Trying to understand Disney Monorail.....

[DisneyinApril2019]

We are staying at a resort outside of Disney which has a shuttle that will take us to EPCOT. We would like to visit Magic Kingdom first. Is there a monorail that takes us from EPCOT straight to Magic Kingdom? Would the bus system be quicker? We are looking to possibly book some early fastpasses, and don't want to miss any because of not giving ourselves enough time to get to the actual park.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Moving to the Transportation board. The folks here can assist.

 

[FCDub]

There's no direct monorail from Epcot to MK. You'd need to transfer at the TTC.

There's also no direct bus from Epcot to MK, because of the monorail. You COULD take a bus from Epcot to the Contemporary and walk to MK, but you should probably just take the monorail.

Does your shuttle ONLY go to Epcot?

 

[richmo]

The shuttle will drop you pretty close to the monorail station at Epcot and you can get on the monorail without entering Epcot itself.

As a PP mentioned, the monorail doesn't go directly to the Magic Kingdom, but to the Transportation and Ticket Center, where you'll need to walk down the ramp, then back up again to get a monorail to Magic Kingdom.

Give yourself plenty of time. You may have to wait a few minutes at the Epcot monorail and in the morning there can be a pretty long line waiting at the TTC for a monorail to Magic Kingdom.

Sort of off the subject: as always, I recommend to those staying at hotels outside Disney that it is best to have a car rather than rely on hotel shuttles.

 

[DisneyinApril2019]

Yes, it doesn't go to Magic Kingdom until later in the day. By the way, what is the TTC?

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

First, Don't take the free shuttle provided to you.
Its going to be such a time waster.
Either rent a car or take a taxi/uber/lyft.
But because I wager you won't take that advice I will tell you that yes you can get on the monorail at Epcot and take it to the TTC and then switch monorails and get on the MK monorail.
Its not difficult but like I said huge time waster if you have to go to Epcot every day and then make your way to a different park.
Much less time consuming and stressful to just go directly to where you're wanting to go even if its going to cost you.
I would absolutely not stay offsite if I didn't have access to a car.

 

[richmo]

Yes, it doesn't go to Magic Kingdom until later in the day. By the way, what is the TTC?

TTC=Ticket and Transportation Center. Those driving to Magic Kingdom take a tram to the TTC, then take the monorail or ferry to the Magic Kingdom. Its located about 1.5 miles from the Magic Kingdom itself.

 

[StageTek]

We are looking to possibly book some early fastpasses, and don't want to miss any because of not giving ourselves enough time to get to the actual park.

From Epcot to MK you should figure 45min. Early in the day the Monorail to the Transportation Center is pretty empty. But the one to MK can be crazy busy. We always take the Ferry to MK.

So if you have, say, a 9:45AM FastPass that means you have until 10:45 to use it. Make sure you get to Epcot no later than 9:45 and you'll make it.

 

[Klayfish]

Do NOT rely on a hotel shuttle. You will find it incredibly challenging and constricting. Rent a car, use Uber, something. Don't rely on a shuttle.

 

[FastPasser.]

You COULD take a bus from Epcot to the Contemporary and walk to MK, but you should probably just take the monorail.

Have they added bus service from Epcot to the Monorail resorts?

 

[DisneyinApril2019]

I was looking at the shuttle schedule. It leaves the resort(across I-4 from Disney), at 8:10 and 8:40, and drops off at EPCOT. Based on that info should I even look at a fastpass earlier than 9:45?

 

[bumbershoot]

I was looking at the shuttle schedule. It leaves the resort(across I-4 from Disney), at 8:10 and 8:40, and drops off at EPCOT. Based on that info should I even look at a fastpass earlier than 9:45?

No.

Rental car or rideshare/taxi is what I recommend, rather than dealing with someone else’s schedule.

 

[StageTek]

I was looking at the shuttle schedule. It leaves the resort(across I-4 from Disney), at 8:10 and 8:40, and drops off at EPCOT. Based on that info should I even look at a fastpass earlier than 9:45?

A 9:45 FastPass will be good until 10:45. So that 8:10 shuttle should be fine. Say 25 minutes to Epcot, a few minutes to pass through security and you should be on the Monorail by 9:00. For elbow room let's say 9:30. You'll have one hour and 15 minutes before your FastPass ends. You'll be in MK by 10:00 or 10:20

For us that would be enough wiggle room to make me comfortable.

 

[cruisin5]

Given the timeline @StageTek laid out, you'll need to be at the bus probably at 7:45 for the 8:10; arriving MK by 10am. Or you can just uber/lyft to MK leaving your hotel at 9:15 and be in MK before 10.

If you get to the park at 10, any FP that starts at 9:30 would be fine, especially if you uber/lyft. The bus route will only cause stress in the morning.

 

[joelkfla]

Traveling from Epcot to MK, you must transfer at TTC. The only way around that would be a Minnie Van, which would probably cost around $30-$40.

Monorail from TTC to MK is fastest if the line isn't too bad. If there's a long line for the monorail, try the Ferry. If both the monorail and the Ferry have very long lines, there may also be buses running from TTC to MK. The buses only run on days when crowds are heavy. If buses are running, they will be the fastest option. There will be cm's near the entrance to the monorail queue telling Guests that buses are available.

If your resort is not far from WDW, and if you don't have any kids who need a car seat or booster, it would be worth paying for Uber or Lyft, especially if the shuttle charges a fare per person. Know that shuttles sometimes fill up, and may not send another bus for the overflow. They may also stop at multiple resorts.

 

[DisneyinApril2019]

Thanks for everyone's input. It looks like many are not fans of the shuttles. The ones from my resort are free, and I was looking at ways to save $$. We are actually driving to Orlando, arriving the afternoon before our first park visit, so we will have a car. If we were driving to the park, and parking, what time would we need to arrive to possibly make a rope drop, or at least a 9:30 fastpass?

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

Thanks for everyone's input. It looks like many are not fans of the shuttles. The ones from my resort are free, and I was looking at ways to save $$. We are actually driving to Orlando, arriving the afternoon before our first park visit, so we will have a car. If we were driving to the park, and parking, what time would we need to arrive to possibly make a rope drop, or at least a 9:30 fastpass?

Free shuttles are the worst.
Drive your car directly to the park, you want to go to and pay the parking fee.
If you want to make RD at MK then arrive to the TTC around 8am. From there you will need to go through bag check and either get on the monorail or ferry boat.
Driving your own car is going to be much less of a hassle.

 

[TangledHairDon'tCare]

Where are you staying OP? Our only experience with offsite shuttles was Hilton Bonnet creek and we had no problems. They ran on time and only occasionally shared with the Waldorf next door. Of course, I’ve heard terrible things about other shuttles too though.

 

[richmo]

Where are you staying OP? Our only experience with offsite shuttles was Hilton Bonnet creek and we had no problems. They ran on time and only occasionally shared with the Waldorf next door. Of course, I’ve heard terrible things about other shuttles too though.

Bonnet Creek and the Hotel Plaza Blvd hotels are exceptions to the stay away from the shuttle rule, as their service is continuous and those properties are on Disney property. I think OP mentioned they were staying near Disney, but on the other side of I-4, which would be the private shuttles. Those shuttles might not be so bad in the morning, assuming they're not full and show up (although you don't know how many other hotels they may stop at, maybe none, maybe more), but the schedule really dictates when you leave the parks in the evening.

 

[writerguyfl]

Literally thousands of people use off-site shuttles to go to and from Disney World on a daily basis. If they are on time and the schedule works for your party, they are a perfectly fine way to travel. You just need to look at it as mass transportation, which always comes with some negatives.

People value different things differently. Some people will accept the fact that it takes extra time to reach their destination (most likely with transfers) if it means not spending hundreds of dollars to rent a car and pay for parking. Other folks feel differently.