Poly and busses

[decker96]

We are thinking of staying at the Poly on our next trip in Oct of 2005. What are the busses like to AK and MGM? I thought I'd read that the Poly shares busses with other monorail resorts. How does this affect the commute and waiting time? Does this always happen or just at slower times of the year? If we come back to the room in the afternoon to rest and then decide to park hop would it be faster to take the mononrail to MK and then a park bus to AK or MGM? Any info anyone has would be great!

 

[Nanu57v]

I don't remember the busses every being a problem when we stayed at Poly. I wouldn't recommend doing the monorail to MK then bussing, because you would wait for the mono, travel, then wait for a bus. It would be quicker just to wait for the bus.

I just asked DH, he also doesn't recall any long wait for the busses at Poly. He felt much differently about busses during our last stay at ASMu.

 

[betterlatethannever]

If I can remeber right, according to Tyler, the DIS boards CM expert on Transportation:

It is better to take the bus to MGM or AK from the Poly. It is scheduled every 15 minutes or so. They are on a flex schedule which means that there are multiple busses involved to help maintain the schedule.

DO NOT take the monorail to the MK to catch the AK or MGM bus. Those busses are not at MK. The park busses stop at the TTC. They are on a fixed route (going back and forth between the park and TTC, running between 20-30 minutes on average and possibly longer if there is any delay.

Ed

 

[Bojangles]

Last time we stayed there, they shared busses with CR. We ended up giving up on the busses and driving to AK and MGM. The busses ran only about every 20-25 minutes but since they shared with CR, they often didn't let everyone on, so whoever was left had to wait for the next bus. Too much scrambling, pushing and shoving, especially early in the mornings. It was ok coming back from the parks, though.

 

[decker96]

Bojangles:

This is what I was afraid of. We will not have a car with us, so I'm worried about having to wait for LONG periods of time, especially with 3 kids -- 8, 5 and 2! What time of the year were you there? Anyone else have any experiences with this?

 

[Bojangles]

We were there June/early July for 10 nights. It may not be as bad in October.

 

[LAWalz23]

Our experiences in early May have been it is much better to take a car than the busses from the Poly. The few times we did attempt the buses they were very crowded and some adults will not give up their seats for kids or other folks with little ones even when asked by the bus driver.

 

[maggie1]

What about taking the monorail from the poly TTC to epcot, then the boat to mgm - or would this take way too long? Is the boat near the monorail?

 

[Bojangles]

Originally posted by maggie1
What about taking the monorail from the poly TTC to epcot, then the boat to mgm - or would this take way too long? Is the boat near the monorail?

the monorail is in the front of the park and the boat is way at then end of world showcase in the back. Plus the boats from Epcot to MGM take forever.

 

[decker96]

Anyone else?

 

[sotoalf]

I DON'T think you'll have a problem with catching buses in October. Unless you're going around Halloween, it's one of the slower times of year.

 

[decker96]

Our dates are Oct. 19-24, 2005.

 

[XStAnt]

The Poly actually has some of the best transportation at Disney. DW and I were there over Christmas week in 2003 and had no problems with the busses. One time the bus was full, but another came along in a few minutes. No matter what resort you stay at, you'll have to wait for a bus. If you just missed the last bus you could wait up to 20 minutes for the next one. It's no different at any resort. What makes the Poly better for transportation is the fact that you can take the monorail or a boat to MK, and you can walk to the TTC for the Epcot monorail.

 

[thebigtrip]

We just got back from the Poly yesterday. The busses were ok. They did pickup at the Contemporary and then come to the Poly and on the way back they dropped off at the Cont. and then the Poly. Except for the Blizzard Beach bus went on to the Grand Floridian once. In the mornings is the worst time. Kind of crowded but not too bad. We did occasionally have to wait 20 min. for one to come. At least at the Poly you don't have to bus to Epcot or MK. We didn't have much of a problem with the busses and were travelling with a 2 and 4 yr. old.

 

[decker96]

thebigtrip:

Thanks for the info! I don't mind having to wait a little bit, I just wanted to know what to expect. Although things could change alot before next year, I'm sure. And you're right, only having to bus to two parks instead of four is definitely worth it!

 

[goofy4tink]

We stayed at the Polynesian last August. The bus system was no problem. Sometimes we make problems for ourselves. I was worried about the waits at the Polynesian based on what I had read on these boards. Well, I think that the majority of people that post had an issue. Those that are happy with the buses tend to not say anything about it. But we found them to be fine. With the exception of one morning. We waited an overly long time, about 35 minutes, for a bus to MGM. Never did find out what the problem was. But we completely filled the bus by the time he came. 2 buses for each of the other parks came and went in the time we waited for the one to MGM. But, to be fair, we did go to MGM another day and only waited for 8 minutes. (Yes, I counted the time spent...knew I was going to need it to back up my info here later!!) I certainly wouldn't get to concerned about the buses at the Polynesian.

 

[littleprincessmom]

We also returned recently (in May) from Poly (which we LOVED) and had spotty luck with buses. We waited 50 minutes for bus to AK one morning (around 10:30 a.m.). It then went by Blizzard Beach before AK. We took a taxi to Epcot when AK closed (we've done that every time and it is worth the $10!)

It seemed the MGM bus ran far more often (we saw 3 while we were waiting for AK bus). The morning we went to MGM, we waited 5 minutes for the bus each way. We share with CR (i think, may have been GF - don't remember) but it wasn't a big deal.

The AK bus was packed. I too was amazed by young people and grown men who didn't even offer seats to older couples and people with SMALL children. I would not have taken a seat if offered but stood up with our 1 and 4 year old during the entire 20 minute ride by Blizzard Beach and back to AK.

I agree about not taking monorail to MK or T&T to catch buses. My advice if the buses seem to be a problem (and they may not be in Oct.) - take bus to MGM (which seems to run more often) and splurge for a cab to AK -- they have vans for larger families and are located directly in front of Poly.

You are going to have a GREAT time!!!

 

[decker96]

Thanks for the info everyone! I'm sure we'll do fine and I know we will love the Poly! I can't wait!!

Littleprincessmom: We experienced the same thing on the busses from POR on our last trip. My kids were 5 and 2 at the time and there were times when we all had to stand. My 5 year-old was fine, but the 2 year old didn't understand why he had to hang onto DH or I or a pole the whole time (he was in the VERY independent stage!) He took a few tumbles! The other thing was people with little kids who let the kids have their own seat when they could have easily had them sit on their laps and free up a seat for someone else! That just bugs me, but that's another thread altogether!