If you've stayed at multiple resorts (transportation question)

[Skiton]

Hi everyone. We are considering renting points to stay at one of the deluxe villas and I need some help. I'm curious about how far the resorts are from the parks in terms of time spent getting there, not just distance. Now, obviously GF and Poly will be very convenient to MK, and BW and BC will be very convenient to EPCOT and HS, and AK doesn't look convenient to anything. Never having stayed on property, though, I'm not sure.

- AK has dedicated busses. Shared busses at other resorts always seem to be listed as a con. Would it actually be faster to take a dedicated bus from AK to the parks than it would be to take a shared bus from more central resorts to the parks (that require bus transportation). What about Wilderness?

- Say we were to stay at Poly or GF. How reliable is the monorail in terms of getting to Epcot? We've not always had great luck with it at DL. What about the boats?

- If you were narrowing down resorts based solely on minimizing the time and hassle it took to get where you were going, which one or two would you look at?

Thanks for your help! Trying to figure this out is overwhelming.

 

[dansdad]

IMHO the most convenient are the Epcot resorts. You really can't beat being able to walk to 2 resorts.

Yes, the monorail resorts are close to MK but are quite a hike to all the other parks. This is just our experience, but we have found the monorail to be extremely unpredictable. The only reservations and ADRs (14 total) we have ever missed in 25 years were because of being stuck on the monorail or in line waiting for a stuck monorail.

AKL is convenient to AK, but the same hike to all the other parks as the monorail resorts.

 

[gmboy95]

I would concur that the Epcot resorts are by far the best as you are within walking distance to two resorts. I would say the monorail resorts are convenient, but for me the monorail is alwys relative when you consider getting on them at park closing, but that is really not that big of a problem

 

[AngiTN]

There is no resort that is close to everything. You may want to pull up a map of the entire WDW complex to get a good idea of the layout. Once you do, you'll learn that MK is actually the park that is the most removed from everything else. The rest are grouped close-ish together.
The end result of your review will show you that while most all resorts are close-ish to at least 1 park they are also far from at least 1 park. So it all comes out in the wash when it's all said and done. You are going to have to give somewhere when it comes to at least one park being a bit further trek than the rest.
As for the monorail, I agree with PP, it's not the most reliable form of Disney transportation. When it works, great but when it's down, oh my it's a PITA. And you can't predict an outage. For this reason I do not consider the monorail a benefit of staying at a monorail resort. In addition, they also tend to share the most buses for the parks that do require busing.

 

[Skiton]

This is all helpful, thanks! So basically, at the end of the day, does it even matter? I tried to narrow it down by which park we might spend the most time in but even that doesn't really help. If my kids were little I'd say MK, but they'll probably be 9 and 10 by the time we go. We want to go after Avatar opens and that might make a huge difference in how much time we spend at AK, but who knows? And everything I'm reading says HS is sort of a half-day park while they're constructing Star Wars and Toy Story.

 

[loves to dive]

Agree with all others about the monorail, I actually won't stay at a MK resort unless there is nothing else available because of it. As to your question about WL, you can boat to MK from there and it has buses to all the other parks. Once at MK if you wanted you could hop on the monorail to Epcot. I think you can also boat to CR, from there you could hop on the monorail as well.

I also agree that the Epcot resorts can be the most convenient, they are my favorite by far and I always stay there. You can walk to both Epcot and HS from them, or you can boat or do a combination of boating and walking. You could, if you wanted, walk through Epcot (if you had park hoppers) and catch the monorail to MK but it's probably faster to bus it. If you happened to be on the FW side of Epcot and wanted to hop over to MK, the monorail would be a good option then. AKL isn't as far as people tend to make it out to be. The bus to AK is about 5 min. and the bus to HS/Epcot is as close if not closer than the moderate resorts. The only one that is any distance is MK but as pp pointed out, MK is the furthest park from all the resorts other than the monorail resorts so AKL isn't going to take you any longer than any other resort.

 

[AngiTN]

This is all helpful, thanks! So basically, at the end of the day, does it even matter? I tried to narrow it down by which park we might spend the most time in but even that doesn't really help. If my kids were little I'd say MK, but they'll probably be 9 and 10 by the time we go. We want to go after Avatar opens and that might make a huge difference in how much time we spend at AK, but who knows? And everything I'm reading says HS is sort of a half-day park while they're constructing Star Wars and Toy Story.

No, at the end of the day, if you plan time in all 4 parks, it doesn't matter much at all. Something is going to be close, something is going to be far. We've stayed in all resorts and we avoid the Values due to the double beds and small rooms but otherwise, we have been fine with transportation from all of them.
One thing to think, if you are folks who enjoy a meal at Epcot most each day, then one of the Epcot resorts would be a benefit since you can easily head over there for dinner each night.
But even that is doable no matter where you stay since you can take resort to resort transportation so say you'd been at AK for the day and want to have dinner at Epcot, just leave AK, hop on a bus to Epcot, go to dinner and then head back to your resort from there, even if it's a bus or monorail ride away.

 

[Harambe]

Epcot resorts - LOVE that you can walk to Epcot, and take a boat to HS. HATE that you can be on a multi-stop bus when returning from MK or AK. We returned from AK one day and the bus stopped at (don't remember the order) Beach Club, Yacht Club, Swan, Dolphin, and another villa complex, may have been Beach Club Villas. It was ridiculous! I remember distinctly because there was an exhausted, screaming child on the bus for the duration. Now, this was during a slower time at the parks, so that might have something to do with it but it was like that for our whole BW trip.

Prefer AK for dedicated busses, or OKW which has a few internal bus stops, but then it is a straight shot to whichever park you're going to.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

I'll also note that if you're looking at point rental:

• It is not common to be able to rent points and get a studio at Grand Floridian, unless you work with a private party, and it will be $15-17 per point.
• If pricing rooms at Animal Kingdom Villas, price a Standard or Savannah view room. Value is unlikely; they're very hard to book at all.
• If pricing rooms at Boardwalk Villas, price Pool/Garden View. Your best hope of a Standard (cheapest points) is a 1BR unit.
• If pricing rooms at Bay Lake Tower, price Lake View. Your best hope of a Standard (cheapest points) is a 1BR unit.
• DVC busy season is late September through marathon; any near-park resort will require 11-month booking priority. AKV will be the easiest of the resorts you mention to book on rented points.

 

[VAfamily1998]

I don't know if I have horrible luck or what, but it seems like I always have SOME issue every time I ride the monorail. I don't think I have EVER been on it where it didn't stall for at least a few minutes. Because of that, I really don't consider monorail access to be of much benefit.
I DO however, think the walking distance location to MK is a plus for Contemporary.

I have stayed at:
Boardwalk Inn
Yacht Club
Polynesian
Wilderness Lodge
POR
POFQ
The cabins at Ft. Wilderness
CSR
AKL
CBR

And, not an official Disney resort, but on property, Shades of Green.


I really liked the walking/boat access to two parks at YC and BWI, but they can be pricey, depending on what time of year you go.
The best bus transporation was at CSR

I was really surprised when I was taking buses from the Poly (both when I've stayed at Poly, and when I've stayed at Shades of Green) that GF and Poly shared buses most of the time, with Poly picking up first. Often when we arrived at GF the bus was already completely full, or standing room only and most of the huge crowd had to wait for another bus. I would have been pretty upset if I was paying that much money for GF.

 

[buzznina]

I will say that after staying at GF twice, we will no longer use the monorail for EPCOT, we had much better time with buses or even walking to the TTC. But for MK it is really great. MK is still our families favorite park and we will spend more time there then any other park, so the EPCOT resorts do not have much advantage for us. With that said, for our family, we do not even consider transportation anymore when looking at resorts. For us, the time saved is negligible and not a big deal.

 

[ChasingLeslie]

I agree with others that the Epcot area resorts are some of the best-placed resorts.

We have a mod-budget and choose to keep returning to CSR...the location is one of reasons why. It's considered an AK resort, but it's actually situated across from HS and the boardwalk area; therefore it's central to three of the four parks.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

IMHO the most convenient are the Epcot resorts. You really can't beat being able to walk to 2 resorts.

Yes, the monorail resorts are close to MK but are quite a hike to all the other parks. This is just our experience, but we have found the monorail to be extremely unpredictable. The only reservations and ADRs (14 total) we have ever missed in 25 years were because of being stuck on the monorail or in line waiting for a stuck monorail.

AKL is convenient to AK, but the same hike to all the other parks as the monorail resorts.

Exactly this. The monorail isn't always open very early or late. We left Epcot late one night while staying at the Poly and the monorail was closed. We had to take a bus back that stopped at all three of the monorail resorts. It was very annoying.

After the Poly we stayed at the BC and walking to two parks was awesome. The bus to MK was a very long wait one morning.

The best bus service we ever had was at CBR. Never waited more than 5-10 minutes with the longest wait being once at 15-20 minutes.

 

[Tigger's ally]

IMO, the Boardwalk Villas are the best location overall. Walk to DHS and Epcot is essentially the same except in oppo directions. Boats will take you to either. Bus to AK is fairly short ride even though you stop at S/D. Bus to MK is the longest ride of any, but still is not bad.

Oh, and walking to Epcot from the BW villas means you have to pass Ample Hills Ice cream parlor and Abracadabar. Darn the luck!

 

[disneygolfer1985]

I will share the same sentiment of Epcot resorts. The location can't be beat and not having to rely on transportation for 2 of the parks is great. Also, when you are leaving MK or AK and you miss one of the buses, you could always jump on one of the other buses for another Epcot resort and just walk around crescent lake.

 

[Wood Nymph]

I will say that after staying at GF twice, we will no longer use the monorail for EPCOT, we had much better time with buses or even walking to the TTC. But for MK it is really great. MK is still our families favorite park and we will spend more time there then any other park, so the EPCOT resorts do not have much advantage for us. With that said, for our family, we do not even consider transportation anymore when looking at resorts. For us, the time saved is negligible and not a big deal.

Is there a bus from GF to Epcot? I thought that the only transportation from GF was via the monorail. We will be staying at the GF in December and plan to go to Wpcot several times during the trip.

 

[buzznina]

Is there a bus from GF to Epcot? I thought that the only transportation from GF was via the monorail. We will be staying at the GF in December and plan to go to Wpcot several times during the trip.

My bad, I was thinking of HS when we took the bus, the last time from EPCOT we ended up walking from TTC. During our stay, we went to EPCOT 2 days and one day I left early while DW and DDs stayed later, so a total of 5 trips. The first 4 never took less then 1-1/2 hours total time and the last one we walked from TTC, stopped at POLY for dole whips and then to GF. We also seem to prefer the Mod resorts, just do not feel the price difference is worth it for us, we rarely have any issues with buses and do not feel saving 15 minutes here or there is that big of a deal.

 

[bumbershoot]

- If you were narrowing down resorts based solely on minimizing the time and hassle it took to get where you were going, which one or two would you look at?

I wouldn't. Everything always seems to take about 20 minutes once you're on the mode of transportation.

Since you mention DL, I assume you go there often; compared to DL everything is going to feel like a world away from everything else. There are *highways* between parks and resorts. It's wild. I knew the acreage but I thought it would be city-type streets in between; not 55mph highways.

Once you do, you'll learn that MK is actually the park that is the most removed from everything else.

Once you've done a rundisney Half marathon involving MK you'll know that, too!

So basically, at the end of the day, does it even matter?

Not to me!

Especially since we almost always rent a car and just drive anyway. I mean, if I were staying at Bay Lake and wanted to go to MK I wouldn't drive; I'd walk. And if we're at Boardwalk we aren't cutting down the walking if we were to drive to Epcot vs walking (you enter through a different place, but parking and walking is about the same as walking). But everywhere we've stayed yet we mainly drive.

 

[Skiton]

I wouldn't. Everything always seems to take about 20 minutes once you're on the mode of transportation.

Since you mention DL, I assume you go there often; compared to DL everything is going to feel like a world away from everything else. There are *highways* between parks and resorts. It's wild. I knew the acreage but I thought it would be city-type streets in between; not 55mph highways.

I wouldn't say that we go there often, we're in Colorado and it's still a big deal in terms of time/money but we've taken the kids 3 times in the last 3 years and we're very comfortable with how everything works there. The biggest logistical concern between booking at Disneyland Hotel vs. Grand Californian is, are you willing to deal with an extra 5 minutes walk? LOL. Quite a bit different at WDW.


Once you've done a rundisney Half marathon involving MK you'll know that, too!



Not to me!

Especially since we almost always rent a car and just drive anyway. I mean, if I were staying at Bay Lake and wanted to go to MK I wouldn't drive; I'd walk. And if we're at Boardwalk we aren't cutting down the walking if we were to drive to Epcot vs walking (you enter through a different place, but parking and walking is about the same as walking). But everywhere we've stayed yet we mainly drive.

I don't see us renting a car. It's an added expense and the only time I think we'd really want it is for a night at Albert and Victoria's for DH and me, and for that I'm sure we'll just call a cab. That's why I'm trying to get a handle on resort transportation. I haven't been there in over 20 years and even then I never stayed onsite. The whole thing is making my head spin.

 

[Sammie]

If I was going to all parks and wanted good transportation times to all of them, then I would stay at the one of the two most centrally located resorts, Old Key West or Saratoga Springs. As you noted, some are close to one, or two parks but far from the others.

I agree with others I would not choose a resort based on transportation. We have stayed at all the villas and deluxe resorts and found transportation to be fine at all.