem (except at lunch time) - during the busy times each resort has it own bus. - busy times are probably the morning rush hour, and coming back in the evening. I am not sure about other times.

I was very, very happy to heard this - we waited 45 minutes once for the MK resort and it was filled....the second wait was not as long like 20 minutes - but still...

 

[PKS44]

If you are willing to get up early and wait at the bus stop from 7am for an 8am opening or 8am for a 9 am opening--go with the bus...

We stayed at the BCV for 10 nights--the bus back was a LOOONG wait and ride....I preferred driving myself...if you do--you still have to head out around the same time in the am...but the uncertainty is in the time from the TTC to MK and from MK to the TTC---this time can vary but I find it less variable than the time with buses and the uncertainty about when a bus will come and how long it takes to get there...

Plus I like riding the monorail --with a 4 year old in the morning that is way more magical than sitting at a bus stop....and going home we take the ferry...those boats move a lot of people pretty quickly...then there are always lots of trams to take you to your car and your back at the BCV in no time....YMMV

 

[Disney Doll]

We do the bus most of the time...drops you off practically at the gate. Second choice is driving over to VWL, parking there, and taking the boat.

 

[lisareniff]

For us... We usually end up doing MK on an EMH day or have a early PS for Crystal Palace and choose to drive. At these times the parking lot is empty and you get a front row spot. NO TRAM needed, just a quick walk under the bridge to the TTC. At that time the resort monorail is the only one operating so will take a little longer but is empty. For my girls riding the monorail is part of the fun. We might only save 5-10 minutes with this route but it lessens the anxiety and waiting for that bus. I think if we did other times the bus would be the way to go.

I must add that the self-parking at BCV is very close which adds to the ease of driving. Both times our rooms were within 3-4 units of the car.

 

[DrTomorrow]

For us... We usually end up doing MK on an EMH day or have a early PS for Crystal Palace and choose to drive. [...]

Assuming it was an EMH-morning, did you have any problem being held up at the parking gate or the monorail entrance? We did an AK EMH-AM once, and it was terrible. They didn't open up the parking booths until about 10 minutes before 8AM - but the Disney Resort buses kept zooming in. By the time we got in, parked and trammed (ouch) the lines were crazy. Just wondering if the MK has a similar bottleneck....

 

[lisareniff]

Assuming it was an EMH-morning, did you have any problem being held up at the parking gate or the monorail entrance? We did an AK EMH-AM once, and it was terrible. They didn't open up the parking booths until about 10 minutes before 8AM - but the Disney Resort buses kept zooming in. By the time we got in, parked and trammed (ouch) the lines were crazy. Just wondering if the MK has a similar bottleneck....

No hold-ups anywhere. We would leave the hotel room between 7 and 7:15am. The parking gates were wide open, just flashed our resort parking paper and zoomed to the front of the parking lot. We were walking through the closed ticket booths at the TTC around 7:30 . Only the resort monorail is operating at that time, so a couple of stops at the Poly and GF, but is fairly empty at the TTC. We were then waiting at the MK gates around 7:20-7:15am.

I'm not sure if it really saves much time, maybe 5-10 minutes but I would be worried about catching the bus, wondering if it had already come, waiting, more waiting, etc. I'm not good at waiting when I don't know how long!

 

[DrTomorrow]

Thanks!

 

[valeriekc]

Can anybody verify that BWV has its own MK buses now? In February the long sharing ride was still going on.

When we went in March we stayed at Boardwalk and the bus only shared with Swan & Dolphin on the way to MK in the morning.
We were the 1st stop and it was quite nice as we finally had a seat to MK in the AM.
However on the return trip it was back to the cram & shove program with SEVEN RESORTS sharing one bus. I am in constant amazement how they get away with it with the cash paying guests.
We only took the bus back from MK once as we usually monorail over to EPCOT and do things there.
It is continually frustrating to me how the bus service works to MK and AK from the EPCOT resorts....sounds like they are finally getting the point (or pressure) from unhappy guests paying deluxe prices.
And we have stayed around for comparisons.
Hopefully that can at least stay with splitting the EPCOT resorts between 2 bus routes?

 

[PKS44]

No hold-ups anywhere. We would leave the hotel room between 7 and 7:15am. {snip}...We were walking through the closed ticket booths at the TTC around 7:30 . {snip}.... We were then waiting at the MK gates around 7:20-7:15am.

Thru the TTC around 7:30 and waiting at the MK gates at 7:15? Wow that is a MAGICAL place!

 

[lisareniff]

Thru the TTC around 7:30 and waiting at the MK gates at 7:15? Wow that is a MAGICAL place!

Yes, the monorail is a time machine in disguise! I was typing with out my brain fully there. Kids do that to ya! I meant either 7:20-7:45am or 15 or 20 minutes before 8am. What a way to combine!

 

[croach]

We always drive to Orlando so we have a car there. Then we just drive to the parks. We are never in a hurry to leave and I figure all modes of transportation are crowded if you stay until closing anyway. We always just hang around in the park for a little while extra. Very nice walking down main street at night after the majority of people have cleared out.