Which would you do?

[GPC0321]

I've settled on staying at the Best Western at Disney Springs for our little MVMCP trip in December. We're driving to WDW, so we will have a car at our disposal. However, I'm not sure I want to pay $20 parking (already paying $7+tax at the hotel) and have to face that late night pilgrimage back to the TTC to the car to then drive back to the hotel after the party.

So this was what I was thinking. It's my understanding that the Best Western is within walking distance of Disney Springs. Would it make sense to walk to DS and catch a bus to one of the monorail resorts and then shoot over to the MK from the resort? We were thinking about going to check out the GF's decorations and such anyway before heading into MK for the party.

For the return trip, I was thinking we'd just walk to the Contemporary and see if we could get a DS bus? i would guess we'll be leaving MK by 11-ish, so there'd still be DS buses running, right?

Which would be your choice? Drive and park at TTC, or use the MK resort buses to and from DS?

 

[BellsFam]

DRIVE!

We did this, we left MK walked to CR, (not bad but can be a long walk after a full day of walking)... Took a bus to DS, it's a LONG ride, with many stops and a super crowded bus.

Some of the hotels have their own buses if you don't want to drive...

 

[CAS239]

My favorite hotel to stay at! I'll be there this weekend. It's definitely within walking distance. Maybe a 8-10 min walk.

I've never used Disney transportation to or from Disney Springs. But I would drive myself or use the hotel transportation. We always drive so I've never looked into the hotels transportation, but they do have a shuttle

 

[GPC0321]

My favorite hotel to stay at! I'll be there this weekend. It's definitely within walking distance. Maybe a 8-10 min walk.

I've never used Disney transportation to or from Disney Springs. But I would drive myself or use the hotel transportation. We always drive so I've never looked into the hotels transportation, but they do have a shuttle

Good to hear the walk from the hotel to DS is that short.
I know they have their own shuttle bus, but I'm worried that since MK actually closes at 7pm the day/night we'll be there, and we'll be staying until at least 11pm for the party, the Best Western's shuttle won't be running during that time. I read something about how their bus doesn't run for any "after hours" times.

What's the drive like from the Best Western to MK?

 

[dkrauss]

Have you thought about Uber? We've used it quite successfully during our last 2 trips and it is cheaper than a taxi.

Doug

 

[CAS239]

Good to hear the walk from the hotel to DS is that short.
I know they have their own shuttle bus, but I'm worried that since MK actually closes at 7pm the day/night we'll be there, and we'll be staying until at least 11pm for the party, the Best Western's shuttle won't be running during that time. I read something about how their bus doesn't run for any "after hours" times.

What's the drive like from the Best Western to MK?

Super quick drive. Maybe 10 min. Real easy to get there

 

[alliecat523]

The DS buses are not great. I would definitely drive!

 

[strat68]

Spending $20/day to park is way better than using buses and spending around 2 hours a day riding them. By all means drive to MK. My time on vacation is worth something.

 

[mom2rtk]

Spending $20/day to park is way better than using buses and spending around 2 hours a day riding them. By all means drive to MK. My time on vacation is worth something.

Absolutely this.

Disney makes it hard for offsite guests to use buses to enter the parks to discourage this. The result is that if you do try it, you end up spending a lot of valuable vacation time on it.

Just consider the $20/day an overhead of your vacation, part of the reason it costs less to stay offsite.

 

[Mikie]

I actually like Disney buses, but I find the to/from Disney Springs to always be the longest waits, more crowded, more stops. . . Just less convenient. Not sure if I've had bad luck or if it's by design so people don't park free at Springs then bus to parks. I'd never plan a route that included connections and DS along the way. Possibly walking to DS, bus to Contemporary I'd consider, because at least you can them walk from CR vs waiting on any other boat, monorail, etc. but I don't know how close CR bus slots are from the MK walking path.

 

[rastahomie]

Drive. It takes forever to get anywhere on Disney transportation. I'm one of the rare WDW fans who stays on-site AND rents a car.

 

[Dizjunkieee]

It's interesting that we all have different perspectives on this topic (well, that is what makes us unique individuals I suppose . While I totally understand people wanting to drive and that it likely takes less time than using Disney transport, my family (husband, adult daughter and son-in-law) ALL share the same outlook on this topic - we always use Disney transport as we are on vacation and don't even want to bother with driving. If it takes a little longer, so be it, we are happy to just live in the Disney bubble and relax. I guess what I am suggesting is there is no right or wrong way to do this

 

[Xennia]

I've settled on staying at the Best Western at Disney Springs for our little MVMCP trip in December. We're driving to WDW, so we will have a car at our disposal. However, I'm not sure I want to pay $20 parking (already paying $7+tax at the hotel) and have to face that late night pilgrimage back to the TTC to the car to then drive back to the hotel after the party.

So this was what I was thinking. It's my understanding that the Best Western is within walking distance of Disney Springs. Would it make sense to walk to DS and catch a bus to one of the monorail resorts and then shoot over to the MK from the resort? We were thinking about going to check out the GF's decorations and such anyway before heading into MK for the party.

For the return trip, I was thinking we'd just walk to the Contemporary and see if we could get a DS bus? i would guess we'll be leaving MK by 11-ish, so there'd still be DS buses running, right?

Which would be your choice? Drive and park at TTC, or use the MK resort buses to and from DS?

Uber.

 

[mom2rtk]

It's interesting that we all have different perspectives on this topic (well, that is what makes us unique individuals I suppose . While I totally understand people wanting to drive and that it likely takes less time than using Disney transport, my family (husband, adult daughter and son-in-law) ALL share the same outlook on this topic - we always use Disney transport as we are on vacation and don't even want to bother with driving. If it takes a little longer, so be it, we are happy to just live in the Disney bubble and relax. I guess what I am suggesting is there is no right or wrong way to do this

If you're living in the Disney bubble you're probably staying onsite. OP is not, which makes using Disney transport less efficient.

 

[GPC0321]

FWIW, this is going to be a two-night stay with our only trip to the park being when we hit MK one afternoon/evening for the MVMCP. I'm not worried about the buses eating up time in our vacation, we don't really have anything to do except get to the hotel, sleep, wake up, eat, wander DS a little, head to the Grand Floridian to see their decorations, go to the party, then head back to the hotel to sleep again and go home the next day.

The free way would be the ultimate way. $20 could be better used elsewhere if there is a way (even one that takes some time) to get to the MK for free.

My thought right now is maybe we'll take the Best Western's bus to the MK (actually the TTC) in the early afternoon. Head to the Grand Floridian to check it out and maybe eat lunch, go to MK as early as they'll let us in (4pm-ish, I've read), and then walk back to the Contemporary after the party and catch a DS bus from there.

Of course, if the Best Western will have a bus running after the MVMCP, we'll just go back to TTC and catch that bus. From what I've read, Best Western is the first pick-up and first drop-off on that route.

Thanks everyone! You've given me a lot to think about.