Park hopping logistics - car or bus or other?

[kalamazoo]

I am trying to decide which method would be most efficient for the following busy park hopping day:

Want to visit AK in morning to mid-afternoon (without FP+) then have a 3 pm ADR in Epcot and FP+ rides there after our meal. However, I was able to snag a PPO BOG ADR for 8am and I was thinking we might try to ride 7DMT before we leave for AK. If we do that then we will be rushing to get to AK as close to RD as possible. I know we won't be there for RD but the sooner the better since we won't be using FP+ at AK.

I have a car and generally prefer driving when hopping but parking at MK and then getting to and from the TTC is more time-consuming than at the other parks. I am waffling between:
1) Driving all the time MK, AK, EP - con is that we have to park at TTC and is time-consuming to get to and from the park. Pro is that , I imagine, we should be parked near the front of the parking lot at TTC.
2) Bus all the time - con is that we are at the mercy of the bus-timing gods
3) Other?

Opinions?

The most obvious solution is to switch our AK visit and just stay at MK. We might do that but I kind of don't want to do MK and EP on the same day.

 

[Alesia]

I prefer taking the bus when hopping.

 

[joelkfla]

You didn't say where you're sleeping.

If you're on property, buses would be easier IMHO.

If you're off property, you practically have no choice but to drive to MK, as park-to-park transportation will not be running that early. From there, you can take the bus to AK, bus to Epcot, and monorail to TTC. Since the Epcot Monorail drops you at TTC, you won't have to deal with getting from MK to your car in the evening.

I don't know where they're parking early arrivals at TTC now that the closest parking is "preferred", but hopefully it won't be too far a walk to your car if you get back after the trams have shut down.

 

[kalamazoo]

We're coming from SSR. I quite often drive to the parks even when staying on property and generally it works well. I know my way around and, in most cases, we end up parked close enough not to have to take a tram to the front of the park (except for MK). For this scenario though I keep coming back to taking the bus - the only issue I have is that I've had some negative experiences with wait times. Are the bus running pretty regularly these days? Particularly in non-peak times in the middle of the day?

 

[Ladygoldenhair]

I always have a car and rarely to never take a bus, unless it is a Party night at MK. I tried hopping from MK, to HS, back to the Caribbean Beach or Grand Floridian, I can't remember but it was an hour before we got out of there. I could not understand why so many buses were headed out, pulled in filled and left over and over again. I was disappointed. I gave it a second chance that is it I am done. The other thing is being packed like sardines. If we can sit there are always guys butts or strollers in our face or legs.

 

[kalamazoo]

Yes, I have had similar experiences using the bus. I guess I'll just play it be ear and see what I feel like doing that day.

 

[rsagusti]

I'm sure this is a big no-no but can you say you are eating/visiting contemporary and park there (and walk) for the short amount of time you'll be at MK then drive over to AK then from AK you could drive to Epcot or even one of the closer resorts and walk in through the back? I'm not sure how strict they are for parking at contemporary in the morning. The times we have parked there with my sister we did have a contemporary ADR but we did keep the car there for a short visit over to MK.

 

[loves to dive]

Please do not park at the resorts as previous poster has suggested, as someone who normally stays at the deluxe resorts and drives, I can tell you how frustrating it can be not to get a parking space. I would bus it but I always use the Disney transportation and I always have a car there. I'm on vacation, I'm not dealing with traffic and getting lost (I can get lost in the town I've lived in for almost 40 years). You may be a tad ambitious trying to do breakfast at MK then making AK rope drop, even driving that might be a bit rough. The one and only time we drove to a park, a few weeks ago, we were doing a split stay and just decided to go ahead over to AK before checking into resort #2. We got there just before rope drop, maybe 8:30 and still had to park pretty far back.

 

[rsagusti]

That's why I said it is probably a no-no, when we parked at Contemporary it was because we did have a ADR there, but they had special parking just for the ADR I thought the guests parked somewhere else.

Please do not park at the resorts as previous poster has suggested, as someone who normally stays at the deluxe resorts and drives, I can tell you how frustrating it can be not to get a parking space. I would bus it but I always use the Disney transportation and I always have a car there. I'm on vacation, I'm not dealing with traffic and getting lost (I can get lost in the town I've lived in for almost 40 years). You may be a tad ambitious trying to do breakfast at MK then making AK rope drop, even driving that might be a bit rough. The one and only time we drove to a park, a few weeks ago, we were doing a split stay and just decided to go ahead over to AK before checking into resort #2. We got there just before rope drop, maybe 8:30 and still had to park pretty far back.

 

[georgina]

OP could pay to valet park at the Contemporary though.

We usually have a car and drive everywhere even though staying on property.

 

[winthropf]

If you do take the bus, the quickest way to get to the ADR at Epcot may be to take a bus from AK to Beach Club or Boardwalk and enter through International Gateway. Depends where the ADR is.

 

[Day-Day]

Another option is to drive to TTC/MK; bus to AK; bus to EPCOT or EPCOT resort; monorail to TTC; drive to SSR. I think I'd use Disney transportation for everything even though we normally drive to the parks like you do.

What is "PPO"?

http://disboards.com/threads/a-list-of-common-abbreviations.1660743/

 

[Disneylover42]

Pre park opening