Where can I find bus schedules?

[cmonti]

Hi! My family is planning our first 6n/7d trip to WDW in June. (Me, hubby and 2 boys, ages 8 and 11.) We are trying to plan out which parks to go to on which days but also have dinner reservations each night with the MYW Dining Plan. How do we know how much time to allow for getting from a certain park to a certain restaurant in another park? I know it may vary depending on how long you have to wait for a bus, if it's already full, etc., but are there "time tables" posted anywhere? I'm interested in estimated travel times from place to place rather than the standard "buses run every 15 minutes" answer. For instance we plan to spend a full day at Typhoon Lagoon, go back to our hotel (All Star Sports) then head to Chef Mickey's for a late dinner (8:30.) How do we know how soon we need to pack it up and head back to the hotel in order to allow enough travel time to get to CM? Also, when is it more advantageous to take the water taxi vs. monorail or bus? (I know sometimes there is only one option, but on other posts people have suggested various combinations of travel to get from spot to spot.) HELP! I find the whole transportation thing a little overwhelming having never been there!!! Can anyone give advice? Thanks much!

 

[snowy76]

Unfortunately I think it's one of those things that, once you experience it, you'll get a feel for it and just sort of know what to do on subsequent trips.

The buses run continuously so there is no set schedule... and sometimes there are delays for one reason or another, so you may wait 15 minutes or longer for a bus. My rule of thumb is to always allow for an hour, at least, each way. If you're going from your resort to another resort, probably longer.

So for your example, TL to Sports to CR... at least two hours from Point A to Point C. For me, that also includes the walk to and from the bus stops. Factor in another hour or so for changing at the resort, freshening up etc...
You should leave TL for an 8:30 dinner just after 5 if you want to go to your room in between. I factored in some extra time since you want to be at the CR before your seating time).

To me this is worst case... but I'd rather get there early and have time to explore a resort that rush to a ressie that we might miss.

As far as transportation options, if you have some specific places in mind from your itinerary, we can help!

PS... Welcome!

 

[cmonti]

Thanks for your help! The two days we spend in the waterparks will probably be the most hassle, otherwise we'll try to keep it simple and spend the day in the park where our dinner reservation is. Like you, we just don't want to miss any of our reservations. We'll probably just have to play it by ear ! Thanks again!

 

[BirdsOfPreyDave]

Check out http://www.intercot.com/resorts/disney/default.asp. The information they show under each hotel includes an estimate of travel times to each park. However, keep in mind this is actual "travel" time and doesn't include waiting time.

 

[cmonti]

Thanks Dave! This gives us a good starting point for our estimations! This is a link we hadn't checked out yet...there are so many good ones out there with plenty of information...sometimes it can be TOO MUCH of a good thing! Thanks again!

 

[goofy4tink]

I always leave an hour to get from point A to point B. Most drive times are less than 30 minutes, but if you arrive at the bus stop just as the bus to your point B is pulling away, you will have to wait up to 20+ mins for the next one. You could be lucky and another bus will come much sooner, but I figure it's better to be safe than sorry. So....let's say you're at TL for the day (fun spot by the way!!), you need to be at Chef Mickey's for an 8:30 ADR. You would have to leave your resort (AllStar's) by 7:15ish....wait for the MK bus, then walk over to CM's (about 8 mins), plus the 15+ min ride on the bus. You may, as I said, arrive at the bus stop just as the MK bus is pulling up, in which case you'll be early for your ADR. But, it may be pulling away, meaning an addtl wait of 20 min.
Okay, so you have to leave ASM by 7:15ish....you'll want to freshen up for dinner, so you'll need to be back at the resort by 5:30-6:00...depends on how fast your group can 'tidy up'...we move quickly so can be ready in 20 mins. I would plan on being at the ASM bus stop at TL by 4:30-4:15. Again, it all depends on how fast your group motors. If they tend to be pokey puppies, then you'll need more time.

As far as what mode of transportation is quicker...it depends on where you're going. If you need to go to the CR, I always take the bus to MK and then walk from there. You can take the monorail but it can be longer. The walk is about 8 mins from getting off the bus. The monorail is about 15 mins..you have to walk from the bus stop to the monorail station, then perhaps wait until one comes, then it has to board, then it's about 2 mins to CR from MK.
If I was at MK and wanted to go the the Polynesian or GF, I would take the little boats that serve only those two resorts...about the same as the monorail but I enjoy the boat more.

AGain, it all depends on where you are and where you need to be.

 

[cmonti]

Your reply is consistent with all the rest...leave in plenty of time. I guess it's not like there won't be plenty of things to do/look at if we arrive early for dinner, that's for sure! We're really looking forward to the trip... especially the waterparks, our boys are such fish! Thanks for your reply! I can't imagine that the CMs at Disney are more helpful than the guests on the chatboards!

 

[shafke]

I usually figure about 20-30 minutes for each leg of the trip. 20 minutes if you get to stop the same time as the bus and 30 minutes if you just miss a bus. This time figure is just the travel time. You then have to add in the time it will take you to get from the bus to the restaurant

 

[cmonti]

If only we could use pixie dust to get from place to place....(sigh!)....
Thanks for your help!