Wilderness Lodge Transportation

[eXo]

Good day Disney folks and fans.

I will be staying at the Wilderness Lodge in December of next year and I had a question about transportation.

I am aware that a boat runs to MK, but to get to any other park will require buses.

I have heard... mixed things about the bus system.

I also understand that parking is complimentary when staying on site, and that this includes the parks as well.

So I began to debate whether or not it made sense to rent a car.

Here is what I've come up with so far:

Pro: More direct than the buses, less time waiting, easier to get around in general.

Con: Have to pay for rental car, unable to use Magic Express (which apparently grabs our luggage for us, keeping us from having to wait around at the baggage claim while also delivering our luggage to the claim window for us).

We will be there for 6 full days (8 days if you include arrival and departure dates). 2-3 of those days will likely be spent at MK. That leaves 3-4 days of relying on the bus system.

We will likely only go to AK one day. So the other 2-3 days will be Epcot and DHS. Not sure if the buses to those parks is any better, as I'v heard the worst about the AK buses.

Really bums me out that Wilderness Lodge doesn't have monorail access, considering how close it is to the rail line.

Thanks for any inisght!

 

[DisneyDmbNut]

Good day Disney folks and fans.

I will be staying at the Wilderness Lodge in December of next year and I had a question about transportation.

I am aware that a boat runs to MK, but to get to any other park will require buses.

I have heard... mixed things about the bus system. Bus system is pretty good in my opinion. It is usually about a 20 minute between busses.

I also understand that parking is complimentary when staying on site, and that this includes the parks as well. Yes. Your dashboard parking certificate given at check in will allow you to park at the parks for free.

So I began to debate whether or not it made sense to rent a car.

Here is what I've come up with so far:

Pro: More direct than the buses, less time waiting, easier to get around in general.

Con: Have to pay for rental car, unable to use Magic Express (which apparently grabs our luggage for us, keeping us from having to wait around at the baggage claim while also delivering our luggage to the claim window for us).

We will be there for 6 full days (8 days if you include arrival and departure dates). 2-3 of those days will likely be spent at MK. That leaves 3-4 days of relying on the bus system.

We will likely only go to AK one day. So the other 2-3 days will be Epcot and DHS. Not sure if the buses to those parks is any better, as I'v heard the worst about the AK buses.

Really bums me out that Wilderness Lodge doesn't have monorail access, considering how close it is to the rail line.

Thanks for any inisght!

I think renting a car has pros and cons for sure. The biggest Con to me is (and I drive to the parks since I live in Florida), if you aren't familiar, you can get lost in the loops and exits and waste far more time driving, parking and walking in than if you just took the bus. I know lots of the backroads around WDW and even I occasionally get turned around and have to think where I need to be.
Pros include that if you want to go offsite for food or shopping, it is possible.

Honestly..I don't know why such a big deal is made of the busses. I go to Disney almost every other month and stay onsite and almost NEVER use my car. It sits in the parking lot the entire time unless I make a Target run.

 

[eXo]

I used my phone navigation when i visited this past oct and it got me to each park with no problem. Even got me through and to Downtown Disney with all of it's ridiculous parking lot construction.

It is worth mentioning that I also believe I will be taking my kids to Universal for one day. So we would have to factor in the cost of a Taxi that day if we don't have a car.

 

[DisneyWorldbuff]

We usually stay at WL, we have had pretty consistently good transportation over the past five years of staying there.
We always take the bus to MK. Best bus ride on WDW property! Five minutes, straight shot no stops and you're there! Sometimes we take the boat back to the lodge as it is a relaxing ride, but we love that bus ride first thing in the morning
Just my two cents, don't discount the busses. Sometimes it's a great time to connect with the family. I hope you have a great trip!

 

[DisneyDmbNut]

I used my phone navigation when i visited this past oct and it got me to each park with no problem. Even got me through and to Downtown Disney with all of it's ridiculous parking lot construction.

It is worth mentioning that I also believe I will be taking my kids to Universal for one day. So we would have to factor in the cost of a Taxi that day if we don't have a car.

well..that is probably your answer.

I can drive much fast to the parks, but I like riding the bus and not having to walk forever just to get to the park entrance.

and NOTHING beats plopping down on a cool bus bench and letting the driver take me "home" after a long day in the parks!!

 

[eXo]

I didn't realize until now that you could take the bus to MK. That's great news - I was a bit worried about the ferry being really slow.

 

[marauder]

As someone who was staying at Pop last week but kept visiting people that were staying at Wilderness Lodge, the only thing that annoyed me about Wilderness Lodge's bus service was the fact that they share several of the lines with other hotels. I don't know if it happens year-round but the HS bus was shared with Fort Wilderness and the Downtown Disney bus was shared with Grand Floridian. This meant stops at those locations before or after your trip to those locations.

Since we were staying at Pop we got pretty use to all lines being direct lines to the location.

 

[Kimberle]

I have stayed at WL 3 times. I've also stayed at the CR, AKL, BC, and POR. The ALL have "mixed" reviews regarding transportation.

Renting a car is a personal decision. We don't mind waiting a bit. If you like to "hop" around, then a car might be your best fit. WDW is like a city. Buses, etc. come and go just like in a big city.

 

[superD3]

You can still use magical express for ur luggage!!! In October 2013 I set up magical express, put luggage tags on our bags and when we got to Orlando we went straight to our rent a car. As long as the yellow tags are on the bags they will be taken to ur resort they are not linked to you getting on the magical express, the bags arrive at resort on box trucks...2 hours after we got to our resort our luggage was delivered to the room!

 

[danikoski]

You can still use magical express for ur luggage!!! In October 2013 I set up magical express, put luggage tags on our bags and when we got to Orlando we went straight to our rent a car. As long as the yellow tags are on the bags they will be taken to ur resort they are not linked to you getting on the magical express, the bags arrive at resort on box trucks...2 hours after we got to our resort our luggage was delivered to the room!

Wow, that is really cool to know.

Just as an FYI, there are also rental car locations on Disney Property, one by Epcot at the Disney Car Care Center and one at the Swan/Dolphin...I believe there is one also at the Shades of Green.
Anyways, there is a shuttle that takes you from your hotel to the rental car place and when you drop off the car, takes you back to a park or your hotel. It is quite nice. Last year I picked up a car for a conference at the airport, went to the conference, then moved onto Disney. We had a villa, so we used the car to pick up groceries and such and then after five days, dropped off the car at the Disney Car Care Center at 8:30 am, got on a shuttle at around 9 or so, and arrived at Epcot shortly after rope drop. Although, that time in the morning, there is a line for the shuttle to get to the parks, but overall, worked very well. They have National/Enterprise and Alamo. Went with National and cost like $200 or so. Also, the taxis to Universal cost around $40 each way. If you are planning two days at Universal, cost is around $160, which is about what it cost to do a three day rental car.

 

[eXo]

You guys are awesome! Thank you so much superD3 for the tips on magic express.

And thanks danikoski so much for the tip on the car rental place in Disney as well as the cost breakdown.

And thanks to everyone else for their feedback on the buses. I'm no longer as afraid of them as I was before. And since this trip is primarily for the little ones, I don't think we will be hopping around much - so the in park transportation sounds like it will be best for us.

And then the day we do Universal I will see what it costs to rent a car for one day from the in park car rental places and see how it compares to a taxi. Considering I'd have to pay $20 just to park the car at universal though, that starts to skew things away from rental cars fairly quickly.

 

[marauder]

And then the day we do Universal I will see what it costs to rent a car for one day from the in park car rental places and see how it compares to a taxi. Considering I'd have to pay $20 just to park the car at universal though, that starts to skew things away from rental cars fairly quickly.

We ended up going with the taxi. It costs roughly $40 each way. You can save a little money returning to Downtown Disney instead of your resort, except don't do that on Friday or Saturday night due to rough times getting into Downtown Disney during the construction.

Mears offers a shuttle but it is roughly $47 per person round-trip so it depends on your party size whether it saves money or not. If you are doing more then one day at Universal a rental probably is the cheapest. We did a one day - two park pass for Universal and we had no problems, just have to prioritize what you want to see and do.

 

[eXo]

I have been to Universal many times and most recently stay a week at cabana Bay to check out Diagon Alley. Since we would only be going to take our kids (5 & 2 at the time), I'm sure we could do both parks in a day. Seuss Landing, Hogsmeade (itself, not the rides), and the playground/glider ride at JP would really be the only stuff for them at IOA I think.... And then back at USF there is Despicable Me, the parade, Diagon Alley (she can check out the shops and play with the interactive wands), ET, the playground area, and maybe some of the tamer rides like MiB and a BIG maybe on the Simpsons (Guessing 5 year old would be ok for that, but not the little guy).

Anyways, yea - I do think one day is plenty to see everything for the 5 year old's age group there.

A taxi currently seems like the best bet, thanks to you guys

 

[DemoBri1]

eXo...We have been to WDW on at least 10 different trips...most with kids and one without. On each occasion we have stayed on property and have only ridden the bus one time which was when they were experimenting with a direct line from WL to MK. Even on that trip we always rented a car (or in our case a minivan). Yes DME is a nice perk, but I like to know that my luggage has actually made it to the resort from the airport, and I also like the ability to make my own transportation schedule with having a car at my disposal. This to me makes the added expense of a rental car tolerable. If you get the urge to visit other attractions in the area you also are not required to get a taxi, towncar or other form of mass transit. You have your car. As long as you have a free alternative for parking your car I'd say go for the car rental. We've loved it in the past and will do it again on our next trip.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

I didn't realize until now that you could take the bus to MK. That's great news - I was a bit worried about the ferry being really slow.

It's my favorite park bus!

 

[maxiesmom]

You can still use magical express for ur luggage!!! In October 2013 I set up magical express, put luggage tags on our bags and when we got to Orlando we went straight to our rent a car. As long as the yellow tags are on the bags they will be taken to ur resort they are not linked to you getting on the magical express, the bags arrive at resort on box trucks...2 hours after we got to our resort our luggage was delivered to the room!

According to Disney, you are not supposed to do this. The problem being, if your luggage gets lost, and you have to explain you didn't follow their rules, and sent the luggage ahead without using the bus..

They will know you didn't take the bus, as they now scan your Magic Band or the DME booklet. Kind of hard to look to them to help with your missing luggage, when you didn't follow their rules to begin with.

 

[Tigger's ally]

According to Disney, you are not supposed to do this. The problem being, if your luggage gets lost, and you have to explain you didn't follow their rules, and sent the luggage ahead without using the bus..

They will know you didn't take the bus, as they now scan your Magic Band or the DME booklet. Kind of hard to look to them to help with your missing luggage, when you didn't follow their rules to begin with.

You could always split up. Wife and family take DME bus to the resort whilst Dad picks up rental car.....

 

[fla4fun]

I stay at WL at least once a year. I am a local, so I always have my car with me. That being said, once it's parked at WL, the car does not move. I use Disney transport to get where I need to go. I'd rather leave the driving to someone else. I might consider driving the car if I had a very early dining reservation at another resort, as resort to resort transportation can be a little time consuming - but I've tried to always tie any dining to whatever park I am going to, to keep it simple. I use both the boat and bus to MK - usually depending on where in the resort my room is, as those transportation options are at opposite ends of the resort.

However, in regards to going to Universal or Sea World from Disney, I would either use a taxi or rent a car, instead of relying on shuttle transportation. Some shuttles operate on schedules that mean you can't arrive as early or leave as late as you might like. With a taxi or car rental, you are in control of when you arrive and depart.