Honeymoon transportation questions for clueless DW newbies

[UberClaire]

We'll be traveling in August for our honeymoon, and neither of us has been to DW for 15-20 years, so we're a bit rusty. Right now, I'm trying to figure out the best way to get to all of our reservations, with neither one of us being familiar with the area.

On our arrival day, we have a 6:15pm reservation at V+A's. We shouldn't be in any rush, as our plane is due to land at 9:30am. We'll be staying at Kidani Village -- do you think we should take a taxi directly to the GF or take a bus to MK and take the monorail to GF? If we go through Disney transportation, when should we leave the hotel?

The next day, we're taking the Wanyama Safari and need to be at Jiko at 3:45pm. We're planning on spending the morning at DHS. What do you think is the latest we could leave DHS to take the bus back for the safari? I hope we have enough time to spend at DHS (and AK the following day).

Same question for the next day -- we're doing the wine tasting at Jiko at 3pm and planning to spend the day in AK (although it's an EMH day, so we might have to rethink that one). What time would you catch the bus from AK back to AKL/AKV?

 

[loveswdw]

When we went to V&A on our honeymoon (long ago!), we took a cab there and back. Considering you'll be pretty dressed up going to V&A, will you be comfortable riding a bus? I wasn't. Didn't want to wear a nice dress and heels, etc on a bus. But that's just me.

I'm also very wary of booking any reservation that has a cancellation fee on the day of my arrival. You just never know when airlines will have delays. You should be fine but there's always that chance.

As for the others, relying on Disney transport is always a crap shoot for us. I'd make sure to allow at least an hour to get back and forth. I believe Disney will tell you an hour and a half. Sometimes buses are great, other times you'll feel like you've spent half your trip either on a bus or waiting for a bus.

Hope you have a great honeymoon!

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

The rule of thumb is to allow 1 hour to get from point A to point B.

 

[UberClaire]

Thanks everybody! Yeah, we were a little uncomfortable making that reservation for arrival day, but we're only there for six nights, so we were kind of stuck with it. I'm hoping that an 8 hour window will be enough for any travel delays.

Are taxis pretty readily available and reliable? We might just spend the ~$20 then to be able to spend a little more time in the parks on days 2 and 3 if it's easy to get a taxi from DHS and AK and might save time getting back to AKL. I think we'll take a taxi no matter what to V+A's though.

 

[Greysword]

In general, I think the thumb rule is to allow one hour to travel via Disney transportation. However since I have not stayed at AK, I am unfamiliar with the travel time between AKV and AK.

Also if you are going to V+A, riding the bus would depend on your preference and how dressed up you are.

Plan on NOT getting into your room until 4PM at the earliest. It may come through quicker, but DVC villas are different than regular hotel rooms, as the program is designed to have 100% occupancy at all times (minus rooms taken out of service for maintenance/refurbishment).

That said, you'll want to get to the GF at least 15 minutes early, if not 30+, which makes your arrival time at 5:45-6PM. Thus, you'll need to leave AKL no later than 4:45 to be sure, especially since you'll need to go to MK then transfer (or AK then bus to GF). In all, you'll have about 30-45 minutes tops to change if you use Disney transpiration.

Play it how it goes, but keep the timescale in mind and don't plan on getting into the room early.

Now as a separate option if you will be in the MK resort area earlier in the day, you could take a bag and garment bag with your nice cloths and shower items to the CR. Bell service will probably hold your gear, and if you are staying at Kidani (especially if you are DVC members), you'll likely be able to use the gym & showers at CR to change, since DVC members can "gym hop" I think. Check on the DVC member board to be sure, as there are threads about this.

Good luck!

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

Thanks everybody! Yeah, we were a little uncomfortable making that reservation for arrival day, but we're only there for six nights, so we were kind of stuck with it. I'm hoping that an 8 hour window will be enough for any travel delays.

Are taxis pretty readily available and reliable? We might just spend the ~$20 then to be able to spend a little more time in the parks on days 2 and 3 if it's easy to get a taxi from DHS and AK and might save time getting back to AKL. I think we'll take a taxi no matter what to V+A's though.

Cabs are readily available at every resort. I usually see 3-4 cabs. So you will be fine if you want to take a cab. Let the guys at the valet know you need one and they will summons one for you.

I have also seen a number of them at the parks. like 15 -20 waiting.