Off to Windsor Hills? - Maybe...

[BeachMom2]

Hi - I'm new to this, so please bear with me if I am not doing this correctly.

We currently have hotel reservations onsite at Disney for our first family trip (end of January). I recently made breakfast reservations for Cinderella's Royal Table at The Magic Kingdom and the cast member told me to allow ourselves an hour to get to MK from our hotel using the Disney bus. I'm thinking they said this to make sure we get to the restaurant on time but the thought of traveling an hour on a bus with children does not seem very magical to me ... so we are renting a car.

Now that we are getting a car, we are thinking about offsite properties as a possiblity and really like Windsor Hills townhouses. So here is my question - FINALLY ... if we have to be at the restaurant in the MK at 8 AM, what time would we have to leave the townhouse at Windsor Hills?

Any responses are greatly appreciated. Thank You!

 

[Princess_Michelle]

I'd say leave at 7. You would leave the townhome, and the drive to MK, especially if you take the back way (Sherberth Rd.) is like 20 minutes MAX, it's the farthest away. You park, get your stuff together, hop on a tram, (remember you have to park and TTC) get on the monorail, do bag checks, get through the gate, then walk up to the castle, you should be there by 8:45 ish for check-in It sounds like a lot of trouble when you type it out like that, but it's really not, I promise. We always left WH no later than 45 minutes ahead, cause we like to get there early. The driving isn't the issue, its getting through bag checks and lines at the monorail/gates that will drag you down, sp plan for it They tell you that much time with the buses b/c you first have to stand in line to wait on your bus (really no telling when it will be there) then the 15+ minute ride to the parks, walk to the gates, bag check, get through the gates, walk up, etc. Personally, we found staying away from the buses to be a huge stress reliever I'd say they both "might" take the same amount of time, but here's the difference....

Buses (allow 1 hour travel time)

A. Wait in line, in the heat, standing up, smokers all around, kids wanting to run/play around, undetermined length of time.....

B. Bus comes, people RUN YOU OVER while you try to get your stroller/stuff situated before you miss the bus, get on the bus, 50/50 chance you'll be standing, If it's full, plan on waiting another 10-20 minutes for another one, once you finally get on, atleast a 15 minute ride....

C. Get to park, along with the other 50-75 people who just got off the bus with you, walk to the gate, let your nerves calm down, it's only the beginning of the day, you still have to do that again atleast once today, and for the rest of your trip for that matter, go have fun, etc.

Your Own Car (allow 1 hour travel time)

A. No Waiting, get straight into your car, sit down, crank up AC, no second hand smoke, kids strapped in, takes all of 5-10 minutes.....

B. Noone runs you over trying to get a spot in your rental car, stroller fits right inside your trunk, you put it there in a nice leisurely fashion, take your time, your off.....nice 15 minute ride.

C. Arrive, no traffic, park, get out at your own pace, get all your stuff together, noone on top of you pushing you out of the car, short stroll to get on a tram, full or not enough room? one is right behind it, wait 1 minute...get on monorail, bag check, gates, etc....ahhhh, wasn't that nice?

 

[Mrs Doubtfire]

We have just returned from WH & had a 8.25 breakfast at CP in the MK. We left at 7.45 & made it on time. After parking at MK you walt to TTC (as you park near the disabled parking at that time) and then catch monorail. Entry into the park is on the far right for guests with ADR.

 

[mareed]

We have just returned from WH & had a 8.25 breakfast at CP in the MK. We left at 7.45 & made it on time. After parking at MK you walt to TTC (as you park near the disabled parking at that time) and then catch monorail. Entry into the park is on the far right for guests with ADR.

While I don't doubt that this is what happenned for you, I'd say that it's a best case scenario. We've stayed offsite in this area many times, and I recommend allowing an hour. We've arrived to the TTC and just missed a monorail before, and had to wait 15 minutes for the next one at that time of the day. Which would have put your timing at just under an hour.

Staying off-site in a townhome is great! I highly recommend it with children as it gives everyone some space. And it's a whole lot easier to get out the door in the morning when you can get a quick breakfast in your own kitchen (or eaten on the way by the kids in the car).

 

[jennobrn01]

We stayed at WH last year and I timed our trips to the parks. MK was the longest at 45 minutes from our townhouse door to Liberty Square. Leaving an hour ahead is the best bet.

We loved WH!

 

[BeachMom2]

Thank you so much for the replies. I didn't mention before that my in-laws are coming so a townhouse just makes more sense for us. We originally decided to stay onsite because we wanted to be closer to all of the parks but it seems that WH is just as close (and a more relaxing start to the morning) when you compare the Disney bus to a car rental.

So 7am it is. I might even leave a few minutes earlier, I know the don't want to be late for this very important date! Thanks again everyone!