WL and Transportation: Is It Bad?

[tkmmc]

Hi. We are staying at the Wilderness Lodge for the first time and we're so excited. MOST of the reviews I've read have been positive. HOWEVER, I'm getting progressively more worried about the few negative reviews I've read about the transportation to parks. Specifically, we chose the WL because of the "short" boat ride to MK for our 7 & 2 year old. I just read a post about having to pick up folks from the campground on the way. How long does this take? It will be SOOO hot when we go - how long will I be on that boat? Does this mean that the bus is still better than the boat? Also, what about buses to other parks - is it a bad ride? I don't think that bad transportation will cause me to change resorts because I've read reviews of complaints about transportation at other places too (maybe just par for the busy Disney course) but I would like to be as informed as possible so I'm not disappointed. Thanks.

 

[Manda]

Every time I pick a resort, I start reading here and then start having nightmares about the horrible transportation.

I was at WL in January. I'm not very patient about transportation issues and I had absolutely no problems. It wasn't bad at all. The boat to MK does not stop at the campground. It's a straight trip to the park. I think it used to stop at the campground, but it doesn't anymore. It wasn't hot when we were at WL this last time, but it was hot when we were at the Poly in September and I don't remember feeling excessively hot on those boats.

I can't recall ever taking the bus to MK, but we did take the bus back a couple nights and it was quick and painless. The busses to the other parks do stop at Fort Wilderness, but it's not a big deal. I never felt like we were on the bus for an unacceptably long time or anything. Really. It wasn't bad, I swear. (Now All Stars... that was a nightmare. )

 

[CheshireVal]

You said it yourself: most of the reviews you've read have been great, so why would 1 or 2 negative ones make you worried?

I think transportation at WL is just fine, and the boat ride to the MK is fairly quick.

 

[MissionMouse]

WL Boat travels directly from the WL Dock to the MK Dock. You can encounter situations where you are not able to get on the boat when departing from the MK during the evening hours. You have to wait for the other one to return...or even another one as we observed. Under these circumstance you may consider taking the bus.

 

[wilde_oscar]

WDW transportation is pretty darned good most of the time. Some people have unrealistic expectations on how long it will take to move 50,000 people by bus. When the parks are closing, their will be lines. When the parks are closing the buses will be full. Relax and remember you are on vacation, and it is only a 10 min. bus ride, it won't kill you... WDW frowns on killing guests as it is bad for repeat business.

 

[tkmmc]

Thanks for the positive comments. I'm actually a pretty patient traveler and I don't mind waiting for transportation. I was just thinking if it was going to take a crazy amount of time, it would be easier to drive (we'll have our own car) with my two year old. I can definitely appreciate the time it takes for Disney to feed and transport all of it's visitors!! Thanks for confirming.

 

[wilde_oscar]

in the morning, it is quicker to head to the parks by car, cept for MK cause you still have to ferry or monorail over. In the afternoon with traffic, it is about the same, cept for MK cause you still have to ferry or monorail over. In the evening the WDW transportation Buses are faster as they don't have to wade though all the traffic of everyone trying to leave the parking lot at the same time. This is based on averages... I am sure there are those that have horror stories of being stuck on a bus in the snow going up hill both ways trying to get to MK during a hurricane.

short version, the waits are usually realistic.

 

[SamanthaH]

We stayed at the WL during the summer of 2003. At the time, we always shared the boat as well as our buses with the Fort Wilderness Campground on every occasion. The boat ride was as slow as molasses. We loved everything else about the WL... beautiful hotel and very nice, helpful staff. Keep in mind, we went during a busier time, hot time and had a 2 year old, so it made the ride seem longer. If they no longer share transportation with Fort Wilderness, I think transportation would be just fine. We are personally happier at monorail resorts, but to each their own.

 

[homeschoolmomof4]

The boat service recently changed so that you do not have to go to the campground before heading over to MK. There is also direct boat service to CR. When we there in January, boat service was very quick and convenient. We never had any problems with bus service either. Don't stress over the negative reviews and have a wonderful trip!

 

[Manda]

The boat service recently changed so that you do not have to go to the campground before heading over to MK. There is also direct boat service to CR. When we there in January, boat service was very quick and convenient. We never had any problems with bus service either. Don't stress over the negative reviews and have a wonderful trip!

You didn't check into WL on January 27th by any chance? I swear I was standing behind your family in the check-in line. Or else another homeschooling family with 4 kids and the oldest being a teenage daughter.

 

[boomhauer]

The boat service recently changed so that you do not have to go to the campground before heading over to MK. There is also direct boat service to CR. When we there in January, boat service was very quick and convenient. We never had any problems with bus service either. Don't stress over the negative reviews and have a wonderful trip!

My guess is, a lot of people were complaining about that. For the price you pay for the WL (not as much as other deluxes, but still not cheap), boat transportation should be pretty quick. I wouldn't want to sit on the boat waiting that long.

That being said, we never had any issues with the boats to MK or CR. We didn't use the buses, as we had a rental car.

 

[tiger4me2]

They do have a bus that goes directly to MK. If you stay at the Poly or GF buses take forever it seems but then it could be a matter of waiting Last time we stayed at the GF it took 4 buses to come as they all were packed solid.

 

[Mouseaholic!!!]

Transportation from the Wldie is far better than EPCOT resorts. I cannot remember a bus arriving that could not accommodate the people in line.

The boat ride is a wonderful way to arrive at the Magic Kingdom......when you see your first peek of the Castle - you can't help but smile! Sometimes there is a bit of a wait in line for the ride back at night. Did you know there is also a bus available for the Wildie at night......we have tried that line when the boat is busy....because fewer people know about it.

The bus back from the Magic Kingdom also runs longer than the boat so don't panic if you are the last ones out of the MK and see the boat is done for the evening (happens to us often because we always are the last to leave).

The busses from the Wildie give renewed hope for the overcrowded busses from other resorts.

 

[Sobes]

I just got back from WDW yesterday. We stayed at the Allstar Movie, I read horrible reviews about the buses etc. We had no problems at all. The worse wait was the bus to Hollywood studios, for some reason that bus is shared with all three resorts and takes the longest. Other than that we never waited more than 10min for a bus.
One day someone in a white van pulled up and asked if we were waiting for the epcot bus(there was a long line). We said yes, within 5min of him pulling away there was two epcot buses pulling in.
I think they do the best they can with the situation.

 

[homeschoolmomof4]

You didn't check into WL on January 27th by any chance? I swear I was standing behind your family in the check-in line. Or else another homeschooling family with 4 kids and the oldest being a teenage daughter.

Oh my goodness!! YES!!!

 

[lbrlwyr]

We are going to stay at WL in september and were concerned about taking boats to/from the MK during a time when thunderstorms are pretty common. I can't imagine being on a little boat in the middle of the lake is a great experience during a powerful florida thunderstorm. Anyone have any experience with this??

 

[danielle782001]

We have been on the boat to the MK with our kids when they were as young as 14 months and not yet 3... We had no problems on the boat... REALLY! We would get on with the stroller and these babies and never had a problem.... It takes about 20 minutes... Our kids love the boat ride because there is so much to look at... It really is a nice way to travel....

The buses can take a bit longer because of the camp grounds but most of the resorts buses stop at more than one resort... Disney transportation is not perfect but it is free... You take the good with the bad... Sometimes we will opt to take a cab if we feel like we just can't drag the kids and all of our stuff on another bus... Cabs are cheap and very quick...

But don't worry about the boat

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

We are going to stay at WL in september and were concerned about taking boats to/from the MK during a time when thunderstorms are pretty common. I can't imagine being on a little boat in the middle of the lake is a great experience during a powerful florida thunderstorm. Anyone have any experience with this??

Not to worry - they actually will stop/hold the boat service if the weather is too bad. I believe that they increase the bus service. That may actually be only on the small launches as they also have larger boats to go to the parks and they could handle a fair amount of weather anyway.

As for the transportation in general - we've had as good of luck with it as at any of the accomodations. There can always be glitches anytime, anywhere. One thing that another poster mentioned is that they don't recall ever having a problem with full busses and having to wait at WL and I would have to agree that has been our experience there too. And the boat does not share MK transportation with FW anymore either.

 

[chickenskin]

We were at WL this past Dec. and we found the boat to MK really nice. For EPCOT we just took the boat to CR and got the monorail to TTC and then to EPCOT, I know it sounds like a lot but it was fun for us. Anywhere else we drove, we always have a car with us.

 

[Manda]

Oh my goodness!! YES!!!

That's too funny. I specifically remember you because you were right in front of us and the manager stopped and was chatting with you and your kids and your daughter was telling him you homeschooled and such. We were standing at rope drop at MK later (Thursday?) and my son recognized you guys, too. We kinda have a freaky memory for people and faces.