Trails End @ FW ??

[maximom]

I asked this on another thread on another board but didn't get an answer.

We have a friend traveling with us but not going to the parks. However, we will be meeting for dinner each night. On our MK day I thought we might meet him for dinner at Trails End. I understand from previous posts that even though he doesn't have a park ticket he could park at GF or Contemporary and take the monorail to MK and we could take the boat over together to FW.

My question now is it possible to time our dinner so that on our trip back to MK on the boat we can all catch "wishes". I thought I read somewhere that the boats are a great place to watch the fireworks.

Will this work? Any tips or suggestions???

 

[WEDWDW]

I have always been curious about who is eligible for Disney transportation.The guidebooks state that Disney transportation is only for multi-day ticket holders,AP holders and Disney resort guests.Does anyone know if this true?I was just curious about things like insurance coverage if someone was using Disney transportation and was not eligible.As for watching Wishes,I would suggest being at the FW dock about 8:40 if Wishes is at 9:00 and get on the next arriving boat.It is about a 20 minute trip from FW to MK.Just make sure you get on the FW to WL to MK boat and not the FW to WL to CR boat.

 

[disney queen]

well, i do know proper resort ID is required for wdw transportation. has anyone ever had their ID's checked? once we did at DTD to return to OKW. that is just something to keep in mind.

 

[raparker13]

The problem they will have is not getting on the boat or monorail, but getting past the guard at the CR or GF and parking. If you already have a parking permit from one of the Disney hotels, you usually don't have trouble, though they may want to to verify that you are on a list for PS at one of the resturants in those hotels.

But otherwise, imagine if they let everyone that drove up park for free at one of those hotels to go the MK?

Might have to spring for the 8 bucks and park in the MK lot. Then ride the monorail or ferry.

 

[maximom]

Originally posted by WEDWDW
I have always been curious about who is eligible for Disney transportation.The guidebooks state that Disney transportation is only for multi-day ticket holders,AP holders and Disney resort guests.Does anyone know if this true?I was just curious about things like insurance coverage if someone was using Disney transportation and was not eligible.As for watching Wishes,I would suggest being at the FW dock about 8:40 if Wishes is at 9:00 and get on the next arriving boat.It is about a 20 minute trip from FW to MK.Just make sure you get on the FW to WL to MK boat and not the FW to WL to CR boat.

Thanks! Your timing info was exactly what I was looking for. As for the parking information, I was told on the other board that he should tell the guards he is meeting someone for dinner and they should let him pass through without paying for parking, hope that's true. I've also heard that they rarely check ID for transportation, does anyone know if that's true.

I would really like to get this timed just right so we can all have a decent dinner together without paying a fortune then catch "Wishes" as well.

Just to give you all an FYI on the whole situation about our friend. In 1994, (pre-Me) DH moved from MO to AR to attend a 2-year trade school for aviation maintenance. This gentlemen had moved from TN to AR to attend as well and they became best friends. A year later DH and I met then married and his friend was Best man of course. In the last 10 years, this guy has always been there for both of us. Even though he lives in TN and we live in MO we are still very close. When I started planning the trip last December, I thought we were driving and knew we would have to go through TN and I carved time out of the schedule to stop and visit our pal. I asked DH to let him know that he was on the agenda, and his response was "It's such a long drive, why don't you just let me fly you?" (he is an experienced pilot and owns his own plane) So, thanks to his generous spirit we are able to stay 2 more days in "the World" and don't have to deal with a 20 some hour drive with a 5 year old.

Luckily, I had booked a Suite at CP so there's plenty of room for all of us. Our friend insists that he is going to go out of his way to be "unobtrusive" since this is our family vacation. He's even renting his own car so he won't be dependent upon us! His only request is that we have the evening meal together each day so we can share our day.

Sorry if I'm rambling, it's just that I really feel lucky that we have such an extraordinary person in our life and wanted to share. If anyone has an idea of something special that I can do for him while we are there, please make suggestions.

 

[jann1033]

so he is staying at the resort also? if so i would guess he would get a room key also and so what would the problem be?

if he isn't.... hmmm, is that what the lot is for ? I know at some resorts parking is kind of tight and thought it was only for people staying there( ie I thought the boardwalk area hotels charge for non resort guest parking?) guess i never heard of this but they always checked our resort card when we came in . if they just take someone's "word" they belong there, so much for security!

 

[maximom]

Originally posted by jann1033
so he is staying at the resort also? if so i would guess he would get a room key also and so what would the problem be?

if he isn't.... hmmm, is that what the lot is for ? I know at some resorts parking is kind of tight and thought it was only for people staying there( ie I thought the boardwalk area hotels charge for non resort guest parking?) guess i never heard of this but they always checked our resort card when we came in . if they just take someone's "word" they belong there, so much for security!

We are all staying offsite at CP but wish to have dinner onsite. To my knowledge, please correct me if I'm wrong you don't have to be a resort guest to dine at a resort..... therefore you should be able to park at the resort.

What I wasn't sure of was if he would be able to use Disney transportation since he wasn't a guest of the resort nor does he have a park ticket. We plan to go to Trail's End at Ft. Wilderness and I've heard it's a pain to get to by car. It was suggested on another board that we have our friend park at GF or Contemporary and take the monorail to MK (where we'll be meeting him) then we can all ride the boat over to Ft. Wilderness together.

Hope I've explained myself

 

[lovesdumbo]

He should be able to park at FW and then take the internal FW bus to Trails End. This sounds easier then trying to park at GF or CR and taking monorail to meet you to take the boat to FW. I think he could run into trouble trying to park at GF or CR without a PS to dine there.

Sounds like you have a great relationship with this guy. Have you thought about thanking him with a park pass for a day or 2? I'm sure you'll want to share your Disney experience with him. What will he do during the week? Perhaps you could get him something to help him enjoy his week-will he be reading-a gift cert to Borders or Barnes & Noble before you go?

Have a great trip.

 

[jann1033]

ok now i get it sorry! i agree though, it is not hard to get to the bus at fw, it picks up right by where you park your car, takes you to the same area trail's end is. and while i never had anyone ask except once or twice to see resort id on the buses, i 'm sure he wouldn't have a problem with the internal fw bus since he is going to trail's end to eat.( no ps so no record of who is going )

 

[Sammy]

Originally posted by maximom
....We plan to go to Trail's End at Ft. Wilderness and I've heard it's a pain to get to by car. It was suggested on another board that we have our friend park at GF or Contemporary and take the monorail to MK (where we'll be meeting him) then we can all ride the boat over to Ft. Wilderness together.

Hope I've explained myself

In Sept. 2003, we were meeting friends at Trail's End. We were staying at the Dolphin, but they were not onsite at all. None of us had any problem parking right at FW and taking the internal bus to the Trail's End. We just had to tell the guard at the gate that we were coming in for dinner. He directed us to the parking lot without raising an eyebrow. I don't think you or your friend will have any trouble at all! Have a wonderful time....we all LOVED the buffet at FW!