Transportation Strategies....

[Peppi]

We will be staying at WL and I was wondering how we will get to all the parks in the quickest amount of time.

To MK - I know we can take the boat but I am not sure what to take to get to Epcot, DHS, & AK.

This is our first trip so any tips advice is greatly appreciated!!

 

[TheWog]

I have heard the bus is quicker to MK. Don't know from personal experience, just what I have read here. Bus to AK and DHS and you can take a bus or monorail to Epcot. Bus will probably be quickest to Epcot over getting to the monorail and taking that. Good luck.

 

[w-family]

I found the boats to the MK to be the quickest way. You can also take the boat to the Contemp and walk to the MK, we did that several times too, if the line was too long for the MK boat. Everything else is buses.

 

[Robo]

I found the boats to the MK to be the quickest way. You can also take the boat to the Contemp and walk to the MK, we did that several times too, if the line was too long for the MK boat. Everything else is buses.

Ditto to all of this.

 

[haleofafamily]

For our trip the bus to MK was a lot faster than the boat. The boat was a pretty, peaceful ride but I couldn't believe how long it took! The bus was 5 min. - straight to MK.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

When it comes to taking the boat - there are TWO boats: one that goes directly to MK = fast, and one that goes to Ft. Wilderness = slow. I think they tend to run the express boats during peak times only. The express boat is pretty quick.
When it comes to buses, there's also some fluctuation. In certain cases, the bus might only comes every 20 minutes. I aonly stayed at WL once, and we had very good luck. Just a few weeks ago though we were waiting at AK for a bus to GF and we waited over half an hour for the bus to show up (it was around 9:30am, on an AK emh morning.) And it was a shared bus with WL, so it stopped at one of the water parks first, then WL, then GF (Where we got off) then presumably went back to AK.

One more thing to consider...If you are talking strictly going to parks, then using WDW transport is pretty easy. If you are going to another resort - esp after MK has closed (or if your return after dinner is afer MK has closed) then taking a taxi or driving your own car may be well worth the time savings.

 

[MouseMomx2]

I have heard the bus is quicker to MK. Don't know from personal experience, just what I have read here. Bus to AK and DHS and you can take a bus or monorail to Epcot. Bus will probably be quickest to Epcot over getting to the monorail and taking that. Good luck.

Just a correction for the OP...the monorail does not stop at the WL. To get to the Studios, AK or EPCOT (as well as the water parks and Downtown Disney) you will need to take a bus. The only other transportation option would be to take a private car if you have one with you.

 

[Peppi]

Thanks everyone!

 

[Tinkerbell10403]

From your resort...I would suggest taking the bus to the parks. Once your out and about you may find the monorail helpful when getting from place to place.

 

[Silver Queen]

We will be at WVL in October and plan on taking the boat to the MK and the bus to the other parks. We've been very satisfied with the transportation system. I think that the key is to leave plenty of time and try to look at the bus ride as part of your vacation experience. We have always met friendly, interesting families on the bus and enjoyed our conversations with them.
As much as DBF likes to drive and is an excellent, confident driver (he's a school district transportation supervisor) he loves leaving the driving to Disney while we are there. He also enjoys watching the drivers and seeing the system operate and gives Disney pretty high marks for the job that they do in this area.

 

[haleofafamily]

We will be at WVL in October and plan on taking the boat to the MK and the bus to the other parks. We've been very satisfied with the transportation system. I think that the key is to leave plenty of time and try to look at the bus ride as part of your vacation experience. We have always met friendly, interesting families on the bus and enjoyed our conversations with them.
As much as DBF likes to drive and is an excellent, confident driver (he's a school district transportation supervisor) he loves leaving the driving to Disney while we are there. He also enjoys watching the drivers and seeing the system operate and gives Disney pretty high marks for the job that they do in this area.

Completely OFF TOPIC! I see you recently got back from AKV Kidani. How did you like it? We are staying there next month and don't know what to expect.

 

[Endeavour105]

When it comes to taking the boat - there are TWO boats: one that goes directly to MK = fast, and one that goes to Ft. Wilderness = slow. I think they tend to run the express boats during peak times only. The express boat is pretty quick. When it comes to buses, there's also some fluctuation. In certain cases, the bus might only comes every 20 minutes. I aonly stayed at WL once, and we had very good luck. Just a few weeks ago though we were waiting at AK for a bus to GF and we waited over half an hour for the bus to show up (it was around 9:30am, on an AK emh morning.) And it was a shared bus with WL, so it stopped at one of the water parks first, then WL, then GF (Where we got off) then presumably went back to AK.

One more thing to consider...If you are talking strictly going to parks, then using WDW transport is pretty easy. If you are going to another resort - esp after MK has closed (or if your return after dinner is afer MK has closed) then taking a taxi or driving your own car may be well worth the time savings.

With respect to the WDW Watercraft serving the WL. mickeyluv'r doesn't now what he/she is talking about.

Both the WL and FWC are on dedicated routes from the MK. There are no additional "express boats" running during peak times.

For complete info on WDW Watercraft operations on Seven Seas Lagoon and By Lake, see the following:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1646456