Preferred Method from VGF to EPCOT

[ClaraOswald]

If I’m going the leisure, more pleasurable way (at least for us boat lovers), then I’d take the boat to Poly and walk over to TTC from there. Otherwise I’d do the monorail loop as it’s just simplest. Although I’d be curious if the monorail really saves all that much time, sometimes the stops at MK and the resorts take a while to load and unload people. Also it’s really hot out I’m also just going to take the monorail (and sometimes Uber if I’m running late)

Is the monorail air conditioned?

We do split stay so that when at VGF our Epcot time is either over or we will be doing it when we go to RIv.

I tried once to use monorail and it was a good 45 minutes from getting on at VGF to getting off at Epcot.

So now, if we do want to go, we just use Lyft when going.

Do you think 45 minutes is the norm or was that just bad luck?

 

[MerlinandtheMouse]

Is the monorail air conditioned?



Do you think 45 minutes is the norm or was that just bad luck?

It is, although it might not always be as cold as we’d like but for the most part it’s significantly more comfortable than the outside temp lol

As for timing I’d say average is probably 35-45 mins. The ride from the TTC to Epcot is about 15 mins alone so factor in waiting for the monorail at GF, a stop at MK, a stop at Contemporary, waiting for the monorail at TTC and then the 15 min journey yeah it takes a while. I will say this all sounds worse than it feels like in person. You’re in WDW so time works differently lol If you need speed, Uber or Lyft is worth it since it’s only 10-15 mins door to door essentially.

 

[eticketplease]

It is, although it might not always be as cold as we’d like but for the most part it’s significantly more comfortable than the outside temp lol

As for timing I’d say average is probably 35-45 mins. The ride from the TTC to Epcot is about 15 mins alone so factor in waiting for the monorail at GF, a stop at MK, a stop at Contemporary, waiting for the monorail at Epcot and then the 15 min journey yeah it takes a while. I will say this all sounds worse than it feels like in person. You’re in WDW so time works differently lol If you need speed, Uber or Lyft is worth it since it’s only 10-15 mins door to door essentially.

Could you get off at MK and switch to the express monorail to save some time? Might not be worth switching trains…

 

[JackosinDIS]

I always Uber or Lyft if going for early entry, but any other time of day would just monorail to TTC then change for the Epcot monorail.

 

[Sandisw]

Is the monorail air conditioned?



Do you think 45 minutes is the norm or was that just bad luck?

The monorail arrived within a few minutes at VGF…and I waited about 15 minutes once at TTC for it to come.

So, I’d say it’s possibly could be typical. The only other time I did it and I caught the Epcot line at TTC with no wait, it was still 30 to 35 minutes.

I am sure crowds can change but for us, too long and worth the extra for Lyft. But that is why we split stay because we do Epcot when at RIV where it’s never been long at all.

 

[Sandisw]

Could you get off at MK and switch to the express monorail to save some time? Might not be worth switching trains…

You can but it won’t save much time. By the time you walk down and back up and now wait for the express train, you are probably going to be pretty close to stopping at CR and then off to TTC

 

[MerlinandtheMouse]

Could you get off at MK and switch to the express monorail to save some time? Might not be worth switching trains…

Yeah I guess you could do that too, it might save 10 mins or so! But you’re right, you’d have to switch trains and hope the express is there or coming soon. Honestly, the more I think about, the more I feel like taking the boat to Poly and walking to TTC is fastest. Gonna have to test it out one trip!

 

[HyperspaceMountainPilot]

When we are not in a hurry at all (a rarity as we take 3-4 day WDW trips on average), we will use the monorail or the boat to poly method… but on one trip last year we were stuck in a monorail (mostly inside the contemporary station) for over 20m. I’m only slightly claustrophobic and I was OK but I didn’t love the experience, especially because it was a busy time and the car was pretty crowded. I don’t know how often the monorail has issues, but it is one reason we prefer to split our trip between VGF/PVB and BCV and try to visit the park(s) closer to the hotel.

You didn’t list this as an option, but if we weren’t using the monorail we will try to take the Minnie Vans (when there isn’t a long wait) because they are able to drop you and pick you up a bit closer to the park entry.

 

[MerlinandtheMouse]

When we are not in a hurry at all (a rarity as we take 3-4 day WDW trips on average), we will use the monorail or the boat to poly method… but on one trip last year we were stuck in a monorail (mostly inside the contemporary station) for over 20m. I’m only slightly claustrophobic and I was OK but I didn’t love the experience, especially because it was a busy time and the car was pretty crowded.

That sounds awful. Blasphemous to say on these boards but monorail only rates above buses in Disney transportation for us I only really like it on off peak times like 10 or 11am or late afternoons post the park hopping rush. It is a beautiful journey if you have the time but man, it really does get crowded and uncomfortable in there.

 

[sndral]

I’m curious too. The VGF monorail line sometimes gets backed up. Would it ever make sense to take resort boat from VGF to Poly, then walk across Poly resort to get to EP monorail?

Whoa - brilliant, I love boat rides.
I like the TTC to Epcot monorail ride, although the wait for that monorail can be a bit longer than the wait for the resort monorail & the resort monorail tends to be more crowded IME. I’m not a fan of the hiking down the monorail ramp & then back up the ramp to hop monorails at the TTC, I think the express monorail is the one where you can walk straight across?
I’ve done the bus from BC to MK & then monorail or boat home to the VGF, usually when we’re leaving Epcot from the IG side, but a year ago we arrived at MK on the BC/YC bus at MK closing & tried to make our way over to the monorail/boat side & got caught by the crowd being herded to the ferry, we finally managed to maneuver to the edge of the surging crowd & a flashlight swinging CM opened a stanchion to let us escape before we were swept unto the ferry. So, I suppose a third way to transit would be Epcot monorail to TTC, ferry from TTC to MK, boat or walk from MK to GF.

 

[Sandisw]

Yeah I guess you could do that too, it might save 10 mins or so! But you’re right, you’d have to switch trains and hope the express is there or coming soon. Honestly, the more I think about, the more I feel like taking the boat to Poly and walking to TTC is fastest. Gonna have to test it out one trip!

Waiting for the boat to Poly and then walking will not be faster because the boat only comes every 20 minutes..where the monorail comes like ever 3 to 5 minutes.

Plus, from the original villas, you’d be walking past the main building to get to the dock where the boat is which is opposite of Poly. If you are going to walk, just walk directly from the villas to Poly and then to TTC.

 

[The Jackal]

We drive. Way toooo long to get on the monorail, get off at TTC and wait for Epcot monorail. You’re looking at a good hour to get there. If you have time it’s not bad. Drive and it less than 10 minutes and your parked and walking to the entrance.

 

[MerlinandtheMouse]

Waiting for the boat to Poly and then walking will not be faster because the boat only comes every 20 minutes..where the monorail comes like ever 3 to 5 minutes.

Plus, from the original villas, you’d be walking past the main building to get to the dock where the boat is which is opposite of Poly. If you are going to walk, just walk directly from the villas to Poly and then to TTC.

That’s true, although it feels like they come more often than every 20 mins but we might have just gotten lucky.

 

[MarkNC2Disney]

No good options from VGF, unless you’re satisfied with it taking ~45+ mins.

Just drive or Uber/lyft.

 

[disneygolfer1985]

No good options from VGF, unless you’re satisfied with it taking ~45+ mins.

Just drive or Uber/lyft.

This is the problem with the GF in my opinion. It is really only quick to MK. Every other park is 20 minutes or longer and Epcot usually takes the longest with up to an hour depending on how the resort monorail is moving.

 

[tidefan]

We drive. Way toooo long to get on the monorail, get off at TTC and wait for Epcot monorail. You’re looking at a good hour to get there. If you have time it’s not bad. Drive and it less than 10 minutes and your parked and walking to the entrance.

Same for us. Driving over there is way too easy…

 

[HyperspaceMountainPilot]

Same for us. Driving over there is way too easy…

I have never driven to any WDW park except for AK. At Disneyland, it’s a significant ordeal to drive through the structure walk to the tram station and then take the tram to the park — I guess it’s 20 minutes from entering the structure to arriving at the Disneyland front ticket booth best case scenario. Is it more efficient at Epcot/DHS?

 

[Judique]

We drive. Way toooo long to get on the monorail, get off at TTC and wait for Epcot monorail. You’re looking at a good hour to get there. If you have time it’s not bad. Drive and it less than 10 minutes and your parked and walking to the entrance.

I hit 'other' for this reason. It can be up to an hour to get to Epcot so I drive if leaving from VGF. This trip I am there and on my one Epcot day I will drive. Usually I'm at an Epcot resort for Epcot and DHS. I may also drive for DHS and for AK, which I'm doing same day, so more than likely I'll use my car.

 

[disneygolfer1985]

I hit 'other' for this reason. It can be up to an hour to get to Epcot so I drive if leaving from VGF. This trip I am there and on my one Epcot day I will drive. Usually I'm at an Epcot resort for Epcot and DHS. I may also drive for DHS and for AK, which I'm doing same day, so more than likely I'll use my car.

VGF is really only convenient for MK. It is so far away from AK and DHS via bus and can take 25 minutes to get to those parks. Also, as previously stated, the monorail trip to Epcot can take up to 60 minutes. It is really not a great location personally.

 

[Judique]

VGF is really only convenient for MK. It is so far away from AK and DHS via bus and can take 25 minutes to get to those parks. Also, as previously stated, the monorail trip to Epcot can take up to 60 minutes. It is really not a great location personally.

Only for MK, in my opinion. Even Poly has the edge with transportation, by being so close to TTC. And, BLT with only one additional stop.