Disney suggests you give yourself 90 min to get anywhere using Disney transportation.
It's their advice for a reason, it's good advice.
No, it will not always take that long but it's way better to get places early vs late. No better way to put a damper on your trip than to be rushing around places running late.
Head to a bus stop 90 min before you want to reach your destination and you'll rarely be rushing places.
When you find yourself someplace early, grab a seat and enjoy the sights and sounds of Disney. Take a breath.
Good advice - just consider the size of WDW overall as well as the parks themselves, the parking lots, the resorts and you will realize that Disney's general advice of 90 minutes is quite sound but we find some refinements get us where we need to go on time generally quite efficiently while accommodating potential unexpected surprises:
. At my resort: check the bus times on
MDE at least two hours in advance to see what time they are actually arriving. Assume they will come approximately every 20 minutes after that. Leave room at least 10 minutes prior to the bus you want. These are real-time arrivals and they can change and be earlier. I'm also checking that frequently before I head out. Using this method, we rarely wait more than a couple of minutes at our resort bus stop.
. Going from
my resort to a park: catch the bus an hour before I want to be there. From a
different resort to a park, head down 1.25 hours in advance - you can't see that bus on your MDE. For an ADR at a park, add another 15 minutes to get through security and walk to the restaurant. Breakfast ADRs in a park may need extra time due to crowds.
. Going from my resort to another resort: be at the bus stop 90-120 minutes prior because of secondary transportation needs (i.e., BC to GF requires a stop/transfer at MK).
. Park to park or park to any resort: be AT the bus stop 1-1.5 hours before. There's no way of knowing when that bus will come or if you've just missed one. Add at least 15 minutes of time to get TO the bus stop from where you are in the park and additional time once there if necessary to get somewhere (especially in park).
I typically set an alarm on my phone for things that are booked like ADRs and tours with an appropriate lead time. If I get to a restaurant early, I'll check in and see if we can be seated which occasionally has happened. If not, maybe we'll sit in a lounge and have a drink or go browse in a shop close by or just sit and people watch and chat to each other.
Once I've set these alarms, we basically just wing the rest of the trip. It allows us to have freedom to do as we feel in between some structure and with no stress.
