Holiday Inn downtown Disney

[zippy0803]

Does anyone have any experience withe the shuttles in the DDRA? We are staying at Holiday Inn in August and know nothing much about their shuttle service. Any info would be appreciated.

 

[dmunsil]

Does anyone have any experience withe the shuttles in the DDRA? We are staying at Holiday Inn in August and know nothing much about their shuttle service. Any info would be appreciated.

They're not great. They'll get you to the parks, but slowly. They stop at every one of the seven DTD hotels, and then each bus goes to two parks. I think the MK DTD bus goes to the TTC, unlike the Disney bus, so you still have to take the monorail or ferry from there.

If you can afford a rental car, do it. It will save you significant time. An alternative is to walk to the Congress Park stop of Saratoga Springs and take Disney transit, which comes more often and is more direct. It's going to be maybe a 10-15 minute walk (1 mile). But you could stop at Earl of Sandwich on the way for breakfast, which is my favorite, so there's that.

 

[kaytieeldr]

I think there are separate buses for each side of Hotel Plaza Boulevard. The original poster could probably call Holiday Inn for exact information.

I'm just not sure how much faster walking 10 or 15 minutes to what's not the last stop before the SSR bus leaves that resort would be, over just taking the HPB bus directly.

 

[katallo]

Not sure of the distance, but could you take the bus drom DTD rather than Saratoga Springs? It would still take you to TTC, but maybe you would not stop at hotels.

 

[annette fan]

I went to WDW in December of 2009 and I have mobility issues and I stayed at the Hilton on lake buena vista blvd. I regretted not renting a car or staying on property because since the Lake Buena Vista blvd hotels are not considered "on property" the bus stops at the Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios and Epcot were a good hike from the exit gate and had no seating and were open to the weather. On the other hand the "on property hotels" like the grand Floridian and the contemporary resort etc were only a few feet from the exit gate and had covered seating. So if you have any issues with walking I would recommend renting a car and paying for parking. Even if you don't have any issues with mobility you will be glad you did if the weather turns bad during your day at the park. Also I can't say anything about animal kingdom as we did not go there.

 

[goofy4tink]

Not sure of the distance, but could you take the bus drom DTD rather than Saratoga Springs? It would still take you to TTC, but maybe you would not stop at hotels.

There is no bus that runs between DTD and the TTC! There is no easy way to get from DTD to any park. You have to take a bus to a resort, from DTD, and then transfer to a park bus.

Staying at off-site resorts can seem like a great, money saving idea. But you have to carefully weigh the pros and cons. Yes, you are saving money on your room. But you are also giving up valuable transportation perks. If you don't want to use the hotel shuttles (and they are time consuming and not very efficient), then you need to rent a car. And there goes your money savings. The WDW owned resorts will always get the best bus stops, the best bus service when compared to off-site resorts. It's understandable.

 

[richmo]

Staying at off-site resorts can seem like a great, money saving idea. But you have to carefully weigh the pros and cons. Yes, you are saving money on your room. But you are also giving up valuable transportation perks. If you don't want to use the hotel shuttles (and they are time consuming and not very efficient), then you need to rent a car. And there goes your money savings. The WDW owned resorts will always get the best bus stops, the best bus service when compared to off-site resorts. It's understandable.

I agree and disagree with this. If you're smart about renting a car, you can still do very well economically vs. staying at a Disney resort. (But also factor in parking at the theme parks) I'm one that will almost always recommend renting a car, even if staying onsite, with the possible exception of the monorail resorts and WL. The Disney bus system is OK, but not great...

 

[goofy4tink]

I agree and disagree with this. If you're smart about renting a car, you can still do very well economically vs. staying at a Disney resort. (But also factor in parking at the theme parks) I'm one that will almost always recommend renting a car, even if staying onsite, with the possible exception of the monorail resorts and WL. The Disney bus system is OK, but not great...

Absolutely agree. I just didn't put the rental car in there since the OP didn't mention it. But, if staying anywhere off-site? I would always have a rental car. I'm even starting to think it's not such a bad idea for on-site as well!!