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

[jo-jo]

Any new reports on bus service? Any changes, any rumors of a fall special?

 

[anomamatt]

For the express transportation experts... what are your thoughts on taking the 10am bus from MK to AK and being able to make a 9:45-10:45 AM FOP fastpass? I figured 10:30 to arrive in AK at best... And with the grace period, we would be OK? Thoughts?

When I did my FPs, I made 8/27 a AK day. But I want to do EMM in MK (7:45-9) and then express to AK. The only FP I really care about are the FOP ones... Thanks!

 

[Eeyore63]

We were thinking of using the bus for one day as we have a crazy schedule of back and forth with FP and ADR in different parks. We want to to the evening EMH at AK, mostly to see Pandora at night, which me missed during preview. I thought I saw something about busses not running during EMH. also thinking of the Minnie van on the other day, as we are splurging on the YC. Waiting to see the cost.

 

[shoreward]

We were thinking of using the bus for one day as we have a crazy schedule of back and forth with FP and ADR in different parks. We want to to the evening EMH at AK, mostly to see Pandora at night, which me missed during preview. I thought I saw something about busses not running during EMH. also thinking of the Minnie van on the other day, as we are splurging on the YC. Waiting to see the cost.

Minnie van will be $20.00 + tip.

 

[kace08]

Does normal Disney transportation go between Parks? Can I catch a bus from the AK to the MK?

 

[wehrengrizz]

Does normal Disney transportation go between Parks? Can I catch a bus from the AK to the MK?

absolutely! But you will be exiting one park and be dropped off outside the other, whereas with the express transportation, you're already "inside" security so you're guided into the park from the ET bus stop, if that makes sense. No second line or bag check/tapstyle.

 

[maryj11]

Minnie van will be $20.00 + tip.

It said no tips so it would be 20.00

 

[Little E]

We used the express bus transportation for our June 18-25 trip...here are my thoughts...

Overall, we really liked the express busses. We had never used them before, and we were unsure about what to expect. It was awesome to not have to go through security at a new park, and the CMs were really nice. None of the busses we took during our week at WDW were full, or even halfway full. Waits for busses were short, once we figured out the bus schedule at each park. There is a schedule board at each bus pickup area, and I took pictures of each schedule on my phone, so we could remember which busses left when. While waiting for one bus, I asked the CM waiting with us, if the small number of people we saw on busses was a normal thing, and she said that generally, not many folks were using the bus service. I asked how long she thought the express transportation system would be offered, and she didn't seem to know.

Before our trip, I assumed we'd use the express bus system a ton, and I was sort of surprised that we didn't use it as much as I imagined. This trip was our longest to date...we stayed a week. I'm thinking maybe we would have used it more if we were staying for a shorted amount of time, to sort of cover more ground with our park hopper passes. With staying a week, I think maybe we didn't feel as rushed to see and do everything? I sort of feel like we didn't hop from resort to resort as much as we have in previous trips. I found we were more likely to hop from park to resort and then resort back to a different park. We have never been in June, either...our previous trips have been in much cooler times of the year (January, February, March, May), so I'm thinking maybe we didn't feel need to go back to the resort to swim mid day in previous trips as much?

In short, I would definitely use the express transportation again, especially for a shorter trip. I felt it was a good value for what we paid, and our family really liked not having to go through security as much. The CMs were very friendly, and we enjoyed seeing "backstage" at each park too.

 

[KelseyLaPerle]

We used the express bus transportation for our June 18-25 trip...here are my thoughts...

Overall, we really liked the express busses. We had never used them before, and we were unsure about what to expect. It was awesome to not have to go through security at a new park, and the CMs were really nice. None of the busses we took during our week at WDW were full, or even halfway full. Waits for busses were short, once we figured out the bus schedule at each park. There is a schedule board at each bus pickup area, and I took pictures of each schedule on my phone, so we could remember which busses left when. While waiting for one bus, I asked the CM waiting with us, if the small number of people we saw on busses was a normal thing, and she said that generally, not many folks were using the bus service. I asked how long she thought the express transportation system would be offered, and she didn't seem to know.

Before our trip, I assumed we'd use the express bus system a ton, and I was sort of surprised that we didn't use it as much as I imagined. This trip was our longest to date...we stayed a week. I'm thinking maybe we would have used it more if we were staying for a shorted amount of time, to sort of cover more ground with our park hopper passes. With staying a week, I think maybe we didn't feel as rushed to see and do everything? I sort of feel like we didn't hop from resort to resort as much as we have in previous trips. I found we were more likely to hop from park to resort and then resort back to a different park. We have never been in June, either...our previous trips have been in much cooler times of the year (January, February, March, May), so I'm thinking maybe we didn't feel need to go back to the resort to swim mid day in previous trips as much?

In short, I would definitely use the express transportation again, especially for a shorter trip. I felt it was a good value for what we paid, and our family really liked not having to go through security as much. The CMs were very friendly, and we enjoyed seeing "backstage" at each park too.

Did you find the trip (between parks) shorter than if you had used traditional transportation?

 

[Little E]

@KelseyLaPerle I guess my answer is both no and yes. While the actual time riding the bus didn't really feel any shorter than the regular busses, as a whole, the trip between parks felt shorter, because it took NO time to actually get into the park and start hitting attractions. We got off the bus backstage, walked into the park escorted by a CM, and we were off!

Does that help at all?

 

[DisneyLove2015]

Did you find the trip (between parks) shorter than if you had used traditional transportation?

Not the OP but will chime in with our experience. We did ET in June.

Yes, ET was considerably faster than any other transportation including waits. With the scheduled departure times, we knew what time to be there at. We'd show up 5-10 minutes before departure time. Travel between MK and Epcot was 20 minutes. Travel between AK and DHS was about 15-20. MK to Ak was about 20-25 I believe? My husband used this one, not me. I had planned our days to coincide with leaving and arriving so we minimized walking. I'd do express transportation again in a heartbeat.

 

[KelseyLaPerle]

Y

@KelseyLaPerle I guess my answer is both no and yes. While the actual time riding the bus didn't really feel any shorter than the regular busses, as a whole, the trip between parks felt shorter, because it took NO time to actually get into the park and start hitting attractions. We got off the bus backstage, walked into the park escorted by a CM, and we were off!

Does that help at all?

Yes, thank you so much!

 

[Cjtigger]

It said no tips so it would be 20.00

Is it $20 per person?

 

[maryj11]

Is it $20 per person?

20.00 per group.

 

[AngiTN]

Did you find the trip (between parks) shorter than if you had used traditional transportation?

The travel time between parks doesn't really change much. While they don't go to/from traditional bus stops they are still basically going to/from the same distance so the time doesn't change. But you do save time overall because you don't have to walk outside the park, go through security, turnstiles and then back in the park.

 

[shoreward]

Disney is using the Lyft app to book Minnie van rides. I just ran a fare estimate for Lyft from YC to GF, and it quoted $7-$12 for up to 3 pax or $12-$19 for up to 6 pax.

 

[Lsdolphin]

Disney is using the Lyft app to book Minnie van rides. I just ran a fare estimate for Lyft from YC to GF, and it quoted $7-$12 for up to 3 pax or $12-$19 for up to 6 pax.

And then add a tip

 

[AngiTN]

Disney is using the Lyft app to book Minnie van rides. I just ran a fare estimate for Lyft from YC to GF, and it quoted $7-$12 for up to 3 pax or $12-$19 for up to 6 pax.

And that's exactly what I experienced when using Lyft. Which is why I don't understand why everyone is complaining about the cost of the Minnie Van's. They are not so far out of line for the size of service they offer. Especially when you consider the car seats

 

[bcactus]

And that's exactly what I experienced when using Lyft. Which is why I don't understand why everyone is complaining about the cost of the Minnie Van's. They are not so far out of line for the size of service they offer. Especially when you consider the car seats

And the drop off points at the parks (at least MK) are better with the Minnie Vans

 

[LindaOwl1]

The Minnie Vans are not running yet are they? Is there a start date?