Transportation WITH a car????

[Jetta8300]

I was just wondering what transportation time is like in WDW with having a car. I can't seem to find much info on this. How long would it take to drive say from CSR resort to the Boardwalk for an ADR? Or from CSR resort to Epcot? I know it takes longer to go to the MK because you can't park at the entrance. Everything I read says allow 60-90 minutes of travel time. But does it really take that long to drive from one hotel to another? Is traffic that bad???

 

[catne]

That 60-90 is when you're using DISNEY transportation...and we found that estimate unfortunately to be true, especially when trying to go from resort to another resort using Disney busses, monorail, etc.

That's why we always drive now...and it seems like the farthest drive in your car is no more than 15 minutes from anywhere to anywhere on Disney property, especially resort-to-resort time is quick. Make sure you look at the maps before you start, and then watch the signs too. But even with wrong turns & going back, it never took us more than 30 minutes tops. Not losing your way, it might take you 20 minutes, including parking at the resort time, then 5-10 more minutes to walk from car to the restaurant, so we usually plan on 30-40 minutes to get from our resort room to the actually check in podium at another resort's restaurant. Often takes less.

 

[KS Dis Mom]

It has never taken us 60-90 minutes to get anywhere in WDW with your own car! We have stayed on site at WL (our trips are after Thanksgiving) and the longest trip we had was to AK and max time on that trip was 10 - 20 minutes.

It is very easy to go from place to place at WDW. The only thing I would caution you about is to watch you speed.

 

[Eeyore's Pal]

Resort to resort, by car, is probably no more than 10-15 minutes without traffic. Add another five minutes during busy times of the year or busy times of the day.

Depending on which resort, you may need to add another five minutes to park. For instance, it definitely takes longer to park at BW, but very quick at All Stars.

Resort to park is different. Same travel time of 10-15 minutes, but then you have to add time for the tram to the front gate. That easily adds 10 minutes, unless you are very close and can walk to the front -- that might be only five minutes.

For MK, as you already mentioned, in addition to the tram, you need to add time for the monorail or ferry -- could be 15-25 minutes. Also at MK, you really need that tram; the parking lot is vast and was not really set up for walking like the newer parks.

Have a great trip!

 

[twokids0204]

We have driven, and have never travelled more then 10 minutes from resort to park to DTD or wherever when useing our own car.

Here is a good reference if you have a GPS, mousesavers.com has but together a POI file for free.

 

[jcriket]

We drive almost always when we go. we know our way around, and times vary, I'd say 15-20 minutes is the longest drive. getting into the parks takes the longest. we usually never drive to MK. The hassle with all the TTC isn't worth it , and taking the bus is easier, not sure if it's faster though.

 

[DOOM1001]

That 60-90 minute estimate is when taking the buses,I think most of the time on buses it's more like 20-40 minutes from park to park,60 minutes or more is if you miss the last bus and another one might not come for 20 minutes and you're going from EPCOT to AK which is the furthest park and the 5-10 minutes to get in and out of the park,I don't think I've ever taken a bus that's taken 90 minutes to get from park to park.As far as driving as long as you follow the signs and have a general knowledge of where the park are it shouldn't take more than 15-20 minutes to drive from anywhere to anywhere on the property.Many people prefer to drive but I think the only thing driving saves you is if you just miss the last bus and have to wait for the next one and at the end of the day after one of the nighttime shows having to wait for multiple buses as there will be lines from so many people getting out at the same time.I think the buses are pretty reliable for the most part.Here's a good map of WDW although a little out of date as it still shows the Disney Institute instead of SSR and no POP.

http://kingdommagictravel.com/disneyworld/pdf/wdw_roadmap.pdf

 

[walkdmc]

No, no no. Traffic is not bad at all and I was just there. I would recommend using a GPS and in my case, I downloaded directions from Mousesavers.com onto my GPS to navigate Disney.

I drove down from PA with intentions of parking the car and never using it again until we left. One 45 minute bus ride (yes, including waiting time and stops) from CR to DHS changed my mind. I drove EVERYWHERE. It took 5 minutes to get from CR to the Poly for breakfast. It took about 5-10 minutes to drive from CR to the toll booths at all the parks, even AK. From the toll booth, figure in another 10-15 minutes to park and walk/tram to the turnstile. We averaged about 20-30 minutes from our resort, BLT to any park turnstile.

I will never be without a car again while in WDW. I have my rental lined up for our upcoming Nov. trip.

 

[walkdmc]

Oh, and there's nothing like finishing a long night at DTD, hopping into your car and being at the resort within 10 minutes. Those DTD buses back to the resorts always seemed to take so long. And as a bonus, there were always a lot of front row (non-handicapped) parking all around DTD as most folks must use the Disney transport.

 

[seashoreCM]

... finishing a long night at DTD ... And as a bonus, there were always a lot of front row (non-handicapped) parking all around DTD as most folks must use the Disney transport.

I disagree with this one, at least in the 2000-2005 time period.

That said, by car is the fastest way for all trips not involving the Magic Kingdom, or very early mornings at Animal Kingdom.

Now, I did have dinner some place else.

 

[eliza61]

We love driving and have never ever been longer than 30 mins. I think one time there was a huge thunderstorm and traffic was held up on the avenue between DTD and Typhoon lagoon. The police and disney were trying to empty out the water park due to lighting strikes so they stopped traffic.

We first rented a car waay back in1995 and have had one ever since. Never gotten lost and driving is easy.

 

[Pembo]

We stayed offsite for the first time in 10 trips and I was amazed at how easy parking was at the MK. We wanted to make rope drop both times we went. By arriving in the pl about 8:15-8:30 we had a close parking spot and walked to the TTC. (We beat the tram both times). We took the boat over and were in the park by 9.

We also found that returning to the MK after a mid-day break, we got even better parking!!! It was awesome to walk to our car and be on our way within minutes of leaving the MK.

I thought I would miss the buses and in reality I LOVED having our car at every park. The commutes were so much faster and no waiting for a bus.

 

[cwestbrook]

We stayed off property and it only took about 15 minutes to get to the MK parking lot. Very easy and traffic was no issue--this was while trying to get there for rope drop and we made it easily, giving ourselves about 45 minutes.

 

[pooh4evr]

We are going to rent a car next trip- because of the travel times and standing on the buses. It is rough to hold up 3 dozing kids at the end of the night. I am just worried about my DH's lack of direction -- we may end up doing circles a couple of times!

 

[FigmentChick]

We always rent a car (mainly because we've stayed off site). It does not take long (about 15 minutes average) to get from resort to resort or resort to park. The longest trip will be to get from resort to DTD or park to DTD. Why, you ask? Because of all the traffic lights. There are several that are at every crossroads and entrance to the West Side and Pleasure Island.

As for GPS...I refuse to use it. I have used the maps in Passporter and I print my own from Mapquest and/or Google. We do just fine getting where we need to go this way! LOL

 

[POB14]

There's a chart in the Unofficial Guide that shows driving times.

 

[kaligal]

LOL, it's 60+ minutes when you're using public transportation. If I were at CSR and had to be at the Boardwalk for a meal, I'd allow 30 minutes total. That includes time to get to my car, drive over, park and walk to the restaurant.

 

[cindym]

Just remember at Epcot you have to walk through the front of the park to get to World Showcase. That takes a while depending on how fast you walk. So allow extra time for that.

 

[PIRATEGIRL007]

I disagree with this one, at least in the 2000-2005 time period.

That said, by car is the fastest way for all trips not involving the Magic Kingdom, or very early mornings at Animal Kingdom.

Now, I did have dinner some place else.

Since PI shut down there is alot more parking at DTD. The lot seems half empty most of the time on both the Marketplace and West Side sides.

OP CBR is pretty centrally located so I would say no more than 20 minutes to anywhere on property. Add in another 10 for taking parking tram if you are going to a park.

 

[grimley1968]

It really is nice to have a car there, just in case. We hope to use it rarely, but if we really need to get somewhere quick, it is by far the best option, except of course for the well-known MK at TTC parking issue.

Unless I've taken a wrong turn (it can happen, as their signage isn't great), it generally doesn't take me more than 10 minutes to drive anywhere on WDW property.

The "travel times" people mention are usually referring to using Disney transportation, and include wait and transfer times in addition to actual travel times.

There are some instances where we prefer driving ourselves: going to the waterparks (I can't stand riding on a cold bus while wearing wet swimming trunks), going to Animal Kingdom (the buses there don't necessarily get you much closer to the entrance than driving yourself), and going to DtD (buses run less frequently to there, and seem to stop more often), and of course driving straight to another resort for dinner is normally quite a bit faster driving than having to go to a park then transfer to that resort.