Resort Hopping + WWoHP = Transportation Nightmare

[Amunet]

Okay, so I've been trying to figure out how to do transportation and I figured I should ask on here, cause well, I've never NOT used WDW transportation while on site.

The plan:

Oct. 24th - Check into AoA resort (Little Mermaid room)
Oct. 25th - Check out of AoA and into POR, then head over to WWoHP. After universal closes, have ADR @ 1900 Park Fare (Grand Floridian).

What would be the best way to handle transportation between the resorts and then also between POR and Universal?

Goal:
Get to WWoHP as close to opening as possible while not spending the whole bank on transportation.



I am in desperate need of your wisdom

 

[tjmw2727]

Between the resorts, I would let WDW handle the luggage. Then just head to the park of your choice and check in to the 2nd resort later in the day.

Give it to bell services the morning you check out and they will deliver it to the new resort later that day, be aware that it could take all day and plan for that. I have had my bags waiting for me when we arrived around 3ish and have had to wait until after 6 on another occasion.

Alternately just grab a cab and take yourself and your luggage to POR and check in. Since your room will probably not be ready in the am, you will have to store your luggage at POR with bell services.

Mears offers a shuttle service to Universal as well as town car service, the prices are on the website.

After your dinner you can take park transportation to any park that is open or DTD and then bus back to POR. Or budget a few more $ for a cab

 

[hsmamato2]

that would work,or the simplest is to take a cab to universal,then a cab straight to dinner after. Let bell services take your luggage in the a.m. to transfer.
If you are going to your hotel between park and dinner, than cab back to POR,then take a bus to MK,then monorail or bus over to GF.

 

[hsmamato2]

BTW it's not nightmare at all,it's a simple cab or shuttle ride to universal and back again.
You could also rent a car for the day,which might be even cheaper- i.e. get it in the a.m. from car care center(they pick you up) drop luggage at POR,and check in,go to Uni. for the day,drive back to dinner,drop car off at car care center next morning.

 

[bumbershoot]

All ideas given are good.

The part I would NOT do, especially since you want to get there at opening, is bother going to POR to checkin. Since you don't have a rental car, I would just give the bags over to BS and go on to Universal. If it were me, I would do online checkin, so they know when I plan to be there.


Then again, if it were me, I would be moving TO Universal that day, since the perks onsite are just too good to pass up!

 

[TDC Nala]

The part I would NOT do, especially since you want to get there at opening, is bother going to POR to checkin.

If you're on the dining plan and you want to use the credits, you need to check in first. So if you have a dining plan for 1900 Park Fare you will need to check in at POR sometime before you go there.

 

[Rpsemont]

Personally, I would rent a car from Dollar at the Wynham Lake Buena Vista Resort in DTD (It's the first hotel on Hotel Plaza Boulveard across the street from the DTD bus stops)

If you can get to DTD before 6PM on the 24th, I would rent the car for two days, (Which right now you can do for about $65 TOTAL!)
That would allow you to have the car to go to WWOHP early, back to your hotel or go direct to dinner, and you could also go to the outlets the next day! If you did this, I would just throw your luggage in the trunk and not bother to have WDW move it.
If you can't get to DTD by 6PM (which is when the rental counter closes), then I would get up really early, take your luggage to AofA luggage services and ask them to deliver to POR. Then hop a bus to DTD, try to get to the rental car counter by shortly after 8AM, and rent the car for one day.

The downside to this, is that if you are only renting for one day and you rent at 8AM, you have to return at 8AM (unless you returned it the night before- but you'd have to aks about drop box services)

We have rented from the Dollar many times - in fact we're doing it around those same dates, because 7 days 10/24-10/31 with drop off at MCO was $149, vs. $250+ picking up at MCO

 

[it's kelly]

We used the Mears shuttle to get back/forth from AKL to Universal and would not do it again. I'd gladly pay for a taxi next time. The ride to Universal was simple and quick since we didn't mind taking a later shuttle, but the ride back to AKL took over 2 hours.

 

[kwdw]

To make that ADR - you are going to have to take a taxi back from Universal. Mears could be 45 minutes or two hours..... very unpredictable since you won't know how many stops they will be making.

 

[Amunet]

Thank you ALL for your feedback, it has really helped

So, we've decided to take Disney Transportation from AoA to POR (we do have to check in), then from POR we will be taking a taxi to IoA. We will stay the whole day at IoA and then take a cab straight to the Grand Floridian (we'll be sure to pack nicer clothes for the ADR).

As for bags, we've decided to let Disney take care of them since we won't be in our room until late in the evening anyways.

One question though ...
How long does it take for reception to call a cab and it be waiting there for us outside?

I've never noticed cabs just hanging around the resorts (like at the airport or other big name hotels), so I'm assuming they need to call them.

 

[RSHale]

Thank you ALL for your feedback, it has really helped

So, we've decided to take Disney Transportation from AoA to POR (we do have to check in), then from POR we will be taking a taxi to IoA. We will stay the whole day at IoA and then take a cab straight to the Grand Floridian (we'll be sure to pack nicer clothes for the ADR).

As for bags, we've decided to let Disney take care of them since we won't be in our room until late in the evening anyways.

One question though ...
How long does it take for reception to call a cab and it be waiting there for us outside?

I've never noticed cabs just hanging around the resorts (like at the airport or other big name hotels), so I'm assuming they need to call them.

You probably already know this, but keep in mind that you won't be able to take a Disney bus directly from AoA to POR. You will have to connect at one of the parks or Downtown Disney. This might take a little bit of time, especially if you are doing it early in the morning.

As for cabs, I know Pop Century has reserved parking for taxis in the Check-In parking lot. There are usually at least three or four of them parked with drivers waiting during the day. I didn't look for them at AoA when I was there, but I would assume it's the same at the other resorts.

 

[Amunet]

You probably already know this, but keep in mind that you won't be able to take a Disney bus directly from AoA to POR. You will have to connect at one of the parks or Downtown Disney. This might take a little bit of time, especially if you are doing it early in the morning.

As for cabs, I know Pop Century has reserved parking for taxis in the Check-In parking lot. There are usually at least three or four of them parked with drivers waiting during the day. I didn't look for them at AoA when I was there, but I would assume it's the same at the other resorts.

Yes, I do understand that ^_^ Thanks for the reminder!

 

[Pembo]

Personally, instead of checking into AoA on the 24th, I'd pick a Universal Partner Hotel (we stayed at Comfort Suites last year) and stay there. Use the early entry privilege when you book a package deal then check in at POR after your day with the wizards. Oh and I'd rent a car. Disney transportation can use a lot of time. I'd hate to miss a minute with the wizards. Just my two cents....

 

[Amunet]

Personally, instead of checking into AoA on the 24th, I'd pick a Universal Partner Hotel (we stayed at Comfort Suites last year) and stay there. Use the early entry privilege when you book a package deal then check in at POR after your day with the wizards. Oh and I'd rent a car. Disney transportation can use a lot of time. I'd hate to miss a minute with the wizards. Just my two cents....

Thank you, but we will bo staying at AoA. We snagged a little mermaid room! This was after hounding the site for a few weeks. Gas is another factor with renting a car and, other than this one day, we will be pure Disney. Though maybe mext time we'll stay onsite

 

[goofy4tink]

Thank you ALL for your feedback, it has really helped

So, we've decided to take Disney Transportation from AoA to POR (we do have to check in), then from POR we will be taking a taxi to IoA. We will stay the whole day at IoA and then take a cab straight to the Grand Floridian (we'll be sure to pack nicer clothes for the ADR).

As for bags, we've decided to let Disney take care of them since we won't be in our room until late in the evening anyways.

One question though ...
How long does it take for reception to call a cab and it be waiting there for us outside?

I've never noticed cabs just hanging around the resorts (like at the airport or other big name hotels), so I'm assuming they need to call them.

In order to get to POR from AoA, you are going to have to either...
1. take a cab to get there really early
or
2. head to a park and transfer, which is going to be iffy since buses back to resorts can be weird at that early hour.

If you want to be at IoA as early as possible, you aren't going to be able to do it using Disney transportation. Yes, you can let them handle the bags for you, over to POR. But, even if you get to MK (EMH morning on the 25th) at 7am, who knows when you will get a bus to POR..it may be within 15 mins, it could be much longer.
I really would recommend taking a cab from AoA over to POR, around 7ish, check in (with your bags in hand), then take a cab over to IoA for the day. Much easier.

 

[Amunet]

In order to get to POR from AoA, you are going to have to either...
1. take a cab to get there really early
or
2. head to a park and transfer, which is going to be iffy since buses back to resorts can be weird at that early hour.

If you want to be at IoA as early as possible, you aren't going to be able to do it using Disney transportation. Yes, you can let them handle the bags for you, over to POR. But, even if you get to MK (EMH morning on the 25th) at 7am, who knows when you will get a bus to POR..it may be within 15 mins, it could be much longer.
I really would recommend taking a cab from AoA over to POR, around 7ish, check in (with your bags in hand), then take a cab over to IoA for the day. Much easier.

How much does it cost for the cab to go from AoA to POR?

I do understand on having to go to a park and then on another bus, I figured that whole process would take about an hour at most.