Touring the resorts

[sshudson99]

My family will be arriving at the Fort June 11th around 2pm . I thought for our FIRST visit it would be a good idea to tour the Fort and also tour WDW. How or can we get on the monorail and ride the entire loop. Do we take the boat to MK, or a bus somewhere? How does it work, what do you all suggest?

Thanks,

Susan

 

[ftwildernessguy]

Take the boat to contemporary and pick up the monorail from there.

 

[BradyBz12]

Boat to Contemp to pick up monorail to GF and Poly (and MK)

Separate boat goes to WL (no monorail there)

 

[RocklandRVers]

First of all this is a really fun thing to do. We do this particularly at Christmas to see the variety of decorations. Even on non-holidays these hotels are attractions in themselves particularly a place like AKL where you can see exotic animals from common areas off the lobby.

Next as previously said the monorail resorts are those closest to MK except for WL. From there you have to chose other options. One is to take the Epcot monorail and go to the world showcase and exit between England and France. You can walk or take a boat to the Yacht and Beach Clubs and Boardwalk. On further are the Swan/Dolphin. Then onto Hollywood Studios. If you want to avoid parks altogether for the non-monorail hotels, the bus is the way to go.

 

[sshudson99]

OK, not to sound too dumb here, if you get on the monorail, can you take it all the way around, for example, go around Epcot, through the resorts, etc.? Or can you only take the monorail to the resorts and around Epcot, MK, etc when you are actually visiting a particular park?

 

[sshudson99]

First of all this is a really fun thing to do. We do this particularly at Christmas to see the variety of decorations. Even on non-holidays these hotels are attractions in themselves particularly a place like AKL where you can see exotic animals from common areas off the lobby.

Next as previously said the monorail resorts are those closest to MK except for WL. From there you have to chose other options. One is to take the Epcot monorail and go to the world showcase and exit between England and France. You can walk or take a boat to the Yacht and Beach Clubs and Boardwalk. On further are the Swan/Dolphin. Then onto Hollywood Studios. If you want to avoid parks altogether for the non-monorail hotels, the bus is the way to go.

Ok, you answered this while I was asking the previous question. I appreciate the help. I have been to Disney 3 times, last time being in 1992, but never stayed at a resort. We are taking our children and I know they will be ready "to see" something when we arive and thought it would be a great idea to take a monorail tour around the parks, resorts, etc the first day. We also have an ADR at the Cape May Cafe the following Saturday morning.

 

[motherwild]

Resort monorail stops are Magic Kingdom,Contemporary,Grand Floridan, Transportation Center and the Polynesian.

 

[retired and happy]

As for visiting the PARKS...the monorail goes to MK and EPCOT, but not to AK and HS.

 

[sshudson99]

I guess it seems more overwhelming than it is You can only get here by bus and here by either bus or monorail, here by boat then by monorail. I sure hope there is going to be some good maps, signs etc. If you see a lost family of 4 in June-please help us

 

[retired and happy]

My son and I hop a boat to the MK, hang a left up the hill to the monorail. There are two routes. We go through security and take that monorail past the GF and Poly to the TTC, changing to the EPCOT monorail on the same level. DW take the monorail outside of security and goes through the Contemporary to the TTC. She then has to go down to ground level then up to the EPCOT monorail. Coming back from EPCOT we often get off at the TTC and ride the ferryboat to the MK dock and catch the launch back to FW. Got all that? There will be a test.

 

[sshudson99]

My son and I hop a boat to the MK, hang a left up the hill to the monorail. There are two routes. We go through security and take that monorail past the GF and Poly to the TTC, changing to the EPCOT monorail on the same level. DW take the monorail outside of security and goes through the Contemporary to the TTC. She then has to go down to ground level then up to the EPCOT monorail. Coming back from EPCOT we often get off at the TTC and ride the ferryboat to the MK dock and catch the launch back to FW. Got all that? There will be a test.

SURE

 

[sshudson99]

Ok, so to get to Cape May Cafe, I can.....take the boat from FW to TTC, then hop on the monorail to EPCOT, go around the showcase and exit at England then a boat to Beach Club. Did I pass?

Susan

 

[BradyBz12]

Ok, so to get to Cape May Cafe, I can.....take the boat from FW to TTC, then hop on the monorail to EPCOT, go around the showcase and exit at England then a boat to Beach Club. Did I pass?

Hmm... you can't actually take a boat from FW to TTC directly. To keep it simple, I'd take the boat to the Contemp, monorail to TTC then switch to the Epcot monorail.

Once at EP, walk through to the International Gateway in WS (between UK and France) and then you can either hop the boat to Beach Club or walk (less than 10 mins).

Another option would be to take a bus from the Outpost to DTD, then switch to a Beach Club bus directly. This option doesn't require you having to enter EP either (which would only be an issue if you've got limited park admissions)

It sounds a lot more complicated than it really is....

"Blue Flag" boat (left side of FW dock) - runs back and forth to MK directly
"Green Flag" boat (right side of dock) - runs between FW, Contemp and WL only

There are 2 monorail loops...
1) TTC (parking lot) - GF - MK - Contemp - Poly
2) TTC - Epcot

From the International Gateway at EP you can either walk around the lake to Boardwalk, Yacht Club, Beach Club and Swan & Dolphin, or you can hop a Friendship boat.

You can also keep walking past all this all the way to HS. Friendship boats go to HS too.

Some really great maps that might help can be found HERE
This one of the Epcot Resort Area really spells things out.

Good luck!

 

[sshudson99]

Another option would be to take a bus from the Outpost to DTD, then switch to a Beach Club bus directly. This option doesn't require you having to enter EP either (which would only be an issue if you've got limited park admissions)

OK-did not know you could not ride the monorail around EP without park admission, duh me.

Some really great maps that might help can be found HERE
This one of the Epcot Resort Area really spells things out.

Good luck!

Thanks, those are great!!!

Susan

 

[BradyBz12]

OK-did not know you could not ride the monorail around EP without park admission, duh me.

The EP monorail runs from TTC over to EP, then loops through the park a bit before backtracking to the entrance gates to the park to let people on/off. You don't need to enter any park to ride any of the monorail lines.

However if you're taking the monorail over to EP and then cutting through to get to the Beach Club, you will need to actually use a ticket to enter the park. If you don't want to do this (or don't have enough park admissions to do it) I'd go the bus route... FW-DTD-BC.

 

[ftwildernessguy]

There are 2 monorail loops...
1) TTC (parking lot) - GF - MK - Contemp - Poly
2) TTC - Epcot

3 monorail loops - in addition to those above, there is the express monorail loop from TTC to MK which doesn't stop at any of the resorts.

 

[des1954]

Welcome to the camping board!! Upon check-in, you will be loaded down with lots of material for you to read and learn all things Disney. But just some quick transportation info for you regarding FtW...

Points of interest inside FtW....there is an internal bus system that goes to all loops and recreation areas. Basically....the purple line serves the west side of FtW, the orange line goes directly up the middle, and the yellow line serves the east side of the campground. All routes go from the Outpost bus stop to the Settlement bus stop.

To go to the Magic Kingdom & Monorail... Take an internal bus to Settlement Depot and walk NE to the Marina. The walk is less than 1/2 mile. There are two boat options. (1) Go to left side of dock and wait for the boat that is devoted to the Magic Kingdom. This boat usually stops at Wilderness Lodge to pick up guests. If you want to wander around the Lodge, go ahead and do so. (2) Go to right side of dock and wait for a smaller launch that goes to the Contemporary Resort first, and then circles around to the WL. To get to the monorail, get off the boat at the CR, go to the monorail level inside the resort. This monorail stops at: Stop #1: Ticket and Transportation Center - where you can board a separate monorail that goes non-stop to Epcot. Stop #2: is the Polynesian Resort. Stop #3: is the Grand Floridian. Stop #4: is the Magic Kingdom. Then you return to the Contemporary. You may exit and re-board the monorail at all the resorts. No one will stop you and question why you are there. This is a fun way to resort hop - just get yourselves All You Can Drink Mugs at FtW and take them with you. You can use them at all the resorts.

To go to other resorts and Disney Parks... Take an internal bus to the Outpost Bus Stop. There are direct buses to Epcot, Animal Kingdom/Blizzard Beach, the Studios, and Downtown Disney/Typhoon Lagoon. To get to the other resorts (other than Y&B & Boardwalk), you can either go to DTD and catch a resort bus directly to the resort you wish to visit. You can go to any theme park and catch a bus directly to the resort you wish to visit. There are no resort-to-resort buses.

If you get confused or mixed up while at Disney, just ask any cast member for help. You will never get stranded or be lost for very long. My biggest piece of advise is this: if you are relying on bus transportation to get around, allow yourself at least 45 minutes to an hour to get where you are going.


Here's a link to a map of FtW. The cabin loops are 2100-2800. I hope this helps you!

http://www.wdwinfo.com/resortmaps/fortwilderness.htm

 

[BradyBz12]

3 monorail loops - in addition to those above, there is the express monorail loop from TTC to MK which doesn't stop at any of the resorts.

Right! I always forget the express - probably because I don't think I've ridden it since I was a kid.

 

[sshudson99]

Welcome to the camping board!! Upon check-in, you will be loaded down with lots of material for you to read and learn all things Disney. But just some quick transportation info for you regarding FtW...

Points of interest inside FtW....there is an internal bus system that goes to all loops and recreation areas. Basically....the purple line serves the west side of FtW, the orange line goes directly up the middle, and the yellow line serves the east side of the campground. All routes go from the Outpost bus stop to the Settlement bus stop.

To go to the Magic Kingdom & Monorail... Take an internal bus to Settlement Depot and walk NE to the Marina. The walk is less than 1/2 mile. There are two boat options. (1) Go to left side of dock and wait for the boat that is devoted to the Magic Kingdom. This boat usually stops at Wilderness Lodge to pick up guests. If you want to wander around the Lodge, go ahead and do so. (2) Go to right side of dock and wait for a smaller launch that goes to the Contemporary Resort first, and then circles around to the WL. To get to the monorail, get off the boat at the CR, go to the monorail level inside the resort. This monorail stops at: Stop #1: Ticket and Transportation Center - where you can board a separate monorail that goes non-stop to Epcot. Stop #2: is the Polynesian Resort. Stop #3: is the Grand Floridian. Stop #4: is the Magic Kingdom. Then you return to the Contemporary. You may exit and re-board the monorail at all the resorts. No one will stop you and question why you are there. This is a fun way to resort hop - just get yourselves All You Can Drink Mugs at FtW and take them with you. You can use them at all the resorts.

To go to other resorts and Disney Parks... Take an internal bus to the Outpost Bus Stop. There are direct buses to Epcot, Animal Kingdom/Blizzard Beach, the Studios, and Downtown Disney/Typhoon Lagoon. To get to the other resorts (other than Y&B & Boardwalk), you can either go to DTD and catch a resort bus directly to the resort you wish to visit. You can go to any theme park and catch a bus directly to the resort you wish to visit. There are no resort-to-resort buses.

If you get confused or mixed up while at Disney, just ask any cast member for help. You will never get stranded or be lost for very long. My biggest piece of advise is this: if you are relying on bus transportation to get around, allow yourself at least 45 minutes to an hour to get where you are going.


Here's a link to a map of FtW. The cabin loops are 2100-2800. I hope this helps you!

http://www.wdwinfo.com/resortmaps/fortwilderness.htm

Thanks for all the great info. We are so excited and can't wait to get there. We still have 4 months to go but time will fly. Like I said earlier, I have never stayed onsite, so I want to enjoy all of the benefits of it. I think I have got a better idea of the transportation (I think ). My family will be so impressed when we get there

Susan

 

[ftwildernessguy]

Points of interest inside FtW....there is an internal bus system that goes to all loops and recreation areas. Basically....the purple line serves the west side of FtW, the orange line goes directly up the middle, and the yellow line serves the east side of the campground. All routes go from the Outpost bus stop to the Settlement bus stop.

]

Does this mean it stops at points of interest like the Kungaloosh Bar in September?