WWOS bus question

[solotraveler]

Hi everyone!

I hope some of the WDW bus experts on here can help me out with some information.

I will be in WDW January 6-14 to run the marathon and then enjoy WDW afterwards. The Marathon registration and expo are traditionally at Wide World of Sports, which is a fabulous place for it, I'm sure. This is my first marathon, so I'm sure I will want to spend some time there.

I know that you can take a bus from MGM to WWOS, but I have read several reports stating that the bus does not run frequently and the waits can be substantial. Is this true?? So the dilemma is: rent a car and be able to go back and forth to WWOS as I choose or should I just use the Disney buses??

The trips to WWOS are the only reason I would rent a car, so that really is the deciding factor. Any opinions would be appreciated!

Thanks all!
Solotraveler

 

[CarolMN]

Copied this from a post by Chip 'n Dale Express - a WDW bus driver:

The buses run from the Disney-MGM Studios to Wide World of Sports starting at 8:00am. They run every 24 minutes from bus stop #4. Please double check with the sign on the bus, as #4 is often also used for drop offs.

From the Wide World of Sports, there is only one bus, and that bus is back to the Disney-MGM Studios. Last bus will be around 8:00pm.

There is NO bus to/from Downtown Disney to either the Studios, or to WWoS.

The above is from October of 2003 though, so it may not still be accurate. That said, it wouldn't surprise me if Disney made sure the transportation demands of the marathon guests were cared for.

If the only reason you have to rent a car would be this, consider taking a cab - might be less expensive than renting the car for the entire time you are there. It would certainly be more convenient and less time consuming that taking the bus.

Good luck with the marathon!

 

[clkelley]

I believe I read reports that they provided special transportation from the resorts for the Marathon runners.

Do a search here in the DisBoards and on the Usenet Group RADP. That should give you some more information.

UPDATE - This was posted on RADP about last years marathon:

"IMHO Dixie Landings does the best job of race morning assistance, they
open the food court at 2:00am, etc. CB may be doing that now also but
haven't stayed there since they redid the food court. CS is the worst,
Disney doesn't run the food court there, the only year we stayed there
they had to get catering to put a urn of coffee out for us. A lot of
people stay at All Stars and say they do a good job also. Natch the
Deluxe's - you get what you pay for. Do stay on property, the race day
buses to and from are a real treat and the instant camaraderie at that
early houf is just something you have to experience."


Carol

 

[Chip 'n Dale Express]

The Wide World of Sports bus runs every 20-25 minutes from the Disney-MGM Studios. It has been moved to bus stop #5, now, I believe.