Taxi vs Disney Transportation

[Dean1972]

My DW and I will be staying 6 days offsite ( Hilton Parc Soleil ) 3 days at universal hotel ( Portofio ) & remaining 2 nights at BCV
As we will be staying on / off site we are looking to utilise both hotel shuttles ( to get to WDW ) utilise Disney's transportation once inside the world.
We plan on using taxis for anything that falls outside of this & don't mind the expense. We will not be renting a car ( Aussies here & not comfortable driving on other side of the road )
Question is : is taking a cab much quicker than shuttles / buses ?
Ie. don't mind paying $$ if it saves on time

Cheers

 

[GeorgiaHoo]

Speaking from planning and understanding, not experience, a taxi generally will be quicker. The Disney World buses can take a bit of time to (1) wait for a bus to show and (2) make a few stops between pick up and arrival. Depending on time of day and when you visit they can also be awfully crowded. The waits aren't awful, but we've experienced a 15-20 minute wait if we just missed a bus coupled with a 15-20 ride for a total of 30-40 minutes out of your day for a 1-way trip. We are taking a taxi this trip between resorts and for early morning trips to the parks. Understand it is around $20 a trip to just about anywhere in Disney.

 

[figment_jii]

Question is : is taking a cab much quicker than shuttles / buses ?
Ie. don't mind paying $$ if it saves on time

I don't know about the off-site shuttles, but I have stayed at the BCV (and other Epcot resorts). So when you're staying at the BCV:

• Epcot - you can walk to Epcot and enter via the International Gateway.
• DHS - you can either walk or boat to DHS. The boat will probably take about 15 minutes or so (it'll stop at the S/D before heading to DHS). Walking is a little under a mile.
• MK (Going to MK) - I would opt to take the bus because taxis take you to the TTC (you could ask to be taken to the CR if you don't mind walking). From there you will need to take the ferry or monorail to MK. Depending on when you are going, the bus could be pretty crowded (it depends on how many other resorts it stops at before arriving at the BC).
• MK (Returning to BC) - I almost always take a bus back to the Epcot resorts. Technically, the YC/BC share a route, but sometimes it gets combined with BW/S/D, depending on how busy things are. Still it's easier to take the bus than get back to the TTC to take a taxi.
• AK - This is a toss up. I like to drive because the AK bus was the hardest one to get near opening time (it arrived full). Busing back to BCV was easy.
• DTD - I would take the bus to DTD and then catch a taxi back. The bus line at DTD can be shared with all five Epcot resorts, so it might be pretty full.
• Any other resort - I either drive or take a taxi. There are no direct resort-to-resort buses, so everything involves a transfer. The only excepts are the ones that you can walk between (e.g., the Epcot resorts) or the ones that share some other type of transportation (like the monorail resorts).

 

[Dean1972]

Many thanks for your ideas / suggestions