Best resort from a transportation perspective....

[Zoemakes5]

Hi all! I've seen lots of info about which is the best resort based on a lot of other factors, but this is going to be a "one time shot" for our party and I don't want to waste time on transportation that I don't have to.
If it makes any difference, we will be spending most time in all the parks except MK, as we've had Disneyland AP's for years. (We'll go, just not a main focus of our trip.)
So, please give me your best and worst Value, Moderate and Duluxe adivice with transporation in mind!
Thanks, all!

 

[zulemara]

the EPCOT resorts, walking distance/boat transport to DHS and a stroll through EPCOT to get to the monorails to MK leaving bus transportation only required for DAK. That's always been my thought, mainly because I have disdain for the buses.

 

[karly05]

I don't have an issue with the buses, but LOVE the Epcot resorts area with the ability to walk and/or boat to, from, and between Epcot and DHS!

Be aware that if you are at an Epcot resort and want to take the monorail to MK, you'll have to enter and walk through Epcot to do so, which will require a park hopper ticket if you're entering MK, too.

As far as which resort has the best bus transportation, you're going to hear a lot of differing opinions. My only experience with Mods/Values has been POFQ, and I've been satisfied with the bus service there - HOWEVER there are times, especially midday hours, when the POFQ bus also picks up at all 4 stops at Riverside. On my trip this year, there was some sort of issue at POFQ one morning that caused bus delays, but that was an isolated incident that could happen at any resort.

One benefit to POFQ (and sister POR) is the boat to Downtown Disney - I always seem to have bad bus service to/from DTD (and I haven't even been there that often!), and I don't think that's an isolated experience.

 

[DVC California]

...I don't want to waste time on transportation that I don't have to....
So, please give me your best and worst Value, Moderate and Duluxe adivice with transporation in mind!
Thanks, all!

With transportation as the main factor, I would choose the following:

POP Century (Value) - Does not share buses with other resorts, only one stop within resort. Very close to DHS, Epcot, and DTD. Extra credit:Great resort theming and food court.

Port Orleans French Quarter (Moderate) - Shares buses with Port Orleans Riverside, but is the first pick up/drop off on route. Only one stop within POFQ with 3 additional in POR resort. Very close to DHS, Epcot, and DTD. Extra credit: Beignets!

Beach Club (Deluxe) - Walking distance to Epcot Intl. Gateway (5-10 mins). 15-20 min Friendship ferry to DHS. Shares bus route with Swan, Dolphin, Yacht Club, and Boardwalk. Extra Credit: Stormalong Bay, Beaches and Cream, Cape May Cafe.

 

[siskaren]

Personally, I wouldn't choose a resort based solely on transportation, since not everyone has the same experience with transportation at the various resorts.

I bookmarked this post about this topic and I think it says it a lot better than I could:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=45330530#post45330530

 

[nicynot]

I don't have an issue with the buses, but LOVE the Epcot resorts area with the ability to walk and/or boat to, from, and between Epcot and DHS!

Be aware that if you are at an Epcot resort and want to take the monorail to MK, you'll have to enter and walk through Epcot to do so, which will require a park hopper ticket if you're entering MK, too.

As far as which resort has the best bus transportation, you're going to hear a lot of differing opinions. My only experience with Mods/Values has been POFQ, and I've been satisfied with the bus service there - HOWEVER there are times, especially midday hours, when the POFQ bus also picks up at all 4 stops at Riverside. On my trip this year, there was some sort of issue at POFQ one morning that caused bus delays, but that was an isolated incident that could happen at any resort.



One benefit to POFQ (and sister POR) is the boat to Downtown Disney - I always seem to have bad bus service to/from DTD (and I haven't even been there that often!), and I don't think that's an isolated experience.

I agree with this. POFQ was the best i have seen yet for transport.
CBR was okay. It is closer to most things then CSR is. I wasn't overly thrilled with the bus service at CSR. There was a lot of waiting at the stops, and i tried a few at different points in the day.
I love the boats to dtd at Port orleans resorts. I have never had great bus service to and from dtd like stated.
I don't know if this is always true, but my second trip to WDW i needed to get to the beach club and didn't have a hopper/pass for that day, and it took us almost 1.5 hours to get from DTD to the beach club resort. Im sure it was just busy that day, but it wasn't really fun sitting on the bus lol. If we would have had hoppers/passes it would have been much easier!

Does anyone else seem that the deluxes bus service isn't as quick as a moderates??

 

[Brian Noble]

Personally, I wouldn't choose a resort based solely on transportation, since not everyone has the same experience with transportation at the various resorts.

I think this is right---unless you can avoid the transportation system entirely.

OP: because you are planning to spend most of your time at parks not named MK, I (strongly) recommend renting a car. The Unofficial Guide has drive times to/from each park from/to each resort if you really want to shave minutes, but at that point you're looking at diminishing returns. Renting a car is the single best way to cut transit time down anywhere except MK.

As for the Magic Kingdom: driving might be a little slower on average, but it is much more predictable. (And, it might even be a little faster on average---it's hard to say. The extra time you spend transferring from lot to tram to monorail/ferry is pretty comparable to the extra time you might spend waiting for a bus, using shared routes, etc.)

 

[maxiesmom]

Does anyone else seem that the deluxes bus service isn't as quick as a moderates??

Definitely!

I also agree that picking a resort based on transportation being good or not is a bad idea. Each and every resort can have days where it is bad.

I have to say that when we stayed at the Beach Club, I hated the bus service. The buses were packed, they were shared among multiple resorts, and the rides to the parks were long. You have great access to Epcot and the Disney Studios, but horrible access to MK and AK.

 

[siskaren]

Definitely!

I also agree that picking a bus based on transportation being good or not is a bad idea. Each and every resort can have days where it is bad.

I think you meant to say resort.

 

[mickeynut1]

Hi all! I've seen lots of info about which is the best resort based on a lot of other factors, but this is going to be a "one time shot" for our party and I don't want to waste time on transportation that I don't have to.
If it makes any difference, we will be spending most time in all the parks except MK, as we've had Disneyland AP's for years. (We'll go, just not a main focus of our trip.)
So, please give me your best and worst Value, Moderate and Duluxe adivice with transporation in mind!
Thanks, all!

Everyone's experience with transportation is different, but for a deluxe, we have stayed at the Poly, GF, WL, AKL, and BC and out of those, the WL (in our experience) has had the best bus transportation. It also has a boat to MK (and the bus is direct with no stops). BC was our worst experience, with all of the other resorts being ok.

We have only stayed at one mod, which was CBR, and we thought the buses were great. CBR is centrally located and although there are multiple stops within the resort, it didn't take more than about 10 minutes to get to any theme park, water park, or DTD.

We've never stayed at any of the values, so I can't comment on those.

 

[maxiesmom]

I think you meant to say resort.

Oops!!!!

 

[Zoemakes5]

Thanks for the input so far, everyone! The transportation is just one of many factors we are considering, but other forums have talked about pools, proximaty to parks, food and other attributes. Not a whole lot on the pluses and minuses of transportation. Thanks again!(

 

[goofy4tink]

I've stayed at most of the resorts. Most of the moderates have multiple stops with in the resort. POFQ has just one atop, but sometimes shares a route with POR. So, when people complain about the Epcot resorts stopping at BW,S/D, YC/BC, and how long it takes, I just don't see a big difference. 15+ mins on the bus before heading to a park is the same whether or not you make 4 stops at 4 different resorts or within the same resort.
So, my choices would be.....
Pop for a value...fun resort. Good food court. Bus makes no other stops....right to the parks

POFQ for a moderate...nicely themed. No table service restaurant there tho. You have to go over to POR. Dailey compact resort. Nice pool area. Boat to DTD.

BC for a deluxe...good food options. Pool is a ton of fun, but can get crowded. Walk to Epcot in about 6 mins, walk to DHS in about 20. You can boat to DHS in 20 mi s as well...but there could be a 15+ min wait for the boat to get to you if you just missed the last one. Buses to AK, MK, and DTD. Those buses can also stop at BW/S/D/YC tho. But BC is usually the last stop....can be tough to get a seat if its crowded.

 

[Minniekins]

We've never stayed at a value resort so don't know about those. As for a moderate, we used to always stay at CBR and the buses were great there, in my experience.

The last few years we've started renting points so have been staying at deluxe resorts. Don't recall an issues with bus service at AKL or WL.

But, this past Dec we stayed at BCV and getting around was very easy! As others have suggested, I would suggest that staying at BC, YC, or BWI, or even the Swan and Dolphin(though not Disney resorts), would be great for transportation, especially so with park hoppers. You don't really need any transportation at these resort to get to Epcot or Dhs, you can easily walk! It's about 5 - 10 min to Epcot, and about 15 - 20 to Dhs, depending which of the above listed resorts you choose to stay at. Also very easy to take the boat to either park, or from one park to the other. As for getting to MK, you'll need those hoppers, but you can go right thru Epcot to the monorail to get there, or take the bus. When we did take the bus to MK, we had no problems and did not stop at a bunch of other resorts. We did not go early morning though. We went to AK once and had no problem with that bus service either. I think the best part is that staying at these Epcot area resorts means you don't have to rely as heavily on any transportation, you can walk to two of the parks, that's half of the parks you'll be visiting and you indicated you'd be visiting these parks, and AK, most, more than MK. And MK via the monorail, is easy to get to as well, and even if you don't have hoppers, the buses worked fine. Good luck, have a great trip!

 

[figment_jii]

I generally agree with the other posters that I would not base my choice of resort on the transportation system just because there are too many factors that can go into whether it's good on any given day. It might be great today and awful tomorrow...it's just to hard to say with any consistency. In the end, if saving time is that big of an issue for your party, I would budget in the money for taxi fares and use them to get from resort to a park if you didn't want to deal with Disney transportation. They are generally faster than waiting for a bus (ask to be taken to the Contemporary if you're going to MK).

I love the Epcot area resorts because you can walk to Epcot and DHS (or take the boat). You can walk through Epcot to take the monorail to MK or take a bus. The biggest drawback (and this can be an issue) is that the Epcot resorts can often share bus routes. The typical combination is BW/D/S and YC/BC, but sometimes all five resorts might be on the same route. It can lead to very full buses and waits. Otherwise, AKL is pretty good because it only share buses with AKV. It's closest to AK, but furthest from MK, DHS, and Epcot.