Transportation Q&A!

"Let's talk buses, boats & monorails! What have your experiences been with the WDW Transportation system.

Do you use it? Do you like it? Do you choose your hotel based on the transportation option offered?" source

source: BestofWDW

I’ve talked in the past about how much I love the Walt Disney World transport system, it’s one of the reasons we’ve never bothered with hiring a car, especially when staying at a Walt Disney World resort!

Do you use it?

Every day of the trip! The only time we don’t is if we are venturing off site to visit a non-Disney park! Every Walt Disney World resort has a set of complimentary guest busses that take you to all of the theme parks, Downtown Disney, Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach. It’s also great for hopping on and off to explore other Disney resort hotels.

Do you like it?

Yes…and no. I love the convenience of the busses for a start. There’s nothing simpler than walking out of your hotel and having a bus pull up to take you right to the entrance of the park. No fussing with coins at toll roads, no paying for parking or hoping for a good shaded spot near the front. We’re straight on and straight off. The downside? When it’s busy those busses are super busy. There’s nothing worse than dragging your tired self out of the parks, over to the bus stops and be faced with queuing madness! Late in the evening when you’re tired, the kids are tired and all you want is to get back to the hotel, it can feel like forever until a bus comes along. A car means you always get a seat, the kids can have a nap in the back, and you don’t have to sniff eau de la sweaty-day-at-the-park your whole ride home! For me the good outweigh the bad and I’m prepared to put up with a little over crowding, after all I commute on a regular basis for work so I’m pretty used to it by now! (You’d think I’d want to get away from that on my holiday!)

Do you choose your hotel based on the transport offered?

In short – no. BUT I can see where this plays a big part in choosing your resort. People traveling with small children who plan on spending much of their vacation in Magic Kingdom would do best staying on the monorail loop, which not only offers bus transportation too but also water-taxi. Staying at the Contemporary resort means you can actually walk over to Magic Kingdom too! Staying at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge puts you furthest out from the majority of parks and Downtown Disney but is only a 5 minute bus ride to Animal Kingdom (I really wish they would put a walk-way in!). If you stay at Port Orleans you will share your busses with French Quarter which means a bus could already be full before it gets to you – but you have the option of taking a ferry boat to and from Downtown Disney. If you stay at Fort Wilderness (where you are most likely to have a car), you also have an internal bus system that operates purely on the Fort Wilderness camp ground (that place is seriously massive!) Saratoga Springs Resort and Spa has several bus stops around the resort and it can take up to 20+ minutes just to get off the resort before heading to the park depending on which stop you board at and likewise for disembarking upon your return!. There are pros and cons to the transportation at every resort but I would not let it be the deciding factor in choosing which one I’d like to stay at. I’m looking at the resort itself and what it offers me (especially where Disney Dining Plan is considered!) – The transport on offer is just an added bonus! But hey, that’s just me!

Disney do run a tight schedule with their transportation system, putting on extra busses during events and busier times of the year. No guest is ever left behind, the busses won’t stop running until each guest is safely out of the park and en route back to their resort. They start running up to an hour before park opening too so you can take advantage of those pre-opening breakfast reservations inside the parks.

For me, the good far outweighs the bad and I do enjoy and make the best possible use of those purple seated busses with their orange LED screens. I’d take them over a rent – a – car any trip, especially if I’m a Walt Disney World Resort guest!

What are your thoughts/feelings on the transportation system? Bus or car?

Until next time,

Sarah