Parking at Radisson or at the Port???

[janet89]

It seems the closer we get to our trip, the more questions I have!!! We are staying at the Radisson Saturday night. We were planning on taking their shuttle over the the ship's terminal since it is included. My concern is upon return. How quickly do their shuttles start arriving? We are going to the Magic Kingdom on Thursday and would like to get started fairly early. Would it be better to park at the Port? Any advice would be great!!

 

[mmouse37]

Well, the port parking is $10 a day....so if you are on the 7 day it would cost you $70, 3 day would cost you $30, etc.

We just came off the 3 day Wonder and parked our rental car at the port....the convenience was fantastic. We were in our car and on our way by 8:30 ish....we always use a porter at the terminal and those guys make it so easy to transport all the luggage.

Parking is free at the Radisson so it depends on if you want to spend money for more convenience...the Radisson shuttles do come very often but there are sometimes waits for them. We have used the shuttles in the past and they were fine. This time we were travelling all over Florida so it was less expensive for us to keep the rental (even with parking at the port) than to do 2 one-way rentals.

MJ

 

[TLHB70]

We just did the Wonder cruise in November. I had read on these boards all about the Radisson, staying there, taking the shuttle, etc. That is what we did. We, too, went to WDW straight after the cruise. We knew that we could depart early on our last day so we planned on being at the parks ASAP! I made a point to ask the shuttle driver when he dropped us off at the dock what we need to do about pick up.....do we need to call or schedule it now? He said that, no, we do not schedule it. The shuttles automatically run throughout the day. I asked him what time the earliest pick up shuttle is on departing day. He told me a certain time. (I am sorry that I cannot remember the exact time now. If you look back at mid-November posts I am sure that I wrote a thread complaining about it because I was thoroughly upset!!!) It was an early time, and that made DH and me happy. We knew that we would get an early start on our park day. I also made the point of asking our driver what would happen if we accidentally missed the first shuttle. He said, "Don't worry. The shuttles run very frequently, about every 15 minutes or so, after the first one." That was good news to DH and me also. Well, I got up very early that day to get myself and my dds dressed, have our family eat before leaving the ship (We ate danishes on deck since we were leaving earlier than the sit-down breakfast.), and get out with luggage in time to catch the first shuttle. Well, guess what?!?!?! We got outside for that time (about 10 minutes early as a matter of fact) and NO SHUTTLE!!!!!!!!!! I called the Radisson, and they told me that shuttles do not run until an hour later than that time!!!!!!!!! BOY WAS I FURIOUS!!!!!!!!! I told them that the driver had told my family and me.....(plus another family that was with us on the first shuttle and outside with us waiting for pick up too because they were going to Sea World and wanted an early start)...........this time. The phone person said, "Well, I don't know who would have told you that." I said, "Your driver told me that." The person said, "Our shuttles do not run this early." I said, "You need to tell your workers that so that they do not lie to your guests! I could have slept an hour later!!!!!!!!" I was so upset! Well, at least they did send a shuttle out about 30 minutes after that. I will tell you that I will never stay at that Radisson again!!!! The driver lied to me, and the desk person that took the call was rude to me and didn't want to make the situation any better. She acted as if I was wrong and asking them to do a big favor! Customer service didn't seem to be too important to them. My advice is to have your car waiting for you if you want an early start at the parks on your departing day!

 

[mickeyworld]

We are getting a towncar to pick us up at the port. We are then going on to WDW for the day, then having the same towncar pick us up at the WORLD, and take us to the airport.
The night before the cruise, we are having the towncar pick us up at the airport and take us to the Radisson and then we are taking the shutttle from the hotel. All the towncar agencies gave me prices for this trip- it came out around $250.00 for all of the legs of this journey. SInce I am traveling as the only adult with 3 kids, I could't think of a better way to travel to and from with all of these connections.

 

[Mike_in_FL]

Well, the port parking is $10 a day....so if you are on the 7 day it would cost you $70, 3 day would cost you $30, etc.

We just came off the 3 day Wonder and parked our rental car at the port....the convenience was fantastic. We were in our car and on our way by 8:30 ish....we always use a porter at the terminal and those guys make it so easy to transport all the luggage.

Parking is free at the Radisson so it depends on if you want to spend money for more convenience...the Radisson shuttles do come very often but there are sometimes waits for them. We have used the shuttles in the past and they were fine. This time we were travelling all over Florida so it was less expensive for us to keep the rental (even with parking at the port) than to do 2 one-way rentals.

MJ

MJ,
Did you do anything special to be able to get way by that time ("8:30 ish") or was that without making any particular plans or effort? I am going to need to get back to South Florida as soon as possible on the Sunday, and being on the road before 9am would really help.
Thanks!
Mike

 

[janet89]

EEK, TLHB70, that's what I would be concerned about!!! My DH has not been into this trip, so I am kind of left making all the plans and waiting is NOT his strong point!!! We may just go ahead and stay there, then drive to the Port for parking. Does anyone have a good report? I'll call Radisson, too, and see what time they say shuttles start running. If it is early enough, I guess I'll give it a try. We need to check into the Wilderness Lodge before MK, so we will need to arrive a little before park opening for that.

 

[janet89]

I just spoke with the Radisson, they SAY shuttles start running at 8:30 a.m. I'm going to double check when we arrive, though.

 

[TLHB70]

I can tell you that we left on the first shuttle out of port. Got in our car right off of the shuttle at Radisson. We drove straight to WDW, checked into our hotel (Pop Century), and went straight to the park from that. We did NOT make it for park opening. We were about 1 to 1 1/2 hours later than park opening. I must have been at the dock for 7:30 AM then. (I can't believe that I can't remember that time, and it was just 2 months ago!) I just know that I was outside 1 hour earlier than the first shuttle, but I was told that 1 hour earlier time by the driver. I hope that you have a better experience than I did.

 

[ll_california]

We stayed at Radisson and parked our car there for our past two Disney cruises. We had very positive experience with the hotel staff and the shuttle bus schedule. We usually get up late in the morning, so never had an issue of catching the first shuttle bus though.

Hope that helps.

 

[skibum]

We had a great expereince with the Radisson shuttle with our 1/4/05 Magic cruise. Took the shuttle over to the port with no headaches at 10:00 ( their first shuttle of the day ). Just left bags on the curb and the luggage guys packed them away and the next time we saw them was in our room.
Upon returning, we were one of the first groups through Customs (no hassle) and waiting for us at the curb was the Radisson shuttle. I think we were the third group on board. The shuttle dropped us off in the parking lot at the hotel by 8:00, and we were on the road after loading, getting ice, and bathroom stops by 8:15. My vote is to use the shuttle based on this experience.

 

[shel985]

I too am using the Radisson shuttle service. Can anyone tell me if u need to "schedule" the morning to port shuttle? I've heard ppl on here saying they scheduled their shuttle. What is that about?

 

[janet89]

Hi Shel985. We did already reserve our shuttle over to the port. I had read on these boards and another that scheduling is a good idea.

 

[TLHB70]

Yes. You do need to call ahead to reserve/schedule the shuttle ride from the hotel to the port.

 

[CPM]

we parked our car at the port but I did see the Radisonn shuttle at the port when we left the ship at 8:45. The line was VERY long to get on it, no way all those people fit in one shuttle van. I was glad we had our car.

 

[janet89]

Sounds like we need to be there early. No sleeping in that day!!! I just don't want DH or DS to have to wait very long. Thanks for all the info.