Navigating to the MK from offsite

[mamajo]

Howdo!!
Taking my 11 yr dd, first time for both of us-- Question: We are staying off site and need to get to MK for the day. Do we taxi there and ask to be dropped off at the Transportation center or do we tell taximan to go right to the park itself?? Not sure how to
advance. Read lots about the parks but the info is slight on navigating from offsite to a specific park. Once at the TC, what do we do??
Take a bus? Plane? Parachute in??
Any suggestions to minimize time wasted appreciated, thanks!!
October 05

 

[grimley1968]

I may be wrong, but I believe only the Disney buses can come within "pickup" distance of MK.

I would ask to be dropped off at the TTC. Also, if it's crowded when you arrive at the TTC, try to take the direct monorail from the TTC to MK, rather than the ferry, if the wait time is not too much longer for the monorail. I find that ferry to be sardine-packed by the time they start the boat on its way. I find the monorail to be much more comfortable, and air-conditioned.

If the crowds are not bad at the TTC, then either the ferry or monorail should be pleasant enough, and fairly quick to MK.

 

[kilee]

You will need to go to the TTC. From there you will in fact take the ferry or monorail.

 

[civileng68]

Actually you cannot get picked up or dropped off directly at the Magic Kingdom, unlike other parks.

At the front of the Magic Kingdom parking lot is an area for taxis. The taxi drivers will drop you off and pick you up there. At that point you are at the front of the TTC.

Most all taxi drivers in the area are familiar with this and likely you wont even need to tell them, they'll just know where to go.

 

[Fast Pass]

Are you sure the hotel that you are staying at doesn't have a shuttle service? Most of the hotels around WDW have shuttles.

If your hotel doesn't have a shuttle and you decide to take a taxi you might want to ask the taxi driver to take you to the nearest Disney hotel. That way you can take a free bus to MK and keep your taxi cost to a minimum.

Hopefully someone will be by later for a more helpful suggestion.

By the way if you do find yourself at the Ticket and Transportation Center all you have to do is hop on the MK bus.

 

[civileng68]

Are you sure the hotel that you are staying at doesn't have a shuttle service? Most of the hotels around WDW have shuttles.

If your hotel doesn't have a shuttle and you decide to take a taxi you might want to ask the taxi driver to take you to the nearest Disney hotel. That way you can take a free bus to MK and keep your taxi cost to a minimum.

Hopefully someone will be by later for a more helpful suggestion.

By the way if you do find yourself at the Ticket and Transportation Center all you have to do is hop on the MK bus.

Shuttles are available for MOST off-site hotels. However you must know a little about most of them before getting on them.

1) Check their route as many stop at multiple hotels before taking you to the parks and/or dropping you off later in the evening causing very long transit times.

2) Check park times and how long you want to stay. Many shuttles make their last park pick-up before the park closes, or so close to closing that you would have to leave early.

3) Yes you "may" be able to take a taxi to a resort (dont know if security will verify you are staying there, they may. I know you can normally visit for 3 hours, but if you are not in your own vehicle they may wonder as to how you are just visiting). Yes you could jump the resort transportation system to get to the MK and it will cost you less. However the travel time will be greatly increased with the swapping.

 

[mamajo]

Yes, I imagined that a shuttle could get me there but I was concerned with their schedule as opposed to mine. Direct route may be the best. Time is too precious to be spending it on a ninety stop shuttle bus tour with an anxious 11 year old.
I just didn't find too much info about logistics on how to enter the park(s) from offsite.
Thanks, guys!

 

[vettechick99]

You have several options, but I'd have the taxi drop me off at the GF and take the monorail from there. It's only one stop from the MK and you'll get to see Disney's flagship hotel. If you want more stops, try the Contemporary or Poly...any of the MK monorail resorts are way more interesting than the TTC (and you might actually avoid some crowds).

 

[wdwgoofeeee]

You can also take a taxi to the Contemporary Hotel. From there you can take the 10 minute walk to the Magic Kingdom or hop on the monorail. Also, from the Contemporary you can take Disney buses to the other theme parks, except for Epcot. You would need to take the monorail from there to the TTC and transfer to the Epcot monorail. Staying offsite definitely makes it a lot harder to get to the theme park on your schedule.
When it's time to go back you can easily get a taxi outside any of the Disney resorts. They are usually waiting, but if one if not there a Cast Member will call and get one for you right away.

note....If you go via any Disney resort to the Magic Kingdom I believe you will need to have your tickets already in hand. I don't know if they sell tickets at the MK. Better check this out if you will not have tickets in advance. Hopefully someone here will know. We always have our park tickets through our Disney resort so never even look for ticket windows.