Park Transportation Routes

[Scotch]

We have not yet stayed at a DVC resort; we've only stayed off site when visiting WDW in the past. Part of the desire to own DVC is the benefit of using onsite transportation now that our family is bigger than just DH and me. (Yes, I've read all the posts re mixed views re onsite transportation due to problems of delays, etc.) I would like to get a better sense re which DVC resort location would be "closest" on the bus routes based on our interests.

On the parks: We like MK and would always visit MK. We also enjoy AK so that is probably also a must visit for us. Epcot did nothing for us after one visit so we don't intend on visiting again until our kid(s) are of an age when they could appreciate that park. MGM was okay; we probably won't go that often, maybe once in every three or four visits to WDW. We haven't visited the water parks yet and probably won't until our kid(s) are older.

DD: We enjoy strolling around in DD, so this is a must visit area for us on our trips.

I tried to do a search but I couldn't find posts discussing the bus routes from the DVC resorts to the parks. I know that Villas at Wilderness Lodge is closest to MK via a boat ride away, so that is my first choice. But DH really prefers the look and feel of BWV (and wants that as number one choice in home resort when we are really to pay for that contract). Could someone share with me the actual route for the bus transportation from BVW to MK and AK? Is it one bus that goes around to all the DVC resorts and all the parks? Clockwise/counter-clockwise? Or are there multiple bus lines to cut down on the wait? Just wondering if BVW is not the best choice for us from a transporation point of view if our interest lies mainly in MK and AK and having the ability to go to the parks, return to our villa for nap time, and return to the parks easily during a single day.

Thanks.

 

[Chuck S]

Based on your preference for MK, I'd probably suggest VWL...but it is also the furthest from AK. Otherwise all the other onsite resorts are about the middle of the property bus wise. If you also want to do DtD, OKW or SSR would both be good second choices.

 

[tjkraz]

Nearly every resort has dedicated busses for each theme park, water park and Downtown Disney. It's really not worth a whole lot of effort to debate the pros and cons of bus service, because the timing of the busses can disrupt even the best laid plans.

For example, let's say that VWL has the "fastest" bus service to Epcot. Well, if you get to the bus stop 30 seconds after the bus has left and need to wait 15 minutes for the next one, you're probably not going to get there very fast.

Generally speaking, if you're headed to a park first thing in the morning--particularly if you're going for Extra Magic Hour, allow at least 45 minutes to get there. You may not get the first bus that arrives (due to the crowd at the bus stop), so figure on up to 30 minutes of wait time and 15 minutes of travel time.

More toward the middle of the day, you can probably get where you're going in no more than 30 minutes--15 wait, 15 travel.

If you're leaving one of the parks at closing, hard telling how long you might have to wait. They'll pack people into the busses until it's standing room only (no sense leaving with a half-full bus), but you still may have to wait for multiple busses to depart before you can board.

With all of that said, if you plan to primarily visit MK and AK, staying at BWV or BCV wouldn't be the best choice. BWV and BCV are walking distance from Epcot and MGM--the two parks that you claim hold no interest. Bus service between these resorts and MK / AK can be spotty. You'll probably have just as good an experience, if not better, by staying at one of the other resorts.

 

[Scotch]

Hum, maybe we'll still have to drive on site, as that seems most reliable and fastest to serve both our park interests and resort preferences.

 

[tjkraz]

Originally posted by Scotch
Hum, maybe we'll still have to drive on site, as that seems most reliable and fastest to serve both our park interests and resort preferences.

That's not necessarily true either.

Let's take the Magic Kingdom for example. If you're staying at BWV, you need to either valet park your car or self-park. The self-park lot is about 1/2 mile away from the entrance (a minimal exaggeration). Valet can take a few minutes to retrieve your car. So you're probably 5-10 minutes into the process before you hit the road.

To get to the Magic Kingdom, you need to drive to the Transportation and Ticket Center. At peak hours, you'll spend a couple minutes in line waiting to show your resort parking pass and get through the gates. It's another 1/2 to 1 mile to your parking space.

Then you wait for and board a tram which actually takes you to the TTC.

Once at the TTC, you take either a boat (20 minutes) or monorail to the park itself.

Contrast this with bus service which drops you off virtually outside the security checkpoints at the Magic Kingdom.

My recommendation would be to experience WDW transportation yourself and then decide what to do in the future. Some hate it. Others find it to be of minimal inconvenience, while saving you a few bucks along the way. Hard to predict which group you might fall into.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Some of the bus routes are combined. BB is a stop on the AK route. TL is a stop on the DTD route. Usually just one bus at a time for each park, but they keep coming about every 20-30 minutes. So there really are several for each route at one time.

When we are at OKW, we usually drive to the water parks, sometimes to Disney Studios/Epcot/AK and never to MK. We'll take the boat, a bus or drive over to DTD.

When we are at VWL, we'll boat over to MK. Drive or take the bus to Epcot/Disney Studios/AK/DTD. Always drive to waterparks.

When we are at BCV, we'll bus over to MK, drive or bus over to AK, walk to Disney Studios/Epcot and always drive to the waterparks. Maybe drive or bus over to DTD.

We don't usually stay at BWV. Only did that once.

We're going to SSR in three weeks.