Walking from Contemporary Resort to Wilderness lodge. possible??

[Deb & Bill]

One's perception of danger is relative.

To someone who grew up in Chicago or NYC, streets like this don't look dangerous at all. Not even remotely.

Personally, I didn't. I grew up walking and riding a bike around a lot of two-lane roads just like this one. I've driven this particular route before, and it does not feel dangerous to me relative to the roads I'm used to.

Imagine a road like that with semis going 60+ MPH in both directions. Then imagine riding a bicycle along that road - with no shoulder or maintained berm anywhere, let alone a sidewalk along most of the route. Semis whipping by just inches from you. That, to me, feels dangerous! And yet cyclists do that all the time, every day. I've quit because I'm a chicken, but I still see cyclists on roads like that all the time.

Most sidewalks that I'm familiar with are 3-5' wide. I'd walk along a 5' sidewalk on this WDW road without a care in the world. The sidewalk in the photos is 8-10 feet wide, and runs along 90% of this route. The remaining 10% will be through well-maintained lawns, where you can walk/run as far away from the road as you want.

I don't bike any more (as I said, I chickened out, at least until we move somewhere with actual bike paths), but I walk all the time, on roads just like this (with less of a grass shoulder, and many more semis). It just isn't dangerous relative to what I do every day. For you, maybe that isn't true.

That's why I posted photos, and not just a recommendation one way or the other. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, and everyone will feel a different comfort level with this situation. There's no right or wrong answer.

However, it is Disney's property, not public property. Disney has their rules. And they have their lawyers.

 

[Jennasis]

Is there a boat that runs to WL or FW from CR? Could you take the boat and then run there? Or what about running a few laps back and forth from CR all the way to the canal over by the GF and back?

 

[DPCummerbund]

However, it is Disney's property, not public property. Disney has their rules. And they have their lawyers.

How do you know that this is Disney's rule?

I've always been taught that when walking along the side of a road, you should walk against oncoming traffic, and cycle with traffic. You should also cross in crosswalks when available, but it is okay to cross a road when there are no crosswalks as long as you do so safely.

I was curious as to whether those general rules apply as law in Florida, and they do. This is just a law firm's website, but they quote Florida law, so I'm going to assume that they are correct.

http://www.meldonlaw.com/library/pedestrian-rules-of-the-road-for-safety-in-florida.cfm

Walking on sidewalks is legal. Walking on the edge of a road where there isn't a sidewalk is legal. Crossing the road when there isn't a crosswalk is legal. I have never seen a sign or rule posted by Disney that has required or asked guests to do differently.

 

[Deb & Bill]

How do you know that this is Disney's rule?

I've always been taught that when walking along the side of a road, you should walk against oncoming traffic, and cycle with traffic. You should also cross in crosswalks when available, but it is okay to cross a road when there are no crosswalks as long as you do so safely.

I was curious as to whether those general rules apply as law in Florida, and they do. This is just a law firm's website, but they quote Florida law, so I'm going to assume that they are correct.

http://www.meldonlaw.com/library/pedestrian-rules-of-the-road-for-safety-in-florida.cfm

Walking on sidewalks is legal. Walking on the edge of a road where there isn't a sidewalk is legal. Crossing the road when there isn't a crosswalk is legal. I have never seen a sign or rule posted by Disney that has required or asked guests to do differently.

Because my husband is a runner and was running along side the road near DTD (no sidewalk). Disney Security stopped him and told him running/walking along side the road was not permitted.

 

[myzel]

How do you know that this is Disney's rule?

I've always been taught that when walking along the side of a road, you should walk against oncoming traffic, and cycle with traffic. You should also cross in crosswalks when available, but it is okay to cross a road when there are no crosswalks as long as you do so safely.

I was curious as to whether those general rules apply as law in Florida, and they do. This is just a law firm's website, but they quote Florida law, so I'm going to assume that they are correct.

http://www.meldonlaw.com/library/pedestrian-rules-of-the-road-for-safety-in-florida.cfm

Walking on sidewalks is legal. Walking on the edge of a road where there isn't a sidewalk is legal. Crossing the road when there isn't a crosswalk is legal. I have never seen a sign or rule posted by Disney that has required or asked guests to do differently.

I would rather cycle alongside a semi than walk on the roadway in WDW with the ID10T's that are driving there and rubber necking. Just saying, but I also believe in Social Darwinism.

 

[spiceycat]

did it in the 80's - not to WL (wl was not there) but to TTC.

so yes you can do it. Is it worth it no.

there is several maps - just go look for disney running on google.

 

[paxsarah]

did it in the 80's - not to WL (wl was not there) but to TTC.

so yes you can do it. Is it worth it no.

there is several maps - just go look for disney running on google.

The issue for me would be, if I want to get in a 5-10 mile run in the morning before the rest of the family wakes up, I like being able to do it from the door of my resort and not drive somewhere to even get started. In that sense, I completely sympathize with the OP and will actually be following this thread, because I'll be facing the same thing when we stay at BLT next May. I don't think there are any officially approved options at the Contemporary other than running the same mind-numbing .5-1 mile loop 10-20 times. And if the OP is like me (running in the pre-dawn hours) the safety issue arises less from clueless tourists than from service workers who are not expecting to see a runner/pedestrian on the road at 5:30am (and if this is the case for the OP, wear a headlamp and reflective gear!).

I found the Epcot area resorts to be a great place for running, because I could run around the boardwalk (scenic but too short for a serious run), Epcot Resorts Boulevard (which as I remember, also had a disappearing sidewalk) and the path to DHS - and even then I did multiple loops to get in 8 miles. Considering how big the runDisney races are, running at Disney outside of race day is really not that convenient.

 

[Miked0292]

However, it is Disney's property, not public property. Disney has their rules. And they have their lawyers.

I do believe upon reading another post somewhere that the roads are publicly owned by the state of Florida and only a few private roads owned by rcid

 

[alice99]

The issue for me would be, if I want to get in a 5-10 mile run in the morning before the rest of the family wakes up, I like being able to do it from the door of my resort and not drive somewhere to even get started. In that sense, I completely sympathize with the OP and will actually be following this thread, because I'll be facing the same thing when we stay at BLT next May. I don't think there are any officially approved options at the Contemporary other than running the same mind-numbing .5-1 mile loop 10-20 times. And if the OP is like me (running in the pre-dawn hours) the safety issue arises less from clueless tourists than from service workers who are not expecting to see a runner/pedestrian on the road at 5:30am (and if this is the case for the OP, wear a headlamp and reflective gear!).

I found the Epcot area resorts to be a great place for running, because I could run around the boardwalk (scenic but too short for a serious run), Epcot Resorts Boulevard (which as I remember, also had a disappearing sidewalk) and the path to DHS - and even then I did multiple loops to get in 8 miles. Considering how big the runDisney races are, running at Disney outside of race day is really not that convenient.

I stay at BLT also, and using the marked "jogging path" around the resort is merely the regular sidewalks, with many obstacles. BLT is the worst that I've encountered for running on Disney property.

Wilderness Lodge: the best, followed by
2.Boardwalk, Beach Club
3.Saratoga Springs



I asked a simple question about running from one location to another, and easy access. I can't believe how some people on these boards ( the know-it-alls) can spoil a simple thread and turn it into an ongoing arguments. Really, please, "listen" to yourself.
These DIS Board preachers are too much.

 

[Waddler]

OP, I know what you mean.

I love staying at WL because I can run 5+ enjoyable miles through FW without heavy traffic.

IMO, the area around BLT simply isn't ideal for longer runs. The roads are too busy, with very narrow shoulders. Frankly, I settled for 2ish mile runs to the MK and back when I stayed there. The boat trip to FW/WL would've taken too much time. I wouldn't recommend running on the grass, either. Too many snakes for my taste.

 

[alice99]

OK..... I said I would come back and report my experience when I returned from my trip.

I'll refer back to the GOOGLE photos posted above. All distances are from my Garmin Forerunner.

I walked to the far end of the Contemporary parking lot, just prior to the underpass.
This is the start of the "dangerous" part of my walk.

I crossed the street at this location, to access the sidewalk. I walked under and then crossed back to the original (Contemporary/WL) side. I headed straight to the break in the woods to access the WL "spare" parking lot. This was .23 mi.

At this point I realized this entire lot was fenced in..... I continued further and accesses the WL parking lot by the next driveway (not the main entrance to WL... the other driveway). I followed the tree-line and was at least 30 feet from the main roadway, and was never in danger of getting hit by a car..... the distance I walked along the tree-line was .20 miles before I reached the driveway.

So, from Contemporary parking lot to the WL secondary driveway was .45 miles.

From there I walked on the designated walking/jogging pathway to Fort Wilderness. I did 6 miles total and then took the boat back to the Contemporary

 

[DPCummerbund]

OK..... I said I would come back and report my experience when I returned from my trip.

I'll refer back to the GOOGLE photos posted above. All distances are from my Garmin Forerunner.

I walked to the far end of the Contemporary parking lot, just prior to the underpass.
This is the start of the "dangerous" part of my walk.

I crossed the street at this location, to access the sidewalk. I walked under and then crossed back to the original (Contemporary/WL) side. I headed straight to the break in the woods to access the WL "spare" parking lot. This was .23 mi.

At this point I realized this entire lot was fenced in..... I continued further and accesses the WL parking lot by the next driveway (not the main entrance to WL... the other driveway). I followed the tree-line and was at least 30 feet from the main roadway, and was never in danger of getting hit by a car..... the distance I walked along the tree-line was .20 miles before I reached the driveway.

So, from Contemporary parking lot to the WL secondary driveway was .45 miles.

From there I walked on the designated walking/jogging pathway to Fort Wilderness. I did 6 miles total and then took the boat back to the Contemporary

Thanks for the report! That sounds very doable and very safe!

 

[paxsarah]

Yes, thanks for the update! I may well do this in May.

 

[alice99]

Thanks for the report! That sounds very doable and very safe!

It was very safe. I did have to cross the street.... but, I learned to look both ways a very long time ago.

Yes, thanks for the update! I may well do this in May.

Yes, it was easy..... and the distance from Contemporary parking lot to the Wilderness Lodge driveway was shorter than I had originally anticipated. So, it really did work out great.

 

[DPCummerbund]

It was very safe. I did have to cross the street.... but, I learned to look both ways a very long time ago.

Yes, it was easy..... and the distance from Contemporary parking lot to the Wilderness Lodge driveway was shorter than I had originally anticipated. So, it really did work out great.

Okay, I have to ask... did you see any Disney Security people on the way? If so, were you accosted and/or arrested?

 

[Imhere]

Because my husband is a runner and was running along side the road near DTD (no sidewalk). Disney Security stopped him and told him running/walking along side the road was not permitted.

LOL, I find it odd that with all the back and forth it took 24 posts to get to this little nugget.

 

[alice99]

Okay, I have to ask... did you see any Disney Security people on the way? If so, were you accosted and/or arrested?

No, I was not, in fact some CM's actually said "good Morning" along the way.

LOL, I find it odd that with all the back and forth it took 24 posts to get to this little nugget.

This thread did get a bit nutty along the way, but glad to see we are back on topic.
It's really ridiculous how a mundane question/topic can be turned into an argument. It's one of the reasons I don't come onto the DIS boards very often.

I guess that's how some people end up with 35k - 45k posts...... getting into an ongoing argument frequently can really bump up your post count.

The DIS board Know-it-alls can make for an unpleasant thread..... turning a simple question into a 3 page argument .... with 1 genuinely helpful person hidden in the mix.

 

[I wanna go back]

I wish I'd seen this thread earlier. We walked that same route about three years ago!

Our family was staying at WL for the first time. Like some of you guys, I also enjoy checking things out on Google Earth. Initially I was just curious about how far WL was from MK. Once I realized that it wasn't very far at all, I started to wonder if there was a walkway as an option to the boats/buses. I had also used Google street view to follow the route from MK to CR, then under the bridge to the spot where the sidewalk ends.

Anyway, while on our trip, we spent most of one of the days at MK with another family who we were vacationing with. We all had dinner reservations at Whispering Canyon at WL that evening. Just as we left MK to head back to WL, they shut down the boats due to high winds and waves. Rather than wait around for the bus, the two families simply followed the route I'd noticed on Google Earth. And just like you, I had also assumed that you could simply cut through the employee parking area to get to the front of WL - except that fence around the parking lot doesn't show up on Google Earth!

So we had to walk just a bit further south to find that secondary entrance/exit driveway. While walking up the driveway, a couple of CM were driving out and stopped to ask if we were lost. We said no, and just explained that we walked back from MK because the boats were shut down. They smiled and said to enjoy dinner. No problems.

Happy to report that the two families, including 5 kids, made it in time for our dinner reservations. Nobody called security, no arrests, no handcuffs, and no lawyers!

 

[DPCummerbund]

This thread reminds me of another walk I'm going to try if we ever stay at WL again - walking to the TTC.

According to Google Maps, it's only 0.5 miles from the front of the Wilderness Lodge to the TTC (assuming you walk out the north driveway, and cross over onto Topiary Lane). This compares to a roughly 0.4 mile walk from the Contemporary to MK - the walk from the furthest longhouses at the Poly to the TTC are just as far. We love Epcot, and I'd much rather do a 10 minute walk and a monorail than take a bus. Sure, there's no dedicated walkway to the TTC like there is at the Poly, but there ought to be.

 

[paxsarah]

Just an update: I used this route for a couple of early-morning runs to Ft. Wilderness on my current trip. I wore my headlamp but actually, the "unauthorized" part of the route is very well lit. I didn't feel the need to turn on my light until I reached the walking path that goes between Wilderness Lodge and Ft. Wilderness. By the time I came back around 7:00am, though, there was a fair amount of traffic on the road.

I probably would not have attempted it later in the day. I generally subscribe to the philosophy of, if everybody was doing what I was doing (i.e. breaking the rules), what would the impact be? My feeling is that if everyone who wanted to do a 5:30am run from the Contemporary to WL/FW did what I did, the impact would be minimal (from what I've seen on my WDW trips, there aren't really that many of us). For the same reason, that's why I wouldn't do it during the prime part of the day, as well as there being alternate means of transportation at later hours.