Transportation - MAJOR issue all of a sudden - Help!

[05ChristmasSurprise]

Can someone explain how transportation is going to work for us?

There is a bus stop - and we wait there (at AS Sports) and that will take us where???

What if we want to get to another resort?
For example, we're going to the Concourse steakhouse - do we have to go to a park transportation center and THEN go to the Concourse?

Oh that would SUCK. (and cost us valuable time)

I'd have to change some ARs for sure!

 

[rgf207]

There is no direct resort to resort transportation. You will have to transfer at a park or downtown disney and then take a bus from there to the CR. You should plan at least 1 hour for transportation.

 

[keddy]

1

 

[WDWRC]

Yes, you will have to grab a bus to MK and walk to the Contemporary.

Tracy

 

[tiggerwannabe]

You would have to take a bus to a park, Downtown Disney or the Ticket and Transportation Center to get to another hotel.

The buses do not run from hotel to hotel.

Of course there are exceptions, if you take a bus to MK, you could walk to a restaurant in the Contemporary from the MK bus stop. The TTC is within walking distance to the Polynesian.

I'm not familiar with the "Concourse Steakhouse", what hotel is it in?

 

[rgf207]

You would have to take a bus to a park, Downtown Disney or the Ticket and Transportation Center to get to another hotel.

The buses do not run from hotel to hotel.

Of course there are exceptions, if you take a bus to MK, you could walk to a restaurant in the Contemporary from the MK bus stop. The TTC is within walking distance to the Polynesian.

I'm not familiar with the "Concourse Steakhouse", what hotel is it in?

The concourse steakhouse is in the CR

 

[tiggerwannabe]

Thank you rgf,

I was pretty sure it was in the Contemporary...

05CS,

I would take the stroll from MK, it's beautiful out there, especially at night.



~colleen~

 

[05ChristmasSurprise]

ooooh cruuuud

Well, back to the drawing board.

Blah.

Thank you so much for the info.

So, the busses pretty much just run from AS Sports to the individual parks?

And, can you elaborate on that whole "MK bus stop" at the Contemporary?

If I take the AS Sports bus TO the MK - will it ALWAYS stop at a MK bus stop at the Contemporary? (Don't want to chance the bus being full and us not getting the stop at the CR)

 

[oogieboogie]

At the bus stop, you'll see lines and signs that say where you need to wait to get the bus for MK or Epcot. Just wait in those queues till the bus comes. Each bus will have a sign that also says where they're going.

To get to Contemporary, you would board the MK bus. It'll dump you right at MK front gate and from there you can take a short walk to CR.

To get to the Epcot resorts (BC/YC, S/D, BW), take the MGM bus and then go to the boat dock and take a boat down there.

For CBR/CSR you can go to either Epcot or MGM then transfer to another bus.

To get to AKL, take a bus to AK, then transfer to a bus to AKL. All Stars is really close to AKL you might want to consider taxi instead.

To get to the DTD resorts (POFQ, POR, SSR) take the bus to a park and transfer, or take the bus to DTD and a boat.

The best way to maximize your park time is to plan your meals around the parks. Say you want to eat at Beaches & Cream, do it on an Epcot/MGM day so you'll be right in the area and you'll avoid transfer times.

If you're staying at a resort late after the parks close, then you'd have to go to DTD to transfer.

 

[BCV23]

Just to clarify, resort buses do NOT go to the TTC either. AK and MGM buses do go to the TTC for those on their way to the MK.

To the OP, going to the resorts on the monorail for a meal is not hard at all as long as you go during the hours the MK buses are running. The monorail is a fun way to travel....an attraction unto itself as far as we're concerned.

 

[BCV23]

ooooh cruuuud

So, the busses pretty much just run from AS Sports to the individual parks?

And, can you elaborate on that whole "MK bus stop" at the Contemporary?

If I take the AS Sports bus TO the MK - will it ALWAYS stop at a MK bus stop at the Contemporary? (Don't want to chance the bus being full and us not getting the stop at the CR)

There is no MK bus stop at the CR. The buses to the MK run straight to the MK. It is just that the spot where you get off is not too far from the CR.

 

[05ChristmasSurprise]

OMG I want to cry.

I am so confused.

Damn stupid Disney transportation. I thought we were staying onsite to make things EASIER! Now I'm going to have to deal with a bus here, then transferring there, then monorailing here....uuuuuuuuuuugh!!!!!!! With four kids and two strollers. Nice. REEEEEAAAAALLY nice.

I should have just stayed offsite and dealt with the stupid parking lot trams like in May.

So, the busses don't run longer for the special events? (Like MNSSHP?)

Okay - deep breath...

Here is what I have planned thus far - can someone please help me to get this all straight? (transportation). I can change some of the ARs, if need be. And I think I'm going to have to now. Itinerary isn't set in stone at this point - except for MNSSHP.

Also, can anyone tell me where to pick up the Disney Magical Express stuff to get to the airport? Can I pick that up at Epcot, or am I going to have to go back to the resort THEN go to the airport - and how much time do I need?

Saturday, October 1st -
Arrive at 11AM, check into resort, etc.
Counter Service Lunch at resort?
Check in, get ready
Magic Kingdom
Tony's Town Square dinner


Sunday, October 2nd-
Concourse Steakhouse in Contemporary - Breakfast
Go to MGM
nap at resort
Magic Kingdom
CASTLE DINNER
MNSSHP night

Monday, October 3rd-
MGM Take Two
50s Prime Time lunch
Concourse steakhouse in Contemporary for dinner

Tuesday, October 4th-
Epcot F&WF - all day!

Wednesday, October 5th-
Epcot
Flight leaves at 6:45

 

[Minnie]

Okay 1st take a deep breath now let it out. Disney transportation can be a little difficult to understand at first but you will get the hang of it quickly.

What we always try to do is eat at either our home resort, the park or a resort near the park where we are chosing to attend during that time. Excess travel time can really eat into the time that could be spent relaxing or visiting a park.

Travel wise your first day is fine. Though you might want to reconsider Tony's as that place get horrendous reviews.

2nd day is where the problem lies. Is there a specific reason why you want to eat breakfast at the Concourse? Because you are really traveling some distance to have to go from AASP to MK to Contemp then to MGM. I would change that one to either eating at your resort, MGM, or one of the MGM area resorts such as Fresh at the Dolphin, the Boardwalk Bakery, ect. That would save you tons of travel time as you would take the bus to MGM and then walk/boat to the boardwalk area to eat and then back.

The rest of the week is fine as long as you realize that you will have to bus over to the contemp either from MGM or do the MK/Contemp walk to the concourse. As an alternative you might consider doing the concourse on your 1st night as you will be in the MK area and then choosing a different dinner location that is closer to your area.

Good luck and realize that while Disney is huge and traveling between locations does take time it is much easier once you are there to understand it.

 

[BCV23]

Unless I'm missing something, your plan isn't complicated at all. The only resort meals are at the Contemporary which is very easy to reach from the MK. Just take the bus to the MK and walk or monorail to the CR for your breakfast. Then catch the bus from the CR to MGM. It is more time effective to plan meals near the park you plan to be at I think but this is doable.

For your dinner at Concourse, take the bus from MGM to CR. After dinner, walk to the MK bus stop or take the monorail to the MK and walk to that same bus stop as long as the MK is still open or has only recently closed. If not, you will have to take the CR bus to DTD and then transfer to your resort bus.

The buses do run longer for special events like MNSSHP.

Not sure how it would be easier if you were offsite?

 

[mrslur]

Sometimes it's easier to take a taxi. There is also a great web site - ourlaughingplace.com that has a transportation wizard button that shows how to get from anyplace at WDW to any other site.

 

[05ChristmasSurprise]

So, Tony's is icky?

hmm - okay - maybe I can re-work that. It might even be possible to not go to MK our first day. I can cancel that AR and go somewhere yummier.

No specific reason to eat at the Concourse - the food just looked really good and there aren't a lot of sit down breakfasts that aren't character meals. In fact, MGM doesn't have a real breakfast option at all - except a counter service place (and I'd bet our resort would be just as good).

So, day one I need to find a new restaurant and just plan to eat at the food court in the resort and then head to MK for dinner/fireworks/etc.
I can take a bus from our resort to MK, right?

Day two - bus from resort to MGM? (either eat at the food court or MGM for breakfast) and then can I take a bus from MGM to MK for MNSSHP and dinner? And, if so, then can I take a bus at the end of MNSSHP to the resort?

Day 3 - if I wanted to go to Spoodles for breakfast - how do I get there from MGM (on the boardwalk, right?). Then, is there a bus that goes from MGM to our resort, directly?

The other days are easy - can we get busses to and from Epcot to AS Sports direct?

I might need something else to do on Day 3. I don't think I want to deal with taking another bus - one will be more than enough with the kids. Ideas on where to go that evening for dinner - a park would be fine.

 

[betterlatethannever]

...I can take a bus from our resort to MK, right? RIGHT

Day two - bus from resort to MGM? (either eat at the food court or MGM for breakfast) and then can I take a bus from MGM to MK for MNSSHP and dinner? And, if so, then can I take a bus at the end of MNSSHP to the resort? YES TO BOTH BUT WITH A CAVIAT. THE BUS FROM MGM STOPS AT THE TTC. YOUWILL NEED TO TAKE THE MONORAIL AROUND THE LAKE TO GET TO MK

Day 3 - if I wanted to go to Spoodles for breakfast - how do I get there from MGM (on the boardwalk, right?). SPOODLES IS ON THE BOARDWALK. FROM MGM, TAKE THE BOAT TO THE BOARDWALK. GET OFF THE BOAT AND SPOODLES IS ON YOUR LEFT. IT WILL TAKE ABOUT 30 MINUTES PLUS WAIT TIME FOR THE BOAT


Then, is there a bus that goes from MGM to our resort, directly? YES

The other days are easy - can we get busses to and from Epcot to AS Sports direct? YES

I might need something else to do on Day 3. I don't think I want to deal with taking another bus - one will be more than enough with the kids. Ideas on where to go that evening for dinner - a park would be fine.

See answers in bold above

Ed

 

[ksjayhawkfan]

I was worried about the busses at first too. Its a lot to figure out and remember lol. But once we got there, it was very easy. I dont know how old your kids are, but my kids ended up loving the busses....and the monorail. By the end of the week my 8 yr old was answering bus stop questions for some lady....I was LMBO.(Not at the lady, at my DS. HE was just so animated and sure of himself) Its amazing how much you can learn while at WDW.

 

[scrappinstevie]

I'm sure your confused by all the suggestions so I won't try to add to your confusion but suggest you ask at your hotel which would be the best transportation option for you. Please understand that DisneyWorld is very large and it takes a LONG time to get from one place to another! I agree with whoever advised you to make dinner reservations for a restaraunt in the park you plan on visiting on any given day that will save a ton of time and there are so many options. We rarely eat at resort hotels other than where we stay and eat at the parks for the most part...we have been to Disney 5 times and have never made a reservation! This way we eat when we're hungry and there is no stress. Don't stress out! You will understand how it works once your there a day and get into the swing of things.

 

[05ChristmasSurprise]

Thanks for all the kind responses.

I feel much better now. I think I'm just going to switch things around a bit and stick to, primarily, the park where we're staying.

Last time I guess I was spoiled - since we drove and stayed offsite - because we could go to the car and leave in the afternoon and then drive right up to the resort where we were having dinner.

That's okay - when you've seen the CR once, that's all you really need in a year, right?

I still need to find somewhere interesting for dinner on one night - but I'm also realizing that it's the fall/value season and therefore the hours will be MUCH shorter. So, that will work to our advantage with the kiddos (they are 7, 5, 3, and 1 - to answer your question)