Staying @ Pop - dining @ other resorts?

[lilpnutmama]

Hi there
I am staying at POP with my dh and DD who is somewhat of a fussy toddler . We will not be renting a car so I am wondering if it is worth it to try and eat dinners at other resorts (we have the DP) or is the transportation such a hassle we should just stick to theme parks for dinners?? We will probably be going back to our room for naps and stuff in the afternoon.

Are some resorts easier to get to then others or should we just forget about it?
thanks!

 

[bicker]

Next year will be our first year without a rental car, and I've already figured that it'll be the first year we won't be going to other resorts for dinner. Taking a bus to another hotel would seem just too much. However, we're staying at the BoardWalk, so right there we've got, within walking distance, all of the Epcot restaurants, all of the BoardWalk restaurants, and really even the D-MGM restaurants. I'm not quite so sure that we wouldn't make some arrangements to visit another resort for a meal if we weren't staying there at the BoardWalk. However, I'm sure we'd try to minimize it, no matter what.

 

[oogieboogie]

going to other resorts without a car can be a hassle, but if you plan it right, it's not that big of a deal.

If you think you want to eat lunch at Beach Club for example, plan the morning around Epcot or MGM, then it'll be easy to get to BC. Let's say you want dinner at Ohana in Poly, then plan to go to MK that evening. It's a bit of a hassle because you'll have to go back to the park to get the bus back to Pop, but it really doesn't take that long.

 

[lovewdwdvc]

I think that I would stick to the BW area eateries/. The easiest way to get there is to take the bus to MGM. Then there is a path to BW/Swan/BC etc..It is a bout a15minute walk. Also there is water transportation which is lovely butmore time consuming.

 

[novastar]

I stayed at POP without a rental car and ate at California Grill, Spoodles, and Boma.

What worked for us was to go to a theme park for the day, take a bus from one of the theme parks to the resort of choice, eat dinner, then take a bus to somewhere else (like downtown disney), do something walk around, eventually take a bus back to POP.

California Grill is easy because it is walking distance from Magic Kingdom.

 

[amarberry]

We stayed at Pop on our last two trips when DD was 14 months old and 18 months old. We were on the dining plan both times and ate at several of the resorts using Disney transportation.

Eating at the monorail resorts was super easy. It's basically like going on a ride to get to your restaurant. We also ate at Spoodles on the Boardwalk on our last trip which is a 5 minute walk from the World Showcase, so that was no problem as well. We also ate at Boma on both trips. This was the trickiest restaurant to get to, but not too bad. The first time, we had spent the late afternoon at AK to see the parade and took the quick bus ride from the park to the resort. For our ride home, we hopped a bus to Epcot that amazingly turned into a Pop Century bus when we arrived at Epcot. You could also hop a bus to MGM or Downtown Disney and transfer to a Pop bus. If you want to break up the trip a bit, you could spend a few minutes at the park or walk around Downtown Disney for awhile before catching the Pop bus home.

 

[byoung]

I disagree going to other resorts without a car can be a hassle. We do it all the time. I enjoy the Disney transportation.

 

[lynninpa]

Could someone tell us the best way to get from POP to WCC via bus? And some idea of how long that "journey" may take? Thanks!

 

[disneyjunkie]

We were on the dining plan last April when we stayed at PC. We had dinner at Cape May Cafe, Whispering Canyon Cafe, Chef Mickey's and Ohana. We never had a problem getting to any of the other resorts.

Pop Century's bus service is great.

 

[Luv2Roam]

lynninpa -- You may want to take a bus to MK. From there take a nice boat ride to WL for Whispering Canyon.

As a rule of thumb I use to use that worked well -- figure how long it would take if I drove and had to park, and double that time.
Going from one resort to another I allowed 1.5 hours. Sometimes it did not take that long. But sometimes it did.

 

[lynninpa]

lynninpa -- You may want to take a bus to MK. From there take a nice boat ride to WL for Whispering Canyon.

As a rule of thumb I use to use that worked well -- figure how long it would take if I drove and had to park, and double that time.
Going from one resort to another I allowed 1.5 hours. Sometimes it did not take that long. But sometimes it did.

The boat ride to WL for dinner at WCC sounds wonderful. Thanks for the idea. Now, just one more question, please? Just where would we get the boat?

 

[bicker]

The boat leaves from directly in front of the Magic Kingdom. Keep in mind that the boat doesn't operate in windy conditions, and also if you're running late, the bus takes about five minutes to get from the Magic Kingdom to the Wilderness Lodge.

 

[lynninpa]

Thanks for the tips!

 

[angel's momma]

I disagree going to other resorts without a car can be a hassle. We do it all the time. I enjoy the Disney transportation.

I think it depends on when you go though.

Riding on the buses to visit all of the resorts & collect pennies was one of DH's favorite things on our first trip in 12/04. Often, we were the only ones on the bus, and DH chatted with the drivers, or the few other people who were on the bus. We seldom had to wait at all for a bus - I couldn't believe it.

Our trip in fall 05 wasn't the same. The waits still weren't too long, but definitely not like we had experienced before. The other people & drivers didn't seem as friendly either.

Maybe the holidays put people in a better mood.

We'll be going back this fall & this Dec., so I'll see if there seems to be a trend.

 

[Mykelogan]

Just wanted to add my voice to the chorus encouraging you to dine at the other resorts! I stay at Pop usually and have enjoyed dinner at many of the other resorts. I do traditionally plan the meals around my park plans too. If I am having a later dinner, as I have several times at Boma, I will just take the bus to Downtown Disney and then hop on a bus to Pop.

Hope you have a great trip!
Mike

 

[amarberry]

Could someone tell us the best way to get from POP to WCC via bus? And some idea of how long that "journey" may take? Thanks!

Here's another idea in addition to the suggestion to take the bus to MK. If you are at the Pop bus stop at the hotel, you could see which park bus comes first and transfer at whichever park to a Wilderness Resort bus. Epcot, MGM, and AK are all pretty close to Pop (10 min. bus ride or so). I'm pretty impatient so I like the idea of getting on the first bus rather than run the risk of waiting 15-20 minutes for a specific bus to show up. I'm sure it doesn't really save me any time, but it makes me feel a little bit more in control of the situation!

 

[lynninpa]

Here's another idea in addition to the suggestion to take the bus to MK. If you are at the Pop bus stop at the hotel, you could see which park bus comes first and transfer at whichever park to a Wilderness Resort bus. Epcot, MGM, and AK are all pretty close to Pop (10 min. bus ride or so). I'm pretty impatient so I like the idea of getting on the first bus rather than run the risk of waiting 15-20 minutes for a specific bus to show up. I'm sure it doesn't really save me any time, but it makes me feel a little bit more in control of the situation!

Yet another good idea! Thanks, amarberry! The three resort ADRs we have are WCC, 'Ohanas and Chef Mickeys. Seems to me all three will be easy to get to by bus from POP since they all all so close to the MK. And the boat ride to WL sounds cool. and the mmonorail for Chef Mickeys and 'Ohanas. Just some suggestions for the OP.
The others we have are (CRT, CP and LeCellier) are all park spots so no problems there.

 

[maxsmom]

Last summer was dh and I's 1 st trip w/ a kid. Ds was 15th old. We left Ohana's in the middle of the fireworks and by the time we got to the MK the bus line was rediculously long. It took us like 2 1/2 hrs to get back (no exageration). That was our 1st night there. We had a car by the next afternnon. I think it depends on your kid and how busy it is. When we were there it was busy and we had a VERY active toddler. WE also didn't like having to stand in the scorching sun to catch a bus. And how much time do you want to spend on DIsney transportation during your vacation. Like others said I would plan it around what parks you were at. That would make it a lot easier. Just going from POP to another resort could be a very long journey (unless it's on the monorail, then it's a litle shorter).

 

[grinningghost]

Not to go OT - but I thought the title of the thread said "STARVING at Pop and dining at other resorts"

Back on topic....

 

[lustergirl]

Yet another good idea! Thanks, amarberry! The three resort ADRs we have are WCC, 'Ohanas and Chef Mickeys. Seems to me all three will be easy to get to by bus from POP since they all all so close to the MK. And the boat ride to WL sounds cool. and the mmonorail for Chef Mickeys and 'Ohanas. Just some suggestions for the OP.
The others we have are (CRT, CP and LeCellier) are all park spots so no problems there.

You have picked great choices. Ohana's and Chef Mickey's are easier to get to than WCC. You can catch the bus from POP to MK and take the monorail to Poly for Ohana's and the monorail to Contemporary for Chef Mickey's. That won't take anytime as you will soon find out. Last year we took the boat from MK to Fort Wilderness to dine at Trail's End and trip lasted only about 5 minutes tops. I also hop whatever bus comes along first and transfer at whatever theme park that I end up at.

Good Luck. I think Disney tranportation is awesome at its best- never had a problem with waiting a long time.