GF to Boardwalk - how to go?

[Guatemommy]

Have dinner at PF in the Grand Floridian and will have a few hours to kill before fireworks so I am trying to figure out what to do. We aren't doing the parks - just the Cinderella dinner - we will have parked our car at the GF. What mode of transportation would get us from the GF to the Boardwalk? Or from the Gf to Downtown Disney?

 

[mazda93speed]

I would jump on the monorail to Magic Kingdom and then get on the bus to the Boardwalk.

 

[MinnieLee]

Have dinner at PF in the Grand Floridian and will have a few hours to kill before fireworks so I am trying to figure out what to do. We aren't doing the parks - just the Cinderella dinner - we will have parked our car at the GF. What mode of transportation would get us from the GF to the Boardwalk? Or from the Gf to Downtown Disney?

You can catch a bus from GF to DTD. As pp, GF to Boardwalk - you could monorail (or boat launch) over to MK and then a bus to Boardwalk. You could also take a cab from GF over.

 

[Gary M]

You could take a bus to HS and then the boat to the boardwalk. Maybe not the fastest way, but if your not in a hurry it could be pleasant. I aways try to sit on the outside on the boat.

 

[wdwrich]

I would jump on the monorail to Magic Kingdom and then get on the bus to the Boardwalk.

This is probably the fastest way other than a cab. Busing to DTD and transferring to a BW bus can take forever!

 

[Paging Tom Morrow]

I'd take my own car if I were you, since you'll have one.

 

[Tara]

Wait...let me see if I understand this. You will be having an earlyish dinner at Park Fare and want to see the MK fireworks from the GF (you say you aren't going to a park). Correct?

The next part is that you are looking to kill a few hours between dinner and fireworks. When is your dinner and when are the fireworks that evening? If you use Disney transportation, you should count on it taking 45 minutes AT LEAST to get where you're going. You could get lucky, but I wouldn't have my fireworks viewing hinge on luck (assuming it's important to you). So multiply that times 2 and see how much time you have left...it might not be worth the trip unless you have more than 3 hours to kill.

In any case, the fastest way to get to either the Boardwalk or Downtown Disney from GF will be in your own car. If you decide to take your car AND go to the Boardwalk, I highly suggest paying for valet parking. Once you pay at GF, it's good the rest of the day at any resort with valet parking, so when you go to BW, you don't have to spend time searching for parking in (what I consider) the very distant parking lots. Then you can valet again back at GF and get to your fireworks viewing.

There are other ways to pass the time, though - you could take a tour via monorail of the other resorts. You could rent speedboats from the GF harbor. The GF grounds are lovely, too...a lot of construction going on on the south side of the property, but on the north/marina side, you should be fine. There are a number of shops at the resort (and more shops at the Contemporary on level 4) that are nice for browsing, too, but I think my favorite GF activity is settling into a couch in the lobby and people watching. You're likely to be able to enjoy at least the pianist, if not the GF orchestra playing from the mezzanine.

 

[Guatemommy]

Thanks, Tara. Our ressie is at 4:45 and fireworks dont start till 9, which we planned to watch from the GF dock since we've only seen them from in front of the catsle in MK, then wait for the Electric Water pageant, which we never saw in it's entirety.

I figure dinner will be over at the latest by 6:15 so we have almost 3 hours to kill. If it was just adults, I would just relax and wait it out. But DD is 7 and will be in her Cindy costume, so I'm not sure she can be patient for 3 hours - even though she is a great kid - that much time is a lot for a little one. I was hoping for a simpler way to get to the Bwalk, but maybe we will just do the monorail, stop at Comtemporary and Polynesian for some shopping then head back to GF.

I will keep checking every day in hopes of getting a ressie around 6:30 which would really be perfect.

Thanks everyone!

 

[Tara]

Thanks, Tara. Our ressie is at 4:45 and fireworks dont start till 9, which we planned to watch from the GF dock since we've only seen them from in front of the catsle in MK, then wait for the Electric Water pageant, which we never saw in it's entirety.

I figure dinner will be over at the latest by 6:15 so we have almost 3 hours to kill. If it was just adults, I would just relax and wait it out. But DD is 7 and will be in her Cindy costume, so I'm not sure she can be patient for 3 hours - even though she is a great kid - that much time is a lot for a little one. I was hoping for a simpler way to get to the Bwalk, but maybe we will just do the monorail, stop at Comtemporary and Polynesian for some shopping then head back to GF.

I will keep checking every day in hopes of getting a ressie around 6:30 which would really be perfect.

Thanks everyone!

See if you can get the weekly activities schedule for the monorail resorts for the time you're there. Some creative googling might help. The Polynesian has several activities, though the times will likely vary depending on when darkness falls. (For instance, they all have movies on the beach, but this time of year, the movies start at 9.) Some possibilities:

Poly - Campfire sing-along and torch lighting ceremony
GF - they ought to have a storytime as well, but to be honest, I haven't paid attention to such things in years, so I can't be sure, but I bet they do. They definitely have campfire before the movie (probably about 8ish if the movie starts at 9) and you can buy kits to make your own s'mores.

I bet if you go to the hotel FAQ threads on the resorts board, you can find info about storytimes and other activities.

 

[Guatemommy]

Great idea - thanks!!!!!

 

[goofy4tink]

You could also ride the monorail over to the TTC, transfer to the Epcot line and ride that there and back. That would kill some time. When you get back to the TTC, you can head to the Polynesian and walk around there, check it out. Do the same at the CR.
Much better than heading to the BW. Not all that much to do there. Yes, there are street performers, but I wouldn't make a special trip just for them.