Water Launch to MK?

[auntie]

How is the water launch transportation to and from the MK. I have heard some say they had a two hour wait.for a trip back to FW from MK...is that really possible? I can't imagine a wait of that long. I have not stayed at FW in a number of years. We hope to plan a trip with our travel trailer in October and wondered about the transportation to MK via the launch. Would you recommend the bus...does that go directly to MK or stop elsewhere?

 

[natalie from pa]

During the last two trips (NOV 2002 & Dec 2004) we have not experienced anything like what you described. The wait for the launch was 10 minutes tops (which can seem long when your just standing around waiting ). Now we really only took the launch back to FW near the end of the day. The wait could be longer mid day , I don't really know.

The only problem that we encountered with the launch was for an 8:05 ADR at Crystal Palace. It wasn't until we got to the dock that the CM told us that the launches for MK didn't start running for another hour and fifteen minutes. We had to take the launch to CR and then take the monorail to Mk for our ADR. Needless to say we were late, but the CP CM's were very accomodating.

Take Care,
Natalie

 

[jonimce]

The only time I have ever had to wait was right after the fireworks. Maybe a half hour, but never even close to 2. And we go at one of the busyest times of the year.

 

[donac]

I agree with the poster who says that after the fireworks there is usually a wait but we have never waited 2 hours for a boat. If the line is long then they just send out another boat sooner than scheduled.

 

[ftwildernessguy]

There have even been times that it was so busy at MK that they brought one of the big ferries over. They usually respond pretty quickly to the crowds. The only time I had to wait for any length of time for a boat was when one broke down in the lake and they had to call in a replacement, but it wasn't a 2 hour wait. My whole trip may have taken 2 hours, but I was using the boat to the monorail to another monorail to epcot.

 

[rapriebe]

There have even been times that it was so busy at MK that they brought one of the big ferries over.

They brought one of the large ferries to go from MK to FW????? I wouldn't see how the large ferry would even be able to dock at the FW landing. Hm-m-m. That would be interesting to watch.

 

[ftwildernessguy]

The ferry pulls in straight on to the end of the dock, not the side like the smaller launches do. You will frequently see the ferry captains practicing docking at the dock at Discovery Island, too. They have to practice a certain number of times to maintain certification, or so I've been told. What I would like to see is the large ferry going through that canal/overpass by the Contemporary to get to the seven seas lagoon. That has to be a tight squeeze.

 

[jonimce]

Sounds really cool. I'd love to see the big ferry there. Although the small boats are so much more fun to ride in. Would much rather boat than bus.

 

[my3princes]

We've stayed at FW 5 different times and have never experience a long wait for the ferry. At closing (we almost always stay until closing) they typically have extra ferries running to accomodate the crowds.

Deb

 

[tinkerbell211]

The only problem that we encountered with the launch was for an 8:05 ADR at Crystal Palace. It wasn't until we got to the dock that the CM told us that the launches for MK didn't start running for another hour and fifteen minutes. We had to take the launch to CR and then take the monorail to Mk for our ADR. Needless to say we were late, but the CP CM's were very accomodating.

I was planning to use the launch a couple of times to go to Early Entry, which begins @ 7am. Does this mean that we can't use the launch to make it on time?

 

[jonimce]

The boats do run for EE. You should have no problem. We have always found the boats running about an hour before the parks open. On one occation, we had to go to the Contemp. then walk to the MK. This walk is less than 10 Min. The Monorail can take much longer.

 

[myboysnme]

We have stayed at Fort Wilderness and Wilderness Lodge. Haven't noticed any extended wait times. Longest wait has been maybe 30 minutes, even at park closing. I have waited much longer for buses to the All Star resorts. For the most part, we have had good luck at all the resorts, but there is the occasional long wait for the bus. Usually at closing time. I can't speak for the early morning, since we usually don't make it up in time!

 

[auntie]

I have been going to Disney resorts since the early 90's. 91 to be exact. We have often stayed at the Wilderness Lodge..and I have never incurred such a wait of 2 hours. More often than not..it's a 10 minutes or so. No problems. I was wondering because on another board someone mentioned that the wait to FW was some 2 hours once. I figured this had to be an exageration since we've never waited anywhere near that at WL. We are hoping to plan a trip to FW in October..and I wondered if it could really be so different what we have previously experienced at the other resorts. Seems like it's not. Good to know.

 

[mrsgus06]

They brought one of the large ferries to go from MK to FW????? I wouldn't see how the large ferry would even be able to dock at the FW landing. Hm-m-m. That would be interesting to watch.

I remember camping there with my parents while growing up and they had the larger boat (can't remember if it was the ferries or not) which would drop you off at the end of the dock. I liked standing at the back to watch them back up to the dock. Oh, but that was so long ago!

 

[jonimce]

This had to be an exageration. The most we had was one time leaving the MK right after Wishes. We had to wait for about the 4th or 5th boat. About 20 to 30 min. at most.

 

[michelle9343]

We have been to FW too many times to count and have never had a 2 hour wait for the boat. Most times it is always under 20 min. Maybe they were trying to say that if you left your cabin, waited for an internal bus that just pulled away, just missed the Mk boat and had some sort of tech problem along the way it could take 2 hours. On night we left MK while the Electic water parade was in the lagoon and had a delay again only maybe 30+ mins.