Prk Hopping Question

[earldale97]

A little background...

We are going to WDW after Thanksgiving till Dec 4th. Renting a car, staying offsite.

We plan on going to the parks that close early in the day in the morning, then hop over to Epcot that is open until 9:30pm.

My question is...where should we park? If we go to Animal Kingdom at 8am then go to Epcot at 5pm. Are we OK to leave our car at AK? Will it be all deserted over there?

This is our first trip where we have actually driven ourselves around and I am not sure how best to handle this situation. It seems like alot of work to drive from park to park. But I don't want to be the only car in a dark parking lot either.

Thanks for any guidance on this subject!

 

[stinkerbelle]

I wouldn't leave your car at AK...just because the park closes at 5...and you will NOT find a bus going to AK at 9pm!

If you REALLY don't want to be driving, I suggest parking at downtown disney...you can always get a bus there. (drive to AK, spend the day, drive your car over to Downtown, park it, then hop a bus.)

But the easiest thing to do would be to just drive everywhere. Because even to get to Downtown, you'll have to go to a resort, then switch busses...a pain in the butt at times.

 

[BethR]

We always drive and going from AK to Epcot, I would park at AK in the morning and then drive to Epcot in the evening.

If you were going between MK and Epcot, I would suggest parking for the day at Epcot.

Good Luck!

 

[SnackyStacky]

I would highly reccomend just taking your car from park to park. It's so much easier - because you're working on your own timetable.

Having said that, if you still want to use Disney transport to park hop, I think it would be easiest to work in reverse. If you'll end your day at Epcot, park your car there, and take a bus from Epcot to your park of choice.

If you're going to hop between the Magic Kingdom and Epcot, and I would adivse just parking at the TTC. You can get a monorail when Epcot closes back to the TTC.

Have a fantastic trip!

 

[BethR]

Originally posted by SnackyStacky

If you're going to hop between the Magic Kingdom and Epcot, and I would adivse just parking at the TTC. You can get a monorail when Epcot closes back to the TTC.

Yep, makes a bit more sense than my scenario.

 

[DizBelle]

We always rent a car and we drive everywhere except to the MK. For MK, we take Disney transportation.

In fact, we do the exact thing you want to do. Drive to AK in the morning and then drive to Epcot to close out the day.

 

[earldale97]

Thanks for the advice.

A few more tag-on questions...

Does the monorail go to all parks?

If we are in a hurry...Is it better to opt for a bus ride, monorail or boat?

Is it easy to locate the TTC? I'm not familar with it, its purpose or where it is located.

Thanks again!

 

[ahutton]

The TTC is a large parking lot and a central transportation place that is next to the Polynesian Resort.

There are 2 MK monorails; one runs between the TTC (where the original main parking lot is) and the MK entrance. The other includes stops at the Poly, Grand Floridian and Contemporary, along with TTC and MK.

There is 1 EPCOT monorail - just runs between TTC and EPCOT. No other stops.

No other monorails.

For the other parks almost all service is by Bus; AK is serviced by buses exclusively.

There is a large ferry boat that runs between MK and TTC as an alternative to the monorail - it makes no other stops. There is boat service for the resorts on the water near MK to get between the park and resort, but I've found these to be a bit hit or miss depending on crowd levels, occupancy and weather.

There is a boat that runs between the back of EPCOT (just outside France at the International Gateway) and MGM, which includes stops for the Boardwalk, Yacht/Beach Club and Swan/Dolphin.

For what you are talking about we would probably park where we intend to finish our day and then do Disney transportation to the park we want to start at. I'm not big on driving and moving my car mid-day, but that is a personal preference.

 

[ncbyrne]

TTC is Ticket and Transportation Center. If you park there you can get the monorail to Epcot or the MK. These are the only two parks that have monorail service.
If you want to hop to MGM from Epcot, there is a boat between these two parks (also stops at the Boardwalk, Beach and Yacht Clubs, Swan and Dolphin resorts in between).
The busses service all areas of WDW: parks, resorts, and DD. The bus is the only WDW transportation to AK.
But, like the others have said, it's just easier to take your car from park to park.
You only pay once per day no matter how many times you move your car. Just keep your receipt and show it at each parking lot.
We rely on our own car rather than Disney transportation and do this all the time.

 

[AladdinsPrincess]

It's really easy to get between MK, Epcot, and MGM, but we always struggle when trying to park hop to or from AK. We also usually just end up driving between AK and wherever.

If you're ever in a rush, don't rely on the Disney buses! I would much rather drive than wait for and then be smooshed onto a bus. I would utilize the boats and monorails when you can and otherwise plan to use your car.

 

[earldale97]

Thanks everyone! I now have a good grasp on this.

I am printing this out as reference for our trip...Thanksgiving can't come soon enough.

 

[SyracuseWolvrine]

Busses will run back to AK until 1 hour after each of the other parks close.

Ex: Epcot closes at 9, busses from Epcot to AK stop at 10, MGM closes at 10, busses from MGM to AK stop at 11.

However, according to all the bus drivers I've talked to, it's a better idea to park your car at the last park you intend to visit in any given day, that way if you encounter an unforseen delay, you won't miss the last bus.

 

[stinkerbelle]

One comment about the boat ride between MGM and Epcot.

the boat (the friendship) makes stops at the Swan/Dolphin, Yacht/Beach, and boardwalk resorts before going to Epcot from MGM.

If you get off at Yacht and Beach and walk to epcot...you will beat the boat.