Is BWV to AKL in an hour doable?

[wonderlandaddict]

Daughter is getting married in Jan and on wedding day we are planning a family breakfast at Boma from BWV. I have allowed 1 hr travel time to and from. Planning on riding boat to Studios (or walking) and taking bus to AKL. Do you think this is a reasonable plan? The date is Jan 5 and there is 14 people so taxi is out. Or is there a quicker way to get there? thanks!

 

[dmunsil]

Daughter is getting married in Jan and on wedding day we are planning a family breakfast at Boma from BWV. I have allowed 1 hr travel time to and from. Planning on riding boat to Studios (or walking) and taking bus to AKL. Do you think this is a reasonable plan? The date is Jan 5 and there is 14 people so taxi is out. Or is there a quicker way to get there? thanks!

Two taxis would work. Van cabs hold 7 passengers and cost the same as sedan cabs. Just walk to the front of BWV about 20 minutes before you want to be at AKV and ask at the bell desk for two cabs for 14 people to AKL. It'll be about $15-17 per cab, including tip, and will take about 9 minutes. If traffic is terrible or the driver takes World Dr. it might be $20.

Using Disney Transportation, your plan seems sound, though if your breakfast is well before the parks open, bus service is a little less regular then, so your wait for a bus could be somewhat longer. Bus service will begin by 6:30, but service won't ramp up to full regularity until an hour or so before the parks open. The boats may not be running that early either, but from Boardwalk to DHS it's faster to walk. If it's a hot morning you can minimize the time in the sun by walking to the extreme far end of the Villas side of Boardwalk and exiting from the side door. You'll be well along the walkway to DHS.

This map at Stitch Kingdom is a useful overview of the route. You can see how traveling to the southwestern tip of Boardwalk can keep you inside a little longer.

http://www.stitchkingdom.com/maps/index.php?showmap=13

 

[dmunsil]

One other option occurs to me, which is to take a very short cab ride from Boardwalk to DHS, then the bus to AKL. There cannot be any traffic; there's one stop light and you never get on a major road. It's like 2/3 of a mile. The cost would be about $5 per cab, tip included. It would avoid a 15 minute walk. But for $10-12 more per cab, I think I'd be inclined to have them go the whole way if you're going to get them anyway.

Good luck! Hope the trip is fantastic!

 

[wonderlandaddict]

I think the cab may work better for that day since we are on a schedule!
I have another question- the night before we are eating at Kona and planning on riding bus to MK and taking monorail to Poly, is this the best plan? There will be approx 18 people for that trip. The time won't be as important as long as we don't miss the reservation, I was planning an hour for this also???

 

[skelooch]

Disney themselves recommend 90 minutes for transportation between resorts,
it could be less if you hit the buses and monorail/boat without having to wait to long, but you should allow the full 90 minutes just in case.

 

[dmunsil]

With 18, you'd need three cabs. Cab fare would be a teensy bit more, like $17-19 with tip.

The bus plus monorail approach would be not as fast as doing the same thing as before - walk to DHS and then bus to Poly.

My rule of thumb is to allow 30 minutes for each wait for a transportation option. It won't always be that long, but sometimes it will be. Sometimes it's longer. Then allow 30 minutes of travel time unless it's a super short trip. So that means 30 (wait) +30 (wait) +30 (combined travel) for the bus + monorail trip. The walk plus bus trip is 15 minutes (walking) + 30 minutes (waiting) + 30 minutes (travel), or 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Overall, I'd do the cab. How often are you going to do this kind of trip? Do it up right! The cab to Poly is about 10 minutes and couldn't be simpler. Go to bell services and say you need three cabs to take 18 people to Poly. They do this all the time. Since you need at least two vans plus a sedan, you might allow an extra 5 minutes to get all of the cabs. You don't have to wait for them all to arrive. Designate three "cab captains" and give them the cab fare. Have them leave as soon as their cab gets there.

The bell services people will call the cabs over, tell the driver where to go, and help you into the cab. You might want to give the bell person a few bucks for the help.

 

[figment_jii]

I agree with that the taxi is the best option. That will definitely get you there in under an hour. It $18 + tip to get from AKL to Epcot, so it'll be in that range to get to BW.

If you want to use Disney transportation, I would allow at least 75 minutes just in case. The boat ride from BW to DHS takes about 20 minutes, plus allow another 15 minutes in case you just miss the boat. It's a little under a mile to walk. The bus ride itself is not long (allow 15 minutes because you'll stop at Kidani first when going), but it could be another 15-20 minutes if you just miss the bus. The general rule of thumb is to allow about 45 minutes for each leg of the journey to accommodate travel time plus time waiting for the bus/boat to arrive.

 

[Sandi]

If you really have your heart set on Boma, cabs will work best for breakfast. I wanted to suggest, however, that Captain's Grille at YC or Kouzzina on the BW both have really good breakfasts. You can walk to those restaurants and that would be easy peasy.

 

[purple figment]

One thing I've discovered about groups is the larger the group the longer it takes for everyone to get ready and meet up. There always seems to be someone who is late. For your group size I would allow at least 75 minutes and possibly 90 if the breakfast is on the early side and some are slow at getting ready.

Using buses to go from one resort to another is time consuming. All in all, I endorse the idea of taxis, especially for breakfast at Boma. AKL is not the easiest resort to get to so the cost of the taxis would be worth it to me.

 

[dmunsil]

One thing you might consider doing is throwing off the yoke of responsibility and just telling each family group you're meeting at Boma/Poly at X:XX and tell them they can either take a cab at the front of the building for about $20 or they can walk to DHS and take a bus, but allow a good 75 minutes. Then people can make their own money/time calculation.

Sure, you might get a straggler or two, but most people will make it. Give them a time that's 10 minutes before your actual reservation.

If you don't want people to feel like you're sticking them with the cab bill, don't tell them about the bus. Write up a guide to taking a cab, and put it in an envelope with $20 for cab fare for each group. As long as you can pre-divide the whole crowd into manageable chunks of 7 or less, you can stop fretting about getting everyone herded to the taxi and just let them manage themselves.

 

[purple figment]

Something to keep in mind if you decide to meet up at the restaurant is the fact that Disney restaurants won't let you check in until your entire party is there. If some in your group miscalculate the amount of travel time, this could become a problem if it goes past your reservation time and not everyone has arrived.

 

[dmunsil]

Something to keep in mind if you decide to meet up at the restaurant is the fact that Disney restaurants won't let you check in until your entire party is there. If some in your group miscalculate the amount of travel time, this could become a problem if it goes past your reservation time and not everyone has arrived.

Oh, you're so right. Never mind my suggestion. No stragglers!

 

[pooch]

I would probably take the bus from Boardwalk to AK and then bus from AK to AKL. But really, with the stress of a large group and the wedding, taxi is probably a good idea.

 

[wonderlandaddict]

Thanks for the advice. I am going to talk with daughter this weekend and see just how important breakfast at Boma is to her, its would be sooo easy to walk to breakfast. But if its a have to (she really hasn't asked for that much) then cab or I liked bus ride to AK and then bus to AKL. The reservation is for 9:00am and we HAVE to be back by 11:30 for hair and make-up, so cab may be more important for ride back to BWV!
We love Disney transportation (I know its silly) and most people are staying at BWV, so I think I will send a time to meet in lobby a couple of hrs before dinner reservation at Kona's and take bus to MK then monorail to Poly. Groom's family have never been to WDW and probably won't return and this will give them a chance to ride a monorail. They are the only ones driving- hope they don't insist on driving and meeting us there.

 

[ttfn3]

I would second the recommendation for breakfast at the Captains Grille. Best breakfast Buffett @ Disney. And a short walk or boat ride from BWV. Would be less stressful. Sounds like you have a short window of time before you have to be back for hair apptmt also.

 

[seashoreCM]

Something to keep in mind if you decide to meet up at the restaurant is the fact that Disney restaurants won't let you check in until your entire party is there. If some in your group miscalculate the amount of travel time, this could become a problem if it goes past your reservation time and not everyone has arrived.

Can't you strike people from your reservation at the last minute? While this might seem impolite, if the choice is striking someone versus losing the entire reservation and having to stand by then you should strike the person.

Better yet, make several medium sized reservations instead of one big reservation. Then if parties arrive late they don't upset the reservation(s) of those who arrived on time..

 

[purple figment]

Can't you strike people from your reservation at the last minute? While this might seem impolite, if the choice is striking someone versus losing the entire reservation and having to stand by then you should strike the person.

Yes, you can always let the CMs at the podium know that "everyone" is there even if it's fewer than on the reservation and check in for the reservation. My response was because another poster suggested having everyone meet at the restaurant and I was just pointing out that if it gets well past the res time and everyone isn't there, you can't just check in and say "we have 4 more people coming eventually." You could do it as long as everyone in the group understands that if they're too late, they won't be seated.

Better yet, make several medium sized reservations instead of one big reservation. Then if parties arrive late they don't upset the reservation(s) of those who arrived on time..

This would also work. While Disney doesn't guarantee that large groups will be seated altogether or at least nearby, I guess you run a greater risk if you have several separate reservations.

 

[wonderlandaddict]

When I made the meal reservations ( I have more than I posted for later in week) they made 3 or 4 small tables instead of 1 large one. They said we would probably be seated together anyway and this would be the simple thing to do. I have 2 reservations at Ohana and BOG that I have 3 tables reserved with my credit card number down to secure. I am going to have to make sure everyone plans on coming! I need to call back and ask if a table has a reservation for 4 and 3 shows up if I will be charged the fee for 1 person. The day of wedding was my main concern of time of travel, she loves Boma so we are keeping this one, but I am sure we will be taking cabs for the return trip back to BWV. I think we can make it on time esp. If we leave by 730am for 900am reservation. We might get lucky- I had forgot that when my oldest daughter got married at WDW 2 yrs ago and we were staying at AKL the bus driver for AK dropped us off at the hotel instead of making us ride to AK and catching a bus to AKL. I doubt that will ever happen again, but it was sure nice at the time we were exhausted!!! Lol! We were coming from GF. I know they cannot veer off their route in the mornings.