Monorail resorts...do they really save time?

[constanze]

Also with the Epcot resorts, I hear it's realllllyyyy nice to be able to just walk out of the park at World Showcase (Epcot) after Illuminations while everyone else is heading toward the main entrance.

 

[TJA]

In my opinion, it's not necessarily a matter of how many minutes it takes to get from A to B, but it's more about how convenient it is to get from A to B. Everyone has different thoughts on this, but our personal situation is we have young children and (to us) a monorail resort is a life-saver because we can just roll our stroller right on and off, no unloading it and holding sleeping kids while trying to juggle everything. It's just a smooth and relaxing ride back to our resort. We like both Poly and CR and when we stay at a monorail resort, we tend to focus on MK and Epcot the most so we definitely utilize the monorail. Having said all that, we also love the Epcot resorts, mainly BC because our little ones love the pool at BC. Again, it's all about convenience because when we stay at BC, we plan most dinners in the Epcot countries or Epcot resort area, so we can walk wherever we want to eat dinner each night and also watch Illuminations or Fantasmic and walk/boat back to our resort afterward.

 

[DOOM1001]

The MK resorts and the EPCOT resorts have great locations which makes them very convenient.I mean from the Grand Floridian or the Poly to the MK has got to be less than 5 minutes. And as someone said when Illuminations is done and everyone is headed towards the front gate,it's gotta be great to head to the International Gateway and be in your room after a 5-10 minute walk!! The least convenient have to be the All-Stars and I think even Caribbean Beach,these 2 seem to always have a lot of people staying in them and many times after the nighttime shows you get to the bus stops and have to wait for like the 3rd bus to come cause the line is so long!!

 

[kaytieeldr]

10 minutes to Epcot from All Star does not account for walking to the bus stop (funny they add that to the Polynesian total)

Right - because the Guest is AT the All Star resort and the transportation departs from that same property. Poly-to-Epcot includes walking time because you're walking from the resort to the not-at-the-resort transportation location.

Anyway, to answer the OP: convenience depends in great deal to where you plan to spend most of your time. Magic Kingdom and Epcot only? Yes, the monorail resorts are very convenient, especially the Polynesian. Planning to enjoy a variety of Disney parks, shopping, and entertainment venues? Not so much.

 

[disneyjunebug]

Also with the Epcot resorts, I hear it's realllllyyyy nice to be able to just walk out of the park at World Showcase (Epcot) after Illuminations while everyone else is heading toward the main entrance.

That's my trick too, only I usually stay at the MK resorts. I get out that way, catch a bus at the Boardwalk to the TTC and avoid the huge crowds as people leave! Then I catch the Monorail to the CR. My brother didn't believe me when I said it was faster once. He went out the main entrance, and I went my way. I was sitting in my room, with a full mug of soda before he got back! And since I had left my mug in the room, that means I had to go get it, then go back to the Food center to get my refill!

 

[Kimberle]

I'm probably one of the few, but no, I don't think they do. I think monorails are highly overrated.

We've stayed at both CR & WL, and we much preferred transportation from WL. Getting to Epcot from CR took a long time. We take the train to TTC, then have to change trains to Epcot. It was hard when we had a stroller, pushing it down then up the llllooooonnnnggggg ramps at TTC. It was so much easier taking the bus from WL. Just hop on then off.

I can't tell you how many times we'd be on the train and it would just stop for several minutes. I timed a stop at 10 minutes once.

 

[newholidayx2]

I spend most of my time in EpCot (Off Kilter) so staying at the BCV is the closest resort

 

[goodferry]

We find the transporation options at the Poly wonderful! For us, pushing a stroller onto the monorail is 100 times easier than folding it up, trying to gingerly load it on the bus, all while attending to our four kids.
I too question some of those transportation times, I know it DEFINITELY did not take us 20 min. to get from the BWI to Epcot, and the YC/BC is closer, it is more like five-10. It took 15 minutes to get from the BWI to MGM if we walked, but not on the boat. The monorail to Epcot, including walking from our room in Hawaii at the Polynesian, was not 20 minutes, more like 15 at the most, not to mention that it is a much more enjoyable experience for us than the buses.
So, for us, the monorail makes a huge difference. We are staying at the Boardwalk this next trip and I know that we will miss the Poly! Have fun, whatever you decide!

 

[simonkodousek]

Hi,

For our family it doesn't really matter as DS's are 10 and 13. I actually prefer the WL because of the ferry. If the lake's water is choppy and the ferry isn't running, we can always catch a bus, but this has never happened. However, I'm going to see if we can get in at GF for New Year's as the monorail speeds things up around that time.

~Simon

 

[ObsessedwiththeMouse]

Personally, the monorail is easier with kids and a time saver. It's so much easier to walk out the door and get on a monorail than it is to wait for a bus, then drag the stroller on the bus, fold and unfold the stroller.

My brother drives the monorail, so maybe I'm a little biased.

Out of all the resorts, we love the Poly and GF.

 

[goofy4tink]

We have stayed at the Polynesian as well as CR. Do the monorails save time? Sometimes. But, for the most part, we used the boat from MK to the Polynesian/GF, and the walkway from MK to CR. For the trip to Epcot from the Polynesian, we found that the walk took us about 8 mins, then we usually had to wait about 5 mins to get a monorail, sometimes 10 mins. Then the ride to Epcot took about 8-10 minutes. At best we would take about 20 mins total....usually took a bit longer. For those stays at BWV (where we are normally) it's about 6 mins to Intnl Gateway. Then, to walk through WS to get to FW, it takes me about 10 mins, even with my 13 y/o in tow!!
I guess it all depends on which parks you'll be at the most.
It's funny, but when we stayed at the Polynesian back in '03, my dh wasn't terribly impressed with the resort...he said it was nice enough but had no urge to go back. Well.....last night he says to me (after looking over my shoulder at a thread that Steve had posted Polynesian photos on) that he was feeling a need for the Polynesian..that he wanted to stay there again in the near future!! Okay honey...twist my arm!

 

[Deborah_Mary]

Do you think staying at a monorail resort saves time and is worth it? If so which one would you pick and if not where would you stay???
Thanks!

My family does find that it does save some time going to MK and Epcot. However even moreso we find it easier to access with a stroller than anything else. We don't have to fold up the stroller like we do when we need to take the bus.

We've only stayed at 2 of the 3 resorts; CR and Poly and we prefer CR over Poly. The Poly was my first favorite, but then after experiencing CR, that's where my heart lives.

As mentioned previously, the walk to and from MK from the CR is AWESOME and the biggest reason we absolutely LOVE staying there. With 2 little ones MK is by far all of our favorite park and we often go there each evening when we are at CR for sometime.

The Poly also has an advantage with the walkway to the TTC and being able to hop on the Epcot monorail is really nice without unloading off the resort monorail and then reloading onto the other, but it's not that big of deal to do... and if you're staying at CR then it's the first stop when going to the TTC but also the last stop when returning from there.

With that said, since our youngest is now going to be 3 1/2 or older when we get to go to Disney again, I'm not sure how much of the stroller we'll use and we are pretty sure we'll be trying some other resorts (not monorail ones) this time - which will mean more bus time for us (we tried BWI last year and LOVED that location too since we walked to Epcot and MGM a LOT). But the good thing about that is she really enjoys the bus rides too.

Hope this helps!

Deb*

 

[Tikiman]

Right - because the Guest is AT the All Star resort and the transportation departs from that same property. Poly-to-Epcot includes walking time because you're walking from the resort to the not-at-the-resort transportation location.

Anyway, to answer the OP: convenience depends in great deal to where you plan to spend most of your time. Magic Kingdom and Epcot only? Yes, the monorail resorts are very convenient, especially the Polynesian. Planning to enjoy a variety of Disney parks, shopping, and entertainment venues? Not so much.

The only point I was trying to make is that walking to the TTC from many of the rooms at the Polynesian is less of a walk than walking from some of the All Star rooms to the bus stop so why factor the walk at the Polynesian and not at the All Star. I don’t see why the TTC can not be considered part of the Polynesian transportation system. Every guide book and site lists it as a transportation option for that resort because there is a path that connects them that takes about 20 seconds to walk. How is that not at the resort? Any how is a monorail resort not good for shotting and entertainment venues? I can get to Downtown Disney easily and I can hop on the monorail to the GF or Conteporary for food and shopping or boat over to WL. Anyway I am sure people got my point.

 

[DaisyD]

I think it is much quicker using the monorail but it still depends on the resort. At the CR we had to wait for a few monorails til we got one we could get on. The CR is overcrowded with so many people coming and going. Also if can be difficult getting on it because so many are coming from the MK and going to TTC. The stops at the Poly and GF are much better in that aspect. No lines or crowds. I never liked walking to the MK from the CR either. I don't need to add any extra steps to my already bad knees! LOL!