New Express Transportation: $19/day or $29/week-SERVICE ENDING AUGUST 23RD 2017

[ThistleMae]

Epcot has it's own parking lot in front of the park, same as AK and DHS. For Magic Kingdom you have to park at TTC. Im not sure about the busses...maybe someone else will have the answer there....

Oh, okay really good to know, it does make a difference when you have a car to carry around with you...LOL!

 

[AngiTN]

Just thought of something else...when Epcot says 9 p.m. closing but Illuminations is at 9 p.m.....doesn't the park actually close after that? So if you stay for Illuminations at 9 p.m. and you want to go back to MK for a 10 p.m. closing, should there be one express bus after the 9 p.m. closing?

There is 1 additional bus after the park closes but your issue is Illuminations ends too late to make the buses in most cases. By the time you watch Illuminations you won't have time to walk to the check in point and check in with enough time to make a bus.

In the case of Epcot to MK the bus would be at 9:10 so not really an option.

Unfortunately, the Express Bus is a struggle for anyone with a car because it's rarely going to be a good option to get you back to your car at the end of the night. It's great for day use but you'll probably need an additional plan in place for that last hop at night. Or a way to leave your car at your final park

 

[sharonabe]

Question 2: So if we are at AK and stay past MK closing....will there be a regular bus to get us back to MK so we can get the monorail to our car?

Regular buses usually run at least one hour past closing. I'm not sure how long after closing the park-to-park buses run. You might want to ask that as it's own question over on the transportation board. You'll want to include the monorail part if MK is already closed as well.

Just thought of something else...when Epcot says 9 p.m. closing but Illuminations is at 9 p.m.....doesn't the park actually close after that? So if you stay for Illuminations at 9 p.m. and you want to go back to MK for a 10 p.m. closing, should there be one express bus after the 9 p.m. closing?

Even with 9 pm Illuminations, park closure is still 9 pm, so there will be one more bus to MK after 9, but depending on the EP - MK schedule, you might not be able to watch all of Illuminations and make that bus. Sorry, I don't have the schedule memorized.

That is good to know. So how can we get back to MK during EMH? There are three in my family. I rechecked the time for the rivers of light showing and it is 8:45. The MK regular hours end at 9 so I wouldn't be able to use the express transportation when I need it most. I suppose we could use regular Disney bus transportation or uber. I wonder which would be faster.

Uber will be faster, but that is more money. I would definitely check with the AK and MK express bus CMs on that day to see when the last bus from AK will be heading to MK. You may be able to use the express, but if not, the regular buses will still be running from AK to MK after RoL.

 

[OSUZorba]

Does anyone know if they'll charge for a baby/toddler?

 

[AngiTN]

Does anyone know if they'll charge for a baby/toddler?

It's an add on to a ticket so only people charged are those with tickets

 

[ThistleMae]

Regarding the car usage and Express....been looking at our schedule now to try and figure out where we want to end up. It's easier to look at our schedule of FP that I've crafted and decide where we will need to end up and plan accordingly. I'm also trying to avoid the mass exodus from the parks to the monorail after the fireworks at either MK or Epcot. Epcot will be fine if we park there. MK will involve the monorail use after Ever After, just can't avoid that one to the TTC. I think I'll be able to come up with a plan that works and still get many uses out of Express Pass. Thank you to everyone who is contributing here....it definitely isn't that simple to figure it all out.

 

[OSUZorba]

It's an add on to a ticket so only people charged are those with tickets

Thanks, that is what I figured. Not sure how much we'll actually use it, so glad it'll be a little cheaper for us.

 

[danikoski]

Regarding the car usage and Express....been looking at our schedule now to try and figure out where we want to end up. It's easier to look at our schedule of FP that I've crafted and decide where we will need to end up and plan accordingly. I'm also trying to avoid the mass exodus from the parks to the monorail after the fireworks at either MK or Epcot. Epcot will be fine if we park there. MK will involve the monorail use after Ever After, just can't avoid that one to the TTC. I think I'll be able to come up with a plan that works and still get many uses out of Express Pass. Thank you to everyone who is contributing here....it definitely isn't that simple to figure it all out.

Remember, there's a boat from MK to the TTC. You can also take a boat from MK to Poly and walk to the TTC. I have found there are times those boats are faster and less hassle than the monorail.

 

[vinotinto]

Is there any word on whether this is going to continue past August 31st? I could really, really, really use this service on one of our days!

On the other hand, all the parks close at 9 pm on the days we are there. So, not as useful for hoping after one closes, unless they add EMH service to this express bus service. And if we go for am EMH 8:00 - 9:00 am, we would need to wait until 10:00 am for the service to begin.

 

[sharonabe]

Is there any word on whether this is going to continue past August 31st? I could really, really, really use this service on one of our days!

On the other hand, all the parks close at 9 pm on the days we are there. So, not as useful for hoping after one closes, unless they add EMH service to this express bus service. And if we go for am EMH 8:00 - 9:00 am, we would need to wait until 10:00 am for the service to begin.

Nothing official either way, but considering they have recently added schedule sign boards at each kiosk in the parks, I'd say odds are pretty good.

 

[AngiTN]

Is there any word on whether this is going to continue past August 31st? I could really, really, really use this service on one of our days!

On the other hand, all the parks close at 9 pm on the days we are there. So, not as useful for hoping after one closes, unless they add EMH service to this express bus service. And if we go for am EMH 8:00 - 9:00 am, we would need to wait until 10:00 am for the service to begin.

There's been no word that it's ending so why do you ask about 8/31 specifically? Had you heard something that prompted that question?

 

[vinotinto]

There's been no word that it's ending so why do you ask about 8/31 specifically? Had you heard something that prompted that question?

You know, I thought for some reason this was being tested through the summer, but now I cannot find it, so clearly, I got it confused with something else. I will just assume this will be on during our early Sept trip!

 

[AngiTN]

It's been mentioned to me that some buses were running during EMH over the July 4th Holiday.
This could be either a change related to EMH or a temporary change due to the Holiday.
Any one there right now should ask if the buses are running later at night on a day by day basis.
If you find out that there is a change in policy, please come back and report.
Thanks so much

 

[Lynne G]

ooh, I am so hoping to use this over the December holidays. We have 7 day tickets, and very much will be hopping.

 

[ThistleMae]

Remember, there's a boat from MK to the TTC. You can also take a boat from MK to Poly and walk to the TTC. I have found there are times those boats are faster and less hassle than the monorail.

Oh forgot about the boat to the TTC...thanks.

 

[shoreward]

It's been mentioned to me that some buses were running during EMH over the July 4th Holiday.
This could be either a change related to EMH or a temporary change due to the Holiday.
Any one there right now should ask if the buses are running later at night on a day by day basis.
If you find out that there is a change in policy, please come back and report.
Thanks so much

When asked, several CMs told me that they would not run for EMH (over the July 4 holiday). The sandwich boards posting the departure times did not show any EMH operation.

 

[AngiTN]

When asked, several CMs told me that they would not run for EMH (over the July 4 holiday). The sandwich boards posting the departure times did not show any EMH operation.

Thanks. Sounds like it was just a one off thing then, no policy change.

 

[wareagle57]

I just got back from our short 3 day trip and I wanted to add my experience with this service. Overall I thought it worked great for us. It was a bit stressful worrying about it being a waste for such a short trip and the dreading thunderstorms always looming around the time we wanted to hop, but it never affected us.

One question I kept asking on this thread was about the top of the hour park closings. I was always told that if the park closed at the top/bottom of the hour, that THAT was the last bus, and there would not be one after closing. A CM at the station for Epcot asked us what we thought about the service and I said that was my only complaint. They said they understood but the reason they couldn't keep the service open longer was because the park wasn't open, so there was no one to work it. I see no reason that can't be fixed.

Another question I asked was about getting from Fantasmic to AK since the last bus would leave at 9:40. We had a FP for Fantasmic thinking it would get us seating closer to the center so we could get out earlier. Unfortunately it was a packed show despite threats of lightening shutting it down and we were one section from the far end. We left as soon as the boat passes to get a little ahead of the crowds, but still had to shuffle most of the way. We still made the bus to AK by 5 minutes and were able to ride EE 3 times before the rest of our family even got back to their hotel.

 

[AngiTN]

Thanks for sharing your info! Great stuff

I hope feedback lets them tweak the closing bus schedules

 

[ThistleMae]

I agree that tweaking the evening hours of operation would greatly improve the service. The mad rush to get to transportation after the final shows/fireworks is the biggest pain, and using the shuttle would be fabulous!