Disney Springs Hotels Bus Information

I'm leaning towards getting a Lyft but I'm not sure any drivers would be available at 6 AM. I know I wouldn't be lol

If that doesn't work, it shouldn't be a problem getting a cab. There are almost always one or two cabs sitting outside each of the Disney Springs Hotels at all hours. If not, the Bell Person or Front Desk will call and have one there in under 5 minutes.

The Mears Taxi Fare Estimator website says it costs about $16 one-way between the furthest Disney Springs Hotel (DoubleTree Suites) and Disney's Hollywood Studios.

http://www.mearstransportation.com/taxi-services/taxi-fare-estimator/
Use the following to re-create the quote:
Pick-up Location: 2305 Hotel Plaza Blvd, Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830
Drop-Off Location: 14351 Cypress Dr, Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830
 
How long of a walk is it from Disney Springs to DS Holiday Inn? Is there a special walkway or are you walking on the side of a busy street? Thanks!
 
Has anyone used DS buses to rope drop TSL? We're going in a couple weeks and I'm trying to decide whether or not I want to go to TSL. If we went, we would RD then go over to MK. From what I've heard, they let people in at 6:30ish. I don't know if we'd be able to make it there in time using DS buses since they only go an hour before park opening and HS is a second stop. I'm leaning towards getting a Lyft but I'm not sure any drivers would be available at 6 AM. I know I wouldn't be lol
Curious what your experience was. We also want to head to TSL for EMH and are wondering if the bus is a possibility. Is the but still going to hit Epcot first?

I'm also wondering about MNSSHP. Do the buses run that late?
 
Curious what your experience was. We also want to head to TSL for EMH and are wondering if the bus is a possibility. Is the but still going to hit Epcot first?

Officially, buses go to the parks starting one hour prior to park opening and end 90 minutes after closing. If Extra Magic Hours start at 7am at Disney's Hollywood Studios but Epcot doesn't open until 9am, those first few runs should theoretically skip Epcot.

It always worked that way in reverse. For example, when Disney's Animal Kingdom closed early (like 6pm), the bus picking guests up at Magic Kingdom from 8pm and later would return directly to the Disney Springs Hotels.

You'll need to wait for someone here with experience to respond or ask your hotel (by calling or once you arrive) to get a more concrete answer.

I'm also wondering about MNSSHP. Do the buses run that late?

The bus service only operates during "normal" theme park hours. Hard-ticketed events like the Halloween and Christmas parties are not covered. You'll need to find your own ride back to the hotel if attending one of those events.
 


I am asking this here because we will be staying at The B and I am planning a non park day.
We have ADR's for Beaches & Cream at noon and then Cape May seafood buffet at 6:00. We will be checking out the nearby resorts and The Boardwalk in between the ADR's.

So, I think it would work to take the bus from The B to Hollywood Studios, then the Friendship boat to The Beach Club? Does the boat just go one direction? Would we be making a lot of stops while riding the boat?

Its okay if this is time consuming. We won't be in any hurry that day. I just am wondering what to expect.

Thanks!
 


I am asking this here because we will be staying at The B and I am planning a non park day.
We have ADR's for Beaches & Cream at noon and then Cape May seafood buffet at 6:00. We will be checking out the nearby resorts and The Boardwalk in between the ADR's.

So, I think it would work to take the bus from The B to Hollywood Studios, then the Friendship boat to The Beach Club? Does the boat just go one direction? Would we be making a lot of stops while riding the boat?

Its okay if this is time consuming. We won't be in any hurry that day. I just am wondering what to expect.

Thanks!

I think your plan is good; I'd allow an hour from the time the bus from The B drops you off at DHS to get to BC, because you'll have to walk to the boat dock, wait up to 15-20 minutes for a boat, then ride to BC. You might arrive sooner than an hour, but I'd rather be early than late! Plus, finding Beaches & Cream has always been a challenge for us (maybe someone who stays at Y&B regularly can help!).

The boat will stop at Swolphin first, then at the Y&BC dock where you disembark. After that it goes to BW and finally to Epcot IG. It usually takes about 30 minutes from DHS to Epcot. On the way back the boat goes in reverse - from Epcot IG it stops at BW then Y&B then Swolphin then DHS.
 
We finally arrived at the B at 11:30pm. So we did take a Lyft to the Contemporary and walked to the MK one day. It was amazing but I’m sure Disney will catch on soon and prevent people from doing that.

Anyway just wanted to warn others if you use the transportation you will have to take the monorail to the ticket and transportation center, wait for your bus, go to AK and then to the hotels.


100AcreWood's experience echoes ours from last month, stayed at Double-Tree Disney Springs 6 - 9 July. Our first day, Saturday at about 4 pm, was the best experience. Waited for a MK bus only about 35 minutes. Great bus driver. That night about 10:30 it was raining so we opted for a monorail to the Contemporary, a Disney Hollywood Studios bus and then a Disney Springs bus - all came as shown on the Disney bus app. At Disney Springs a CM said we could walk a half mile that way for the Bus A to the Double-Tree or we could walk a half mile this way to the walkway across the road to the Disney Springs hotel. We opted for the walk. It's a long way to the Double-Tree that way. Especially at 11 pm.
Next experience was at noon on Sunday for Epcot. We waited well over an hour for a bus. Saw two bus drivers park their buses and walk away. Never saw any bus to any park until finally an Epcot bus showed up. That evening at Epcot, some of our group elected to leave Epcot about 8. Got to the uncovered bus stop a few minutes before 8:15. Very nervous about visible lightning in the sky. Several Disney Disney Springs buses went by in the next hour. And even a Bus B - which I would have taken had I realized that the Double-Tree is across the road from the Best Western. Finally, at 9:20, after watching Illuminations over the trees, a Bus A came. Driver must have imagined himself at Daytona, instead of Disney. Spoke not a word to the few people entering the bus. The rest of our group approached the Bus A stop about 9:45. When several Disney Disney Springs buses left the area, they moved to a Disney bus. Walked through part of Disney Springs and walked to the Double-Tree.
None of the buses were crowded. Why we waited well over an hour before getting a bus after 8 pm at Epcot is beyond me.
In November 2017 we were at a VRBO west of WDW. I'd do that again before staying at the Double-Tree. Lousy housekeeping, not much of a restaurant. Bell service and valet parking were great. I might stay at a Disney Springs hotel if it were the Hilton, right across the road.
 
Updated Information:

Each shuttle runs to two different parks. In the past, those two parks have been consistent:
  • One bus to Epcot, then Disney's Hollywood Studios.
  • Another bus to the Transportation and Ticket Center (transfer to monorail/ferry for Magic Kingdom), then Disney's Animal Kingdom.

In Summer 2018, a different combination seems to be happening:
  • One bus to Disney's Animal Kingom, then Epcot.
  • Another bus to the Transportation and Ticket Center (transfer to monorail/ferry for Magic Kingdom), then Disney's Hollywood Studios.

During a trip in August 2018, I was told by one bus driver that this change was permanent. A second bus driver said the park combinations change based on hours of operation and other factors. To state the obvious: Look at the electronic signs on the buses to make sure you get on the correct one.

(Note: I have updated the first post to include this information.)
 
I'm losing a bit of confidence in the Disney springs bus situation.
With some of our savings staying at a DS hotel, we will be using Uber/Lyft.
We will give the buses a try, but if it gets unreasonable, U/L it is!
 
It's always good to have a backup plan...just in case.

That said, I stayed at the DoubleTree Suites last week. I used the Disney Springs Hotels buses all four days. With one exception, the buses came on time, just like they have in the past.

That exception was the night when my hotel got evacuated due to a fire. One of the buses got trapped in the parking lot by the multiple fire engines for almost 2 hours. I'm certain that issue left people at the parks and other hotels stuck. But, that was an extraordinary event.

Edited to Add: I'm not trying to discount the reported experiences of other people. It's possible that the Disney Springs Hotels buses might be having some rough patches. All it takes is a new bus driver who is confused about the correct route to take to see a delay.
 
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Good to know, writerguyfl, that the bus system was reliable except for the circumstance beyond their control.
Most days we will be in no hurry, so going with an open mind and hoping we have the same experience as you.

Did you use the bus to get to Hollywood Studios? I know the parking lots and bus locations are under a lot of construction right now so I'm wondering if ubering to HS would be a good time to skip the buses. Would it get us any closer?
They've made it sound like the buses drop you off a lot farther from the gates then they used to.
 
Did you use the bus to get to Hollywood Studios? I know the parking lots and bus locations are under a lot of construction right now so I'm wondering if ubering to HS would be a good time to skip the buses. Would it get us any closer?

They've made it sound like the buses drop you off a lot farther from the gates then they used to.

I park hop, a lot. So, I didn't use the Disney Springs Hotels bus to Disney's Hollywood Studios, but I did on the return. I do not know the exact location of the current ride-share drop-off/pick-up. However, wherever it is, it can't be further from the bus loop in use right now.

When I read comments about how far the bus loop is from the entrance, I figured there was some hyperbole happening. It's not hyperbole. It's a LONG walk. It stretches all the way to where you pay for parking when entering from East Buena Vista Drive. And it's quite a ways "inland" from the lagoon.

If you're not fond of walking, it's probably worth paying money to avoid buses at Disney's Hollywood Studios. (That advice holds for all buses including Disney, right now.)

Here's a photo I grabbed from the aerial's thread on Disney Rumors and News forum.

dhs-charter-busloop-edit.jpg

Link to thread with this image: https://www.disboards.com/threads/a...-theme-parks-new-aerials-8-14.3573399/page-93
 
I have a DS hotel trip planned in October, I was figuring on using Uber for MK (drop-off at Contemporary), but will be adding HS to that list. Unsure the other parks.
 
So we think the rideshare drop-offs/pick up is closer to the HS entrance?
I'm still waiting for someone who drives or who as actually done this most recently to give us an update.
 
We drove to HS from The B Resort about 3 weeks ago for EMH. We got to the parking booth about 615 am. The guest parking area is also being affected by the construction; there was no one assisting with parking and it was very confusing. We wound up parking in the Preferred Parking area (there was no sign identifying the area, but a CM later told us that). Still there was a fairly long walk to the park entrance; but the walk to the busses is DEFINITELY longer. My suggestion is that if you can you should drive to the park. As a side note, the Uber/Lyft/ taxi drop off is also by Preferred Parking, so that's a good option as well.
 
We drove to HS from The B Resort about 3 weeks ago for EMH. We got to the parking booth about 615 am. The guest parking area is also being affected by the construction; there was no one assisting with parking and it was very confusing. We wound up parking in the Preferred Parking area (there was no sign identifying the area, but a CM later told us that). Still there was a fairly long walk to the park entrance; but the walk to the busses is DEFINITELY longer. My suggestion is that if you can you should drive to the park. As a side note, the Uber/Lyft/ taxi drop off is also by Preferred Parking, so that's a good option as well.

Thanks, ILuvDisney, We will most likely be using Uber or Lyft for our HS days.
 

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