Just returned from WLV - problem with boat to MK

[KLR-wlv]

I just returned from my frist trip as a DVC member - we joined in March. I stayed at the WL last year and loved it. We thought the boat transportation to the MK was very good, and a selling point when joining DVC.

I loved the villas - the rooms, building and grounds were beautiful, but the boat service to the MK has been cut down - the lodge now shares the boat with Fort Wilderness. They stop at FW first, so at 9am, there were only 20 seats left for the WL, leaving us to wait for the next boat. On the return trip back in the afternoon, they stop at FW first, which adds at least 15 minutes to the commute. After the fireworks at the MK, the line was so long it went from the boat dock back to the turnstiles of the entrance to the park. We were relatively close and waited for 3 boats before we got on (about 35 minutes), but there were people that probably had to wait for 5 more boats.

I had planned on adding 50 points before this trip, but I have changed my mind. They add close to 200 rooms the the WL area and cut back on boat service? It leaves me to wonder what else they will be cutting. I am a huge Disney fan, but the DVC has been in existence during a good economy, and it worries me to see cutbacks which make no sense and I will wait to see how they handle layoffs and cost containment before giving up any more money.

 

[PamOKW]

Just curious whether your other trips were at roughly this same time of year. I'm not familiar with the boats to WL but is there any chance that this is "normal" for non-peak times? Sometimes there is more service during the busier times of the year.

 

[KLR-wlv]

Actually it was the same exact time last year - Monday -Friday. We had read about the bus service being somewhat bad at Wl - we drove and used our car both times so I can't comment on the bus. The boat last year was great - we never waited more than 10 minutes on any route. This time was completely different. I asked a boat driver if certain boats were combined, with others being for WL and FW and he said - no, that they combined the routes. This didn't seem to work for the FW people either, since there was a huge line there to get to the MK in the evening for the parade and fireworks. I know this is a slower time for the parks, but the combined service clearly didn't work.

 

[PamOKW]

Hopefully, it's an experiment that they'll realize "ain't working".

 

[lodgelady]

I'm in the same "BOAT" with you on why we bought at VWL instead of waiting for a resale. We visited last year and loved taking the boat to MK as it was so much more relaxing and pleasant than the bus- a real selling point! Who do we complain to? Is there direct boat service to the Contemp where you could walk from there? Thanks for the heads up.

 

[DVCDAVE]

This cut back must of just happened. In March there were two seperate boats. One for FW and one for WL. The longest we waited was about 10 minutes.

 

[Lhargus]

We just returned from VWL on 5/10 and the boat service was combined while we were there. We had no problem getting on and had a short wait but we did not travel during peak times. There is a separate boat that goes to the Contemporary.

 

[mkkim]

I just returned on 5/12 from a short visit to see the VWL, after purchasing site-unseen last month. While on my two day visit I spent alot of time checking out everything! I did notice that two boats were running to MK (and stopping at Fort Wilderness along the way) while one other boat went directly to the Contemporary. We never had a problem getting a seat on the boats. In fact it seemed as if the crowds were very calm in WDW and at the resorts. Maybe they combined the trips with Fort Wilderness because things were slow?

My first trip using points will be in November and I really hope that by then the boat trips to MK will be worked out. I know that my children will not have the patience to wait nicely that long!

 

[Geyser Gazer]

I read somewhere on this board last week that there was a recent problem with the docks at MK being able to accomodate the smaller of the boats. Will try and search for this thread and update.

 

[Tony-NJ]

A comment about the boats to and from MK. our only wait for the boats from MK was on Thursday night when they had fireworks and Spectro Magic. The park was packed! And we strolled aorund the park until about an hour after closing to try and wait for the crowds to get out LOL ( it didn't work). We got to the line for the WL bus stop which was almost at the entrance to MK!. However we waited apx 15 minutes as there were 3 boats ( 2 large and one small) taking guests to WL and Fort Wilderness. This was the only time we had to wait for transportation.

 

[Geyser Gazer]

This response was from Buckylarue 5/11/01 from the
resorts board initially titled thread "WLV question"

We just got back Tuesday after spending 4 nights at VWL. The boats were very nice, altho they sometimes did a loop around between the MK, Contemp, Fort Wilderness and WL instead of just a direct MK-WL route. One of the boat captains told us there had been some problems with the subcontractor who built the new dock at the MK, and it didn't work for the smaller boats, so they were running the larger ones only and doing the circle route until it gets corrected.
We only waited more than 10 minutes for a bus once in the 4 days, and that was coming back from the Studios right around the time it and Epcot were closing. Waited about 20 minutes for that bus. Sometimes the bus from WL also stops at the Polynesian and Grand Floridian, sometimes it doesn't. When it did, WL was always the first to load and the first to unload.
The villas are beautiful; you'll have a wonderful time!