Transport from Disney to Universal/Sea World

[Florida2012]

Hi guys,

When we went to Disney last year, we didn't notice any transportation options to outside the park, were we just being blind or does Disney not like you leaving?

If they do offer transportation to other places where would we get it from and how much would it cost? If they don't, what would our options be? Driving isn't really an option for us

Cheers in advance

 

[MattJ-UK]

Hi. Quick reply to get you started. There are usually taxis at Disney Resort hotels, and think they charge about $20 each way, or you could rent a car (Alamo) which is what we do as we only tend to go off property for 1 day.

 

[Kath2003]

Disney hates you leaving! They even bus you in direct from the airport and back again to make sure you don't go anywhere else! ;-)

Sea World is easy - $2 each way on the public bus (Lynx 50) from DTD or the TTC. Takes about 20-30 minutes, buses every half hour until late.

Universal is harder. A cab to DTD would be around $40; more to elsewhere on Disney Property. Alternatively it's about a $20 cab ride to Sea World - then get the bus.

 

[saintrob]

We always use a taxi when we want to visit another park as we find it far more convenient. Many years ago we did try the Lynx bus both to Universal and SeaWorld but found it to be very time consuming.

Nowadays we normally stay onsite at Universal for our first few days, take a taxi to WDW and largely stay put. If we want to visit a shopping mall then we'll take a taxi.

 

[pigby]

There is a Lynx bus (public bus) to SeaWorld that's really cheap - the 50 service and goes from TTC or from DTD (behind Cirque du Soleil)

Universal is a bit more tricky - its either taxi or Mears run a daily scheduled service from the Disney hotels.

 

[Kath2003]

Just to say - you CAN do Universal on the bus, many do - but it's 2 buses and a walk, taking 80-90 minutes total. But it's only $2...

 

[saintrob]

We've done Universal by bus but wouldn't do it again - weekdays, two buses and I think we used the I ride. We also went on a Sunday which for some reason involved an even longer journey.

 

[capt_atomic]

You can also get in touch with mears transportation, they do all the coach transfers to resort/airport/parks for virgin and Thomson, you can ring direct and pay the driver on pickup. Worked out a 18 dollars each return last time and they pick up from outside your resort lobby... Sports and Pop are at 15/25 past the hour in a morning

 

[capt_atomic]

Forgot to add the phone no. Lol +1 (407) 423-5566

 

[Kath2003]

We've done Universal by bus but wouldn't do it again - weekdays, two buses and I think we used the I ride. We also went on a Sunday which for some reason involved an even longer journey.

The buses are much more infrequent on Sundays. If you consult the bus timetable before you depart, you can do it in relatively quick time. Lots of people use it as an opportunity to have a meal offsite along the way etc or just use it in the morning to get to the parks then grab a cab home.

 

[scoobydooby]

The bus is cheap but for me also a major hassle which would totally and utterly ruin my trip. Your options are taxi, town car or hire a car for the day. Disney do not make it easy to leave but they have a great internal transport infrastructure.

 

[saintrob]

The bus is cheap but for me also a major hassle which would totally and utterly ruin my trip. Your options are taxi, town car or hire a car for the day. Disney do not make it easy to leave but they have a great internal transport infrastructure.

I agree. It takes forever. When we go to Universal we now stay on site for a couple of days - far more convenient in all respects.

 

[scoobydooby]

I agree. It takes forever. When we go to Universal we now stay on site for a couple of days - far more convenient in all respects.

Yep we are also staying five days at Universal this year prior to our Disney fortnight.

 

[Elise79]

Why would Disney make it easy for you to leave and spend money elsewhere? It's not in their interests too!

Anyway your main options are:

• Mears shuttle
• Taxi
• Buses
• Renting a car

The Mears shuttle is probably you best option depending on how many there are of you.

 

[chmurf]

The bus is cheap but for me also a major hassle

agreed

the Lynx is cheap, reliable, but takes forever compared to a taxi.

the big picture here is "how much is our time worth ?".

simple calculation here, just for the sake of it.

Family of 4 goes from WDW to Universal for the day.
They take the Lynx, costs them $8 each way : $16
They have paid $147 (+ tax) for their park to park tickets. So for that specific day, based on a 10hrs visit, their day is valued at $15 for each hour.
Taking the Lynx will easily cost them an hour of their time (over the time cost of a taxi), so $15 per person. for a total of $60
the total cost of time + transportation = $76

that's basically the cost of a cab ride (return)

of course this example of calculation is biaised and relies on the most expensive case scneario, but it shows that taking the Lynx may not be as time/money efficient as it could seem.

$2 per ride is cheap compared to a $40 cab ride. But if you account for time, number of guests, cost of ticket, tiredness, convenience, at the end of the day the Lynx might not be the cheapest way to go.

sorry, my $.02

 

[Bonesdodisney]

I've recently read about Uber which is an app for booking taxi's (i've not used it yet) but you can get a quote on the price and then book the taxi, tracking when it will arrive etc apparently they work out cheaper than other taxi's most of the time.

We used the Lynx to get to Seaworld and Outlet shopping, although it did take a little longer we were more than happy with the $8 dollar return trip rather than the $60 dollar return trip a taxi would have cost. We used the Mears transfer to go to Universal option for pick up from pop at 7.30, 8.30 and 9.30 (I think) and then return at 5.30, 6.30 and 7.30 $18 each return and the jiurney was really quick.

 

[chmurf]

I've recently read about Uber which is an app for booking taxi's (i've not used it yet)

please note that Uber is NOT a taxi company

UberX uses private drivers, like you and me (not professionals) using their own car. They don't have the proper training/license/insurance a taxi drive has.

They do not comply with a few of the rules and are not allowed to pick up from MCO for example (they can pick up at off airport locations)

in February 2015 the orlando city council passed laws regulating ride sharing. Those basically outlaw Uber within Orlando City limits (rules do not apply if the ride starts outside of the city limits)

so use with caution; Cout cases are pending

 

[Kath2003]

Lynx is hassle to get to Universal but it really could not be any more simple to get to Sea World - it's a DIRECT bus, for $2.

 

[scoobydooby]

Lynx is hassle to get to Universal but it really could not be any more simple to get to Sea World - it's a DIRECT bus, for $2.

Well once you've got yourself to the bus stop its direct. Then back again. That alone makes it too much hassle for me unless I was staying on or very near DTD.

 

[Kath2003]

They pick up at DTD or the TTC so that hits an awful lot of the Disney hotels.