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

[cakebaker]

We're doing the 4 park challenge today and it's going to be easy using express. We've knocked out HS, at MK now headed to AK to watch the tree lighting (and see if they're going to run more rol tests tonight allowing guests to watch) and then over to Epcot to watch Illuminations. We may head back to the MK to close the park depending on how tired we are! Love express!!!

 

[fbarker]

Just sent my message to Guest Service asking them to continue this service. We go to WDW at the end of March!! I told them that everyone from Disboards love this service Keeping my fingers crossed

 

[AngiTN]

We're doing the 4 park challenge today and it's going to be easy using express. We've knocked out HS, at MK now headed to AK to watch the tree lighting (and see if they're going to run more rol tests tonight allowing guests to watch) and then over to Epcot to watch Illuminations. We may head back to the MK to close the park depending on how tired we are! Love express!!!

We may try to do something similar in a couple of weeks

 

[cakebaker]

We may try to do something similar in a couple of weeks

We're doing it with a 4 yr old just to up the difficulty level. We rode SDMT with FP at 6:10. At the stop by 6:25. On the bus now, left the Mk at 6:30. Lets see how long it takes to be inside the AK.

 

[cakebaker]

We were inside AK at 6:54. So we went from being on SDMT to sitting and watching the Tree of Life light show in less than 1 hr. Amazing.

 

[cakebaker]

On express to Epcot at 7:45. 4 park challenge complete!

 

[cyndiella]

We may try to do something similar in a couple of weeks

Me too! It's been on my bucket list for a while now! yeah!

 

[Maistre Gracey]

I believe this. An be done, without issue, by bus or car.
It may indeed be easier via the express bus, but it is not exclusive.

MG

 

[DisneyKoolaid]

We're doing the 4 park challenge today and it's going to be easy using express. We've knocked out HS, at MK now headed to AK to watch the tree lighting (and see if they're going to run more rol tests tonight allowing guests to watch) and then over to Epcot to watch Illuminations. We may head back to the MK to close the park depending on how tired we are! Love express!!!

Today was only my 4th time doing 4 parks in 1 day (3rd time with express transportation) and I will never be able to park hop like this again without express transportation. I actually went back and forth to some (not the most efficient park hopper, but still having fun) so technically have done up to 6 parks in one day.

Fastest bus (in my limited experience) seems to be between AK and DHS, I've taken that route 4 times and each time it was a 10-15 min trip, the other routes taking about 20 min.

No matter what, express transportation is a huge time saver not having to go through security and tapstiles. I also really like that the buses have a set departure time (even if it varies each day for each route), so there's no guessing and not waiting for people running at the buses.

As long as they continue this service, I have faith that they're going to improve giving info for the departure times, some CMs have started to ask you (as they're walking you into the park) which park you're planning on heading to next and give you the departure times.

I do think express transportation is slightly better for guests staying at resorts because they don't have to worry about parking. I'm an AP/local so I've been parking at the TTC (which I hate) in case I have the energy to last until MK park close.

 

[yulilin3]

On express to Epcot at 7:45. 4 park challenge complete!

Thank you for the live reporting, it was fun following along and it sounds like you guys had a great time

 

[cakebaker]

Thank you for the live reporting, it was fun following along and it sounds like you guys had a great time

We had a great time! The CM's are so friendly and helpful, bus drivers are talkative, just love this service and gave positive feedback at every chance we could. Today is our last day, flying out this evening so no more hopping for us, just a few hours in the MK tackling the holiday crowd.

 

[MrInfinity]

We had a great time! The CM's are so friendly and helpful, bus drivers are talkative, just love this service and gave positive feedback at every chance we could. Today is our last day, flying out this evening so no more hopping for us, just a few hours in the MK tackling the holiday crowd.

Great to hear!

So was there ever a case where you showed up on time for one bus and felt like you'd be delayed to the next because the first was full? With EMH touring patterns there would be times of day when there are heavy use, like from 11-12 leaving an EMH park.

And how was it getting on rides? You could do lots at the AK being rope drop and then you had FP+ lined up for MK, but then HS and Epcot... If we were to try a 4-park day, we would have to ride at least a major and minor attraction at each park. That would mean getting on Test Track and Rockin Roller Coaster in the afternoon without a Fastpass...

So if we were to do a 4-park day, I think I'd set it up with AK first (being the furthest from our base) then take express to HS where I'd prearrange FP+ for TSMM, ST, ToT... then walk thru the Boardwalk region to Epcot where we could do Figment, TT and have dinner, then express over to the MK. From there it's easy to get home.

 

[gap2368]

We're doing the 4 park challenge today and it's going to be easy using express. We've knocked out HS, at MK now headed to AK to watch the tree lighting (and see if they're going to run more rol tests tonight allowing guests to watch) and then over to Epcot to watch Illuminations. We may head back to the MK to close the park depending on how tired we are! Love express!!!

I decided Saturday around 12 to use the service and I did all 4 parks that day I rode at lest 1 ride in each park ( AK the safari EPCOT sorian HS great movie ride, I also took a picture at each park we left MK around 12:30 and we were back at MK around 7 pm very fun day,

 

[cakebaker]

Great to hear!

So was there ever a case where you showed up on time for one bus and felt like you'd be delayed to the next because the first was full? With EMH touring patterns there would be times of day when there are heavy use, like from 11-12 leaving an EMH park.

And how was it getting on rides? You could do lots at the AK being rope drop and then you had FP+ lined up for MK, but then HS and Epcot... If we were to try a 4-park day, we would have to ride at least a major and minor attraction at each park. That would mean getting on Test Track and Rockin Roller Coaster in the afternoon without a Fastpass...

So if we were to do a 4-park day, I think I'd set it up with AK first (being the furthest from our base) then take express to HS where I'd prearrange FP+ for TSMM, ST, ToT... then walk thru the Boardwalk region to Epcot where we could do Figment, TT and have dinner, then express over to the MK. From there it's easy to get home.

For now at least, there's no issue with full busses. At most we had 8-10 people riding with us. Those times always seemed to be at park close heading to a park not yet closed. We experienced no delays at all except for when we were a couple of minutes late to arrive at the HS bus. Our experience was that they leave exactly when scheduled- a minute late and you could miss it.

On our 4 park day we did HS without FP in the morning. We did Jedi signup, road TSMM then Star Tours, then the training and finally Tower of Terror. Left for the MK at that point where we had the parade package. We rode Buzz with FP then had lunch, did a little shopping and watched the parade. We rode a couple of secondary rides, rode SDMT with a FP and then over to AK where we only watched the Tree of Life show. We could've done a couple of secondary rides there, but chose to just relax watching the show. After that was Epcot- dinner and watched Illuminations.

Btw- I know Tony's gets a bad rap here on the dis, but we thought it was the single best meal we had all week. I got the steak - cooked rare exactly as I ordered it and melt in your mouth tender. The cost of the package was less than the cost of my meal and we had a perfect viewing spot. I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

 

[AngiTN]

Great to hear!

So was there ever a case where you showed up on time for one bus and felt like you'd be delayed to the next because the first was full? With EMH touring patterns there would be times of day when there are heavy use, like from 11-12 leaving an EMH park.

And how was it getting on rides? You could do lots at the AK being rope drop and then you had FP+ lined up for MK, but then HS and Epcot... If we were to try a 4-park day, we would have to ride at least a major and minor attraction at each park. That would mean getting on Test Track and Rockin Roller Coaster in the afternoon without a Fastpass...

So if we were to do a 4-park day, I think I'd set it up with AK first (being the furthest from our base) then take express to HS where I'd prearrange FP+ for TSMM, ST, ToT... then walk thru the Boardwalk region to Epcot where we could do Figment, TT and have dinner, then express over to the MK. From there it's easy to get home.

I'd still take the bus from HS to Epcot, if for anything, because it puts you in Epcot near TT, unless you have a stop you plan to make between HS and Figment/TT

 

[cakebaker]

We were in no way trying to do the 4 parks efficiently. Our original plan was HS until 11am, the rest of the day we were going to stay at the MK. About halfway thru our morning we decided we really wanted to see the Tree of Life and well, if you're doing 3, you might as well do them all. I'm sure there are more efficient plans, but it was fun!

 

[shoreward]

There was actually one time when I just missed a bus, by about five minutes. There was a bus getting ready to depart for another park, so I just got on that one. That works, if your plans are flexible, and you don't have any upcoming FP at a particular park. It worked for me, as I was short on time and was trying to squeeze in a number of parks in a short period of time. So, I just adjusted my plans.

You can also transfer, if you want to stay on the go. In most instances, it would not save any time over just waiting for the bus to the park you intend on visiting next. It becomes more of a bus tour, at that point.

 

[scrapquitler]

We rode the Express Bus on Friday. We rode from AK-HS, HS-EP, EP-MK (and my husband ran back from MK-EP-MK in between, as well because he forgot to pick up an item he purchased). We finally got to do a 4 park day!

Each time the bus left exactly at the time they said it would, the CM were really friendly, there were between 5-10 people on the bus each time. We enjoyed the backstage peeks, and even got to see the MK Christmas tree in pieces sitting on the backs of flatbed trucks.

When my DH rode the bus from MK-EP-MK the CM engaged him in a long conversation asking his opinions about the service, and the CM told my DH that this is definitely continuing, and that they are tweaking it and ironing out a few things. One of the things my DH suggested was that it needs a better name, it should be called something like the Park Hopper Plus Bus or something to make it more obvious what it is. He also suggested a length of stay option because we almost always stay longer than 7 days on our trips.

The only thing that I think they really need and don't have is a sign posted stating the departure times for each park. It's kind of a pain to have to ask the CM all the time. Hopefully when they get the testing finished, there will be some time posted on a sign, in a brochure or something.

We will definitely be doing this again on our next trip in March.

 

[DisneyKoolaid]

That's the thing I really like about this service, if you have the flexibility to change your plans, it makes it seem like "the world" is at your fingertips and you can really do whatever you want.

There must have been a glitch in MDE and I was able to snag a FP at Rock n Roller Coaster last minute while I was at AK so I hopped on a bus and went to DHS just for Rock n Roller Coaster, rode it, made a FP for Safari at AK and went back.

Rock n Roller Coaster + Safari in the same hour, never thought that would ever happen.

 

[scrapquitler]

Great to hear!

So was there ever a case where you showed up on time for one bus and felt like you'd be delayed to the next because the first was full? With EMH touring patterns there would be times of day when there are heavy use, like from 11-12 leaving an EMH park.

And how was it getting on rides? You could do lots at the AK being rope drop and then you had FP+ lined up for MK, but then HS and Epcot... If we were to try a 4-park day, we would have to ride at least a major and minor attraction at each park. That would mean getting on Test Track and Rockin Roller Coaster in the afternoon without a Fastpass...

So if we were to do a 4-park day, I think I'd set it up with AK first (being the furthest from our base) then take express to HS where I'd prearrange FP+ for TSMM, ST, ToT... then walk thru the Boardwalk region to Epcot where we could do Figment, TT and have dinner, then express over to the MK. From there it's easy to get home.

We did it on Friday, our FP were at MK which was our last park of the day. We started at AK, went on the Safari, had a snack, then went over to HS. We saw Voyage of the Little Mermaid, had some Starbucks, watched the Storm Troopers, then headed over to EP. At Epcot we had a beer, rode the boat ride in Mexico, ate lunch at the San Angel Inn, walked over to China and did some shopping, walked the rest of the way around the World Showcase, and then rode the bus over to MK. When we got to MK, we realized we forgot to pick up our custom ring in Mexico, so DH rode back over to Epcot to get it while I rode the People Mover and people watched. Once he returned, we used our 3 fast passes. Our rule for our 4 park day was 1. a photo pass picture with the park icon in the back, 2.eat or drink something, and 3. ride at least one ride or attraction.