How good is the signage on property?

[TeamEvansGo]

We will be driving this year and I'm wondering how good the signage is on property.

Will we be able to find our resort easily or should I rely on my google maps app?

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

The signage is great. They have big purple road signs you can't miss and are easy to understand. But first you to get to the road you want to be on so I would take a second source for a map.

 

[nacho113]

 

[bumbershoot]

Signage is faboo.

Know what area you are in and know what area you are going to. Then find the signs that take you there, and zero in on the exact place you're going to.

Easiest if you have a navigator who is great at calmly and clearly communicating directions and a driver who will calmly follow the directions.

 

[Muhlenberg]

Don't rely on names of roads, which is probably what any map source is going to give you. PP said it very accurately; you need to know the AREAS, not the road names.

 

[Brer Chump]

This is my favorite road map of WDW. http://www.thedibb.co.uk/web_images/maps/WaltDisneyWorldRoadMap.pdf

 

[Capt_BJ]

I find they have TOO MANY signs and get cornfused when I'm on property now a days . . .

and I've been a regular since 1978 . . .

 

[joelkfla]

You will need to know what area your resort is in: MK Resorts, Epcot Area Resorts, etc. Individual resorts are not listed on the signs until you get close to them.

The other thing is to be sure to read every sign. Sometimes a sign will say something is "straight ahead", only to be followed by a sign telling you to turn just a few hundred feet further up the road.

If you ever feel lost, just pull into any resort or any theme park parking lot, and ask the security or parking cm for directions.

 

[bluezy]

We find that there are too many signs so we always use the GPS -- entering the latitude & longitude coordinates. I watch the signs, but we rely on the GPS and it has always gotten us to our resort.

 

[DOOM1001]

We find that there are too many signs so we always use the GPS -- entering the latitude & longitude coordinates. I watch the signs, but we rely on the GPS and it has always gotten us to our resort.

There's been tons of threads mentioning GPS has taken them to service roads or back roads that actually get the people really lost.The best thing to do is to look at that map that was posted earlier to get an idea of where you're going and what roads you'll use and then follow the signs that should reconfirm your route.

 

[SuzyQue]

Easiest if you have a navigator who is great at calmly and clearly communicating directions and a driver who will calmly follow the directions.

Lol, spoken like someone who's been there done that.

 

[richmo]

You will need to know what area your resort is in: MK Resorts, Epcot Area Resorts, etc. Individual resorts are not listed on the signs until you get close to them....

This is exactly what I was going to say. Know which area your resort is in, pay attention to the signs and you'll do fine. I've found the Disney signs (purple) to be quite good.

At Disney, go more by the signs than what a GPS might try to tell you...

 

[bluezy]

There's been tons of threads mentioning GPS has taken them to service roads or back roads that actually get the people really lost.The best thing to do is to look at that map that was posted earlier to get an idea of where you're going and what roads you'll use and then follow the signs that should reconfirm your route.

Yes, I've seen a few threads (not sure I'd say a "ton") about getting lost on Disney property with a GPS. I've also read plenty of news articles/police reports about people ending up in lakes because they simply rely on their GPS without paying any attention to their surroundings. We tend to employ some common sense when using our GPS (and in the past, when using Mapquest or other similar websites). In 4 or 5 trips to Disney using the GPS (can't remember when we bought our first one -- probably 10 years ago), we've always had a direct and efficient route to our resort. Maybe it's because we enter the coordinates rather than an address???? I suspect that the reason some people get lost on Disney property with a GPS is because they aren't entering an accurate address for where they want to end up. They may find a shipping address for their resort and use that rather than the actual physical location or they may have a mailing address for a park rather than the actual location of the parking lot. That could be the main reason they end up on service roads and wrong locations -- and in reality, the GPS took them to the correct location based on the address used, it's just not where the people want to be. Or maybe they don't have current/updated maps in their GPS. Can't really blame the GPS for those issues. I do always have a general idea of where we're heading on property and like I said, we do pay attention to the signs to make sure we're heading in the right direction. We'll take our chances with the GPS and use the signs as back-up information.

 

[PatMcDuck]

I use my Waze app on my phone, it sometimes helps me get in the correct lane earlier than the signs indicate. Also trucks sometimes block the signs, etc.

But I need to keep my eyes peeled, as the app sometimes has no respect for backstage area roads, lol.

 

[bluezy]

I use my Waze app on my phone, it sometimes helps me get in the correct lane earlier than the signs indicate. Also trucks sometimes block the signs, etc.

But I need to keep my eyes peeled, as the app sometimes has no respect for backstage area roads, lol.

Exactly! There have definitely been times that had we been relying only on the signs, we would have missed our turn/exit because a truck or bus was blocking the sign.

 

[castle1]

Don't rely on names of roads, which is probably what any map source is going to give you. PP said it very accurately; you need to know the AREAS, not the road names.

This is so true! I was following a map looking for World Drive, but it wasn't marked anywhere saying "World Drive". I had to follow the signs for the area I was looking for. I wish they would include the names of the roads on the signs, so you can follow a map more accurately.

 

[Madame]

These are great tips! Could someone please tell me which area we'll need for POR? First time driving down.

 

[richmo]

These are great tips! Could someone please tell me which area we'll need for POR? First time driving down.

That's an Epcot resort.

 

[Madame]

Thank-you!

 

[bumbershoot]

Don't rely on names of roads, which is probably what any map source is going to give you. PP said it very accurately; you need to know the AREAS, not the road names.

Using the map app on my iphone has been pretty good, in that it says "turn left in x miles", not "turn left on whatever road". But then the app on DH's ipad took us on a funky route, wanted us to turn one way, but it was a One Way going the OTHER way road. We had to totally backtrack. Even if we're using an app we also make sure to pay attention to areas.

I find they have TOO MANY signs and get cornfused when I'm on property now a days . . .

What gets me is that they have to brand everything. So your eyes are overwhelmed with "Disney's" whatever resort, or park. Drives me up the wall. My SIL's a trademark attorney so I get it, they *have to* do that, but it really does lead to difficulties when trying to navigate quickly. You ultimately have to just ignore the "Disney's" stuff and move to the middle of the set of words.

The other thing is to be sure to read every sign. Sometimes a sign will say something is "straight ahead", only to be followed by a sign telling you to turn just a few hundred feet further up the road.

So true.

Lol, spoken like someone who's been there done that.

Lil bit. Most of our negative navigation/driving situations happened well before we were driving around WDW (we had an out-of-state wedding and our vendors were in a warehouse district in Portland OR that was ridiculously difficult to navigate around, so we had the issues early), so I thank those early difficulties for the relative ease in driving around WDW.