OKW veterans: Should we rely on OKW buses?

[veenstra56]

We are staying at OKW for the first time next week and I am torn between using Magical Express or renting a car. We will be there for four days, and plan on things like Epcot, Kona Cafe, DTD, etc.

I am really interested in knowing what the OKW experts think of this. Is it worth it for us to spend the extra money on a car for the potential added convenience?

Thanks in advance.

 

[starbox]

We are staying at OKW for the first time next week and I am torn between using Magical Express or renting a car. We will be there for four days, and plan on things like Epcot, Kona Cafe, DTD, etc.

I am really interested in knowing what the OKW experts think of this. Is it worth it for us to spend the extra money on a car for the potential added convenience?

Thanks in advance.

Depends on how high your tolerance for bus transportation is. If you consider 15-20 minute bus waits "long" waits, then Disney transport is probably not the best option for your family. If you are planning to use Disney transport to resort-hop for dining, you'll need to plan on about an hour to get where you are going. (30 minutes to get from OKW to DTD, and 30 minutes to get from DTD to your dining resort). SSR is the best resort for using Disney transportation to resort hop because you can walk to the main transport hub at DTD in about 5 minutes, cutting down on one of the wait times.

You can take a boat from OKW to DTD and catch a bus to another resort, but it is not a speed boat; it's a leisurely, scenic boat ride. Depending on how quickly you catch a bus, it may take just as long to bus to DTD.

Our family does not mind waiting for transportation at all, so the busses are not a problem. It just depends on how high your tolerance for public transportation is.

 

[dgaston]

I like to drive to resorts for dinners, I do take the bus to the MK.

 

[mickeymom629]

We always drive to WDW, and we usually drive to all the parks except MK. You will be able to park your car close to your villa. The buses, and the ferry to DTD, are fine as long as you are not going to feel rushed. If you are using EMH in the a.m., I think driving is better than hoping to get a bus. But if you don't want to bother with a car, just plan plenty of time for WDW transportation so that you don't feel stressed.

 

[CarolMN]

Just got back and used ME. Very good experience. We only really needed a car for one of the 8 days that we were there. Just rented that one day from National - used the NAtional/Alamo desk at the Dolphin. Very easy to do. Made reservations in advance.

We stayed at the BWV, but you might consider renting for the day(s) you need once you arrive and using ME for your airport transfers. In your position, I'd rent the day you want to do the KONA cafe. Other than that, I think the buses would be fine for MK & EPCOT and I would take the boat or walk to DD. We usually drive to the AK from the BWV, but the buses to the AK were just fine this trip.

We rented to go to the WWOS (thought the bus would not be running when we needed to leave) and I wanted to eat at the Turf Club (at SSR) that day, anyway. Travel between resorts just takes too long if you have to use Disney transportation.

 

[kristenrice]

First off, I do not consider myself an expert on Disney transportation. I'll just let you in on my experiences and you can take it for what it's worth.

We drove in 2001 (also from GR, MI!!) and stayed at OKW. We never moved the vehicle from the parking spot for 7 days. We used the DTS entirely and it was fine. We never waited more than 10 minutes for a bus. On that trip, however, we did not visit any other resorts to eat, except for WL. Now, in 2002, we did not have a car at the WL and, in retrospect, it would have been nice. We did the "Gold Plan" and we dined at every deluxe resort and relied solely on the DTS. It was a little time consuming, but not bad. If you do not mind the leisurely pace and plan your meals/locations, you will do fine without a car. For example, if you plan to eat dinner at the Poly and the MK closes at 7pm, plan to finish your meal and leave around 7. Take the monorail (or walk to the TTC and hop the ferry)TO the MK and hop the bus (which should still be running until 9pm) back to OKW. Commuting between resorts is much easier when the parks are open. You just take some form of transportation to any park and then hop the bus/monorail/boat to whichever resort you want. It just gets sticky in the evening when you have to use DTD as a hub. If you are only planning a few meals at other resorts, you will do fine without a car but with a little planning.

FWIW, if you plan on the time it takes to commute between resorts using the DTS and you do not have fussy children (or spouse ) then you can skip the rental car. You have to decide if the extra time taken by utilizing the DTS is worth the expense of renting a car.

 

[geffric]

I'm in favor of the buses too. We take the buses or monorail everywhere.. the boat to DTD from OKW is wonderful but do remember that you can walk it from OKW to DTD... not as short as SSr but still walkable..

 

[Dean]

I am a driver. We drive everywhere at WDW except to MK and when we are planning a triangle from resort to park A to park B then back to the resort. However, if I were flying I'd use the ME and the buses unless I had a specific need for something else.

 

[Deb & Bill]

We always ride the bus to MK and we always take the bus to AK for EMH mornings. The parking lot doesn't open that early. But if we go to a water park, we'll drive. Other parks are whatever we feel like at the time.

 

[byoung]

Find with useing ME and the Disney transportation system.

 

[Granny]

I am really interested in knowing what the OKW experts think of this. Is it worth it for us to spend the extra money on a car for the potential added convenience?

I'd say it depends on your plans and destinations. If you plan on visiting other resorts often, or going off-site then a car makes sense.

Otherwise, and especially for just 4 days, I'd use the Disney Transportation. Why take time from a short trip to pick up and drop off a rental car? And of course it is an added expense that might be better spent on upgrading your souvenir purchases!

 

[micminnieapolis]

From 1978-2000 we drove to WDW yearly. We were able to make the 20+ hour drive because we knew that when we got there we would park the car and not see it for the week. Our first meal was always in the Contemporary at the restaurant where the current Chef Mickey's is now. During the ride down we would speculate on which monorail would go through first. Now we fly (or did until this Christmas trip) and now we wait at the bus stop and decide which park we will go to that day by which bus comes first! Sometimes that's the only way we can make up our minds! ME has given us extra money to use in other places than on car rental and we like it! I'll miss the ride and movie on this trip. When we are eating at another resort -- and we usually stay at OKW -- we try to ride to the park that is nearest and take the bus from there to that resort. We have favorite bus depots just because of their size. We only take the bus to AK if we're going to AKL for dinner. Using the MK depot is great for getting to GF, Poly, WL, and CR. We like the boat rides or the monorail -- lots of memories. We often have to use DTD for the return trip to OKW but that's ok since we may want to grab ice cream at Ghiradelli's! We also like to leave Epcot or MGM and go to B&C for ice cream treats. I should add that we usually have to visit all the resorts within a year's trips since DH collects pressed quarters and the machines are not only at the parks but the resorts too. That's a whole other story! We like talking to the bus drivers and find out lots of little tidbits from them. We have never parked in a parking lot anywhere but at the resort we are staying at! Disney wants to shuttle me around, that's part of the magic! We have just reently discovered the idea of renting a car on the property so we know we have that alternative if we really need it. Good luck with your decision!

 

[beccasmom]

We love OKW and almost always depend solely on bus transportation. It is normally fine for us. However, you'll be visiting at a busier time than we normally do. If you have many ADRs at various locations (e.g., other resorts), a car could save some stress as the bus can be slower than you'd like and might involve transfers. Otherwise, for travel to the parks and DTD, you should be okay. Note that there is also a watercraft to DTD.

 

[dvc guy]

The age old question BUS or CAR. We have made 10 trips to OKW 8 during Christmas and here is what we have found.

MK Bus 100%
EPCOT Bus 99%
AK Bus 99%
MGM Bus 95%

All other location at WDW Car 100%

You can do it with out a car , but you need to allot more time to non park locations.

Can't wait for 12/22

 

[DVC Grammy]

We use Disney transport only. Whenever we stay at OKW (or SSR) and have dinner at one of the resorts, we just take a bus to DTD, and then a bus or boat to either. Sometimes, we walk around DTD a bit to work off some of that dinner.
Truly, if you allow a reasonable amount of time, the Disney transportation is more than adequate (and cheaper!), and DME has been wonderful for us.

 

[jdvm]

We always have a car and one of the things we like about Old Key West is that it's car friendly while Boardwalk and Wilderness Lodge are not. The example I like to give is one that happens regularly with us. We'll be staying at Old Key West and want to go to Jiko at the Animal Kingdom Lodge for dinner. During dinner, the kids will talk us into stopping off at Winter/Summer Land for a late night golf game. I defy you to do that using Disney Transport.
John

 

[veenstra56]

Just got back from OKW yesterday. We ultimately decided to take the Disney Transportation System, and I have to say that when we come back we will definitely rent a car. I estimate that between waiting for and taking the buses/boats we spent about 15-20% of our time on transportation, and it took us almost an hour and a half to get from OKW to the Poly for dinner one evening.

I think that on the whole the DTS is pretty efficient, unless one is trying to go from resort to resort.

On a different note, this was our first stay at OKW, and we absolutely loved it. Can't wait to come back.

 

[Dean]

Just got back from OKW yesterday. We ultimately decided to take the Disney Transportation System, and I have to say that when we come back we will definitely rent a car. I estimate that between waiting for and taking the buses/boats we spent about 15-20% of our time on transportation, and it took us almost an hour and a half to get from OKW to the Poly for dinner one evening.

I think that on the whole the DTS is pretty efficient, unless one is trying to go from resort to resort.

On a different note, this was our first stay at OKW, and we absolutely loved it. Can't wait to come back.

Resort to Resort and off site are the major challenges. Still, getting a Taxi for the one or two time trip is likely much cheaper and better than renting a car for many situations. I hope you had a good trip otherwise.

 

[MiaSRN62]

starbox states : (30 minutes to get from OKW to DTD, and 30 minutes to get from DTD to your dining resort). SSR is the best resort for using Disney transportation to resort hop because you can walk to the main transport hub at DTD in about 5 minutes, cutting down on one of the wait times.

I don't think it's 30 min from OKW to DD via boat ? We rented a pontoon in August (and have several times in the past). We rent for 30 min intervals and we can get TO DD and BACK to OKW in 30 min ? So I'd say it's more like 15+ min one-way via boat to DD.
As for SSR being the "best" resort for disney transportation, this was just discussed in another thread this week and I disagree with starbox on this, but that's ok. We have varying viewpoints. I find the busses running to and from DD are less frequent than a bus you can catch at your resort so I don't find it the quickest way to get to another resort. If we wanted to get to another resort for dining from OKW, we catch whichever theme park bus arrived first. Hop on that to the park and then catch a connecting bus to whatever resort you want from there. For Kona, catch a MK bus from OKW and then hop on the "resort" monorail at the MK.
We find the busses at OKW run on average every 10-20 min. We have relied solely on them for the major theme parks. But for resort dining/shopping/water parks we prefer using our car.

 

[starbox]

I don't think it's 30 min from OKW to DD via boat ? We rented a pontoon in August (and have several times in the past). We rent for 30 min intervals and we can get TO DD and BACK to OKW in 30 min ? So I'd say it's more like 15+ min one-way via boat to DD.

Granted. The 30 minutes is for the Disney Transport ferry boat. They seem to run at 20 min intervals, so I've found that 30 minutes is a pretty good guestimate of time it takes to go anywhere taking a Disney ferry boat from anywhere (including SSR to DTD or BWV to Epcot - and those rides are just across the water). If you hit it right and don't have to wait for a boat, it will be quicker.