Transportation without a bus...help!

[SRUAlmn]

Hi! I've been having some issues trying to figure out how to get my guests around without paying the $600 for the bus. The reason we chose against it is that most of our onsite guests will be family and the wedding party and they will be in the limo with us. There will probably only be about 10 (maybe 15) other guests that will be onsite and won't be in the limos with us. We thought that would be silly to spend that much on a bus for 10 (or less) people.

I figure people can take the busses, monorail, etc.. I guess it won't be the most ideal situation, but many people will have cars. For those who don't, is it best to tell them to take their resort bus to the MK and then the monorail to the GF and then walk over? How long should they allow for that? 40 minutes? (it would be POFQ, The Beach Club, and AS Movies- the Contemporary will be easier)

Our main concern is really with the dessert party. Since we have to meet at the International Gateway, people can't really drive unless they lie to the booth people, park at the Beach Club, and then they risk being towed. However, I do not want to have to ask our guests to take a bus to MGM and then ride the boat to Epcot (that takes FOREVER!) I also have no clue what I'm going to do since I'll be in my dress. Can you see me getting on Disney transportation in my dress?

I emailed my coordinator and she just got back to me. We are both stumped. She said she is going to think about it, but we both thought about possibly hiring a rental van or something that could pick people up. Still, where would they drop people off? At the Beach Club?

Does anyone have any suggestions???


Thanks a bunch

 

[JJClemson]

I have no idea what to tell you to do Karen! Thats a tough one! Also the walk from the Beach CLub to International Gateway may not be too fun in your gown. Maybe you could cut through the Beach Club Villas b/c those are closer Good luck, I'm sure someone will have a good idea!

 

[robinb]

Consider a cab. It would cost about $20 per cab including tips each way between each place (resort and GF, GF and BC, BC and resort) and some cabs hold up to 7 people at no additional cost. Your extra 10 people could share two cabs between the GF and the BC as you will be limo-ing over and I think you should pay for that ride.

However, is it really your job to provide complete transportation? If your guests choose not to rent a car to save them money, isn't it still their responsibility to get to your wedding? I would play it by ear and let them double-up with folks who are driving or for them to pay for a cab themselves. If they want to save $$ they can take WDW public transportation.

ETA: I would also work with your wedding coordinator to get your driving guests parking passes over at the Beach Club.

 

[SRUAlmn]

Consider a cab. It would cost about $20 per cab including tips each way between each place (resort and GF, GF and BC, BC and resort) and some cabs hold up to 7 people at no additional cost. Your extra 10 people could share two cabs between the GF and the BC as you will be limo-ing over and I think you should pay for that ride.

However, is it really your job to provide complete transportation? If your guests choose not to rent a car to save them money, isn't it still their responsibility to get to your wedding? I would play it by ear and let them double-up with folks who are driving or for them to pay for a cab themselves. If they want to save $$ they can take WDW public transportation.

ETA: I would also work with your wedding coordinator to get your driving guests parking passes over at the Beach Club.

That's part of the problem. I really do feel like it's our responsibility to make things easy for everyone since they are coming all this way to attend our wedding. I will feel awful if people are having to run around and catch busses and spend 45 minutes of travel time and walk long distances. However, it just seems crazy to pay that much for very few people.

We are going to ask a bunch of 'extra' questions on our response cards and maybe once we get those back and we have a better idea of exactly how many people this would involve it will be easier to come up with something.

I like the parking pass idea, and maybe if it was only going to be 5 or 6 cars then we would be allowed to do that.

I still don't know about my dress, though! She said we could get the limo again and go in the back entrance, but it's $300!

 

[TheSawas]

I don't have any answers for you but I will be subscribing to this thread. I'm glad you asked a question I had been thinking in my head.

It'll all be .

Jenny

 

[JonetteA]

How about renting vans depending on how many people you have. You can rent them from an outside company. The vans would have to drop off at the Beach Club. The warning: Sometimes the towncars, etc do not show up. We had this happen for our transportation after our dessert party. The guy never showed up at all!!! I was ticked. Leif and I waited for 40 minutes and then the nice guy at the Beach Club drove us to the Poly. Some people took the buses to Epcot if they had tickets already, some drove, and some took the boat from MGM. I left everyone up to their transportation. If you have the money for bus I would suggest it. It would definately be easier on everyone and it is guaranteed to show up.

 

[aprincess72]

I have a similiar predicament. I am having my ceremony at SBP at 2:30, dinner at DD, then an Illuminations dessert party. I thought we could take the bus over to the Boardwalk then jump on the boat to the international gateway.
So yesterday I went over to Disney since I'm working in Orlando this week. I hopped the bus to the Boardwalk from DD. IT TOOK 50 MINUTES! CRAZY!
I am going to use cabs. The vans are all over and it's cheap.

Someone at DD recommended contacting these people:
http://www.mearstransportation.com/index.htm

He said I should just call ahead and reserve cabs for 20 people and they should send me a bus or a few vans.

 

[lindajoan]

Karen, months ago I read a great suggestion by "Meme". She said she used Mears to shuttle her guests back and forth and it was a lot less expensive than using Disney. I'm not sure of all the financial details but it's likely a lot more economical. They have charter and shuttle buses in addition to cabs.

I agree with you; if guests are coming to celebrate with us, I feel responsible for making sure they have a great guest experience.

I hope that helps. Good luck!

 

[robinb]

That's part of the problem. I really do feel like it's our responsibility to make things easy for everyone since they are coming all this way to attend our wedding. I will feel awful if people are having to run around and catch busses and spend 45 minutes of travel time and walk long distances. However, it just seems crazy to pay that much for very few people.

I think you are worrying about too many things.

I guess I understand where you are coming from. You want to make it easier on your guests as you are already inconveniencing them to go to your wedding. HOWEVER, most of the weddings that I will go to in the future (all the kids whose Bat/Bar Mitzvahs I have been going to for the past 10 years) will not in my home town. I need to buy airline tickets, I need to rent a hotel and I need to rent a car in order to attend the wedding. As a guest at a wedding I do not expect the bride to provide transportation to the temple/church. I don't expect a ride to the reception and I do not expect a ride back to my hotel. Even if the wedding couple and bridal party has limos.

In a nutshell, your guests will not expect a ride. Sure, it would be nice if you provided one, but $600 is a chunk of change for a nicety. And I think you should get it out of your head that they will be taking Disney buses in their finery. If they do, it is their choice. A cab is only $20.

I still don't know about my dress, though! She said we could get the limo again and go in the back entrance, but it's $300!

IMO, part of the fun is walking to the International Gate in your dress: the stares of the little girls, the smiles from the grown-ups, the whispers, the shouts of congratulations . Your dress will be fine and so will you as long as you wear comfortable shoes.

One more thing ... I don't think your guests will have any problem parking at the Beach Club. They can tell the guard the truth about the wedding reception and then valet park.

 

[DisBride2007]

I think that in this case, transportation for the guests should be provided. If they were just coming to WDW for a vacation, they could rely on Disney transportation and not "have to" rent a car. Maybe it's just me, but I think Disney transportation is HORRENDOUS.

There's very few things I would have done differently about our wedding, but renting a van large enough to shuttle as many people around as possible would be one of the things I would have changed. And not only does it take forever to get places on Disney transportation, but for those people who have never been to Disney, or just aren't very adept at these things (probably most parents, grandparents, etc.), it was extremely difficult for them to get around. They didn't know which bus to catch and where and how long it would take...

It was really a disaster trying to take Disney transportation to our breakfast the day before the wedding, for example. Half our guests didn't even show up for that reason! But they really had no excuse to not get on the bus at their hotel the next morning!

I personally would rent the bus. But if you can find a cheaper alternative such as the Mears shuttle, go for it!

 

[SRUAlmn]

Thanks everyone!! Like I said, it's hard to make a real decision until we know exactly how many people it affects. Thanks for the Mears site, aprincess72! I'll have to go check out some prices. Does anyone know if you can hire one van and ask it to pick up at multiple locations (as long as your guest count fits?)

 

[disprincessatheart]

When is the dessert party and where will everyone be before the dessert party? It sounds like it's after your reception? I'm wondering if your group couldn't meet at the main gate (this was suggested by my planner as an altertantive to the bus) that way everyone can easily take direct Disney transportation - especially if you're at the WP, monorail would be the easiest way to go. Not sure if they'd let you go in the front in your dress, but if not just you and DH could ride in a towncar ($50 I think) to a back entrance and everyone else could do the main entrance.

Hope that helps some!

 

[SRUAlmn]

We were told we had to meet at the International Gateway because we have to sort out everyone (who has tickets and who doesn't) and go in and walk through together and it's easier when it's somewhere less crowded and closer to our location. Our reception will end around 4:00 and our dessert party starts at 8:30, so people will have a couple hours of down time in between. I just don't know!! DFTW make everything so easy and non-stressful, but this is the one thing that is bothering me. I guess I have to kind of 'let it go' for now until we know how many people we're talking about and we're within a time frame where we can actually make a decision and do something. I have faith in my coordinator, she's great, she'll come up with something

 

[Julie7678]

We had my daughter's wedding last June and also explored the bus transportation options. We ended up using Sedans for the wedding party and private cars or taxi's for the guests. Most of our group was at Epcot area resorts so we could carpool if needed. I think the cost of a cab was about $10 each. If you let the Cab company know they will come back to get you at a designated time.

We also had the Illuminations Party. All of our guests met at the entrance to the reserved area by Great Britain as they were in the park anyway for the afternoon. Our guests did not meet at international gateway. My husband and I arrived first so we could verify our guests to the host. The bride and groom were picked up in a Sedan at our hotel (Boardwalk) and driven backstage Epcot for their entrance.

They won't let you into Epcot or any of the parks wearing your wedding clothes without an escort. I'm guessing the same would apply to Disney Transportation.

Julie

 

[ljhayes]

I just wanted to add that the transportation provided through Disney (the charter buses) is actually from Mears. From the quotes I have received, Disney is actually less expensive than going through Mears directly. So, before you go directly to Mears, see if you can get Disney to do it. Or, get a quote from Mears and then let Disney know what they said. If you can keep it with Disney, it will count towards your minimum, too (if that's an issue). Also, you could ask about a mini-bus which holds 25 guests, I believe. Good luck!

 

[twojo21]

hi there, its been a while!

you can book a few private town cars through mears in orlando. thats what we did for our rehearsal dinner & guys/gals events at the gf, we had 3 towncars in all, multiple runs from the asmovies to the yc, yc to wl, wl to asmovies, asmovies & yc to gf, in all it cost us about $210.

 

[SRUAlmn]

twojo21: Thanks for the towncar info $210 is way better than $600 and it's good to know they could make multiple stops. How many people does each towncar carry at a time?



ljhayes: I asked my coordinator about Disney having 'mini busses/vans' and she said they didn't. She said people ask all the time and there really isn't an option for smaller groups. Something about gas prices and how it ends up costing almost as much as just running a large bus