MK to Poly, Poly to CBR - what would be the most fun?

[jpkkld]

After many years of trying to sneak over to the Poly from MK - including one attempt to actually stay there - and utterly failing every time, we are FINALLY going to visit the Poly for a lunch ADR at Kona Cafe next week! I'm really looking forward to it!

My head hurts from all the G+ and $ILL planning, so I thought I'd ask a more fun question. What are your recommendations for travel that afternoon?
1. Our ADR is at 1 pm. It will be hotter than the surface of the sun (really - over 90! In March!) and we're pasty northerners who wilt in the heat. The boat sounds fun, but if the boat isn't covered, and the monorail has A/C, the monorail may win out.
2. After lunch, we'd like to head back to our own hotel - CBR - for a swim. I figured we'd take a bus to HS and then jump on the Skyliner for the last leg. But maybe there are better or faster or more entertaining options? We don't have park hoppers, so we can't walk through Epcot from the monorail.

And for each trip, how long should we budget for time? We plan to return the the parks by 6 pm - late night hours, thank goodness! So we're not super worried about how long all the travelling will take. OTOH, time is money at WDW, and you know, that whole heat and wilting thing... long waits for transportation in the sun are to be avoided at all costs.

I should also note - we've never stayed at the MK resorts. We've never taken the monorail or the boats, never done a resort crawl on the lake outside MK, so it's all new and fun for us!

 

[GADisneyDad14]

After many years of trying to sneak over to the Poly from MK - including one attempt to actually stay there - and utterly failing every time, we are FINALLY going to visit the Poly for a lunch ADR at Kona Cafe next week! I'm really looking forward to it!

My head hurts from all the G+ and $ILL planning, so I thought I'd ask a more fun question. What are your recommendations for travel that afternoon?
1. Our ADR is at 1 pm. It will be hotter than the surface of the sun (really - over 90! In March!) and we're pasty northerners who wilt in the heat. The boat sounds fun, but if the boat isn't covered, and the monorail has A/C, the monorail may win out.
2. After lunch, we'd like to head back to our own hotel - CBR - for a swim. I figured we'd take a bus to HS and then jump on the Skyliner for the last leg. But maybe there are better or faster or more entertaining options? We don't have park hoppers, so we can't walk through Epcot from the monorail.

And for each trip, how long should we budget for time? We plan to return the the parks by 6 pm - late night hours, thank goodness! So we're not super worried about how long all the travelling will take. OTOH, time is money at WDW, and you know, that whole heat and wilting thing... long waits for transportation in the sun are to be avoided at all costs.

I should also note - we've never stayed at the MK resorts. We've never taken the monorail or the boats, never done a resort crawl on the lake outside MK, so it's all new and fun for us!

The MK-GF-Poly boat is covered. There are two boat types that typically run the route - a smaller resort launch that is covered but has open sides, and a larger boat that is covered with sides and has AC - but think AC only as effective as can be given constantly open doors and some windows. Both boat options will be fine for the heat, in my opinion, and sometimes it's only one type running anyway.

The monorails have air conditioning, but that doesn't mean it always works, or works well. I've had plenty of times where I would have rather been on a boat with the breeze than on a stagnant, sometimes hot/stinky monorail.

So boat would get my vote. Note it stops at GF before then going on to Poly.

Your return plan to CBR sounds decent to me. An arguably more direct option would be to head back to MK (monorail or boat) and take the CBR bus. But your plan is more interesting.

Have fun!

 

[jpkkld]

I've had plenty of times where I would have rather been on a boat with the breeze than on a stagnant, sometimes hot/stinky monorail.

Good to know!! I thought the boat would be a nicer way to see GF too.

An arguably more direct option would be to head back to MK (monorail or boat) and take the CBR bus.

I did wonder if the resort bus service at MK would be better than the park bus service at the Poly. Most of my MK bus memories are standing-room-only after a full park day, dead tired. So I think overall I have a low opinion of buses from MK, probably only 30% justified!

It's nice to have options - and I appreciate the additional option of Uber/Lyft too, which wasn't around way back when DD was small.

Thanks for your confirmations!