To use the buses or not? ?s

[Jesslm80]

We are driving to WDW. Staying at POFQ. We have one prepark opening ADR at MK. Wouldn't it just be easier to drive over ourselves? We will have our 9 and 5 year old with us. No stroller. One backpack.

I'm really curious how much time we would save if we drive ourselves to the parks everyday. Or if it's totally dumb to bypass the free transportation. Would love to hear what everyone does when they have their car with them.

Thanks.

 

[Alesia]

Take the bus.

If you drive to MK, you'll have to park, walk to the TTC, wait for the monorail, and then take the monorail to MK. The bus will drop you off right at the gate.

 

[Miss Frankie J]

Last year we drove to WDW and stayed at Coronado Springs and we used the buses most of the time. We found it good and bad for different reasons. Sometimes we would have to wait a long time for a bus (the longest time being 30 mins) and then other times buses were full because of EMH. On the last day we gave up on the bus system and drove to AK for EMH and parked so close to the front and it was so much quicker and easier.

The buses however were nice when we were tired or wanted to take a mid day break or if we were drinking. Also it was much better using the buses for MK so you can bypass the monorail/Ferry. so if anything, use the buses for MK and if you dont like it then drive to the other parks. that's what we did!

 

[loves to dive]

We always drive down and except for to switch resorts during split stays, we park the car and don't get back into it until we leave. We've debated driving to the parks that we would have to bus to (we tend to stay at the Epcot resorts) but after we've factored in walking to the car, driving through the traffic, finding a parking space, having to either walk or take the tram (which means either walking or taking the tram back to the car) getting back into a hot car, not being able to indulge in a refreshing adult beverage, it doesn't seem it's worth it to us. It may take a little longer to ride the bus, it may not when you factor in the above but for us, it's a good time to relax. You'll find most people that do drive their cars to the parks will tell you they bus it to MK because you have to park at TTC and then either monorail or boat it to MK anyway so it's not really saving any time.

 

[PlutoFan10]

You can also take the ferry from TTC to MK if you decide to drive.

 

[tinkerbesh]

We park our car for the week and love not having to touch it. Esp in the heat - who wants to get into a dangerously hot vehicle and wait for it to be cool and comfortable enough to drive back to the hotel. We also love the transportation options, which add to the Disney experience for us. Fun drivers, bits of Disney music and info. And just relaxing while someone else does the driving. Plus door to door service - no walking from a far away parking spot (& some times you have to ride a tram from your far away spot to get to the entrance). That said, I know there are others that do it and feel the opposite way I do & have a counter argument for why it works for them.

The one mostly unanimous tip on these boards seems to be that it's not worth it to drive to MK. Because no one actually gets to drive straight there -- parking for MK is at the Ticket & Transportation Center, and from there you still have to take Disney transportation (ferry or monorail) to get the rest of the way to MK. So you may as well take it from your hotel in the first place- then you are only riding one vehicle door to door instead of the hassle of doing 2 different types of transportation, plus whatever walk you have from whatever parking spot you get.

If you're worried about making an early reservation on time, you could take a cab.

 

[CMNJ]

I woul definitely suggest taking the bus to MK from POFQ. As others have said you have to deal with parking, the tram (if not close enough to walk to front), then the monorail or ferry to reach MK whereas the MK bus lets you off on the other side of Seven Seas Lagoon right by the entrance. POFQ and POR share bus service often but almost never for MK (maybe the early bus for PPO ADR though) due to its popularity. So that means a short bus ride as well since you only have the one stop at POFQ with direct service to MK. However since it shares bus service with POR you often will go to 4 stops at POR before leaving for the other parks. At busy times like park opening the bus may completely fill at POFQ and you leave right for the park but generally speaking I think it may be faster to drive to the other parks unless they have completely separated bus service as it probably adds on at least 15 min to go all the way around the 4 stops at POR (longer if they have to load an ECV)

 

[krm222]

Bus to MK to avoid ferry/monorail leg, but I'd consider driving to other parks. It's nice to come and go on your schedule as opposed to waiting around for the right bus.

 

[Accident]

I just use the bus. If your resort hopping or in a really large resort driving can be much faster but I don't mind the bus especially from pofq.

Your car will be there either way, try to bus once and see if you like it.

 

[tndisneyfan]

We drive to all the parks, even MK. It seems every few trips I decided I that I don't like driving to MK and from now on I'm going to take the bus. Then we take the bus once and then I'm back to driving. To me the worst thing is waiting for a bus at the end of the day. Last time we bussed to MK we were staying at All Star music. We just missed the bus and ended up waiting for about 20+ minutes for another bus. It wasn't a busy time like at park close, so the busses weren't running very often. But as others have said waiting for the ferry or monorail is a pain too. You can definitely save time driving to the other parks, and really I think MK is about a toss up on which is quicker.

 

[abner1776]

Comparing proximity to the parking lot and the parks goes like this: MK - busses far closer to the park than parking; Epcot - parking closer than the busses; DHS - busses closer; AK - busses slightly closer than parking.

 

[HopperFan]

And you may arrive to TTC for early ADR and they make you get on a bus to MK anyway (happened to us).

MK take the bus for sure.

 

[Ensusieasm]

You can also take the ferry from TTC to MK if you decide to drive.

Yes! The ferry is the way to go! It's an experience all in itself, and what a way to begin your day! But that's only if you drive and park. If you have a pre-park opening ADR at MK you absolutely should take the bus from your resort. Be out at your bus stop by 6:30 am so you won't miss the very first bus!

 

[Ensusieasm]

We are driving to WDW. Staying at POFQ. We have one prepark opening ADR at MK. Wouldn't it just be easier to drive over ourselves? We will have our 9 and 5 year old with us. No stroller. One backpack.

I'm really curious how much time we would save if we drive ourselves to the parks everyday. Or if it's totally dumb to bypass the free transportation. Would love to hear what everyone does when they have their car with them.

Thanks.

The one time you ABSOLUTELY must leave your car behind is for a MK pre park opening ADR! Be at the bus stop by 6:30 if you want to be first in line. It's worth it! Do not drive that morning.

 

[Jesslm80]

The one time you ABSOLUTELY must leave your car behind is for a MK pre park opening ADR! Be at the bus stop by 6:30 if you want to be first in line. It's worth it! Do not drive that morning.

You've definitely convienced me!!! We are taking the bus.

 

[Gina Starr]

We drove and stayed at POFQ at the beginning of January and had two pre opening reseverations- one tour and one adr. For pre opening we waited 10 minutes at the most and they drop you off at the closest spot possible since there aren't as many buses running they don't need to use the resorts official spots. The only time we drove the whole trip is when we went to universal and I hated it. The only times we had to wait a while was leaving the parks and it was never more than 30 minutes. Now the boats to Disney Springs are a different story.

 

[sunsetbeachgal]

We drive and take the bus exclusively for MK and Disney Springs. Wouldn't consider driving to either, the bus is SO much easier, quicker, stress free and most importantly drops you off right in front. For the other resorts sometimes we drive.

We stayed at POFQ two year ago and had mostly very good experiences with the bus service. One morning we were on an early bus to do rope drop EMH at Animal Kingdom. Well, after boarding the folks at POFQ, it then went to the other Port Orleans and drove all around picking up folks at the three or four bus stops. Needless to say, we didn't get there quite as early as we had hoped! I much prefer the resorts with only one bus stop as the loading and unloading can seem endless, our last two stays have been at AofA and Pop and bus service has been superb.

 

[ArielSRL]

Bus to MK to avoid ferry/monorail leg, but I'd consider driving to other parks. It's nice to come and go on your schedule as opposed to waiting around for the right bus.

This is probably what we will do. And we may still take the car to MK when we come back from midday breaks so we will have the car at night, when my two boys will probably be sleeping or close to it. We'd prefer to drive up close to the room (we are at SSR) and get them out, than carrying them off from the bus stop. We also will have either 2 strollers or a double and my dad has a handicap placard so we get to park up front. If we didn't have strollers and young children, I might just do buses only.

 

[DisneyOma]

On an EMH day, how do they let in cars, how do they figure out who is staying on property? Or do they let everyone in, and just hold them up at the gates?

I think it's so much easier to take a bus. Just get there really early!

 

[MrsDuck]

We drive everywhere but MK.