to do we get to ?? assistance please

[Mrs. Pirate]

Need help from all you experts. Only second time to Disney and last time we kept the transportation really easy - I am getting braver this year. Went to Transportation wizard, but figured all the experts here would have more practical suggestions for getting myself and 2 little girls (with stroller) around. I understand there are some monorail closures during this time and I also don't want to spend a fortune in cab fares.

Feb 24 Tues - need to get from MK to Poly at park close for Bread Pudding and then back to POP for sleep.

Feb 25 Wed - 7:30 am reservation at Cape May from POP and then to HS for park open.

Feb 26 Thurs - 4 pm reservation at GR from POP then to Contemporary at 6:30 for pirate cruise. Will need to get back to POP after cruise.

Feb 27 Fri - 5 pm reservation at Cape May from POP then to EPCOT for Illuminations.

Feb 27 Fri - after Illuminations going to Beaches for sundaes and back to POP.

Feb 28 Sat - 5 pm reservation at GF from POP

Feb 29 Sun - 8 am reservation at GF from POP

Thank you for any suggestions on any of the above!!

 

[Robo]

First, I must say that you've really complicated your travels.
Trying to go from resort-to-resort at odd hours can take a lot of travel time (and waiting time.)
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Feb 24 Tues - need to get from MK to Poly at park close for Bread Pudding and then back to POP for sleep. Shuttle boat or Resort monorail from MK to Poly. You can monorail back to MK up to 90-120 min. after MK closes and get a bus to Pop. (Or just take a cab to Pop.)

Feb 25 Wed - 7:30 am reservation at Cape May from POP and then to HS for park open.
Take a cab from Pop to Beach Club. After breakfast take the Friendship Boat to DHS.

Feb 26 Thurs - 4 pm reservation at GR from POP (I don't know what you mean by "GR?")
then to Contemporary at 6:30 for pirate cruise.
Will need to get back to POP after cruise. From CR, you can walk to MK (about 8 minutes) until up to 90-120 min. after MK closes and get a bus to Pop.

Feb 27 Fri - 5 pm reservation at Cape May from POP then to EPCOT for Illuminations.
At 4:30PM, take Bus to DHS, then Friendship Boat to Beach Club.
Walk to Epcot's International Gateway from the Beach Club.

Feb 27 Fri - after Illuminations going to Beaches for sundaes and back to POP. Walk out Epcot's International Gateway to the Beach Club. Take a cab back from Beach Club to Pop.

Feb 28 Sat - 5 pm reservation at GF from POP. Be at the MK bus stop at Pop by 3:45PM. Go to MK. Take the shuttle boat from the MK to GF.

Feb 29 Sun - 8 am reservation at GF from POP. Be at the MK bus stop at Pop by 7:00-7:10AM. Tell the MK bus driver that you're going to GF. (Driver may take you there, directly.) If not, take the shuttle boat or resort monorail from MK to GF.

 

[maxiesmom]

My advice is to forget you even know where to find that transportation wizard. It is out of date and just plain wrong on a lot of stuff.

 

[larryz]

Considering the El Cheapo rent-a-cars available at the Orlando airport, why not just rent-a-clunker?

 

[Crystal824]

All this travel from resort to resort is going to eat up a lot of time. I would rent a car, bring lots of cab fare, or change plans to only one or two dining reservations at resorts other than Pop.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

An unsolicited comment, I know, but, I'm exhausted just looking at your schedule for the first two days.

Your days and dates are a little confusing as Tuesday is Feb. 23, but either way, you are looking to leave MK at 9 pm, take a monorail to Poly for bread pudding and then back to POP with 2 little ones in tow, only to then be up and at Cape May the next morning at 7:30 am? If you want anything close to 7 or 8 hours of sleep this night, I would eliminate either the bread pudding or the Cape May reservation.

After many resort-to-resort transportation disasters using Disney transportation, our rule of thumb is, if going resort-to-resort, take a cab or use Uber.

 

[GillianP1301]

Robo has already given you the best scenarios for using Disney transportation. With your plan though, I would seriously consider a rental car. Your plan with a car is super easy, without one it will be very time consuming with a lot of waiting which I'm not sure I'd want to do with 2 little ones in tow.

 

[tlmadden73]

What Robo said. To do this "efficiently" you would need to take cabs or your own car.

You are staying at Pop Century .. the farthest hotel out from a lot of that stuff in the resort. The problem with Disney Transportation when staying at a resort hotel is that they only take you to either the theme parks or to Disney Springs. Trying to get to resorts from your resort takes a lot of time and LOT of transportation hopping that simply may not be worth it.

I've done it using Disney Transportation .. but usually on my day off from a theme park when I have plenty of time.

For example, on my last trip, my wife and I wanted to have a lunch at Beaches and Cream. We didn't have a reservation so we weren't rushed. A good thing . because it did take a while to get there (even though it wasn't that far away.)
1) Wait for bus to DHS (10-15 minutes)
2) Ride to DHS (10 minutes)
3) Walk to boat dock (5 minutes)
4) Wait for boat (unless you get lucky and one is waiting (5-15 minutes)
5) Ride boat to Beach club (stops on the way) - (15 minutes or so)
6) Walk from dock to restaurant (5 minutes)

So .. about 45-60 minutes to get there. Which was fine since we didn't have a reservation .. but trying to do that for early breakfast reservations or dinner reservations while coming from a busy theme park may be another story.

I would rethink your plans and cut back on some of those reservations and have meals in the parks.

 

[tjmw2727]

Getting from resort to resort is difficult - I would re think your plan to try and plan your resort meals around the parks they are closest to and make note of evening EMH for dinners and plan return transportation around that. Some of your plans work and others may cost you more in transportation time and $ than they are worth.

Alternately budget in cab fare!

and ITA with pp's who suggest discarding most if not all of the advice on the transportation wizard.....

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

The amount of money spent on cabs and tipping the cab driver will be more than just renting a car. Plus you are spending a good 4 hours of your day to try and get to the various places you need to go. Multiply that by 6 days = 24 hrs spent on commuting. That is a lot of vacation time wasted.

 

[goofy4tink]

You've had great info here. Your mistake is going to so many resorts for meals. You're going to spend a lot of time just getting around! I don't know when you're going but you might want to rethink some of your ADRs. When I make my ADRs, I usually make them either at the park I'll be at, or at a nearby resort. I don't head to a different resort first thing in the morning (unless I can take a park bus there, then easily get to the ADR....say from BW to MK to get to the Polynesian, then back over to the MK for the day). Heading to, say, BC, for breakfast, then to DHS for the day is going to mean one of two things....
1. bus to DHS, from POP, then walk or boat to the BC for breakfast. or 2. cab from Pop to BC, then boat or walk to DHS. The first will mean taking about an hour to get to BC, the second about 10 mins but will cost you..probably between $10-15.

 

[loves to dive]

I agree with others, you might want to rethink some of your plans. If your little ones are real little, I can't see them really enjoying any of that food after park closes, they are going to be too tired. If you do decide to stick to it, I agree either go with Robo's plan or rent a car (and that is coming from someone who drives down, parks their car and never gets back in it until time to go home, I believe in Disney transportation) otherwise you are going to be doing a lot of running around and transferring.

 

[goofy4tink]

Need help from all you experts. Only second time to Disney and last time we kept the transportation really easy - I am getting braver this year. Went to Transportation wizard, but figured all the experts here would have more practical suggestions for getting myself and 2 little girls (with stroller) around. I understand there are some monorail closures during this time and I also don't want to spend a fortune in cab fares.

Feb 24 Tues - need to get from MK to Poly at park close for Bread Pudding and then back to POP for sleep.
Bread pudding wouldn't be enough to make me head to the Polynesian and then back to MK. But, if you insist....either boat or monorail to the Polynesian, eat, then monorail or boat back to MK. Stuff should be up and running for an hour or so after the park closes. The buses will be running for about 90-120 mins.

Feb 25 Wed - 7:30 am reservation at Cape May from POP and then to HS for park open.
I would actually take a cab from Pop to the BC...it's less than 10 mins away and would be pretty inexpensive. Otherwise, bus to DHS, then walk to BC. The boats start running an hour prior to park opening, so they may very well not be an option. For a 7:30 adr, I would plan on leaving Pop by 6:15 if using the bus, and by 7:10 if taking a cab.

Feb 26 Thurs - 4 pm reservation at GR from POP then to Contemporary at 6:30 for pirate cruise. Will need to get back to POP after cruise.
I'm not sure what GR is. To get back to Pop from the CR, just walk over to MK, and take the Pop bus from there.

Feb 27 Fri - 5 pm reservation at Cape May from POP then to EPCOT for Illuminations.
Again, taking a cab is the easiest thing. If you don't want to do that, then bus to Epcot and walk through and out the back door (International Gateway)...leaving Pop by 3:45. Or, bus to DHS, and walk or boat to BC....leaving about the same time. If you choose to take a cab to BC, leave Pop about 4:30ish.

Feb 27 Fri - after Illuminations going to Beaches for sundaes and back to POP.
Too much back tracking here. To go from Pop to BC to Epcot for IllumiNations and then back to Beaches and Cream and back to Pop...lots of travel time. If you feel you must go to B&C, then a cab back to Pop will be best. If DHS is still open, you can walk or boat there and take the bus to Pop.

Feb 28 Sat - 5 pm reservation at GF from POP
Bus to MK around 3:30, boat, or monorail, to the GF.

Feb 29 Sun - 8 am reservation at GF from POP
Again, bus to MK then boat or monorail to GF. You will need to at the MK bus stop by 6:30ish...the buses that run earlier than the regular buses (those that run an hour prior to park opening) tend to come less frequently, maybe every 25 mins or so. If you just miss a bus, you might be waiting until 7 to get a bus...gets you to MK by 7:20, then walk to the boat or monorail (5 mins), wait for the monorail (0-15 mins) or boat (wait 0-15) mins, then over to GF..by monorail it will take at least 15 mins, by boat it will be 10 mins, and drop you a fair distance from the resort.

Thank you for any suggestions on any of the above!!

I've given you my thoughts on how to achieve what you need. A rental car may be a good idea for you. If you wanted, you could rent right at the Dolphin, through Alamo/National and then return it there. Still take DME to and from the airport as it can be stressful driving to and from if you aren't sure of where you're going!