Please advise on a couple of transportation issues

[mommak1]

First DW trip (well almost...I was there as a child in 1978, but we have not been as a family) coming up later this month for family of four (kids are 4 and 7). We are staying at POR and expect to primarily use the Disney bus system for getting around. I think that will work well for most or our week except for 2 specific times when the bus might get a little tricky (or earlier than we'd like!)

First one - we are generally not early morning people, but I do anticipate that for our first park day, we will be eager to go and no one will sleep in anyway, so I have reservations at Chef Mickey's at 7:35 and then we hope to head over to rope drop after that (park opens at 9:00 am). So I gather that to get there by bus, we'd need to be at the bus stop no later than 6:30, right? And take the bus to MK and then walk to contemporary from there. That feels awfully early to me, so I'm wondering if we can do it faster by either taking a cab to breakfast and then just taking the bus back to the resort at the end of our day, or perhaps driving our car for that one day. If we take a cab, how early should we plan to leave, and what is the approximate cost? If we drive, where should we park? I'm guessing MK parking lot and then walk to the contemporary for breakfast, right? Is that going to save us much time over the bus? Is is pushing it too much to think we could get a cab about 7:00 and be dropped off right the contemporary resort for our breakfast?

Second issue - we are trying to arrange for one kid-free evening and planning to use the childcare a the Beach Club. The plan is that we will spend the day at Epcot as a family, then take the kids to Beach Club around 5:00, and then husband and I will head back to Epcot for the evening and pick the kids up right after the park closes. But that puts us on the wrong side of Epcot to catch a bus directly back to POR, right? Would we have to do Beach Club to DTD and then bus to POR? That sounds miserable for a night that will already be later than the kids are usually up. So is taking a cab from the Beach Club to POR a feasible option for that one evening? or is there an option that is better involving driving our car to the boardwalk area somewhere in the morning?

 

[grimley1968]

#1 - They do provide buses for early morning ADRs, no matter how early. In some cases, these buses go straight to the resort that has the ADR. If not, you could certainly get off at the MK bus stop and walk over to CR. Budget 45 minutes or so for this trip. A cab would always be quicker. It would take no more than 10-15 minutes for a cab ride to CR. If you're driving you have to park at the TTC, which is not accessible by foot to CR. You'd have to ride the monorail around, and that's a long trip if time is short. However, there is no cost to park anywhere if you're staying at a Disney resort.

#2 - Yes, Beach Club is on the "back side" of EPCOT, at least in terms of catching a bus, or getting to your car if parked at EPCOT. An option you could pursue is driving to Beach Club in the morning and having your car valet-parked. There is of course a charge for this, but at least your car will be there at the end of the day and you wouldn't have to traipse all the way back through EPCOT to get to a bus. Or you could catch a cab at BC to POR. I haven't done either option, so I can't say which is cheapest.

 

[Epeyon]

If you took your car you could park at the Contemporary. Parking is allowed for guests with reservations. In fact you could then leave it there all day and drive it back that night.

 

[grimley1968]

If you took your car you could park at the Contemporary. Parking is allowed for guests with reservations. In fact you could then leave it there all day and drive it back that night.

You're only supposed to park at a resort for the duration of the meal, plus some additional time, up to as much as 3 hours. The OP is planning to go into MK that day. There is a high risk of having the car towed if OP left their car parked at CR, while not a guest there, and went to MK for the day. I won't further act like parking police, but am just giving the OP a warning of what is likely to happen if the above advice is followed in their case.

 

[Rpsemont]

In your situation I would probably drive to contemporary for breakfast - you can sleep a little later and go directly there. I would park at the contemporary.
After breakfast, I would either
a) leave the car there and take my chances (especially if going at a slow time of year) - or if maybe only planning to be in MK for a few hours or
b) have one parent move car to TTC or
c) have one parent return car to PO and take bus back to MK
It really would depend on my plans for the rest of the day.

With regards to the Parents night out, I would just plan to take a cab a from the Beach club. It will probably cost $25 +/-. That allows you to enjoy your evening in Epcot (with cocktails) and yet get back to the resort in an efficient manner.

 

[goofy4tink]

First DW trip (well almost...I was there as a child in 1978, but we have not been as a family) coming up later this month for family of four (kids are 4 and 7). We are staying at POR and expect to primarily use the Disney bus system for getting around. I think that will work well for most or our week except for 2 specific times when the bus might get a little tricky (or earlier than we'd like!)

First one - we are generally not early morning people, but I do anticipate that for our first park day, we will be eager to go and no one will sleep in anyway, so I have reservations at Chef Mickey's at 7:35 and then we hope to head over to rope drop after that (park opens at 9:00 am). So I gather that to get there by bus, we'd need to be at the bus stop no later than 6:30, right? And take the bus to MK and then walk to contemporary from there. That feels awfully early to me, so I'm wondering if we can do it faster by either taking a cab to breakfast and then just taking the bus back to the resort at the end of our day, or perhaps driving our car for that one day. If we take a cab, how early should we plan to leave, and what is the approximate cost? If we drive, where should we park? I'm guessing MK parking lot and then walk to the contemporary for breakfast, right? Is that going to save us much time over the bus? Is is pushing it too much to think we could get a cab about 7:00 and be dropped off right the contemporary resort for our breakfast?

Second issue - we are trying to arrange for one kid-free evening and planning to use the childcare a the Beach Club. The plan is that we will spend the day at Epcot as a family, then take the kids to Beach Club around 5:00, and then husband and I will head back to Epcot for the evening and pick the kids up right after the park closes. But that puts us on the wrong side of Epcot to catch a bus directly back to POR, right? Would we have to do Beach Club to DTD and then bus to POR? That sounds miserable for a night that will already be later than the kids are usually up. So is taking a cab from the Beach Club to POR a feasible option for that one evening? or is there an option that is better involving driving our car to the boardwalk area somewhere in the morning?

For your CMs breakfast, you would have to be out at the MK bus stop by 6:30. A cab would work and you wouldn't have to take it until about 7am. Same thing if you drive your own car. You can park at the CR for breakfast. Then, you could move it to the TTC and then monorail over to MK for the day.
Or, you could pay to valet park your car and then be able to leave it all day, with no issues.

Self-parking really isn't intended for non-resort guests to use all day long.

As far as the night out goes...that could be problematic. I would seriously consider driving to BC, leaving it there, but not right up front, and then being able to drive back to your resort. Or, just take a cab back...it's a fairly short ride so it shouldn't be too expensive.

 

[Paging Tom Morrow]

You're only supposed to park at a resort for the duration of the meal, plus some additional time, up to as much as 3 hours. The OP is planning to go into MK that day. There is a high risk of having the car towed if OP left their car parked at CR, while not a guest there, and went to MK for the day. I won't further act like parking police, but am just giving the OP a warning of what is likely to happen if the above advice is followed in their case.

I would disagree with the assessment that it would be LIKELY that OP would be towed. It is possible, but likely is a stretch. That said, the rule is up to three hours, but my past experience is that the enforcement of that rule is based on how crowded the resorts are. If it were me, I would park at CR for my meal and then move to the TTC.

 

[goofy4tink]

And a few addtl thoughts....
Will you get towed if you leave your car at CR, for the day? Sadly, no. And I say sadly not because I want to see your car towed, but I would like to see Disney start cracking down on people self parking at resorts and then leaving them there until park closing. I have watched, from my BLT balcony, as people drive into that lot, get out of the car and then walk to the MK. I have watched, at park closing, people walking from MK, and getting into their cars and driving away. And it irritates me. I have paid a lot in order to have park access at both BLT and BWV. I have arrived back at BWV, in a car, only to have to drive around looking for a decent spot, and then have to park in the nether-regions of the parking lot. BUT...if you go back out there, to the parking lot, about 25 mins after IllumiNations??? The stream of cars leaving that parking lot is incredible!!! And now? Plenty of spots available, right up front.
So, should they tow cars? No, but it would be nice if the self parking area was gated....you can only access it with your room key. Leave a more distant area of the parking lots open for those with ADRs....and then, if they stay longer than say, 3 hrs, charge them for parking.

The other thing the OP can do is to drive to the TTC directly and take the monorail over to CR. The monorail starts by 7am each morning. We got on at the Polynesian one time, were in the first car to start the run at 6:55, and got to the CR by 7:15ish. Plenty of time for our 7:30 ADR. Then you wouldn't have any parking issues.