Late dinner-will there be buses???

[jjoules40]

Just made my reservations for dinner and a couple of them are late at night (8:35- MGM, 9:00- Downtown Disney and 9:10-Contemporary). They are not during extra Magic Hours so my concern is transportation back. I am not renting a car so I am relying soley on Disney shuttle buses/trams.
Any advice?
Thanks
(I haven't been to DW in 11 years so all this is new to me!)

 

[disneyjunebug]

Coming from DTD will not be a problem... busses run there until about an hour after the last thing closes. From the Contemporary, if MK has EMH, then walk to MK and take a bus back to your resort. If not, then take a bus from CR to DTD and then transfer to your resort bus.

MGM I'm not sure when they would end. I can't imagine them having people eating at the park and not providing transportation back. Worse case would be take a boat to Boardwalk area and catch a bus to DTD from there, then change again.

Taxis are also available....

 

[BCVBRUCE]

Just made my reservations for dinner and a couple of them are late at night (8:35- MGM, 9:00- Downtown Disney and 9:10-Contemporary). They are not during extra Magic Hours so my concern is transportation back. I am not renting a car so I am relying soley on Disney shuttle buses/trams.
Any advice?
Thanks
(I haven't been to DW in 11 years so all this is new to me!)

Were are you trying to get back to? Busses will service the parks until 1 hour after closing. So, you should be fine for the MGM dinner, even if the park closes at 9pm.

Dinner at Downtown Disney is definitely not a problem. DTD stores usually do not close until 11pm. So, again, you should be fine getting back. What restaraunt will you be eating at DTD? The reason I ask this, is that the Pleasure Island bus stop may serve you better.

Dinner at the Contempory could be tricky, but not impossible. Again this depends where you are trying to get back too. Also, do you know what time Magic Kingdom is closing that day? The reason I ask this, is that you can walk to MK bus stop from the Contemporary and then take the bus back to your resort. If the MK has been closed for a while, take the monorail from the Contempory to the Transportation and Ticket Center(TTC) then take the bus to Downtown Disney and then switch busses to get back to your resort. There may be a bus from the TTC back to your resort but I really can not remember if that is the case. Someone can chime in on that.

 

[bradk]

there's a DTD bus at TTC? i didn't think so? but even so, why wouldn't you just take the DTD bus at the contemporary?

officially, buses run for about 2 hours after park closing.

i believe the last bus at DTD marketplace is midnight, but the PI last bus is 2 am.

but to be honest, if i'm dining at a resort, usually i just bite the $20 bullet and take a cab back to my resort.

 

[BCVBRUCE]

there's a DTD bus at TTC? i didn't think so? but even so, why wouldn't you just take the DTD bus at the contemporary?

I initially thought the same thing, but then I changed my post because I was not sure and looked it up.

From Mouse Planet website:

"Guests at the Monorail resorts have to ride the monorail to the TTC and catch a bus connection from there to the water parks, Pleasure Island, and the Village Marketplace".

This implies that 1) There is a bus from the TTC to DTD -AND- 2) There is not a direct bus from the Contemporary to DTD.

I really can not remember. If there is a direct DTD bus then that is all the better. Either way you HAVE to go to DTD if you choose this option and not want to plunk down any more vacation money for a cab.

 

[juttawdw]

I found this http://www.ourlaughingplace.com/asp/twiz.aspx it is very handy.

 

[TDC Nala]

There is NO DTD bus from TTC, nor is there a direct one from any theme park. You must catch a DTD bus from a resort.

 

[auroraarielella]

There is NO DTD bus from TTC, nor is there a direct one from any theme park. You must catch a DTD bus from a resort.

Yes, Anita Answer on Allears just commented on Disney closing a "loophole" of people using the free parking at DTD and using the busses to get to the theme parks, so now DTD busses only run to resorts.

http://www.allearsnet.com/aa/anita.htm#ques4

Darla writes:

I am sure you have been asked this before, but what do you think of the idea of parking at Downtown Disney and riding the buses to the parks in the morning? Is this strictly prohibited?

Hi Darla!

Your plan won't work. The buses don't run from Downtown Disney to the parks anymore, only to the Disney resort hotels. The reason the buses no longer run to and from the parks is because so many people took advantage of the "free" parking loophole at Downtown Disney to access the parks, guests who really wanted to visit Downtown Disney to shop and dine couldn't find a place to park.

 

[bradk]

yeah, things have changed... village marketplace? i wouldn't count that as being the most current information

quick rundown on bus routes

Buses at Parks go to Resorts and other Parks (Park buses for MK are at the TTC)
Buses at Resorts go to Parks and DTD
Buses at DTD go to Resorts.

 

[BCVBRUCE]

Interesting. I never realized such a loophole existed until now. Not only were people cheap and dishonest by avoiding parking fees, they were dishonest by using bus transportation reserved for resort guests!

Was this something that changed recently?

 

[Pumbaa_]

Buses are available to anyone who has a park pass. Not just resort guests.

There is nothing dishonest about it. Most importantly, no longer an issues since the change.

 

[SPOERLX3]

In 2000, we had 8pm reservations at Rain Forest Cafe(park closed at 8pm). We did not get out of there till 10:30 and there was no way for us to get back to our hotel, all the buses had stopped running. We called the All Star Movie and explained our delima. They sent one of the hotel buses right over to get us. Now that is a magical service!

 

[jjoules40]

Wow! Thanks so much for all the quick replies!
We're staying at the All-Star Resort. Since it has been so long since I 've been to DW, I'm kinda confused but it seems that there will be some sort of transpostation provided, just might have to go around a bit to find a way back to the hotel.
I am excited for the dinners- last time I went all I ate was pizza for 5 days straight (hey I was a teenager, what do you expect?)

So I guess botoom line is if there are no shuttles to my hotel, I should just go to DTD/Pleasure Island.

Thanks again!

 

[BCVBRUCE]

Buses are available to anyone who has a park pass. Not just resort guests.

There is nothing dishonest about it. Most importantly, no longer an issues since the change.

I believe the WDW internal transportation system is only allowed for guests and those with some type of "park hopper" pass.

You are right, it is not an issue anymore. That is why I used the past tense(ie. "were").

However you look at it, Disney changed it for a reason. I wonder why ?

 

[HappyDznyCamper]

I believe the WDW internal transportation system is only allowed for guests and those with some type of "park hopper" pass.
You are right, it is not an issue anymore. That is why I used the past tense(ie. "were").

However you look at it, Disney changed it for a reason. I wonder why ?

Disney buses are for the use of all guests of the WDW resort. A guest would be anyone staying on or visiting Disney property, regardless of if they have a one day pass or an AP. So even if you are just at Disney for a meal technically you are a guest at WDW.