Off Site Transportation

[Julia Anderson]

Does anybody know of any off site locations that have access to Disney transport? If not, what are the best off site locations to stay that have easy transportation access to the parks?

 

[kaytieeldr]

Disney Springs area resorts have regularly scheduled buses during all park hours and Disney Springs at night. For other hotels, you might want to ask on the Orlando Hotels forum.a

 

[JimMIA]

I'm sure most visitors who stay offsite (the vast majority of WDW guests) have cars. Being offsite without a car is not only a problem for the parks, but also for shopping, dining, etc.

The Wyndham Bonnet Creek (timeshare) and Wyndham Grand hotel at Bonnet Creek have buses, but I think there is a per-person daily charge for them and Uber/Lyft might be easier and less expensive. With any offsite bus service, be sure to check their scheduling -- they do NOT run continuously like the Disney buses.

Katieeldr's suggestion above is the best idea. Go to the DIS Orlando Hotels and Attraction board and ask.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

The only "offsite" resorts that use Disney transportation are the Swan and Dolphin. It's not Disney transport, but some of the offsite locations have their own shuttles. Please read their policies and be sure that their shuttle schedules are something you want...some of them will only go to Disney Springs, some may drop off or pick up at Epcot or TTC but not both. Might also run once an hour or more erratically.

 

[maxiesmom]

Does anybody know of any off site locations that have access to Disney transport? If not, what are the best off site locations to stay that have easy transportation access to the parks?

None have what I would call easy transportation access. The Disney Springs resorts will come close. Whatever you do, do careful research. Some off site resorts only drop off at set times, some charge for their shuttle, and some only drop off at the TTC. To be honest, I wouldn't dream of staying off site without a car. Or without planning on relying on taxis or Uber.

 

[writerguyfl]

Does anybody know of any off site locations that have access to Disney transport?

The word "access" can mean several different things in this context. As noted, the only non-Disney hotels that use Disney Transportation are the Walt Disney World Swan and Walt Disney World Dolphin.

But, if you're asking if people staying at off-site locations are able to access Disney Transportation, the answer is yes. If you are going to a theme park, water, park, visiting Disney Springs, or going to a Disney Resort to shop or dine, you are welcome to use any of Disney's buses, boats, monorails, or gondolas (coming soon).

Some off-site hotels only provide shuttle service to one location at Disney World. Typically, the go to Epcot because it's the easiest park get to/from when coming from outside Disney World. Once at Epcot, those people have to use Disney Transportation to reach their final destination at Disney World.

 

[Dis703]

I was under the impression that the Disney owned hotels in the Disney Springs area had transportation, but perhaps it's not the usual Disney buses? I looked into them, but the costs were the same or higher than the onsite values so we never actually stayed there.

I agree that most people offsite tend to have a rental car and when we used to stay offsite we learned the hard way to always do the same.

 

[joelkfla]

I was under the impression that the Disney owned hotels in the Disney Springs area had transportation, but perhaps it's not the usual Disney buses? I looked into them, but the costs were the same or higher than the onsite values so we never actually stayed there.

I agree that most people offsite tend to have a rental car and when we used to stay offsite we learned the hard way to always do the same.

The buses are run by Mears, and they run once an hour, or sometimes twice an hour to MK, as opposed to every 20 minutes or less from Disney resorts. They're also shared by 3 or 4 hotels, and sometimes go to 2 parks. But it is the best transportation among non-Disney hotels, except for Swan & Dolphin which get regular Disney bus service.

 

[writerguyfl]

I was under the impression that the Disney owned hotels in the Disney Springs area had transportation, but perhaps it's not the usual Disney buses? I looked into them, but the costs were the same or higher than the onsite values so we never actually stayed there.

If you're referring to the seven hotels adjacent to Disney Springs, those aren't owned by Disney. While the hotels are located on Disney property, they are owned and operated by outside companies.

Also, if you really want to do a fair comparison, you shouldn't compare the Disney Springs Hotels with the Disney Value Resorts. With the exception of the Wyndham Garden Lake Buena Vista, the Disney Springs Hotels are of better quality than the motel-style Disney Value Resorts.

For example, I picked a random date (September 28 for 3 nights) and found the cheapest Disney Resort is Disney's All-Star Music Resort at $156.33/night. For the same dates, the DoubleTree Suites is $141.66/night. As the name suggests, you get a two-room suite that is 540-square feet. That's twice the size of the Disney Value Resorts.

The buses are run by Mears, and they run once an hour, or sometimes twice an hour to MK, as opposed to every 20 minutes or less from Disney resorts. They're also shared by 3 or 4 hotels, and sometimes go to 2 parks. But it is the best transportation among non-Disney hotels, except for Swan & Dolphin which get regular Disney bus service.

The highlighted text is incorrect. The buses run every 30 minutes and they are quite punctual. More information, including pros and cons of the buses can be found here:

https://www.disboards.com/threads/disney-springs-hotels-bus-information.3653605/

 

[joelkfla]

The highlighted text is incorrect. The buses run every 30 minutes and they are quite punctual.

OK, thanks. I might be confusing it with the SOG schedule.

 

[kaytieeldr]

It's been years since I stayed at SoG, but I think their buses do run hourly and to two pairs at a time.

 

[writerguyfl]

OK, thanks. I might be confusing it with the SOG schedule.

Actually, you might be thinking of the Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek and Waldorf Astoria Orlando. They share a bus and their schedule is pretty sparse. It's similar to what you described. Most of the day, it's twice hourly to the Transportation and Ticket Center (for Magic Kingdom) but only once hourly to the other theme parks. And in early afternoon, there are usually stretches of 2 or 3 hours when you can't get to some parks.

Their shuttle schedule: http://bonnetshuttle.com/

(I remembered that around 5am and wanted to post that but the site is always down then. Yeah, I keep really weird hours. haha)