Transportation in the "World"

[PeoplemoverMatt]

WDW is 47 square miles large. It might seem complicated because of the size but it's really not. Travel time though, is a factor because of the size.

-- PMM

[WDW Monorail]

Someone wanted to know the number of busses WDW operates. If I am not mistaken, the number is about 250.
WDW has the 3rd lasrgest bus fleet in the state of Florida.

[echoscot]

Actually, some of the busses do make multiple stops. There are many routes. My favorite recommendation is "if you already drove and paid for parking, sometimes the easiest way to get to another park is to go back to your car and drive there."

That parking fee is good for all day at all the Disney parks.

EDIT: Oh yeah, and that parking fee you paid helps pay for the transportation costs. If you stay in a resort, then you have paid an embedded cost for the transportation systems

[PeoplemoverMatt]

But what if you parked at Downtown Disney and didn't pay squat?

-- PMM

[echoscot]

^That is one of the loopholes, however, it is an extremely awkward one to work through, and they can always jack up the parking fees to like $15 or something to make up for the ones slipping through the cracks.

[PeoplemoverMatt]

Once I parked in Downtown Disney...it took an hour to get to Magic Kingdom after riding a bus to Polynesian Resort and riding the monorail to TTC & then Magic Kingdom.

Also during that trip, it took 45min to get from Magic Kingdom to MGM-Studios after riding monorail to TTC and then waiting, and riding a bus, to MGM Studios.

So is it any more or less awkward? You be the judge...

-- PMM

[echoscot]

I think that is still awkward. I think the whole bus thing is awkward, but the point I was trying to make is that Disney has built in ways of paying for transportation. Most people are too disoriented and lost to do anything other than follow the signs ( and some I think don't even know how to read them...LOL).

It is just so much simpler to park your own car at the appropriate park, pay the parking fee and when you want to go to another park, get back in your car and drive there. I think that is way simpler than using the busses at all. Once you pay the parking fee it is good for all day long.

[tomserwin]

Are you guys staying at a Disney resort?

I have never had a problem navagating the bus system. The monorail is the easiest way but the buses are efficient.

[echoscot]

I am not staying at a Disney resort, I worked there for 25 years. The busses are okay, but if you are driving to a park for the day, it is just simpler to drive to the park. You can save money by doing the little trick that PMM posted, I know some guests and friends who have done that.

I just go for the simple things though. For fun transportation, I like the boats from the Studios to get to Epcot, and the Monorail is great.

My sister and her family stayed at All Star Movies one year, and my nephew Jon was 6 at the time and he loved the busses. As a matter of fact he wouldn't get off of them, he screamed and yelled and threw a fit. My brother in law, Chip, got frustrated and announced "We could have saved so much money and not bought park tickets, just let him ride the bus all day" LOL

[PeoplemoverMatt]

Originally Posted by echoscot

It is just so much simpler to park your own car at the appropriate park, pay the parking fee and when you want to go to another park, get back in your car and drive there. I think that is way simpler than using the busses at all. Once you pay the parking fee it is good for all day long.

It probably is simpler, but the one time I did that (admittedly in June), I had to take a tram to the back part of the MGM Studios' parking lot just to get to my car, which took a little while. Then, I drove from there to Magic Kingdom (10-15mins), and was directed to park right next to the WDW Speedway, which is waaaaaaaaaaay far away from TTC where I'd have to board and ride a monorail to get to Magic Kingdom's gate. This distance would make getting stuck in the back corner of the Mickey & Friends Parking Structure and walking to Disneyland seem like walking next door.

As soon as I saw where I was directed to park, I promptly took off and parked at Epcot. Then I stayed there & rode the buses and monorails from there. I couldn't imagine constantly bouncing around parking lots and ending up stuck in the back of all of them or in some other awkward, undesireable parking location. Eventually, I just picked the lesser of the evils and went with the buses.

Bottom line is, park hopping, heck, in-resort travel within WDW at all, is awkward at best. Plan time for it, plan patience for it, and just accept the fact that walking between Disneyland and DCA is a serious luxury that I keep catching myself taking for granted.

-- PMM

[echoscot]

^Too true. One more reason to expand Monorail service. That would do wonders, but the company won't spend the money on it. Maybe this new Iger phenomenon of reinvesting in the company will change that....