Million $ Question - Monorail or Bus

[DISNEYFAMILYOFFOUR]

I would think about the WL. The boat to MK was very easy with little kids--we just rolled the stroller on the boat with the kids in them. Also, it is close enough to MK for a quick trip back in the afternoon without a hassle.

We want to stay at the Poly next year for the convenience of the monorail, but are seriously considering the WL again.

 

[Taratink]

We will be at WDW early Feb. with our 3 and 5 yr old kids. We stayed offsite last year and it was awful! We decided to stay at the WL this visit. Last year we spent the most time at MK. We also loved taking the boats instead of the monorail and buses. It was relaxing and got us to slow down. We are from the Boston area and live our lfe at a fast pace. It is nice to be forced to sit back and relax. We also got a great rate with DU which made our WL affordable. The WL also has bunk beds which will make it a hit with the kids. There are also balconies so we don't have to watch the kids sleep. As you can tell we are very excited about our upcoming trip. Good luck with all your wonderful choices. I also think its a must to rent a car.
Tara

 

[howtrace]

Thanks for the CR warning - I was torm between the CR and GF until i read your reply.
A lot of people say they love the CR and that the rooms are big and the arcade and shops are great. I agree that it is old and could use a complete overhaul.
What room location would u recommend and the GF? is conceierge worth it?
Thanks

 

[howtrace]

Thanks for the CR warning - I was torm between the CR and GF until i read your reply.
A lot of people say they love the CR and that the rooms are big and the arcade and shops are great. I agree that it is old and could use a complete overhaul.
What room location would u recommend and the GF? is conceierge worth it?
Thanks

 

[DisneyJen0504]

You just can't beat the convenience of a monorail resort expecially for breaks qhen returning from MK or Epcot!!!

 

[micmacmissy]

Howtrace,

For us, concierge was worth it--it meant grabbing breakfast at the hotel each morning, which saved us time and money. It also helped in the evenings--our kids go to bed early, and there was always fresh fruits and veggies, and dinner for them (peanut butter & jellies, hotdogs, etc)--enough to make them a nice, healthy meal.

It was also great for the grownups--coffee, cappucino, etc, whenever you want it, snacks throughout the day, we also enjoyed the evening hors d'oeuvres and desserts. If you have children in your party, I'd say definitely. If it were just me and my husband, we could do without it, but it was a wonderful touch.

We stayed in the Sugar Loaf building at the GF--I loved it. I would avoid the main building unless you don't mind some noise and crowds. We were there last week, and there were so many people there to eat/see xmas decorations/browse. The main building was always packed and loud! And the rooms are right off the open lobby on all levels--so I'd say, any building but that one. The Sugar Loaf building (all concierge) overlooks the marina on one side and the pool on the other--very nice! I can't imagine there would be bad room at the GF!
And as for the CR, the only way I would stay there was if the rooms were $50 a night or less. And even then I wouldn't be happy! There is NO comparison between that dump and the GF. The Poly is also very nice, we've stayed there too!

 

[madalex]

You cannot take a bus to Epcot from any of the Epcot resorts. Their transportation to Epcot is by boat. These boats travel from Epcot to the Studios and back, stopping at all Epcot resorts. The entire circuit takes about a half hour.

Of course, from any of the Epcot resorts, you can also walk to Epcot in 5 - 10 minutes and walk to MGM in about 15 - 20 minutes.

As to the original question, we have stayed at YC many times with young children. The bus situation has generally been fine and they do love Stormalong Bay. To be fair, however, we do not come and go from the parks during the day (e.g., we do one park in the morning and another in the evening, but we don't usually go back and forth to the same park). Thus, if the plan is to go back and forth to the MK all the time, a monorail resort may be more convenient.

 

[sorchamac]

We just got back from WL, which is not on the monorail, but we went out of our way to take the monorail when we could. To get to Epcot, instead of taking the bus we would take the boat to MK, and then take the monorail to TTC, and then the Epcot monorail. Sounds sillly but it was lots of fun for us, and the kids loved it (ages 4 and 6).

 

[BigOnDis]

I am going to go a total different direction here and recommend the AKL. Our kids have been in love with that resort since it opened and we started going there. In my experience the buses at AKL have always been very fast, and you don't share stops with other hotels. My kids love the pool there and love looking at the animals.

Not really what you were asking, but I wanted to give another option.

 

[sotoalf]

[/QUOTE] One last piece of advice: Avoid the Contemporary Resort! I couldn't believe what an absolute dump it was--it shocked me that people pay top dollar for that resort. It was dark and gloomy, all cement and low ceilings, it looked like a prison. Compared to the GF it looked like a sewer. Honestly--it was that bad. So if you choose this hotel, I'd look at photos of it first so you aren't disappointed--I couldn't believe how old, ugly, and depressing it was![/QUOTE]

This is a bit hysterical, especially if you haven't stayed at the CR. To look at the Contemporary is to bemoan what developers in the '60s and '70s considered "contemporary" (the public university at which I work follows a similar architectural plan), but comparing the CR to the GF is like comparing the GF to a Ritz-Carlton. They have nothing in common except a monorail station and lots of shops and restaurants.

 

[Tikiman]

I always see people report that only stay at a monorail resort if you want quick access to MK. Well a few years ago I video taped the trip from the Polynesian to Epcot and the time it took to walk from the Yacht Club to the same spot in the middle of Epcot. The biggest argument I get is that you can walk to the entrance of World showcase faster than you can get from the Polynesian (which is true but not by much) but in the morning when you walk into Epcot all of World Showcase is closed so what difference does it make if you can walk to something that is not open in the morning? This is why I compare the time it takes to get to the same middle spot of Epcot from either resort.

Here are the times and I don’t walk fast. In my video there were kids walking with their parents faster than I was.

Time to walk from the Yacht Club building where we stayed which was right above the marina to the YC pool was 3 minutes.

Yacht Club to the Beach Club's first building was 5 minutes.

Yacht Club to the gates of the International Gateway was 10 minutes.

Yacht Club to England was 12 minutes.

Now remember in the morning none of this is open so you still are not anywhere near something you can go on.

Yacht Club to the beginning of Future World along the edge of the lake was 17 minutes with no crowds to walk through.

Now lets take a look at the Polynesian time.

From Hawaii longhouse to the TTC was 5 minutes.

From the TTC (yes I taped the whole trip on the monorail because we were up front) to Epcot monorail station the ride took 8 minutes.

From the monorail station through crowds to the same spot along the lake in Future World as the walk from the Yacht Club was 4 minutes.

The totals are 17 minutes for both resorts but 8 minutes of the trip from the Polynesian was not walking and add crowds to the walk from the YC and the Polynesian would win. So how is it that the Epcot resorts are better for Epcot and the Polynesian is only good for going to the MK? This is what I hear all the time.

Now if you were staying in Tahiti you would take 2 minutes off your walk and if you were in the furthest longhouse at the Polynesian you would add 4 minutes for a total of 21 minutes from building to the middle of Epcot. It may sound crazy but it is true and I have the tape to prove this all.

Now access to MK is even faster and easier with the monorail or boats that go from the Polynesian and other resorts on the monorail so I believe the monorail resorts have quicker transportation to more than just MK. I myself have made lunch reservations for one of the lands from the Polynesian and made it over there in less than 30 minutes. I get reports from people all the time that say how it was so easy to get into Epcot from the monorail resorts that they would just pop over for something to eat.

We just stayed at the Dolphin and the walk was much longer than from the Yacht Club and waiting for the boat always took a long time unless it happened to be there when you walked up wich was not often. I would say the Resorts over near Epcot are only better than the monorail resorts for going to MGM but with the time it took waiting for the boat a few times I think I could have taken the bus from the Polynesian faster.

Anyway I just wanted to share my opinion and some facts since the fact is that monorail resorts do have quick access to Epcot.

Aloha

Steve

 

[Madi100]

We have always stayed in the Value Resorts where we have no option but to take the bus. In a value resort you get on the bus, and you don't get off until you've reached your destination. At Pop, you don't share a bus with any other resort. The three All Stars share buses, and they are all right next to each other, so not a big deal.

With that background information, my DH and I spent quite a bit of time on the Boardwalk this last trip. Let me just say that I would LOVE to stay at the Swan or Dolphin or even the Boardwalk, but after using the bus transportation for those resorts I really am hesitant. The buses stopped a lot, and seemed to take forever. But, I think our biggest turn off for that area were the convention goers that stayed at the Swan and Dolphin enjoyed their evenings. We shared a bus with quite a few people, mostly men, who had been at Downtown Disney and had quite a good time. As adults we got quite a chuckle out of it. If our children were with us I probably would have wanted to plug their ears. It was all good fun, but definitely could get adult at times. This was only later in the evening, and I'm sure the daytime is different, but there were still children even that late.