Transportion Advice Re: Our itinerary

[Rob Vaccaro]

Who- me (32,m, NYC) and GF (24,f,nj)

What: going to ioA/Disney celebrating variety of things- w magic your way 3 day park hoppers w deluxe dining. Also doing Hhn/bmg/mnsshp

When- October 6th-9th (doing uni studios n hhn sun the 4th, iOA n bmg mon the 5th)

Where: portfino bay /port Orleans French quarter


Hi Y'all long time lurker first time poster here. Making my 42nd trip to universal n Walt Disney World this October from Sunday the fourth to Friday the ninth. I'd like y'all take a look at our itinerary and let us knows if we are cutting things too close timewise or any input or suggestions as far as buses, travel time etc. go. haven't been back to the parks in about four+ years. It's getting pricey... even for this New Yorker....

Anyways- here goes (copy n paste from notepad-- reservation numbers redacted)

sun Oct 4th- leave Atlantic City airport on Spirit flight 311 at 8:30am. ETA 1051. Have Rob pick us up at airport and get luggage. Check luggage at Portofino Bay Hotel. Hit Universal Studios/ioA. Check in anytime after four. (can we e check in? ) Dinner/happy hour at 5 PM at emerils tchoup chop at Royal Pacific resort. Halloween horror nights with express passes till 12.

Mon October 5th- early entry at IoA. Breakfast at Portofino Bay Hotel Trattoria Del Porto. IoA- pool - Dinner at BICE 5:30. Blue man group at 8 PM(show 1 hr 45 min) then Citywalk.

Tuesday Oct 6th- check out of Portofino Bay by eight -830 and head for Port Orleans French quarter. (Transportation suggestion?) Check luggage and take bus to animal kingdom jambo house for 10 AM breakfast at Boma. (Can we online check-in or how do we do it? Magic bands?) Bus from AKL to Animal kingdom til 5:00. Park hop bus to Epcot for 545 dinner at garden grill (enough time?) boat(?) monorail? to Hollywood studios. Use fast pass plus reservations then Fantasmic at 8 PM. Bus back to Port Orleans, change, dinner at California Grill at 935.

Wednesday October 7th- take bus from Port Orleans to Grand Floridian for breakfast at 1900 Parkfair at 8:25. (Travel time?) monorail to Epcot for food and wine fest . lunch at coral reef at 12. dinner 445 le cellier. Illuminations at 9 (Mexico?)boat to downtown Disney? (Morimoto opens 9/17)

Thursday, October 8th- bus from port Orleans to Polynesian for 835 am breakfast at Kona Cafe. (Travel time?) monorail to Magic Kingdom. Bus to Hollywood studios (travel time) for 2:05 lunch at sci fi. Bus back to MK. Break for dinner Boathouse/Morimoto? MK/MNSsHP til 12.

Friday October 9th- pool-resort-check out day. Carriage ride at port orleans (feedback?) can we use leftover meal credits?? DME to airport at 5.

That's it y'all. Any advice tips etc (esp regarding travel times) would be much appreciated.

 

[Kirk]

Been to US a number of times but I'm by no means an expert so I'll leave that for someone else.

Tuesday Oct 6th- check out of Portofino Bay by eight -830 and head for Port Orleans French quarter. (Transportation suggestion?) Taxi or Town car would be best but a shuttle would save you a little cash if you're on a budget.

Check luggage and take bus to animal kingdom jambo house for 10 AM breakfast at Boma. (Can we online check-in or how do we do it? Magic bands?) You might want to jus drop your bags there with Bell Services and continue to Jambo in the Taxi, you'll be pressed for time otherwise. MagicBands will be mailed to you and you can online check-in via My Disney Experience.

Bus from AKL to Animal kingdom til 5:00. Park hop bus to Epcot for 545 dinner at garden grill (enough time?) You can wait up to 20 mins for the bus so it may be close but you have about 15 min grace time I think.

boat(?) monorail? (mono rail only connect to MK from Epcot.) to Hollywood studios. Use fast pass plus reservations then Fantasmic at 8 PM. Bus back to Port Orleans, change, dinner at California Grill at 935. Again up to 20 min wait for 2 buses may chew up some time here. If it looks tight ask for a taxi on the way in to change.

Wednesday October 7th- take bus from Port Orleans to Grand Floridian for breakfast at 1900 Parkfair at 8:25. (Travel time?) Plan on a 20 min wait and the same travel.

monorail to Epcot for food and wine fest . lunch at coral reef at 12. dinner 445 le cellier. Illuminations at 9 (Mexico?)boat to downtown Disney? (Morimoto opens 9/17) Bus back to POFQ and boat to DTD? Boat at Epcot connects to HS.

Thursday, October 8th- bus from port Orleans to Polynesian for 835 am breakfast at Kona Cafe. (Travel time?) Bus to MK 40 min then monorail to Poly 10-15 min. monorail to Magic Kingdom. Bus to Hollywood studios (travel time) for 2:05 lunch at sci fi. Bus back to MK. Break for dinner Boathouse/Morimoto? MK/MNSsHP til 12. Bus to resort then park.

Friday October 9th- pool-resort-check out day. Carriage ride at port orleans (feedback?) can we use leftover meal credits?? DME to airport at 5. California Grill & le collier will cost 2 vouchers each so if I count right you have 11 credits planned and only 3 per night on the plan.

 

[siskaren]

Wednesday October 7th- take bus from Port Orleans to Grand Floridian for breakfast at 1900 Parkfair at 8:25. (Travel time?) Plan on a 20 min wait and the same travel.

There isn't a bus that goes from Port Orleans to Grand Floridian. You would have to take the bus to MK and then the monorail or the boat to GF.

 

[goofy4tink]

Who- me (32,m, NYC) and GF (24,f,nj)

What: going to ioA/Disney celebrating variety of things- w magic your way 3 day park hoppers w deluxe dining. Also doing Hhn/bmg/mnsshp

When- October 6th-9th (doing uni studios n hhn sun the 4th, iOA n bmg mon the 5th)

Where: portfino bay /port Orleans French quarter


Hi Y'all long time lurker first time poster here. Making my 42nd trip to universal n Walt Disney World this October from Sunday the fourth to Friday the ninth. I'd like y'all take a look at our itinerary and let us knows if we are cutting things too close timewise or any input or suggestions as far as buses, travel time etc. go. haven't been back to the parks in about four+ years. It's getting pricey... even for this New Yorker....

Anyways- here goes (copy n paste from notepad-- reservation numbers redacted)

sun Oct 4th- leave Atlantic City airport on Spirit flight 311 at 8:30am. ETA 1051. Have Rob pick us up at airport and get luggage. Check luggage at Portofino Bay Hotel. Hit Universal Studios/ioA. Check in anytime after four. (can we e check in? ) Dinner/happy hour at 5 PM at emerils tchoup chop at Royal Pacific resort. Halloween horror nights with express passes till 12.

You should be able to check in as soon as you get there. Your room may not be ready, but you can check in, leave your bags with Bell Services and head to US/IoA.

Mon October 5th- early entry at IoA. Breakfast at Portofino Bay Hotel Trattoria Del Porto. IoA- pool - Dinner at BICE 5:30. Blue man group at 8 PM(show 1 hr 45 min) then Citywalk.

Tuesday Oct 6th- check out of Portofino Bay by eight -830 and head for Port Orleans French quarter. (Transportation suggestion?) Check luggage and take bus to animal kingdom jambo house for 10 AM breakfast at Boma. (Can we online check-in or how do we do it? Magic bands?) Bus from AKL to Animal kingdom til 5:00. Park hop bus to Epcot for 545 dinner at garden grill (enough time?) boat(?) monorail? to Hollywood studios. Use fast pass plus reservations then Fantasmic at 8 PM. Bus back to Port Orleans, change, dinner at California Grill at 935.

Either a cab or car service (car service would need to be booked ahead of time). I would leave by 8. You might be better off taking a cab to AKL-Jambo House. If not, take a bus to AK, then transfer to the AKL bus...be sure to leave enough time to use the buses though. A cab would allow you to leave PO-FQ around 9:30, a bus would mean leaving around 8:30ish!! Have you made a My Disney Experience account yet? If not, do so. Then, you can link all your ADRs and room reservations to it....and that will get you magic bands. They would be sent to you about 3 weeks prior to travel. Yes, you can do online check-in for PO-FQ.
Yes, leaving AK by 5 for a 5:45 ADR at Garden Grill should leave you enough time, but to be on the safe side, I would exit AK by 4:30. To get to DHS, you can boat....exit via the International Gateway (back door to Epcot/World Showcase). The boat takes about 25 mins once it leaves the dock. Or, you can walk....leave via the IG, walk up the hill, turn left at the bridge, pass by Boardwalk, go left at the Village Green area, out the tunnel area to the Luna Park Pool area, stay to the left of the pool area, exit that area, left onto the walkway to DHS...takes about 20 mins.
to get to CG, for dinner, take the bus to the MK, then walk to the Contemporary, via the sidewalk that runs beneath the monorail line. Takes less than 10 mins...usually less time than taking the monorail. Back to MK, if open, to get bus to PO-FQ. If not open, head to DTD and take the boat to PO-FQ.

Wednesday October 7th- take bus from Port Orleans to Grand Floridian for breakfast at 1900 Parkfair at 8:25. (Travel time?) monorail to Epcot for food and wine fest . lunch at coral reef at 12. dinner 445 le cellier. Illuminations at 9 (Mexico?)boat to downtown Disney? (Morimoto opens 9/17)

You would take the bus to the MK, then boat or monorail to the GF. Leave the resort by 7:30 to leave enough time. There are no direct resort to resort buses. Figure on at least an hour, and sometimes more, when moving from resort to resort, unless they have a walking path (BW, YC/BC, S/D for instance).
Man, that's a lot of food in one day! But good spots to eat. There is no boat to DTD (other than from POR, PO-FQ, OKW and SSR). You would have to head to a resort, Boardwalk would be my choice for the bus, or to PO and take the boat...again figure on at least an hour.

Thursday, October 8th- bus from port Orleans to Polynesian for 835 am breakfast at Kona Cafe. (Travel time?) monorail to Magic Kingdom. Bus to Hollywood studios (travel time) for 2:05 lunch at sci fi. Bus back to MK. Break for dinner Boathouse/Morimoto? MK/MNSsHP til 12.

Again, no bus from PO to the Polynesian...so bus to MK, boat or monorail to the Polynesian. For an 8:35 ADR, I would figure on leaving PO-FQ no later than 7:30. To get to DHS for a 2:05 ADR, I would head out of MK by 1. Not sure I would have made an ADR for Sci-Fi on a day I was going to be at MK though. That's a lot of travel time taking away park time. Not to mention heading to DTD for dinner, then returning to MNSSHP after. That's about 5+ hrs of travel time in one day!!!

Friday October 9th- pool-resort-check out day. Carriage ride at port orleans (feedback?) can we use leftover meal credits?? DME to airport at 5.
I assume you're talking about leftover meal credits on your check-out day for food, not for the Carriage Ride! Yes, you can use meal credits up to midnight of your check-out day. Be sure to be at the DME bus stop at least 15 mins, ready to go, before the pickup time stated on your departure letter.

That's it y'all. Any advice tips etc (esp regarding travel times) would be much appreciated.

Hope all this helps. Just be careful with too much traveling from park to park for ADRs. It's always a good idea to make ADRs, if at all possible, in the park you'll be at that day. Otherwise, you spend valuable park time on buses, or boats. But, if more park time isn't a priority, then no big deal!!!!
Feel free to ask any other questions! And welcome to the DIS, and especially to the Transportation board!!!!

 

[Alesia]

Tuesday Oct 6th- check out of Portofino Bay by eight -830 and head for Port Orleans French quarter. (Transportation suggestion?) Check luggage and take bus to animal kingdom jambo house for 10 AM breakfast at Boma. (Can we online check-in or how do we do it? Magic bands?) Bus from AKL to Animal kingdom til 5:00. Park hop bus to Epcot for 545 dinner at garden grill (enough time?) boat(?) monorail? to Hollywood studios. Use fast pass plus reservations then Fantasmic at 8 PM. Bus back to Port Orleans, change, dinner at California Grill at 935.

You'll need to take a cab from Portofino Bay to Port Orleans and then take the cab to AKL in order to make breakfast on time. You can look up fare at taxifarefinder.com

You're not leaving enough time to get from AK to your dinner at the Garden Grill. I'd give it at least an hour, probably closer to 75 minutes. You can take the boat to DHS, but you are not going to have time to do anything before Fantasmic.

You're not going to make it to the California Grill by 9:35. Even with a cab.

^This day makes absolutely no sense.

Wednesday October 7th- take bus from Port Orleans to Grand Floridian for breakfast at 1900 Parkfair at 8:25. (Travel time?) monorail to Epcot for food and wine fest . lunch at coral reef at 12. dinner 445 le cellier. Illuminations at 9 (Mexico?)boat to downtown Disney? (Morimoto opens 9/17)

You'll need to take the bus to MK and then the monorail to GF. You'll need to be at the bus stop around 7:00

To get to DTD, you'll need to walk to the Beach Club and take a bus to DTD. Plan on it taking about 75 minutes.

Thursday, October 8th- bus from port Orleans to Polynesian for 835 am breakfast at Kona Cafe. (Travel time?) monorail to Magic Kingdom. Bus to Hollywood studios (travel time) for 2:05 lunch at sci fi. Bus back to MK. Break for dinner Boathouse/Morimoto? MK/MNSsHP til 12.

Be at the bus stop around 7:00

Why would you spend 2 hours of travel time to eat at Sci-Fi? Just eat somewhere at MK.

Do you realize that about 90% of your time will be spent in restaurants or going from one park to another?

 

[siskaren]

Do you realize that about 90% of your time will be spent in restaurants or going from one park to another?

Not only that, but you've got 2 table service meals scheduled at Epcot during the one day when you're going to be there during the Food & Wine Festival. When are you going to be hungry enough to sample the food from the kiosks?

 

[pooch]

I'm sorry but I think you really need to reorganize your plans. You are traveling waaaaay too much to get to your ADRs. Go back, look at what park you'll be in and EAT THERE! And I think you need to spread meals out more. On one day you're having a dinner at 5:45 and then another at 9:35??

 

[Alesia]

Just to break things down:

Tuesday Oct 6th-
Time spent on transportation and waiting for transportation: 4.5 hours
Time spent in restaurants: 4.5 hours
Time spent doing park stuff: 4 hours at AK

Wednesday October 7th-
Time spent on transportation and waiting for transportation: 3.5 hours
Time spent in restaurants: 4.5 hours
Time spent doing park stuff: 4 hours at Epcot

Thursday, October 8th- bus from port Orleans to Polynesian for 835 am breakfast at Kona Cafe. (Travel time?) monorail to Magic Kingdom. Bus to Hollywood studios (travel time) for 2:05 lunch at sci fi. Bus back to MK. Break for dinner Boathouse/Morimoto? MK/MNSsHP til 12.

Time spent on transportation and waiting for transportation: 6 hours.
Time spent in restaurants: 4.5 hours
Time spent doing park stuff: 6.5 hours at MK

 

[goofy4tink]

Yes, they are doing a lot of traveling from park to park to get to ADRs, as well as spending a lot of time in restaurants. BUT......I think we need to keep in mind that some people don't need to spend all day in a park...that trying out new places to eat is fun as well. Perhaps with the above advice, the OP can tweak their ADRs so that they can spend less time traveling.....for instance, eat at Garden Grill on a day that you spend in Epcot vs traveling from AK to Epcot, for dinner, then over to MK. But, that's up to them.
The one time I did the deluxe dining plan, for two couples, we did a big breakfast in the morning, and then a 2 credit dinner later on. Especially during Food and Wine....you want to be hungry enough to sample what the various countries have to offer. And yes, even as two adult couples, we did character breakfasts!!!!! But, again, up to each group to decide what works for them.

Rob.....we just want you to realize how much time you are going to spend traveling around, just to get to ADRs.