Monorail/Boat/Bus Schedule?

[kitty'sAuntie]

Is there a link, list, map, ... anything that shows the schedules and routes for Disney's monorails, boats and buses?

Thanks!

 

[grimley1968]

Not really. I've been griping about this lack of information on Disney's website for a while now. I even started a rant thread on this topic a week or so ago. There's no reason with their media capacity that this should not be available on their own website.

You can find out specific answers to specific questions on this forum, though, if you ask them.

Some people will direct you to the transportation wizard on ourlaughingplace.com, but I and many others have found that wizard to be both outdated and completely wrong in many cases.

 

[Endeavour105]

Is there a link, list, map, ... anything that shows the schedules and routes for Disney's monorails, boats and buses?

Thanks!

Additional WDW transportation info can be found on the http://www.allearsnet.com web site.

Do a search for transportation and then go to the appropriate allears web page.

 

[kitty'sAuntie]

Thanks so much, Endeavour105! WoooHooo!!! Allears comes through again!

I agree with you Grimley; I wonder why Disney won't post anything on their website.

Guess I can print maps off the Disney website, and draw in my own little bus/monorail/boat routes.

 

[Endeavour105]

Thanks so much, Endeavour105! WoooHooo!!! Allears comes through again!

I agree with you Grimley; I wonder why Disney won't post anything on their website.
Guess I can print maps off the Disney website, and draw in my own little bus/monorail/boat routes.

In one respect, why should they???? When there are a number of sites like this, including allearsnet that provide that information.

It never ceases to amaze me why people like another poster here routinely gripes and complains but never appears to mount a letter writing campaign to WDW requesting transportation info be put on their web site.

But then again, if WDW had all the info everyone needed, sites like this would be useless...

 

[goofy4tink]

I think, but could be wrong, that most of us here tend to be overplanners. There are many, many more people out there who don't give a thought to the how-to's of getting from point A to point B at WDW. When they get to WDW, they ask someone, and then take it from there.
We, on the other hand, like to plan every last bit of our trip, even if it means obsessing over how we are getting from BW to the GF for lunch on a day months down the road. Does this make us wrong? No, of course not. But, since there are those asking these transportation questions, and wondering why Disney doesn't have it on their site, I have to wonder why they don't just ask here, on the boards.
Obviously, people know about the DIS boards, as well as other unofficial sites, because they come here to ask the questions. If there is a specific thing you need to know, then just ask. Someone will be able to tell you. But, I have a feeling that, like me, most of you like to have something in front of you, so you can plan your day to your hearts content, with that hard copy right in front of you...rather than coming here, and asking questions over and over. But, heck, that's what we're here for. You ask the question and we get to give you the answer and get to fulfil our desire to talk about all things Disney as often as possible, under the guise of being helpful to others....it's a win/win situation!!!

 

[grimley1968]

In one respect, why should they???? When there are a number of sites like this, including allearsnet that provide that information.

They should do it because it is the official Disney site, and should provide information on Disney transportation.

Sites like this can never provide all the information needed, because it is not coming from Disney itself.

Sites like this would not be "useless" if Disney posted information vacation planners want. This site is meant for discussion about all things Disney and is mostly opinion about what people think about certain aspects of Disney. Heck, Disney posts some fairly complete information about their resorts, and even lets you book them online, and even do some itinerary planning on their own website. That sure doesn't stop people like me and many, many others from posting all sorts of opinions and sometimes helpful information in the Resorts forum of this site. Also, the transportation forum would still be filled with questions about ME, the different airlines, airports, rental cars, etc.

I still see no reason why Disney can't put on their own website some transportation information, at least about the three monorail loops, the TTC, boat routes, and at least a vague description of the bus service, such as that they will take you from resort to park and back, but not usually resort to resort, and only sometimes from park to park. There's no reason people should have to leave the Disney website for this basic information, and it really is basic.

I have not submitted letters to Disney about this, since I know about sites like this and pretty much know what I need to know about the routes and options (and it's not THAT huge a deal to me), but I mention this in person to just about every CM I encounter that I've asked for directions in the last several years.

But it's hard to imagine it's just some kind of oversight on Disney's part not to have this information on their website, so I don't think a letter-writing campaign is going to do much good. I don't know why they wouldn't want to do this, though, to be honest.

Yes, people on the DIS may be overplanners, I agree. People's obsessions with ADR's are a perfect example. But my point is that for people, just regular non-DISers who want to plan a little bit for their trip and who merely want basic transportation information on how to get from point A to point B, the Disney website should provide this without people having to go to sites like this and become "overplanners." It's always better to know your options before arriving than to arrive there without a clue and have to depend on CMs for information, and the CMs themselves often do not know the correct information. Many people want "just the facts" and don't want to wade through sites like this to get them.

I think the first time I ever found sites like this and other Disney fan boards, I was looking for transportation information, which I could not get from the Disney website. Several thousand posts later, I guess you could say I'm glad I found this site and others, but it sure would have saved me some time and effort if the Disney site itself had told me how to get from A to B.

I might still have found this site later to post OPINIONS on all things Disney, though.

 

[cbrfan]

I'm sure they don't post it because, as we've seen in other posts, if they say busses will stop at XYZ resort every 10 minutes someone would be howling that they had to wait 11 minutes once and and want some kind of compensation. Transportation at Disney is like "scheduled" transportation everywhere. They shoot for a reasonable time but can't guarantee anything. I think that if WDW transportation ran only every 2 or 3 hours they would post a schedule. But it runs pretty much constantly. Traffic varies from day to day, hour to hour. What might be a 15 minute trip one day could be 45 minutes the next. If you have to be somewhere at a certain time you should allow plenty of time to get there.

 

[grimley1968]

They don't have to post times, and probably shouldn't, given how complicated that could be. But I think they should state that you can take a bus from A to B, and whatever other options there are, if they exist.

It works for all sorts of public transportation systems around the world, all with far more complex options than Disney. It's only reasonable to expect that Disney could do the same on their own website for their own system.

 

[WillCAD]

Disney used to have a nice Transportation Guide Map, same size as the park maps, that had a map of the property on one side and a grid with al the bus/boat/monorail routes on teh other. But they stopped printing this a few years ago (the last one I got was 2004).

I think the reason they stopped is that the system is pretty simple and doesn't take long to figure out ehwn you get to WDW:

1) Transportation goes from all resorts to all parks and to Downtown Disney.
2) Tranpsortation goes from all parks and Downtown Disney to all resorts.
3) Transportation does not go from any resort to any other resort (there are limited, and hidden, exceptions to this).
4) Transportation does not go from any of the parks to Downtown Disney.
5) Transportation does not go from Downtown Disney to any of the parks.

That covers the basics, and covers about 90% of everyone's transportation needs. The rest is mostly details, which can easily be figured out on the fly, or special situations (like early breakfast ADRs, resort-to-resort transportation, off-site transportation links, etc).

As to why Disney seems reluctant to put anything that has any sort of date or time or schedule on their web site, it's because they reserve the right to change anything and everything that happens at WDW without any prior notification, and the more they quantify times and schedules, the more people would get cheesed off when they change things.

 

[Endeavour105]

Disney used to have a nice Transportation Guide Map, same size as the park maps, that had a map of the property on one side and a grid with al the bus/boat/monorail routes on teh other. But they stopped printing this a few years ago (the last one I got was 2004).

I think the reason they stopped is that the system is pretty simple and doesn't take long to figure out ehwn you get to WDW:

1) Transportation goes from all resorts to all parks and to Downtown Disney.
2) Tranpsortation goes from all parks and Downtown Disney to all resorts.
3) Transportation does not go from any resort to any other resort (there are limited, and hidden, exceptions to this).4) Transportation does not go from any of the parks to Downtown Disney.
5) Transportation does not go from Downtown Disney to any of the parks.

That covers the basics, and covers about 90% of everyone's transportation needs. The rest is mostly details, which can easily be figured out on the fly, or special situations (like early breakfast ADRs, resort-to-resort transportation, off-site transportation links, etc).

As to why Disney seems reluctant to put anything that has any sort of date or time or schedule on their web site, it's because they reserve the right to change anything and everything that happens at WDW without any prior notification, and the more they quantify times and schedules, the more people would get cheesed off when they change things.

The WDW Watercraft (part of the WDW transportation Dept.) on Bay Lake and 7 Seas Lagoon are the exception and not hidden.

The Gold flag motor launches go from the MK to the GF, Poly and return.

The Blue flag motor launches on Bay Lake go from the CR, WL and FWC.

The Green flag motor cruisers go from the MK to the WL and FWC.

So, transportation does go from resort to resort.

 

[WillCAD]

So, transportation does go from resort to resort.

As I said, the exceptions are limited and hidden; outside of the DIS and a few other message boards, very few people know about these exceptions. And even within the DIS and similar communities, there are lots of people who don't know all of the ins and outs of the WDW transportation system.

Besides the exceptions you listed, there are also several resorts that share busses, such as the All-Stars, and the Epcot resorts; the Epcot resorts also share a boat route; and boats run from both Port Orleans resorts to SSR and Downtown Disney. But again, these exceptions are not obvious and a lot of people simply don't know about them, even here.

 

[grimley1968]

Besides the exceptions you listed, there are also several resorts that share busses, such as the All-Stars, and the Epcot resorts; the Epcot resorts also share a boat route; and boats run from both Port Orleans resorts to SSR and Downtown Disney. But again, these exceptions are not obvious and a lot of people simply don't know about them, even here.

This is Exhibit A for why this information should be on the WDW site. For the most part, these are routes that also change very little (especially the boat and monorail routes), so it would be easy to put this on there and ease people's frustration about finding answers to what should be relatively straightforward questions.

I happen to know all this stuff, but I am a certified (maybe certifiable) Disney nut. People who are not and/or just don't have the time to do all this research should have an easier way of finding this information.

 

[Endeavour105]

This is Exhibit A for why this information should be on the WDW site. For the most part, these are routes that also change very little (especially the boat and monorail routes), so it would be easy to put this on there and ease people's frustration about finding answers to what should be relatively straightforward questions.

I happen to know all this stuff, but I am a certified (maybe certifiable) Disney nut. People who are not and/or just don't have the time to do all this research should have an easier way of finding this information.

There is transportation info on the Disney site, however, it is wrong particularly regarding the Blue flag boats serving the CR, WL and FWC on Bay Lake. They have been so notified with the correct info. Whether or not that site info will be changed is another story.

 

[WillCAD]

I agree that this transportation info should be on the Disney web site, or at least a basic map or explanation of the various modes of transportation available. There have been plenty of simple, one-paragraph descriptions written on the DIS, so I'm sure that a simple and easy to understand version wouldn't be hard to put on the Disney site.

I think this is just another example of short-sighted corporate cost cutting; they figure that if they put the info on the site, they'll have to change it every time there's a change in the transportation routes, so to save money they just left the transportation info off the site entirely.