Monorail resort or save money and use Minnie van/Uber

[aprilbabes]

We haven’t been to DW in a few years. Since our family takes midday breaks and loves the convenience of the monorail, we’ve typically stayed at Poly or GF in the past. However the rates for spring break are insane! I’m considering the different deluxe resorts as well as POR, but I know the buses can be dreadful. Has anyone relied on the Minnie van and/or Uber to get around. I know the cost would add up, but I’m thinking for certain times, like leaving parks after nighttime events with tired kids, these options would be better than buses. We’ve never used this mode of transportation so looking for any feedback.​

 

[roydavid7771]

We used the Minnie Van on our last trip as we got in later than expected and we had to rush to a dinner reservation we had at Disney Springs. We enjoyed the service, especially the fact that they had car seats for our toddler. at 25 bucks a pop, that will add up over the course of a trip. Just be prepared to wait for your ride as there will be others looking to do the same thing.

 

[trishadono]

We haven’t been to DW in a few years. Since our family takes midday breaks and loves the convenience of the monorail, we’ve typically stayed at Poly or GF in the past. However the rates for spring break are insane! I’m considering the different deluxe resorts as well as POR, but I know the buses can be dreadful. Has anyone relied on the Minnie van and/or Uber to get around. I know the cost would add up, but I’m thinking for certain times, like leaving parks after nighttime events with tired kids, these options would be better than buses. We’ve never used this mode of transportation so looking for any feedback.​

With the new bus times in the app you can check that first and if you just missed a bus then use uber/lyft.

Minnie van either ready or not. Uber/lyft would have more availability and cheaper if Minnie not available;

 

[roydavid7771]

Another thing to consider....the Minnie Vans can pick up and drop off at the bus depot next to MK. All other services must pick up at the TTC.

 

[Jadyreen1282]

Just stay monorail. Less hassle, unpredictable wait and walking using Uber.

 

[beccasmom]

I know the monorail resorts are pricey, but the convenience is worth it in my book if you’ll be spending a lot of time at the MK. Using Disney transportation is inevitable if you don’t have a car, but no one wants to spend more time waiting for buses, etc. than they need to. Vacation time is too precious!

 

[_auroraborealis_]

The monorail won't help you from DHS or AK, and can be unreliable as the ninety year refurb continues.

I think viewing a monorail resort will spare you all Minnie Van costs is risky.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Stay at the Contemporary and you can walk to and from the MK.

 

[Magical2017]

You can check Uber/Lyft rates, and there is a thread about it on the Transportation board. If you save a bundle, the relatively low fees to go back and forth might be worth it. However, others have mentioned inconvenient drop off locations.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

We haven’t been to DW in a few years. Since our family takes midday breaks and loves the convenience of the monorail, we’ve typically stayed at Poly or GF in the past. However the rates for spring break are insane! I’m considering the different deluxe resorts as well as POR, but I know the buses can be dreadful. Has anyone relied on the Minnie van and/or Uber to get around. I know the cost would add up, but I’m thinking for certain times, like leaving parks after nighttime events with tired kids, these options would be better than buses. We’ve never used this mode of transportation so looking for any feedback.​

Yes, we use Minnie Vans and uber/lyft to get around to any parks that aren't convenient to our resort. The introduction of these services were the ONLY reason we stayed at WL twice last year after a disastrous visit 7 years ago when we only had buses at our disposal to get to 3 parks (my DS still needed a car seat at the time, so a Mears taxi was not going to cut it). When we stayed at WL in December, we didn't step one foot on a bus. We took the boat to MK (or boat to CR and walked from there) and took Minnie Vans everywhere else (other 3 parks and DS). We were there 7 nights and used the service about 8 times, so a total of $160 (would be $200 now). Private, door-to-door transportation and still a substantial savings over staying at a monorail resort.

I would take a look at your park plans. If you are going to be spending a lot of time at MK, I would consider pricing out WL. The boat to MK is really convenient and uber/lyft/Minnie Van to the other parks is easy. If you will spend the majority of your time in DHS/EP, consider the resorts over there. You can walk or boat to 2 parks over there, so will only need to uber/lyft/Minnie Van to two parks. If you have difficulty finding a Minnie Van from MK at night, you can walk to CR and get uber/lyft from there.

If you really want to stay on the monorail, consider pricing out the garden wing at CR. They are the cheapest rooms on the monorail and are quite lovely, IMHO.

We will be at BWI in about 2 weeks. We are going to all 4 parks and have zero plans to use a bus.

 

[rosiebean]

We haven't used Minnie Vans for Uber/Lyft, but have used regular taxis to get to parks when bus service was slow. It's more expensive than Uber/Lyft (not so sure about Minnie Vans), but using a taxi has been so convenient that I factor that cost into my plans now. If I were looking at staying at a resort that wasn't on the monorail or within walking distance to Epcot, I'd absolutely use that kind of service more often...and by my calculations, it would still save a bit of money considering relative room prices (looking at cost of the Poly vs AKL, for example, or cost of BC vs POR).