Poly to AKL to eat at Boma Question.

[nikjd68]

1st time going to WDW. I have two questions

1. Our flight will arrive at approx 11:00 am. We have magical express. When can we expect to arrive at Poly? (we are arriving Aug 26th). Should we attempt to do an afternoon at Animal Kingdom (see why below). BTW, my pregnant DW, DS4 and mother-in-law will have been up since 4:30 am EST that day.

2. Also, we have a 4:45 ADR at Boma. What is the best way to get from Poly to AKL and how long should that take?

Any help/advice is greatly appreciated!

 

[TiggerTails57]

TTC is right next to the Poly, you could get a bus to AKL from there......rule of thumb...always allow at least one hour travel time if you have an ADR, it's better to arrive early and have time to expore the resort.
Or bus from the Poly to AK.....and AK to AKL (if you decide to do an afternoon at AK).

 

[LibertyLover]

I have to say that my initial reaction is that if it were me, I don't think I'd plan on a park day that first day. Here's why - figure that it will take you at about 2 hours once you land at MCO to deplane, get your bags, check in at Magical Express, board a bus and get to the Poly. MCO is a good drive from WDW, so if your plane arrives on time, it's still going to be about 1 pm before you get to the hotel. Check in at the Poly is relatively efficient, but it does take a few minutes, even if you are first in line. I believe that you can have the luggage taken to the room while you go do something else, like go to AK. It takes about 20 mintues on the bus to get to AK from the Poly, but you might have to wait a few minutes for a bus. So, it's probably about 1:40 or so that you are arriving at the entrance to AK. Now, admittedly, getting to AKL for a Boma reservation is probably easiest from AK, you still would have to plan on leaving AK to walk out to the bus to AKL at no later than 4:15 (and to be honest, I'd personally leave no later than 4 for a 4:45 reservation). It takes a few minutes to walk from the entrance to the buses, to wait for the bus and to get to AKL, and to walk up from the bus stop at AKL to Boma. That's not much time in the park and to me a waste of a ticket day. Given that your DW is expecting and it's going to be hot, her ability to hussle is probably not going to be as great as if it were cooler and she were not expecting and having been up since 4 am, the entire party's energy level might be somewhat lacking. If it were me, I'd probably suggest to my family that the time between checking in and leaving for dinner would be best used to relax at the Poly, have a light snack, and get settled in for the rest of the vacation. We (DH, DD5 and I) are going in December and staying at CRS. We're driving up from Ft. Myers and don't expect to get to WDW until mid afternoon. We are meeting up with nephew and his family for dinner at WL around 6, so we are not planning on going to any parks that first day ourselves.

 

[Lynne M]

TTC is right next to the Poly, you could get a bus to AKL from there......rule of thumb...always allow at least one hour travel time if you have an ADR, it's better to arrive early and have time to expore the resort.
Or bus from the Poly to AK.....and AK to AKL (if you decide to do an afternoon at AK).

Are there still buses from the resorts to TTC? I didn't think they did that anymore.

You can definitely get a bus from the MK to the AKL. Just take the monorail or boat from Poly to MK, and then catch the AKL bus.

Lately, I've been taking cabs when traveling from resort to resort. All the transferring takes too much time, and to me, $10-15 each way is well worth the convenience, and not having to worry about missing my ADR because a bus took too long to arrive.

 

[Cool-Beans]

Monorail to the Magic Kingdom and catch a bus for AKL from there. You can get the monorail from the Great Ceremonial House or from the TTC, whichever is closest to your room.

You cannot get a bus from the TTC.

I'd allow 60-90 minutes for the trip.

But, I wouldn't do it after traveling all day. I'd eat at the Poly, Grand Floridian, Magic Kingdom or Contemporary. It's a lot of traveling (especially when you're tired) just for a meal.

You could take a cab.

 

[Princess Brittany]

For your first question, I would say a half an hour to a hour. I would try to head over to AK once you get settled in at your resort!! We usually head to a park our first day, but we take it easy and just go on a few rides. Also, you could watch wishes from the beach at the Poly that night if you are not that tired!!!

For your second question, I would say try the TTC. They have buses that go to every park and resort, so it shouldn't be that hard to get a bus. You could also take a bus to the AK and then another to AKL, it is a very short ride to the resort. But if you are at the AK you will it very easy to get to the AKL!!!

Hopefully you understand what I'm trying to say. It can get very confusing on your first trip!! Also, you will love the AKL and Boma!! Spend some time if you can watching the animals you daughter would love see them!!! Good Luck on your trip!!!

 

[TheRobbs]

We just did this last month. We did not want to spend an hour travelling from the Poly to AKL for Boma. We took a cab each way. It was exactly 16.00 each way. So, 20.00 each way with tip. It was worth every penny for us. It only about 10-12 minutes to get door to door.

Sean

 

[Cool-Beans]

For your second question, I would say try the TTC. They have buses that go to every park and resort, so it shouldn't be that hard to get a bus. You could also take a bus to the AK and then another to AKL, it is a very short ride to the resort. But if you are at the AK you will it very easy to get to the AKL!!!

The TTC does NOT Have busses. You cannot catch a bus at the TTC.

OP, unless Scotty is beaming you there or you're driving, you won't be getting from your room at the Poly to Boma in 30 minutes. You'll be lucky to get it done in an hour.

Public transportation is cheap (free at Disney! And much cleaner than other busses, too!), but it is not the fastest way to get around, that's for sure.

 

[kikiq]

Let's say you get to Poly by 1pm, you still need to check in and get settled.
Plus your luggage may not get into your room until 3 or 4pm. Based on our experience last week, I would suggest you get settled, buy some refillable cups, let your family rest a bit...the Poly rooms are large and maybe a quick pool dip for your son. Then around 3, take the monorail or boat to the MK and carch the AKL bus. Once you get there, you can walk out to the savannah viewing sites...something your son might not want to leave<G>
We sat in the little room off the lobby and walked out to the balcony there and watched the animals.

Enjoy your Boma dinner...soups were outstanding and the zebra domes were so yummy. Then afterwards, you have enough time to go to the MK or Epcot...personally, I would head back to MK, watch the parade and fireworks. And if your DS4 decides he's had enough from all the traveling, going to the pool, eating a dole whip (sorry had to get that in...love them) and watching the Water pageant and fireworks from the Poly beach is truly magical. If there is a pirate/princess party while you are there, be sure you watch their fireworks from the beach around 9:30ish. They pipe the music in from the fireworks.

 

[Redbudlover]

4:40 am, pregnant, hot, 11 am. arrival in Orlando, 1:30 to Poly, freshen up, take a nap!, go to AKL by CAB, enjoy resort, see animals, shop in their great store, have a wonderful dinner and go home to the fireworks from the beach and the EWP. Simply magical.

Essentially what we are doing without the pregnancy - substituting 19 month old and 60 yo DGM. There are lots of ways to make yourself crazy and irritable at WDW. I know as I have tried several of them personally. Don't do it. Get your trip off to a nice start and get some rest and watch the fireworks. You are paying a bunch for the POLY - enjoy it!

 

[kikiq]

Essentially what we are doing without the pregnancy - substituting 19 month old and 60 yo DGM. There are lots of ways to make yourself crazy and irritable at WDW. I know as I have tried several of them personally. Don't do it. Get your trip off to a nice start and get some rest and watch the fireworks. You are paying a bunch for the POLY - enjoy it!

Well said...We just returned from the Poly, saw a lot of people trying to do too much in the heat. I echo the previous poster, take your time, let EVERYONE get rest and start fresh the next day. You do know the saying," If mama's not happy, no one's happy" Make sure you have a mister either from Walmart or Disney...and then enjoy the magic.