Wilderness Lodge to Port Orleans, Riverside

[doodlesmommy]

We are going with friends in a few months and had planned on sitting on the beach at Wilderness and watching the water parade around 9:30 after dinner. We were going to take the boat to MK and then jump on the bus to our resort. I just checked the calendar and MK closes at 9 that night. Will the boats be running to MK that late since the park is closed or should we take a bus to TTA? Any advice would be great; thanks!

 

[helenk]

I do not think that any of the buses go to the TTC from the WL any longer. If the MK closes at 9:00 the boats most likely will still be running. You can also see the water parade from the CR, the Poly and the GF as well as from the MK. From the CR you could just walk back to the MK and get your bus, from the Poly or the GF you can take the monorail.
If you are set on seeing the water parade at the WL you might consider getting the bus to DTD and then either the bus or boat back to the POR.

 

[seashoreCM]

Ordinarily if other transportation is still running, the bus to Downtown Disney is the worst choice due to the circuitousness and traffic lights.

Except that at the time you mention, any other place such as Epcot is closing (long lines for your Riverside bus) or already closed.

 

[clkelley]

One other thing you could do if the timing works out is take a boat to Ft. Wilderness, then you could take one of their "Hoop De Doo" buses back to your resort.

The campground provides direct, shared, transportation back to the various resorts after the 7:15 and 9:30 Hoop De Doo, so, about 8:45 - 9:00, there will be buses lined up to go back to the various resorts.

Also, if MK closes at 9pm, there will still be plenty of boats going back and forth to the MK from Wilderness Lodge. That is the one difference between boats and buses, boats HAVE to run in a circle, so it is fairly easy to get transportation in the "wrong" direction. Buses don't have to run in a circle, so it's harder to take a bus in the "wrong" direction.

There is also a boat that runs between the WL, the CR, and FtW till about 11pm, so you could take that boat, then walk to MK.

 

[Endeavour105]

One other thing you could do if the timing works out is take a boat to Ft. Wilderness, then you could take one of their "Hoop De Doo" buses back to your resort.

The campground provides direct, shared, transportation back to the various resorts after the 7:15 and 9:30 Hoop De Doo, so, about 8:45 - 9:00, there will be buses lined up to go back to the various resorts.

Also, if MK closes at 9pm, there will still be plenty of boats going back and forth to the MK from Wilderness Lodge. That is the one difference between boats and buses, boats HAVE to run in a circle, so it is fairly easy to get transportation in the "wrong" direction. Buses don't have to run in a circle, so it's harder to take a bus in the "wrong" direction.

There is also a boat that runs between the WL, the CR, and FtW till about 11pm, so you could take that boat, then walk to MK.

Please explain the above (in red) to me...Thanks!

 

[clkelley]

Please explain the above (in red) to me...Thanks!

On a boat, or monorail, it goes in a fixed route and let's say at park closing, folks want to do what they asked above. (Go to MK as it is closing to get transportation elsewhere) It is easy to do on the boat or monorail because the boat or monorail HAS to go back to MK to get more passengers.

On a bus, it is harder to get to MK (or any other park) at closing, because the buses don't HAVE to go directly back to MK to pick up more passengers. For example, a bus pulls into the MK transportation area picking up passengers for All-Stars, as it leaves, it is told to become a Downtown Disney bus. As it is dropping off passengers at All-Stars, the passengers that are boarding at All-Stars are going to Downtown Disney. It then proceeds to Downtown Disney, drops off passengers there, and picks up passengers for the Contemporary, drops the passengers off at the Contemporary in "drop off mode only", then goes back to the MK to pick up more passengers to go to Port Orleans, etc, etc.

Does that make sense??

 

[Endeavour105]

On a boat, or monorail, it goes in a fixed route and let's say at park closing, folks want to do what they asked above. (Go to MK as it is closing to get transportation elsewhere) It is easy to do on the boat or monorail because the boat or monorail HAS to go back to MK to get more passengers.

On a bus, it is harder to get to MK (or any other park) at closing, because the buses don't HAVE to go directly back to MK to pick up more passengers. For example, a bus pulls into the MK transportation area picking up passengers for All-Stars, as it leaves, it is told to become a Downtown Disney bus. As it is dropping off passengers at All-Stars, the passengers that are boarding at All-Stars are going to Downtown Disney. It then proceeds to Downtown Disney, drops off passengers there, and picks up passengers for the Contemporary, drops the passengers off at the Contemporary in "drop off mode only", then goes back to the MK to pick up more passengers to go to Port Orleans, etc, etc.

Does that make sense??

Yeah, the above makes sense...but my question was specifically related to the following in one of your replies, You wrote:

"...boats HAVE to run in a circle, so it is fairly easy to get transportation in the "wrong" direction."

So, how do you get transportation in the wrong direction???

The blue flag motor launches go to the FWC, CR and back to the WL after 3pm.

The red flag cruiser and launch only go back and forth to/from the MK from/to the WL.

And there are signs on the WL dock spelling out the boat routes and operation times.

 

[clkelley]

Maybe I used the wrong term. I meant wrong direction against the normal flow of most passengers. Most passengers go TO the Parks in the morning and come BACK from the Parks at night.

By wrong direction, I mean wanting to go TO a park at closing, or perhaps BACK to a resort early in the morning right after park opening.

With boats and monorails this is easy, with a bus, it is near impossible.

 

[ntsammy5]

I run in circles all the time........

 

[doodlesmommy]

One other thing you could do if the timing works out is take a boat to Ft. Wilderness, then you could take one of their "Hoop De Doo" buses back to your resort.

The campground provides direct, shared, transportation back to the various resorts after the 7:15 and 9:30 Hoop De Doo, so, about 8:45 - 9:00, there will be buses lined up to go back to the various resorts.

Also, if MK closes at 9pm, there will still be plenty of boats going back and forth to the MK from Wilderness Lodge. That is the one difference between boats and buses, boats HAVE to run in a circle, so it is fairly easy to get transportation in the "wrong" direction. Buses don't have to run in a circle, so it's harder to take a bus in the "wrong" direction.

There is also a boat that runs between the WL, the CR, and FtW till about 11pm, so you could take that boat, then walk to MK.

Perfect solution! Just for the record; I always feel like I run in circles so I knew exactly what you meant. Thanks for the information!

 

[Princess Disney Mom]

How about a Taxi? We just got back and my sister was at the Wilderness cabins and a taxi was the best.