GF to WL?

[marksmith]

any suggestions on best(fastest and/or most enjoyable way) to go from GF to WL (artist Point ADR 6:30) and back? Thanks

 

[grimley1968]

Most enjoyable would be to boat or monorail to MK, then catch the WL boat from there. On the way back, catch the WL boat to MK, then boat (do not monorail, as it has multiple stops on way back to GF) back to GF.

This also may be the only way to do this via Disney transportation, unless you ask a bus driver. I know sometimes WL buses will stop at Poly and GF before heading over to a non-MK park, but I can't remember if those same buses also stop at GF and Poly on the way to dropping off WL guests. It seems they did sometimes for us on the way back from AK, EPCOT and MGM. It doesn't hurt to ask, especially if it's on the way for the driver. This would be a faster way, if possible. But I have real doubts as to whether they go toward WL from GF or due south from GF to other parks. But it seems to me you could catch a non-MK bus out of WL, and hop off at GF when the bus stops at GF to pick people up, which it seems like usually happened. Just ask the driver first.

The fastest way of all would be to drive, if that's an option. These 3 resorts (Poly, GF and WL) are all pretty much on one long street, and would be a 5-minute drive or so.

 

[sue1013]

You could also take the monorail to Contemporary then the boat to WL.

 

[grimley1968]

You could also take the monorail to Contemporary then the boat to WL.

I wouldn't try this.

A) Why not catch the boat from MK, and avoid that sometimes-delayed trip to CR from MK via the monorail?

B) It's not a sure thing a boat will go to WL from CR. I have made stops via boat at CR going to FW from WL, but this was for Hoop De Doo, I think. I'm not sure there is regular boat service between CR and WL.

C) If this route exists, it's probably the slowest way.

Better to take the boat from MK to WL.

 

[HappyDznyCamper]

There is regular launch service from CR to WL and FW, it runs every day from 7am to 10pm(at a min. it may run longer at certain times of year). Because the smaller launch from CR to WL travels a shorter distance than the MK cruiser and because ot doesn't travel over the water bridge requiring the "No Wake Zone" the monorail to CR, boat to Wl may actually be faster, depending on connections of cours. It really will be your choice.

 

[Endeavour105]

There is regular launch service from CR to WL and FW, it runs every day from 7am to 10pm(at a min. it may run longer at certain times of year). Because the smaller launch from CR to WL travels a shorter distance than the MK cruiser and because ot doesn't travel over the water bridge requiring the "No Wake Zone" the monorail to CR, boat to Wl may actually be faster, depending on connections of cours. It really will be your choice.

The 'regular launch service' you refer to consists of 2 Blue flagged motor launches that run from 0645 to 2330 daily. Traveling over the waterbridge really doesn't really affect travel times - it really depends on when one arrives at the docks and the time sequence between the Green flagged motor cruisers from the MK and the Blue flagged motor launches serving the CR, WL and the FWC.

 

[sotoalf]

I wouldn't try this.

A) Why not catch the boat from MK, and avoid that sometimes-delayed trip to CR from MK via the monorail?

B) It's not a sure thing a boat will go to WL from CR. I have made stops via boat at CR going to FW from WL, but this was for Hoop De Doo, I think. I'm not sure there is regular boat service between CR and WL.

C) If this route exists, it's probably the slowest way.

Better to take the boat from MK to WL.

Huh?

Every one of these points is incorrect. There IS a regular launch that runs from about 7 am to about 10 pm most days (later when the MK is open later). As the previous poster remarked, it's actually a bit faster than the MK route.

 

[grimley1968]

But the OP is coming from GF. Any routing that would take the OP to WL has MK as a stop.

It does take time to get from MK to CR. I think that time is better spent getting off the monorail or boat at MK, then riding directly from there to WL. On the monorail, there is often a 5-10 minute delay between MK and CR, depending on how crowded the track ahead is. I've waited 15 minutes a couple of times in this area before.

IMO, it's better to get off at MK, and take the WL boat from there. Maybe it's a slower route, I don't know, but I think the eliminated time spent getting from MK to CR makes up for it.

Editing to add that I forgot about the direct bus between MK and WL. That is probably the fastest option once at MK. So really, the fastest option altogether would be to monorail to MK from GF (1 stop), then bus from MK to WL. On the way back, bus from WL to MK, then boat, not monorail, back to GF. If the bus is empty at WL, you can always ask the driver if he could just drop you off at GF before heading to MK. It never hurts to ask.

 

[Endeavour105]

Huh?

Every one of these points is incorrect. There IS a regular launch that runs from about 7 am to about 10 pm most days (later when the MK is open later). As the previous poster remarked, it's actually a bit faster than the MK route.

More dis-information!!! Your time description is incorrect. See my post above. If, by "regular launch service", you are referring to the Blue flag motor launches running betweeen the CR, WL and FWC, these launches run from 0645 to 2330 and are NOT dependant on how late the MK is open.

The Green flag motor cruisers from the MK to the WL and FWC run from 0830 to 1 hour after the MK closes.

 

[cigar95]

B) It's not a sure thing a boat will go to WL from CR. I have made stops via boat at CR going to FW from WL, but this was for Hoop De Doo, I think. I'm not sure there is regular boat service between CR and WL.

The launch loop runs WL-CR-FW-WL-CR- . . . . . . . So this loop isn't convenient for getting from the CR *to* WL, since it will take two long legs instead of one short leg. But it's quite convenient the other direction.

(A watercraft CM just told me yesterday that the launch loop always runs the same direction, unlike the cruiser loop - if this isn't the case, I'm sure Endeavor will clarify.)

 

[grimley1968]

The launch loop runs WL-CR-FW-WL-CR- . . . . . . . So this loop isn't convenient for getting from the CR *to* WL, since it will take two long legs instead of one short leg. But it's quite convenient the other direction.

(A watercraft CM just told me yesterday that the launch loop always runs the same direction, unlike the cruiser loop - if this isn't the case, I'm sure Endeavor will clarify.)

Probably so, but the direct bus between MK and WL would pretty much eliminate the need for this anyway.

 

[Endeavour105]

The launch loop runs WL-CR-FW-WL-CR- . . . . . . . So this loop isn't convenient for getting from the CR *to* WL, since it will take two long legs instead of one short leg. But it's quite convenient the other direction.

(A watercraft CM just told me yesterday that the launch loop always runs the same direction, unlike the cruiser loop - if this isn't the case, I'm sure Endeavor will clarify.)

Both Blue flag motor launches on Bay Lake run clockwise ( CR, FWC, WL ) until 3 p.m. and counter-clockwise afterwards until 2330.

The Green flag motor cruisers run from 0830 to 1 hour after the MK closes. Until 3 pm., they run from the MK to the FWC and WL - in that order. After 3 p.m., WL is the first stop from the MK and the FWC is the 2nd.

That Watercraft CM is in error if what you say was said is exactly what he/she said.

 

[cigar95]

That Watercraft CM is in error if what you say was said is exactly what he/she said.

Yeah, that's what she said - while I was riding on the cruiser, I asked specifically if both routes changed directions. She claimed only the cruisers changed at 1500.

Maybe some CMs are doing it differently - which could get confusing.

 

[Endeavour105]

Yeah, that's what she said - while I was riding on the cruiser, I asked specifically if both routes changed directions. She claimed only the cruisers changed at 1500.

Maybe some CMs are doing it differently - which could get confusing.

Must have been one of the new Watercraft CMs, then - AND the info she gave is definitely wrong - the information I provided above is correct. If you were on a cruiser and talking to a Watercraft CM, then she was the deckhand - for newbies - unless you were talking to the cruiser pilot in the elevated cruiser pilothouse.

Watercraft CMs do not vary the boat routes at their discretion and need supervisory approval to do this on a case-by-case basis - for unusual circumstances - which are relatively few.

I wonder if she is the same new Watercraft CM who has trouble figuring out how to open the simple gravity latch gates at the TTC ferry boat dock?!?!?!