Transportation times (bus system)

[kristainohio]

We were booked at POP then switched to AKL last week for our September trip. I wanted a little more room to spread out and we have always wanted to stay at AKL. Now with a little more reading on here and trip reviews it seems like many people say that the bus rides are extremely long to all of the parks. Your experiences with this? How does it compare with the ride from say, POP? If the times are really long, I'm going to try and switch to AoA suite since it's basically the same amount of $$ as AKL!

Thanks!

 

[kristainohio]

Anyone?

 

[vicki_c]

The longest ride would be to MK and it's <20 minutes on the bus.

 

[TheWrightTrip]

We stayed at All Star Movies, which is the furtherest out, and used the buses with no time issues. As previous person said, MK will be your longest ride at about 20 minutes. We loved it. You can't beat being dropped off up front by th gates!

 

[minnie mum]

I agree with the PPs. We don't consider the bus rides to any of the parks from AKL to be extremely long. AKL to MK is approx 20 min. So it takes you about 10 min longer to get there than if you walked to the MK from the Contemporary. Not enough of a reason for us to change resorts, but that's just us.

 

[lbklyn]

I know it's late but just got back from hospital with my Mom. On going and sometimes need a distraction. Have not used Disney transportation in YEARS from resort to parks. do you go to transportation center or directly to parks?

 

[Beezle2]

We stayed at AKL in 2009 and while I loved the resort itself, it really was a loooong way from everything. Getting to and from the MK took patience.

It's such a nice resort though I'm glad we stayed there, I just might not do it again. They have the BEST pool area IMO and my DD had such fun, it was like a mini water park and they had great prizes at the afternoon pool party. The staff was so warm and friendly, the animals and activities at night were just great. Loved the night viewing of the animals. They have a great counter service area we used for bfast and the pool bar was awesome.

I think if you want to stay there you should at least once, it was wonderful other than getting to and from MK and really it wasn't anything a little patience couldn't overcome. It felt very plushy and deluxe to me and I liked that.

Good luck with your decision making!

 

[lovesdumbo]

Like everyone has said ride to MK will be the longest but you'll have about the same ride to MK as you would from any resort other than a MK resort.

AKL Jambo House shares the bus with the villas at Kidani picking up at Kidani first so the bus may be close to full when it gets to Jambo house on the way to the parks. On the way home when you're tired you have to stop at Kidani first.

Pop and AoA each have their own busses so once you get on the bus you go right to the parks. I have read over on the AoA thread that the busses there are driving around through Pop to exit the Resort - something about not being able to make a turn out of the main AoA entrance.

I have stayed at AKL and found the bus service to be good and the resort quite magical. I don't think you would regret staying there.

 

[madalex]

Like everyone has said ride to MK will be the longest but you'll have about the same ride to MK as you would from any resort other than a MK resort.

Not quite. If you look at a map of WDW, AKL is really at the far edge of the property and is further from the MK than any other resort. Thus, the bus ride from AKL to MK takes 17 - 20 minutes, while the bus ride from an Epcot resort is only 10 - 12 minutes. Those times are not "about the same."

I have stayed at AKL several times and love the resort, but it is true that is far from all the parks (other than AK, of course) and longer bus rides are just something that you have to be prepared for if you are going to stay there.

 

[lovesdumbo]

Not quite. If you look at a map of WDW, AKL is really at the far edge of the property and is further from the MK than any other resort. Thus, the bus ride from AKL to MK takes 17 - 20 minutes, while the bus ride from an Epcot resort is only 10 - 12 minutes. Those times are not "about the same."

I have stayed at AKL several times and love the resort, but it is true that is far from all the parks (other than AK, of course) and longer bus rides are just something that you have to be prepared for if you are going to stay there.

I've also stayed at BWI and after the MK bus picks up there it goes to Swan, then Dolphin, then YC then BC before going to MK. I would say entire bus ride is about the same. Those getting on at YC or BC have a shorter ride by have a longer ride back to their resorts.

Loved being able to walk to DHS & Epcot from BWI but bus service to MK wasn't any quicker than AKL.

 

[Mousemommy1]

Maybe it's me, but why is 20 minutes such a big deal????
You're not doing the driving, it's air conditioned, and in the grand scope of things I just don't think that 20 minutes is a big deal. It's a lot better than the 3 hour plane flight that it would take me to get to MK from my house....geesh!!!

People need to learn to relax. If you're at Disney, you're on vacation...breathe....

 

[jojomoore]

We stayed at AKV in 2009 and did not find the bus rides to be long at all. The average wait for a bus was 5 to 10 minutes and most bus rides averaged no more than 20 minutes. We stayed at kindani and had one stop a Jambo- AKL Resort and then on to the park. DTD was the only really lengthy wait and drive that we had but often during busy times parking at DTD is hard to find so we still found it better to take the bus. I have no experience with buses at POP or AOA. We stayed at BCV in 2010 and found the bus rides there to be much longer due to multiple stops. You will love AKL, IMHO, I wouldnt switch based on bus transportation alone. We are currently booked at AOA in LM room for our next trip but still thinking of switching to AKL if we can get a room discount or other promotion. AKL is my daughters favorite WDW resort. I think one day she would like to stay at BLT but availability and cost has prevented that so far. The atmosphere of AKL, BC, AOA or WL or POR appeals to me more that BLT though.

If you were trying to decide whether to stay at a MK resort or and Epcot resort and AKL then I might recomend that you switch resorts because it is true that AKL is not close to MK resorts but neither is POP or AOA so i wouldnot switch based on buses. Busing from AKL was easier than BC and quit frankly easier than driving.

One morning we hopped on the MK bus from AKV at 6:30 am when it was still dark and went to MK where we had an 8:05 reservation, we were the only ones on the bus other than our kind bus driver and we were the first family at MK that morning. It was a special experience for my children. WE did have to wait 45 minutes to get into MK (around 7:45)but the weather was pleasant and we are morning people. SO much fun! It was the week of thanksgiving and MK was decorated so we took lots of pictures this morning.

yeah - i have to say that the buses at Akl were a good part of our WDW experience. Some people may not like public transportation but i find it less of a hassle than driving. The only time we drive our car is to visit other resorts for dining reservations.

 

[vicki_c]

I know it's late but just got back from hospital with my Mom. On going and sometimes need a distraction. Have not used Disney transportation in YEARS from resort to parks. do you go to transportation center or directly to parks?

From your resort, you will be taken directly to the park entrance.

 

[nkereina]

Agree that it's not any worse than any other bus ride from any other resort. My thing with it is that at all other deluxe resorts, alternate transportation is one thing you are paying the big bucks for (IMO). Being able to take a boat, walk, or monorail to at least one park is worth not having to hassle with the bus. But AKL doesn't have that option and its a big negative for paying such high prices - IMO!

 

[tina.tina]

Bus travel times from Pop:

MK- 20 minutes
EP- 10 minutes
HS- 10 minutes
DTD- 5 minutes
AK- don't remember