Skyliner vs Buses

[Tk0021]

We have booked the all star music hotel, but I see that there are deals on other sites and pop Century is close in price. We have stayed at both, but never used the skyliner. Last year we took the buses from ASMusic and rope dropped and we were first in line at most of the parks. Is it quicker to take the buses or the skyliner? If it’s buses, we will just stick with Music.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

I think there isn't a clear answer to your question! It probably depends on the park. Skyliner would work well for RD at EP International Gateway, which could offer advantages for access to Remy. It would also work well for HS. ASMusic would work better for AK. You'll be doing buses from Pop anyway for MK and AK. I'd also wonder what time of year you're going. During the hot, humid, stormy times of the year, you have to beware that Skyliner could shut down for periods of time, which might have you taking buses back to the resort anyway. If you're comfortable with the buses, maybe stick with it.....

 

[Tk0021]

I think there isn't a clear answer to your question! It probably depends on the park. Skyliner would work well for RD at EP International Gateway, which could offer advantages for access to Remy. It would also work well for HS. ASMusic would work better for AK. You'll be doing buses from Pop anyway for MK and AK. I'd also wonder what time of year you're going. During the hot, humid, stormy times of the year, you have to beware that Skyliner could shut down for periods of time, which might have you taking buses back to the resort anyway. If you're comfortable with the buses, maybe stick with it.....

We are going Thanksgiving week. We are planning on doing two days at HS and one day at Epot, two days at MK. So, three out of the five days we could use the skyliner. We rope dropped with busses from music last year and we were first in line twice for tower of terror.

 

[gsuoumu]

We are pop fanatics and have stayed there for every trip because of the Skyliner. If you're looking to rope drop, just be aware there are always lines for the Skyliner in the early morning. They move quickly, but you will be waiting in a line. Then when you get to the transfer station at Caribbean Beach, you'll have to wait in another line to transfer to EP or HS. I don't remember the exact details of when we got inside either park, but I think we were able to get in during early entry pretty easily but we made sure to get to the Skyliner early in order to make sure that happened. We probably waited about 10 minutes both at Pop and then at Caribbean.

I can't compare the waits to the busses at ASM. I'm sure there are waits for busses but I've never been there.

That being said, the Skyliner is a huge benefit for us. Especially now that we will have a little one and a stroller. It's just nicer and quieter than the busses. We can hardly dream of staying at a resort that didn't have Monorail or Skyliner access.

 

[tzvdmd]

One thing to think about is the skyliner goes down in bad weather. This time a year you may be riding a bus anyway. That being said as far as the resorts go, I'd take pop over all stars.

 

[Tk0021]

So we decided to switch to pop since we stayed at ASMusic last year, but I just read the buses do not run to HS or Epcot from pop if the sky liner is running. Is this true?

 

[fla4fun]

So we decided to switch to pop since we stayed at ASMusic last year, but I just read the buses do not run to HS or Epcot from pop if the sky liner is running. Is this true?

Yes, this is true. They used to run from AoA when the Skyliner was running, but I believe they have cancelled those as well. I used to work my way from the back of Epcot to the front and take the AoA bus back a lot, but that was pre-2020. I don’t think the buses at either run now unless the skyliner is down.

OP, at the time of year you are going, weather shouldn’t be a problem. I would go with whichever hotel has the theme and amenities you want, since I have stayed at both. The rooms are almost identical now, after all the refurbishments.

 

[Tk0021]

Yes, this is true. They used to run from AoA when the Skyliner was running, but I believe they have cancelled those as well. I used to work my way from the back of Epcot to the front and take the AoA bus back a lot, but that was pre-2020. I don’t think the buses at either run now unless the skyliner is down.

OP, at the time of year you are going, weather shouldn’t be a problem. I would go with whichever hotel has the theme and amenities you want, since I have stayed at both. The rooms are almost identical now, after all the refurbishments.

We like to rope drop and using the buses last year worked really well, so I don’t want to mess with the process that worked for us. Lol

 

[tguz]

We rope dropped on our last trip from the Pop and used the skyliner for EP and DHS and it worked great. We weren't first in line but we were in the parks quickly so I'd say the Skyliner works great.

 

[MarieLM]

We love staying at Pop for the Skyliner access and rope dropping! We were literally 10th in line at Epcot the morning we rope dropped. Basically we got on the Skyliner within 15 minutes of opening, and had an almost empty ride to Epcot. We waited there for awhile but it was worth it. We asked the Skyliner employee for his recommendation on timing the night before and he told us it was open earlier than posted.

 

[MinnieMSue]

So leaving pop now and I am never staying here again. Resort itself is fine but this afternoon the skyliner was working from Epcot to Caribbean beach but both other lines were down. They walked one group of people from the Pop line to a bus but left the rest of us there 30-45 minutes. I asked a couple of times and they said they can’t just get busses fast but oddly they managed to get busses to the parks and to riviera. We saw many busses pull into the bus stop by Caribbean beach skyliner station but left the Pop/AoA people standing. Finally the pop skyliner got fixed and we loaded. I was running very late to get my suitcases from the luggage holding area and on the mears bus. To top it off our door didn’t open on the skyliner when we got to pop and I had a full on panic attack. Turns out they made our cabin a handicap one which I thought was odd since we didn’t load into a handicap one. After that delay and the panic attack I’m done. Normally I love the skyliner but this ended our trip on an awful note. May be done with Disney completely at this point I’m so angry.

 

[maxiesmom]

So leaving pop now and I am never staying here again. Resort itself is fine but this afternoon the skyliner was working from Epcot to Caribbean beach but both other lines were down. They walked one group of people from the Pop line to a bus but left the rest of us there 30-45 minutes. I asked a couple of times and they said they can’t just get busses fast but oddly they managed to get busses to the parks and to riviera. We saw many busses pull into the bus stop by Caribbean beach skyliner station but left the Pop/AoA people standing. Finally the pop skyliner got fixed and we loaded. I was running very late to get my suitcases from the luggage holding area and on the mears bus. To top it off our door didn’t open on the skyliner when we got to pop and I had a full on panic attack. Turns out they made our cabin a handicap one which I thought was odd since we didn’t load into a handicap one. After that delay and the panic attack I’m done. Normally I love the skyliner but this ended our trip on an awful note. May be done with Disney completely at this point I’m so angry.

I would be freaking out if I knew I was on a time crunch. After 20 minutes waiting you should have grabbed an uber/lyft/cab. Though I'm sure that is easy for me to say in hindsight.

The skyliner cabins are all the same. The only difference between a regular one and a handicap one is where you load. If they were making the one you were in a handicap one, it should have gone off to a different loading area. That is the only difference.

I think the skyliner is great, as long as it is running. It is a pain if it shuts down because of storms, or if it malfunctions.

 

[maxiesmom]

We like to rope drop and using the buses last year worked really well, so I don’t want to mess with the process that worked for us. Lol

My stay at Pop last fall when we rope dropped the Magic Kingdom no less than 5 buses showed up at the same time. I use a scooter at the parks, and my nephew and I were the only ones loaded onto one of the articulated buses.

 

[MinnieMSue]

I would be freaking out if I knew I was on a time crunch. After 20 minutes waiting you should have grabbed an uber/lyft/cab. Though I'm sure that is easy for me to say in hindsight.

The skyliner cabins are all the same. The only difference between a regular one and a handicap one is where you load. If they were making the one you were in a handicap one, it should have gone off to a different loading area. That is the only difference.

I think the skyliner is great, as long as it is running. It is a pain if it shuts down because of storms, or if it malfunctions.

Yeah the cabins are the same but even the guy when I got out said the handicap loading cabins usually come and go from that area. He said it was odd to pull one into that spot that didn’t come from that spot previously. That way it keeps the wheelchairs coming and going from those spots.
We should have had plenty of time to get back to Pop but I knew mears sometimes arrives very early and doesn’t stick around waiting on people. They acted like busses were coming soon - they just never did. My luck an Uber would have taken longer. Especially with so many skyliner lines down (2 of 3). I figured worst case I would have to call an Uber to get us to the airport.
4th of July after Epcot fireworks the skyliner was very efficient though. The line was terrible - really intimidating but we were on it within a half hour. Leaving studios after fantasmic we barely had a wait and we were slow getting out after the show. Those instances were impressive. I think where they lose out is communication with issues. That could be much much better