What do you think of the WDW transportation system overall?

[Chip 'n Dale Express]

Originally posted by drusba
The problem Disney faces is that significant improvement can only really be acheived by spending a huge amount of money to put in a lot more monorail systems around the resort.

I won't drag it out into great detail here, but actually... that's not really true... Money set aside, an expansion of the monorail system would ultimatly require transfer points... something that 95% of guests would rather do without. The transfer from the MK Resort Monorail to the Epcot Monorail often sprouts many, many complaints. (As well as confusion)

 

[CynJ]

Back in 1991 I was only 18 and not able to rent a car so the WDW transportation system was our only way around! It worked well then and I think it was even better when my mom and I went down in Feb 2002.

I have never been to WDW during the summer or other peak seasons so I can't vouch for how it flows then but in Feb/March I loved it!!

And I found out that by asking at the TTC that we were able to catch a regular city bus to Seaworld for only $1 per person and they gave me city bus maps too - great customer service!

 

[wld]

We too would never rent a car. We live out in the country 30minutes from most places like shopping and work and to us a vacation is not driving.
We find the bus transportation fast and efficient most of the time and usually very nice and cool after a hot day at the park. We've also met some interesting people we would not have met in our car.
After our first couple of trips we found it fun to find as many different ways as we could to get from point A to point B. Resort to resort is a game to us. We always allow 1 hour but it rarely takes half that long. The boats are fun and relaxing too.
I'm not a big monorail fan though, that whole claustrophobic thing, if it breaks down and I'm way up in the air........

 

[Wes]

bump

 

[NotUrsula]

... but the one time we will move heaven and earth NOT to depend on the system is at MK closing on a fireworks night. Somehow, we always manage to be at the resort that has the bus stop just past the one for AS, and the waiting area always ends up being a nightmare to get to. On occasion we have had to spend close to an hour waiting in line behind the AS crowd because the path to our own stop was totally impassable.

The only other serious problem we've had personally was difficulty moving between MK and WL at major crowd movement times, such as opening time in the morning, or in the 2-3 hours prior to an evening parade presentation. WL is large, and at times when a large % of guests are headed to MK all at once, the boats can't handle the load. More than once we got out of line after an hour and took the car, and that was in the off-season. Overflow busses are needed at such times, I think.

I've heard many times that the system doesn't work all that well for transit between resorts, but then, it's not really designed to move people between those points, is it?

 

[clkelley]

I love Disney Transportation and use it extensively on all of our trips.

Sometimes we drive, sometimes we fly, but when we drive, our car never moves from the parking lot.

We usually stay at All Stars as a family, and I camp at Ft. Wilderness once a year solo. We have eaten at just about every resort, and we DON't spend a lot of time waiting on transportation or transferring to Downtown Disney.

The biggest key is to know the park closing times and use them effectively.

Plan ahead, schedule your meals so that you can have a nice dinner and get back to your resort without a lot of trouble.

For example:

When Studios closes at 7:00 pm - Fantasmic is over at 7:30pm
We make a PS at one of the Epcot resorts Beach Club/Yacht Club, Boardwalk, etc.) at 7:45 pm. Once dinner is over about 9:00 we stroll through Epcot while the masses are watching Illuminations, watch the fountain dance awhile till about 10:00 then onto a waiting bus at the Epcot stop.

When Magic Kingdom closes early, we go to a monorail resort for dinner, then take the Epcot monorail to get to the bus stops.

We also frequently make our mid day break at one of the resorts besides our own. We have lunch, we sit at the pool bar (we don't use the pool) We stroll around the lake, or relax in a garden somewhere.

At park closing, never rush to a bus stop, wait in the park till the masses leave. It is much more pleasant to sit on a bench with a drink and listen to the park music, or watch the Epcot Fountain, watch the castle change colors, watch the lights on the Sorceror Mickey hat (you get my drift) than it is to stand in a line with upset folks in a smelly bus station.

I guess what I am saying is don't try to make Disney transportation work with your schedule, make your schedule around Disney transportation and avoid some of its drawbacks.

The only thing about Disney transport that I have not ever been able to find an easy schedule for is Ft. Wilderness internal transportation. However, I have solved that by taking hubby's ECV with me when I camp there and use it similar to a golf cart.

 

[Chip 'n Dale Express]

Originally posted by NotUrsula
Somehow, we always manage to be at the resort that has the bus stop just past the one for AS, and the waiting area always ends up being a nightmare to get to.

That has been changed. The All-Stars are now the last bus stop. Swan/Dolphin, Yacht/Beach/Boardwalk, Coronado, and Old Key West are on the "A" side, then it goes AK Lodge, FQ, RS, CBR, ASMo, ASMu, ASSp

Originally posted by NotUrsula
WL is large, and at times when a large % of guests are headed to MK all at once, the boats can't handle the load. More than once we got out of line after an hour and took the car, and that was in the off-season. Overflow busses are needed at such times, I think.

There is an alternate route. There is a bus to the TTC, from which you can catch the MK Monorail.

Originally posted by NotUrsula
I've heard many times that the system doesn't work all that well for transit between resorts, but then, it's not really designed to move people between those points, is it?

Just like any major city's transportation system, you sometimes have to transfer to get from Point A to Point K. Our transportation system was designed to efficiently transport guests from Resort to Theme Park, and back. This is about 98% of our guest traffic flow.

 

[Chip 'n Dale Express]

Originally posted by clkelley
The only thing about Disney transport that I have not ever been able to find an easy schedule for is Ft. Wilderness internal transportation.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?threadid=354198

Check that out. Should explain everything in detail. It seems like a lot, but it's really quite simple.

 

[NotUrsula]

As someone else pointed out, stampeding to the busses right at closing isn't the best idea. However, in that old MK bus stop arrangement, waiting an hour always seemed to work against us. We would wait an hour, then attempt to walk out to our bus, only to find the path blocked by several hundred people still overflowing the line area for the AS busses. Of course, had we left as the fireworks were winding up, it probably would have been much worse, but I can't say for sure, as we have always waited an hour! The kid is usually zonked out in the stroller, so Dad & I take that opportunity to take photos and do a little shopping. I am positively thrilled at the thought of that waiting-area tangle being resolved at last! (We had taken to walking to the Contemporary and returning to our resort via taxicab.)

As for the WL alternate route, do drivers point that out at all? I remember asking the WL concierge if there was a way to get to MK by bus, and being told that there was not. I'm not sure that the staff at WL are telling guests that they have that option, but they probably should be. (I know one could figure it out from the transportation map, but lots of people have difficulty thinking outside the box. I saw tempers really flaring out on that WL boat dock, when at least 200 guests were standing in line for a launch that only holds around 20-30 passengers. That scene really could have used a CM--or at least a sign--offering alternatives.)

 

[Chip 'n Dale Express]

Originally posted by NotUrsula
As for the WL alternate route, do drivers point that out at all? I remember asking the WL concierge if there was a way to get to MK by bus, and being told that there was not. I'm not sure that the staff at WL are telling guests that they have that option, but they probably should be.

Well, I always tell people "Never trust anyone who's not in purple pants" LOL

There are signs that say this at the bus stop, however.