Trying to decide where to stay, have questions on park transportation with scooters.

[davea84]

My mother and father in-law will both be traveling with us on our upcoming trip in June. We are currently debating where to stay between the All Stars and Pop. My wife and I have always stayed at Pop, so we have no experience with the All Stars. That said, as far as I can tell, after the remodels the biggest difference justifying the added cost of Pop is the skyliner, which we loved traveling with just us and our kids. The problem is, my wife's parents will both need scooters and I'm concerned about how much will be involved getting them both on and off the skyliner twice per trip. I'm a little worried that it won't be much easier or faster than the busses by the time we get them loaded and unloaded and then loaded again. Whereas, with a bus we would be saving money and only have to load/unload once per trip. So I'm a little concerned we would be paying more for Pop with the skyliner and not having the added time saving/convenience.

Was wondering what other peoples' experiences were with the buses vs the skyliner with scooters. Is the skyliner still more convenient or is it simpler to just take a bus? Obviously if the skyliner wouldn't be saving us as much time as it normally would, the less expensive All Star options look a lot more attractive.

 

[EpcotPhoenician]

I have not stayed at either resort, however...

Have you considered Boardwalk, Beach Club, Yacht Club, or Swan/Dolphin? If mobility is your primary concern, you'd be within walking distance to two parks (Hollywood Studios and EPCOT) and would only have to worry about transportation when heading to Magic Kingdom/Animal Kingdom.

There are usually some pretty great deals on Swan/Dolphin.

 

[davea84]

I have not stayed at either resort, however...

Have you considered Boardwalk, Beach Club, Yacht Club, or Swan/Dolphin? If mobility is your primary concern, you'd be within walking distance to two parks (Hollywood Studios and EPCOT) and would only have to worry about transportation when heading to Magic Kingdom/Animal Kingdom.

There are usually some pretty great deals on Swan/Dolphin.

Unfortunately, cost is also a concern, hence the value resorts. Even if I were able to swing one of those, I know my in-laws wouldn't be able/willing. It's why I was wondering if the difference in price for Pop is really worth it, FIL is already complaining about that much.

 

[CynBeth]

Not sure if all of the Skyliner resorts are the same but we stayed at CBR around Thanksgiving and there were no buses to Epcot and HS had to take the Skyliner. I think it is cool there are neat views and might be nice for them having a variety in transportation and not just buses to all of the parks. It might be equal time you could have a full bus and have to wait for another and with the Skyliner there is a separate line for wheelchairs and ECVs with a special car that stops and once is loaded has to be added to the line of regular cars which do not really stop. You should discuss this with them and see how they feel.

 

[starry_solo]

Not sure if all of the Skyliner resorts are the same but we stayed at CBR around Thanksgiving and there were no buses to Epcot and HS had to take the Skyliner. I think it is cool there are neat views and might be nice for them having a variety in transportation and not just buses to all of the parks. It might be equal time you could have a full bus and have to wait for another and with the Skyliner there is a separate line for wheelchairs and ECVs with a special car that stops and once is loaded has to be added to the line of regular cars which do not really stop. You should discuss this with them and see how they feel.

I believe all skyliner resorts don't offer bus transportation to the parks serviced by skyliners unless the skyliner isn't working

 

[gottalovepluto]

I believe all skyliner resorts don't offer bus transportation to the parks serviced by skyliners unless the skyliner isn't working

^important note OP! When inclement weather (lightening) hits they have to take the Skyliner down. Since you’ve got someone already chirping at you about expense, fyi they don’t give any hotel discounts if that happens.

They will have to transfer to different lines halfway through each trip to a park just like everyone else. Luckily there is a lot less involved in hooking up a scooter for the Skyliner. They drive in. The CM puts blocks behind the back wheels. Done. Opposite for exiting. The great part is you’ll always get your party only Skyliners. They don’t load strangers into Skyliners with ECVs.

 

[mickeymom22]

I would go with the All-Stars. The Skyliner seems like it would be a hassle with all the transferring. If you stay at the All-Stars you can always just ride the Skyliner for fun as a break.

We have only stayed at ASMo and ASMu before. We enjoyed both resorts and received top-notch Disney service.

 

[DizneyFamof4]

Never used the skyliner with a scooter, but while waiting in line I have watched the process and it does look pretty easy. Like a PP mentioned, scooters wait in a different line and they get to load separately. BTW; AOA still has buses to HS and Epcot, so if you pick POP and you feel the bus would be better, than you can walk over there and take the bus.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

I'm not speaking from any personal scooter experience (so my opinion probably doesn't hold much weight) - but as an observer my impression is the Skyliner is an easier and quicker experience than buses with scooters. It just looks more pleasant/efficient as the buses have limited scooter capacity. But best to listen to someone with real experience I guess.

One thing I did want to note about the Skyliner.... I'm a big Skyliner fan.... except during lightning season. If you get in a weather pattern with consistent storms in the area, you could easily experience some sort of Skyliner disruption/downtime during your travels. When this happens they deploy buses and they generally do an OK job - but it's not perfect. It takes time to mobilize buses, get them to you, load, etc. It can make what should otherwise be an easy/predictable journey very unpredictable.

I don't think that's enough of a reason to NOT choose a Skyliner resort, but just something to have on your radar for the summer months. If you have daily storms it can start to get annoying, depending on your travel patterns.

 

[RoseGold]

I have a lot of experience with a wheelchair and the skyliner. I had issues with Riviera, because you have to flag someone, and they have to send a special car. But the skyliner endpoints (pop/CB/parks) are great and work wonderfully with wheelchairs. The special line moves fast. We never waited more than a few minutes (except Riviera). We were able to fit a stroller and a power chair in one car. I definitely saw people have issues getting on, because they can't drive scooters, but they can't drive them on buses either.

Skyliner will be a MUCH better experience than the buses. The buses only have so much scooter capacity. Disney even sends buses with zero accessibility (coaches) to value resorts. With two scooters, you could be left waiting for the next bus, or you might have to decide whether you want to take the non-accessible bus and leave grandma behind or split Grandma and Grandpa. I would upgrade to AoA/Pop no brainer. This is a big deal with scooters.

And don't count out Swolphin. The boats are all accessible and you get the deluxe after hours.

 

[Dug720]

Can you even get 2 scooters in a gondola? If not, are you/they going to be cool with splitting the party up to ride it?

 

[RoseGold]

Can you even get 2 scooters in a gondola? If not, are you/they going to be cool with splitting the party up to ride it?

They wouldn't fit. Two power chairs would fit, but they only have one set of stops, so they'll only let you do one. But they're lined up, it's quick enough.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Can you even get 2 scooters in a gondola? If not, are you/they going to be cool with splitting the party up to ride it?

Definitely only one scooter per gondola but if they have to split on a bus they’ll have a lot longer wait to be together on the other end.

 

[Dug720]

Definitely only one scooter per gondola but if they have to split on a bus they’ll have a lot longer wait to be together on the other end.

I thought they could do 2 scooters on a bus though.

 

[jo-jo]

I thought they could do 2 scooters on a bus though.

You can do two scooters per bus, but if someone else is in line before you. You may only have one spot left for grandparents.

 

[Dug720]

You can do two scooters per bus, but if someone else is in line before you. You may only have one spot left for grandparents.

But they'd have the option to wait for another bus.

Just saying they might not want to be separated as they would be 100% on the skyliner.

 

[jo-jo]

But they'd have the option to wait for another bus.

Just saying they might not want to be separated as they would be 100% on the skyliner.

Yes, that true. I thought you weren't sure if each bus could take one or two people.

 

[Dug720]

Yes, that true. I thought you weren't sure if each bus could take one or two people.

I wasn't, which is why I was asking to begin with. If they only took one, it's a moot point. But if they can take two and the family doesn't want to split up, that's a factor.

Sorry if I wasn't clear. COVID brain fog is a real thing.

 

[Ga9usa]

Last time I went to Diseny I had just torn my right medial meniscus in my knee. Got to drive a scooter all over the 4 parks. Of the two, I preferred the gondola for speed and ease. I had to drive the scooter much better than my few hours of practice allowed in order to get it parked on the busses, particularly when they were full.
That aside, Pop is about the same price of some cheaper DVC rentals if you want to rent points. We stayed at Beach Club last time and the cast members at the resort made it super easy to plug in the scooter and keep it in the hall instead of the room.

 

[Lizgistix]

Getting on the gondola in a scooter is easy, you just drive it in. Getting it off the skyliner is another story where you have to back it up off the gondola. Luckily they have that separate loading area at all stations, so you can take your time and the cast member can help. You'll want to split up your party, too, so noone is riding alone. It is one scooter per gondola. The door opening is a little narrow, so just go slow and take your time.

The bus can be great or a hassle, depending. Getting the scooter on the bus is pretty easy but backing it into the spot is where people have difficulty. You're basically parallel parking the scooter. Getting it off can be tricky as well, since you have to maneuver it so you're driving down the ramp, and you have to go straight down that ramp or it will go off the edge and possibly topple over. The bus drivers have been great about helping but there's only so much they can do. They're very nice and patient, though! They'll even offer to steer the scooter into position if it's too difficult.

So, long story short, there's pros and cons about both modes of transportation.