Transportation at WL in ECV?

[Simba's Mom]

Has anyone stayed at WL in an ECV, and if so how was the boat transportation to MK? I think I read that not all the boats can take ECVs, so I was wondering how much extra time it might be for a boat that takes ECVs. I think there may be bus transportation, but one reason the rest of my family wants to stay at WL is because they love to ride the boats.

 

[Starwind]

Has anyone stayed at WL in an ECV, and if so how was the boat transportation to MK? I think I read that not all the boats can take ECVs, so I was wondering how much extra time it might be for a boat that takes ECVs. I think there may be bus transportation, but one reason the rest of my family wants to stay at WL is because they love to ride the boats.

there is a bus that runs to MK. It is actually faster than the boats.

i also love the boats so what I will often do is take a return trip (er sometimes more than one ;-) ) on the boat to MK with no ECV on one of our resort only days (I can handle that since I need the ECV for the lots of walking days but usually just navigating the resort I am ok; that may not be an option for you). That way I get my boat time in . If I am feeling very adventurous and having a good day we’ll do a monorail resort tour without the ECV starting with a boat ride to contemporary. Though to be honest the last timewe did it it was Pushing it so I think next time the ECV will come along.

then once I have my full of the boats for the rest of the trip to actually get to MK to visit the park itself I take the bus. Faster and easier than the boat with an ECV. One time my sister really wanted to take the boat so she did and I took the bus. We met at a designated spot just inside the park. I got there before she did.

in normal times there are two boat launches. One does a circuit of WL contemporary and FW. This boat is almost always the larger boat which can hold an ECV. This would be an alternate way to get to MK BTW. take it to contemporary and the. Either “walk” to MK or take the resort monorail around to MK. We use this route to do a monorail resort visiting tour and to go dine at the monorail resort restaurants either for TS or QS.

the other launch goes back and forth WL to MK. When we have gone they have been alternating the small and large boats but I have seen reports where they were mostly running small boats but the captain can call for a large boat to come. The small boat cannot handle an ECV.

right now during covid times the WL CR FW route is not running. On the WL MK route they alternate small and large boats.

Hope this helps.

 

[Simba's Mom]

At least it sounds "doable". Thanks! I'm a DVC member, and actually I was thinking of splurging for the Copper Creek Cabins-that is, until I saw the points. Looks like an even bigger "splurge" than I thought, so it may not happen.

 

[mamabunny]

I love love love WL, and would happily stay in any room there - even a janitor's closet LOL

Having said that, we tend to run the boat trip "backward" from the MK docks to WL to avoid the inevitable wait for the "right" boat. And remember that even with the boats that can accommodate ECVs, you may have quite a "bump" going on and/or off, as they don't deploy the portable ramps there. To my knowledge, it's the only dock at WDW where they don't! We have had CMs hold us from getting on or off the boat until there were enough humans in the right places to "level" it to the dock!

Overall, with all the times we have stayed at WL, I have only had 1 time when there was more than 1 device waiting for a bus; granted we tend to go in early autumn (think Sept/Oct) or Jan/Feb when things are about as slow as they ever get these days.

 

[Betty Rohrer]

I love love love WL, and would happily stay in any room there - even a janitor's closet LOL

Having said that, we tend to run the boat trip "backward" from the MK docks to WL to avoid the inevitable wait for the "right" boat. And remember that even with the boats that can accommodate ECVs, you may have quite a "bump" going on and/or off, as they don't deploy the portable ramps there. To my knowledge, it's the only dock at WDW where they don't! We have had CMs hold us from getting on or off the boat until there were enough humans in the right places to "level" it to the dock!

Overall, with all the times we have stayed at WL, I have only had 1 time when there was more than 1 device waiting for a bus; granted we tend to go in early autumn (think Sept/Oct) or Jan/Feb when things are about as slow as they ever get these days.

has the boat dock at Fort Wilderness changed. been awhile but they also did not have a ramp

 

[Lizgistix]

Has anyone stayed at WL in an ECV, and if so how was the boat transportation to MK? I think I read that not all the boats can take ECVs, so I was wondering how much extra time it might be for a boat that takes ECVs. I think there may be bus transportation, but one reason the rest of my family wants to stay at WL is because they love to ride the boats.

This is an easy question! There are 2 boats: one that can take ECVs and one that cannot. The one that can looks like a Friendship boat and has an enclosed seating area. The one that cannot is open air. If the smaller open air boat arrives, you'll be instructed to wait for the next boat.

Now. Getting the ECV into the boat has been interesting because there's no ramp. You literally drive from the dock into the boat, and the turn right as you get inside can be a little tight because it's right where the captain's area is. It's a bit tricky, I'm not going to lie. It made me appreciate the friendship boats that load with a ramp from the back and are easier to maneuver in.

I think the boats come every 15-20 minutes or so. When one is at WL, the other is at MK, so they're constantly going back and forth.

 

[mamabunny]

has the boat dock at Fort Wilderness changed. been awhile but they also did not have a ramp

That's a good question! I just realized we haven't taken the boat to dock at FW since they took the beach away... I haven't heard of any changes there, but now I'm curious!