jenrose66
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 17, 2005
- Messages
- 2,248
Hi guys! Just back from my wonderful trip to Disney 
I'm gonna post a lot of detailed reviews because I know that I really liked reading them when getting ready for my trip.
Without further ado...my transportation report
Actually, I lied. I will start with a slight aside. I was at Disney last year for my honeymoon from 7-4 to 7-11. I did not find one thing wrong with that vacation. I was high from my wedding and nothing bothered me. As much as I enjoyed this vacation, I was a tad more critical this year.
We flew Southwest to get down to Orlando. It was my first time flying them. I waited up till midnight and got my A pass so all was cool. At the airport though, there was a considerable amount of pushing and shoving. They specifically said that after the preboards that A's were getting on the plane, yet everyone at the gate got in line and made everything hectic. On top of that there were a considerable amount of parents with kids around 8 to 12 who were fretting about sitting together. Even though I wanted to sit with my husband, it wouldn't have been the end of the world if I didn't. Still, I did my part to ensure that we would get to board earlier rather than later so that we could sit together. Flight down there was non-stop and uneventful.
Once we landed we took a bathroom break and made the trek to magical express. I was in line for about 10 minutes. It was very efficient and everyone was friendly. From there I made my way to the POFQ bus line where we were again made to feel quite at ease with various cast members. I would say that we were sitting on our plush air conditioned bus within 10 minutes. I did notice that even though Disney says magical express is free there are signs inside the bus in very clear view...they say something like "your driver is xxxx and gratuities are appreciated". Well xxxx did not transport any luggage for me and Disney said gratuities were included in my trip so I did not tip. Though, the sign made me uncomfortable.
I was off the plane at about 10:05 and at POFQ by about 11:05 or 11:15. There was only one person ahead of me at check in so that went fast as well. My room wasn't ready until 3, which was fine. Me and Jake had something to eat and headed to DTD with out backpacks. All in all I would give my arrive transportation an A.
The bus service
It wasn't quite as good as I remembered it. I found myself waiting at least 10 minutes (that was on a good day) usually more, for a bus...and I'm not saying that because busses were leaving full...they just weren't coming. Now of course there were a few times where we hit it just right and walked right on a bus to our destination...but the norm was a decent wait. We must have just missed the bus on numerous occasions. The other thing that kind of got to me was mis informed cast members. We were doing a segway tour and were told to be at Epcot by 8 a.m. I asked the hotel concierge if there was bus transportation or if I had to arrange a cab. She said that an Epcot bus starts running at 6:45. Me and Jake were out there at 6:40...we saw every bus but an Epcot bus. Naturally, I was starting to get nervous because these tours are prepaid. I went to a worker at bell services and asked if an Epcot bus was coming. She frowned at me and said I would need a cab. I said, ok, and that I needed to get to Epcot at 8. She called a cab and it was there within a minute. Well it was only about 7:25 but me and Jake got in the cab and off to Epcot we went. We get there at about 7:35 or so and the security guard was a little miffed and told us to sit down. Ok...well I wasn't expecting to get into the park at that time I was a confused tourist who had no idea how long it took to get to Epcot. Yes we were early, and I was quite embarassed, especially since it seemed like such an inconvenience for us to be there. By about 10 to 8 other guests started arriving and I felt better. In hindsight, we probably didn't see an Epcot bus because Epcot is so close to POFQ and the busses don't run till closer to 8. Well I spoke to a hotel concierge, a luggage worker, and even asked a magic kingdom bus driver and nobody gave me a straight answer. Instead I was embarassed and out $15 for useless cab fare.
I easily spent at least 12 to 15 hours waiting for Disney busses or boats. Next trip I will rent a car. Also, I remembered last year the bus and boat driver's would talk to passengers. Give trivia and what not. There was practically none of that this year. I give bus transport a B-
On our return home magical express was just as efficient. We checked out of our room at 11 (check out line was about 35 minutes, but that's to be expected). We stored our luggage and walked over to Riverside, just to tour the hotel. We were back to our pick up spot at 1:15 for our 1:30 departure. The ride back to the airport was just as efficient as the first one. We made stops at OKW and Saratoga Springs which was nice because I love seeing all the different resorts. We got to the airport at about 2:30. Check in was a breeze, it took all of 5 minutes. Our plane was set to take off at 4:20. By 2:50 there was already a family camped out by the A gate. Before the line took on a life of it's own me and Jake got in line right behind them. I didn't want to get caught up in another ridiculous line. It's a good thing we got in line when we did because there were a ton of pre boards (which again I expected). The flight home was slightly delayed by weather, but again, it was uneventful.
My final thoughts would be that it is worth it to fly Southwest because it saved me about $300 and I got a non stop flight as opposed to having to transfer. Though I do hate flying and people seem to be especially ansy on Southwest because there are no assigned seats. When we go back to Disney I'll make sure to get a couple extra vacation days so that we can drive. On the Disney busses, even though I found them slow they are convenient (you don't have to worry about navigating through Disney or parking your car) and it's a nice perk. I would prefer to rely on myself for transportation though.
I'm gonna post a lot of detailed reviews because I know that I really liked reading them when getting ready for my trip.
Without further ado...my transportation report
Actually, I lied. I will start with a slight aside. I was at Disney last year for my honeymoon from 7-4 to 7-11. I did not find one thing wrong with that vacation. I was high from my wedding and nothing bothered me. As much as I enjoyed this vacation, I was a tad more critical this year.
We flew Southwest to get down to Orlando. It was my first time flying them. I waited up till midnight and got my A pass so all was cool. At the airport though, there was a considerable amount of pushing and shoving. They specifically said that after the preboards that A's were getting on the plane, yet everyone at the gate got in line and made everything hectic. On top of that there were a considerable amount of parents with kids around 8 to 12 who were fretting about sitting together. Even though I wanted to sit with my husband, it wouldn't have been the end of the world if I didn't. Still, I did my part to ensure that we would get to board earlier rather than later so that we could sit together. Flight down there was non-stop and uneventful.
Once we landed we took a bathroom break and made the trek to magical express. I was in line for about 10 minutes. It was very efficient and everyone was friendly. From there I made my way to the POFQ bus line where we were again made to feel quite at ease with various cast members. I would say that we were sitting on our plush air conditioned bus within 10 minutes. I did notice that even though Disney says magical express is free there are signs inside the bus in very clear view...they say something like "your driver is xxxx and gratuities are appreciated". Well xxxx did not transport any luggage for me and Disney said gratuities were included in my trip so I did not tip. Though, the sign made me uncomfortable.
I was off the plane at about 10:05 and at POFQ by about 11:05 or 11:15. There was only one person ahead of me at check in so that went fast as well. My room wasn't ready until 3, which was fine. Me and Jake had something to eat and headed to DTD with out backpacks. All in all I would give my arrive transportation an A.
The bus service
It wasn't quite as good as I remembered it. I found myself waiting at least 10 minutes (that was on a good day) usually more, for a bus...and I'm not saying that because busses were leaving full...they just weren't coming. Now of course there were a few times where we hit it just right and walked right on a bus to our destination...but the norm was a decent wait. We must have just missed the bus on numerous occasions. The other thing that kind of got to me was mis informed cast members. We were doing a segway tour and were told to be at Epcot by 8 a.m. I asked the hotel concierge if there was bus transportation or if I had to arrange a cab. She said that an Epcot bus starts running at 6:45. Me and Jake were out there at 6:40...we saw every bus but an Epcot bus. Naturally, I was starting to get nervous because these tours are prepaid. I went to a worker at bell services and asked if an Epcot bus was coming. She frowned at me and said I would need a cab. I said, ok, and that I needed to get to Epcot at 8. She called a cab and it was there within a minute. Well it was only about 7:25 but me and Jake got in the cab and off to Epcot we went. We get there at about 7:35 or so and the security guard was a little miffed and told us to sit down. Ok...well I wasn't expecting to get into the park at that time I was a confused tourist who had no idea how long it took to get to Epcot. Yes we were early, and I was quite embarassed, especially since it seemed like such an inconvenience for us to be there. By about 10 to 8 other guests started arriving and I felt better. In hindsight, we probably didn't see an Epcot bus because Epcot is so close to POFQ and the busses don't run till closer to 8. Well I spoke to a hotel concierge, a luggage worker, and even asked a magic kingdom bus driver and nobody gave me a straight answer. Instead I was embarassed and out $15 for useless cab fare.I easily spent at least 12 to 15 hours waiting for Disney busses or boats. Next trip I will rent a car. Also, I remembered last year the bus and boat driver's would talk to passengers. Give trivia and what not. There was practically none of that this year. I give bus transport a B-
On our return home magical express was just as efficient. We checked out of our room at 11 (check out line was about 35 minutes, but that's to be expected). We stored our luggage and walked over to Riverside, just to tour the hotel. We were back to our pick up spot at 1:15 for our 1:30 departure. The ride back to the airport was just as efficient as the first one. We made stops at OKW and Saratoga Springs which was nice because I love seeing all the different resorts. We got to the airport at about 2:30. Check in was a breeze, it took all of 5 minutes. Our plane was set to take off at 4:20. By 2:50 there was already a family camped out by the A gate. Before the line took on a life of it's own me and Jake got in line right behind them. I didn't want to get caught up in another ridiculous line. It's a good thing we got in line when we did because there were a ton of pre boards (which again I expected). The flight home was slightly delayed by weather, but again, it was uneventful.
My final thoughts would be that it is worth it to fly Southwest because it saved me about $300 and I got a non stop flight as opposed to having to transfer. Though I do hate flying and people seem to be especially ansy on Southwest because there are no assigned seats. When we go back to Disney I'll make sure to get a couple extra vacation days so that we can drive. On the Disney busses, even though I found them slow they are convenient (you don't have to worry about navigating through Disney or parking your car) and it's a nice perk. I would prefer to rely on myself for transportation though.
Thanks for posting!
