Transportation from Dolphin to Magic Kingdom

[flightdave82]

Hello All!

We have 10-day resy at the dolphin hotel and we have decided to rent a car since it's pretty cheap for a 10day rental and we are also planning to go off property for about 3 of the 10 days. For EP & HS we will obviously either walk or take the boat. For AK we will drive since it will be much faster than waiting for the bus since there's free parking for resort guests.

My Q: Which is more convienent/faster? Using the rental car and parking at the TTC and taking the the monorail to MK or taking the Bus from the hotel? I thought i read somewhere that the bus drops you off directly in front of the MK thus not having to deal with the crowds at the TTC waiting for the monorails.

Does anybody know which would be easier and if it's true that if we take the bus we don't have to do the TTC & Monorail?

Thanks!

 

[Pakey]

If you take the bus, you will be dropped off at the front of MK, no dealing with monorail.

The only pain about the bus is that you will be sharing with the other Epcot resorts on the way to the parks. Depending on crowd levels, the bus will stop at Swan, then Dolphin, then Yacht Club, then Beach Club. For the return, the Swan/Dolphin has their own bus and Yacht Club/Beach Club has their own bus.

 

[flightdave82]

Thanks for the Info! You actually answered another question that I had and that was the bus route from the Dolphin to the MK & other Parks. Hmmm so now I'm not really sure which is best. Deal with the bus stops or the TTC & Monorail.

I forgot to mention that we are going in August so the crowds will be heavy!

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

This past December when I was staying at the Boardwalk Inn this was how the bus route when for the Magic Kingdom in terms of which Epcot Resorts shared with each other.

In the morning the stops were Swan/Dolphin - Boardwalk - Magic Kingdom, because when the bus arrived there was already other guests on there.

In the afternoon when going back it went Magic Kingdom - Boardwalk - Swan/Dolphin.

Plus at the Magic Kingdom bus station there was a sign which specifically said the Boardwalk Swan/Dolphin were sharing a bus, because the Yacht Club/Beach Club had their own section and only shared together for that specifc bus route.

 

[Sue M]

You can take the bus one day, and see how it is vs driving to TTC.

 

[flightdave82]

Thank you all for the replies.

I think I will do what you say Sue! The 1st visit to the MK we will drive just for the "magic" of taking the monorail to the Kingdom. But if its very crowded and a real hazzle to park, take the tram to the TTC, then the monorail, then maybe we will try 1 day to take the bus.

 

[akl-fan]

Remember if you are staying at the dolphin that you will be cahrged for parking at the theme parks and for parking overnight in the Dolphin lot. I am not sure what these charges are but I'm sure someone else will let you know.

 

[flightdave82]

Yea sadly I'm aware that they charge for parking daily at the dolhpin but as I said earlier we are going to need the car regardless for about 3 days and believe it or not its actually cheaper to rent a car for 10days then it is for 3days!!! Go figure lol

However, last time I checked on the website (right now on phone) of the dolphin it stated that guests get the free parking at the theme parks just as all the other disney resort guests. In fact the only thing that dolphin guests don't enjoy as disney resoet guests is magical express and room charging at the parks.

Can someone shed some light on whether dolphin guests receive the privelage of free parking at the theme parks.

Thanks

 

[NancyIL]

Remember if you are staying at the dolphin that you will be cahrged for parking at the theme parks and for parking overnight in the Dolphin lot. I am not sure what these charges are but I'm sure someone else will let you know.

Swan/Dolphin guests pay to park at the resort, but NOT at the theme parks.

 

[rie'smom]

Swan/Dolphin guests pay to park at the resort, but NOT at the theme parks.

 

[WUVmyDISNEY]

When we stayed at the Dolphin, I was concerned about how long we were going to be on the bus ( a little bus phobic here lol). I can tell you that on the way to MK, from the time the bus took off from the Dolphin to the time we pulled into MK, one day it was a 12 minute trip, the other day it was closer to 13. On the way back, it did take longer for some reason. Once the bus started moving, it was 18-20 minutes to Swan. I decided to get off there and walk through to the Dolphin. One of those nights was a party night and we left right around 6:45 and it took some time to get out of the bus pick up area so that is probably why it took longer to get back than to go. Hope that helps!