Disney World Resort Transportation...?

Show all answers

Natterjack9

December is a great time to go to Disney. The parks are all decorated for Christmas, and the Christmas spirit combined with Disney magic is really something to see.

Let's take each question one at a time. First of all, where to stay. No matter what anyone tells you, the best way to go is to stay on the Disney property, especially with the ages of your kids. You have so many perks that comes with being a resort guest it is unbelieveable, and price wise they are comparable with anything that is off-site. With the ages of your children and you mentioning the value resorts, I would definitely recommend the All-Star Movies resort, with Pop Century a close second. AS Movies is a large value resort with the decor all based on classic Disney movies. One wing is 101 Dalmations, one Fantasia, one Toy Story, etc. The rooms are on the small side, but since you don't spend a whole lot of time in the room anyway it should do o.k. Your kids will love the resort (my kids did!) Besides the decor, they have a huge themed pool with Sorcerer Mickey in the middle of it spouting water. There is a food court, but no sit down restaurant, and you still get the famous Disney service. Pop Century is based on pop culture icons past and present, with things like a giant Rubik's cube and Big Wheel to marvel at. I have never stayed at Pop myself, but from all reports it is a great place. The one advantage it has over any of the All-Star's is that it has it's own bus route, making getting back from the parks a little quicker.

If you are looking at the moderate resorts, my favorite is the Caribbean Beach resort. The resort itself is HUGE, the pool is really cool with a small water slide and waterfall, a very good food court and a sit down restaurant for late afternoon and evening meals. The moderates are all about the same, and in regards to the guest rooms are bigger than the values, making there more room to move for you and the family.

My suggestion is to go to the Disney website and use the resort comparison tool. You can look at each of the resorts side by side and decide which one is the best for you.

Each of the resorts has it's own bus service to and from all of the parks. (The All-Stars usually share bus service to each of the parks, but it usually is not a problem as they are all going to the same complex.) You will never have to worry about getting to and from the parks at all, just catch the bus at the closest bus stop to your room. Each of the parks, Downtown Disney, and the water parks have busses that run to them directly from your resort, no matter which level of resort you choose. As for the monorail, it is connected to the Deluxe resorts that sit in a ring around the Seven Seas lagoon near the Magic Kingdom. Those are the Contemporary, the Polynesian, and the Grand Floridian. Also Epcot center is connected to the Magic Kingdom as well, via the transportation center. All in all as a resort guest you have unlimited access to all of the Disney transportation.

When buying your park passes, the one option I would add for sure is the park hopper option. The park hopper option does add a little bit to the price of your tickets, but it is worth the extra cost. For example, if you spend the day at Animal Kingdom, then after a bite to eat at the resort decide that you want to catch the Fantasmic show at MGM, that is only possible if you have the park hopper option on your tickets. If just gives you the ultimate in flexibility for your vacation with less of a hassle. The other alternative is you are stuck going to one park only, per day.

If you are going to be there at Christmas expect large crowds. Up until right before Christmas though is a smaller crowd. However, most of the time the crowds are well behaved and all looking to have a good time, so it is not an issue. The weather is pretty good, but don't expect 90 degree days. All in all it is a good time to be in Florida.

I hope this helps. I have a few sources of info you may be interested in. First I already have told you about the Disney website, which the link is below. Next, check out the Disboards. The disboards is a message board website that is all about going to Disney with people on it who love to go and know what they are talking about. I am a Disney veteran and learn something new just about every time I log on. You can get resort reviews, dining reviews, trip reports, and tips and tricks from those in the know. Once I found it I was hooked. Finally go to the bookstore and pick up the Birnbaums' guide to WDW. There are a ton of guide books out there but that is the one that has worked the best for us.

Have a great trip!!

The Doctor 46

Okay here it goes.

1) The transportation from all of the resorts are about the same when you are leaving the park there is a big ol' sign you cant miss it with letters telling you what lines will take you to the buses that go to your hotel. If you are going to another park from a park i suggest the monorail (ie If you are at the Magic Kingdom and would like to go see Fantasmic at MGM then take the monarall.) From Magic Kingdom you can go to MGM and Epcot you have to take a bus to animal kingdom and back.

2) I believe all the transportations from the hotels are shuttle buses.

3) If you are looking for a cheap hotel i suggest one of the Disney All-Star Resorts. Check out Waltdisneyworld.com for a full list of resorts from there you can see for yourself what would be better. Although the All-Star Resorts are more Kid Friendly.

4)December is a bit busy because of Chirstmas I suggest going to the Magic Kingdom on a Monday or Wedsday. Here is a link to the November 2007 park hours most of the time the times dont change until June-July the December park hours will not be posted.

Magic Kingdom http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wdw/calendar/parkhours/calendarHome?id=MKCalendarParkHoursMonthlyViewPage&date=20071101

Epcot
http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wdw/calendar/parkhours/calendarHome?id=EPCalendarParkHoursMonthlyViewPage&date=20071101

Animal Kingdom
http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wdw/calendar/parkhours/calendarHome?id=AKCalendarParkHoursMonthlyViewPage&date=20071101

Disney's-MGM Studios
http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wdw/calendar/parkhours/calendarHome?id=MGMCalendarParkHoursMonthlyViewPage&date=20071101

Blizzard Beach
http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wdw/calendar/parkhours/calendarHome?id=BBCalendarParkHoursMonthlyViewPage&date=20071101

Typhoon Lagon
http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wdw/calendar/parkhours/calendarHome?id=TLCalendarParkHoursMonthlyViewPage&date=20071101

*Tip* If the normal line is to big and the fastpass line is not then i suggest you get a Baby swap since you have 2 two year olds it allows a member of your family and 3 others to ride the attraction while someone else waits outside with the child after you get off that person gets to go on and 3 others get to return with him/her.

(Forgive my spelling spell check was taking forever lol ^^)

tech_girl

The closer to the Christmas holiday you get, the bigger the crowds will be. The time just before Christmas through New Year's will be unbelievably crowded; I was there the first weekend of December and it wasn't terrible. Take advantage of the Magic Hours (parks open early or stay open late for Disney Resort guests) - the early Magic hours are generally less crowded. You may also want to consider purchasing tickets to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party - it does cost extra, but is a great way to see the Magic Kingdom with a smaller group of people.

Transportation... all of the resorts have convenient transportation. The more you pay for your resort room, the closer your bus will be in the transportation set up. For detailed info about what each resort offers for transportation and amenities, check out http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wdw/resorts/resortBenefitComparison?id=BOSOPResortCategoryComparisonPage

Have a great trip!

holmeskaykay

Port Orleans French Quarter or Riverside have very convenient bus transportation to the parks. There is also boat transportation to the Downtown Disney area. Nice 10 min ride up the river. I personally stayed at the Riverside section of the resort and there were 5 in my room. 3 kids - 13, 8 and 3 myself and my sister. Riverside has a trundle bed that pulls out from under one of the beds. (nice for the 2 yr olds). Those are available in the Alligator Bayou section of the resort. Both of these resorts are moderate level properties.

chris

only 3 hotels offer the monorail service--contemporary, polynesian, and grand floridian. But these are all deluxe resorts and are expensive, and i have stayed at 2/3 and the monorail is a must. I also stayed at a moderate priced resort when i went in feb 2007, and it was the Port Orleans French Quarter. it is like a louisiana town, and is soo nice. the pool is the best i have seen at a disney resort before, and i loved it. And, they offer boat services to downtown disney, and the riverside (the other part of the resort, and do not stay there because it is way overcrowded!). The bus transportaion though to all the parks isn't bad at all, and the hotel is in a central location, so all the times on the bus aren't bad. hope you have a good time!!

ihatemath701

Well to answer your question. The moderate resorts are so huge that the busses will spend quite a bit of time just picking up are your resort if you have to share a bus. Also With two younger ones staying at the moderate resorts with an unprefered room may make you walk quite a bit. The value resorts are kind of out of the way of all the parks... so you will have a pretty long bus rides. But if you have a good driver they will keep you entertained. The moderates do offer boat rides to different places, depending on which one you stay at
Since you have a family of 5 i would suggest the Port Orleans Resort and that you get a room with a trundel bed unless both your 2 year olds are still in pack-and-plays.
Something you may also want to consider with your family size is a suite at one of the Downtown Disney Hotels, they have their own transportation system that is pretty similair to disney's but once at a Disney resort/down town disney/theme park you can use any of disney's transportations. If you choose to go that way i do not reccommend the Grosvenor Resort. It very old. But the rest of them are very nice hotels.
Something you may want to do while down there in Decemeber is go to the Grand Floridian and see the giant Christmas Tree that they set up in the lobby. And if you are planning to do any character meals make sure to book them as soon as possible. I hope this helps
For going over the holidays go to wdwtoday.com and read the show notes for episodes 171, 172, 177, 196.

Ali

The weather is great. The water parks aren't open though. They have all the Christmas decorations up!

The Boardwalk hotel is really nice, but not cheap. It's 2 minutes to Epcot and MGM-Studios. You can walk to them. They have a million restarunts there. They have an arcade too. Two pools.

Crowds in December is about 50,000 people a day. Not bad there is uaually about 20,000,000 visitors a day in the summer. If your 7 year old wants to go on Space Mountain, you and your husband should choose a RIDER who rides the rides with the 7 year old and one who wants to ride DUMBO. You might want to split up. Go to http://www.disneyworld.com for park hours and stuff like that. Have fun on your trip!

TWil

I have been to Disney in December and it's a great time to go. They have it all decked out for Christmas. I don't know what part of December you are going but we went the week after Thanksgiving and it wasn't to crowed then and the weather was great. The closer you get to Christmas the more crowded it gets.

As for transportation they have free transportation from the hotels to all the parks and Downtown Disney. I would recommend one of the value resorts since you have 3 kids. We stayed at the All Star Movies Resort in March and had a blast. It's all Disney and the kids will love it. Have a great time.

WingsOTWorld

To be honest...none of the value or moderate resorts have convenient transportation...its all done by bus which normally cycle every 20 mins to EVERY destination except other hotels.

Resorts with boat transportation include:

To Epcot and MGM Studios: The Boardwalk, Yacht and Beach Club, and the Swan and Dolphin

To The Magic Kingdom: Contemporary, Grand Floridian, and Polynesian

Resorts with monorail transportation to the Magic Kingdom and Transportation and Ticket Center: Contemporary, Grand Floridian, and Polynesian

Everything else is by bus.

For a family of 5...I'd actually recommend the Boardwalk...it's expensive but you will be living in an actual "home" with separate bedrooms, a kitchen with appliances and cooking tools...very useful and its probably gonna be worth it. Plus if you get views that look out onto the actual Boardwalk...it's almost like being there plus you've got street entertainers at night, and it's just plain awesome. And you are within walking distance to Epcot and MGM, Epcot is a 5 min walk...MGM closer to 15 mins.

Weather: cool to cold...maybe a few days of 80 degree weather. Most likely it'll stay round in the 80s with lows in the 40s at worst.

Crowds: it's always crowded :-p face it...you will never be out of another person's sight...but early december is one of the best times to go when crowds are actually at yearly lows. During the holiday season...not so much...thats when park attendance peaks and lines for even some of the simpler attractions like "Living with the Land" and "Spaceship Earth" will hit 20, 30, and 40 min wait times. Let alone Soarin' and Expedition Everest will easily hit 90 mins and upwards.

Park Hours: average...they'll start at 9am no matter what...time they end...the closer you get to the holidays...the later it stays open...sometimes until midnight, and then tack on the extra magic hours you'll get as a park guest...you could easily return to your hotel rooms at 2 am. But thats really late in the holiday season. Otherwise...expect 11pm to be the latest for Magic Kingdom...on certain days. I'd suggest reading up on this info and checking park hours in December on the Disney World Website.

Lilli

All resorts have free transportation. There are buses, ferries, the monorail, etc. You won't have trouble finding a way to get around! There are some family suites at All Stars Music and Port Orleans Riverside has some rooms in the Alligator Bayou section that will sleep 5 if you request a trundle bed. Otherwise, you will need to get 2 rooms. A great place to check out for info and pictures is here: http://allearsnet.com/acc/faq_hot.htm There are also reviews on this site.

Park hours can be found on Disney's website. I believe they are posting 6 months in advance now. December before Christmas is a good time to go. Around Christmas, it starts getting incredibly crowded.

Jess

I'm going in two weeks and will be staying in the Pop Culture Value resort. It has free transportation to all disney theme parks plus the water park. I've heard that all the disney resorts provide free transportation to all theme parks. The best bet with kids is to go to a value resort. Its very fun and bright (appealling to kids and adults who are kids at heart) and its a lot cheaper than the other resorts. Try looking into the Pop Culture, Movie, Music Resorts.
I've never been to disney in December, but I'm sure the weather is not extremely cold (probably low 60s to 70s) and I don't think its very rainy during that time. I've only ever gone to Disney anywhere between March through July.

Lori & Gina O

Well if u stay on a disney resort u get free transportation bc buses come 2 your hotel. if u stay at a hotel on disney property u still get buses, buses are the best, bc u dont have to park and they r free.

Beach Gal

The Monorail stops at 3 of the Deluxe resorts: Grand Floridian, Contemporary and the Polynesian. The monorail also travels between the Transportation and Ticket Center (by the Magic Kingdom) and EPCOT.
All other hotels offer shuttle serve. The Grand Floridian, Contemporary, Polynesian and Wilderness Lodge also offer boat launch to the Magic Kingdom park.

For a family of five, in the value/moderate price range, I recommend either the All Star Music or Coronado Springs. The All Star Music received all new fixtures, carpeting, and other upgrades in June of 2006. It also has my favorite Value Resort pool, the Calypso! Coronado Springs is my favorite Moderate Resort. You can kayak on the lake, enjoy good Mexican Food, shop for Mayan and Aztec-influenced art and souveniers and a lot more. It is also located next to Blizzard Beach and Disney's Animal Kingdom!
If you visit anywhere between Dec. 1st - 18th, you can expect very low crowds. My husband and I visited Dec. 1st - 8th last year and it was wonderful. Granted, it will be quite cooler than usual, so a trip to the beach is usually out that time of year. Pack jeans or at least one pair of pants and a sweathshirt or jacket. Last year I wore capri pants, a T-shirt and a sweatshirt to the Magic Kingdom and wished I had worn full length pants instead.

But lines are shorter, hotels are cheaper, and all of the fun Holiday decorations and shows are up and running! If you visit after Dec. 18th, expect high crowds for the holiday.

Be sure to check out http://www.easybreezyplanning.com
There you can read up on fun tips and advice which is updated monthly, sign up for the free Disney E-newsletter, purchase Disney Park merchandise and even receive assistance with planning your vacation. Have a great time!

Romans 8:28

First of all, make sure you go during the FIRST two weeks of December....that is the least crowded. After that, kids are out of school and the crowds get really heavy - especially between Christmas and New Year's. The temperatures during the first couple of weeks ranges from 80's to 50's, so it's still warm enough to swim, but it gets a little chilly at night. If it rains, it doesn't last long - maybe 20-30 minutes. Also, stay away from Magic Kingdom on Saturday....there is a LARGE crowd, it takes forever to get from one point in the park to another, let alone get on a ride - it will not be a good experience for the kids, and you & your husband will end up extremely frustrated. Try EPCOT instead....make sure they see "Turtle Talk with Crush" at the Living Seas Pavillion - they'll love it! Also, each country has their country's version of Santa Clause who tells the story of their Christmas traditions & such, and the children can get a "passport" & have it "stamped" at each country.

The All-Star music resort actually has family suites now. Our adult daughters stayed there last December and really liked it. (We stayed at the Coronado Springs resort with our granddaughter.) The value resorts have more "Disney decor" in the rooms, which the kids seem to like. No matter what resort you stay at, transportation is convenient and you can go to any of the other resorts for meals, swimming / similar amenities. Be sure to take advantage of the Extra Magic Hours and the FastPass options too!

The kids would probably LOVE Mickey's Very Merry Christmas party...especially the dance party with the characters in Fantasyland! If they like Christmas lights, be sure to go to MGM to see the Osborne lights. I don't know if they'd enjoy the Candlelight Celebration at EPCOT, but I highly recommend it. (Our granddaughter likes it, but she also ends up falling asleep about 1/2 way through....)

Btw...the Grand Floridian also has this AWESOME huge gingerbread house in the lobby - it's REAL! Kids get a big kick out of it, and they sell miniature versions from it!

If you get the dining plan option (which I HIGHLY recommend), you can use your table service meals for character meals. If your children are girls and want to have a meal with the princesses, you need to book this a.s.a.p.! The dinner in the castle w/Cinderella books up fast, but you can also have dinner with her at 1900 Park Fare (in the Grand Floridian). They have a princess character breakfast & lunch at Askerhaus @ EPCOT that's really good too. This has several of the princesses....sometimes Cinderella is there, but not always.

Andrea S

As the previous poster has said, Pop would be a good one and it is part of the value resorts. Another great resort is Coronado Springs Resort, this is a Moderate Resort so it is a little bit more than the Values. However, the buses only go to this resort and doesn't pick up anywhere else before going to the parks. The theming is great, it has a Southwest feel to it and the pool is awesome. You have to look at the pictures on either allearsnet.com or wdwinfo.com. I would consider Coronado Springs over the Pop Culter because the value resorts tend to be filled with kids running around and there is not a lot of shade especially when you are waiting for the buses, however you are going in December so it may not be as bad.

If money does not matter to you, I would also check out the Delux resorts in the Magic Kingdom area such as the Poly, Contemporary, Wilderness Lodge, and Grand Floridian. All except the Wilderness Lodge are on the Monorail line and are very convient with kids. If you wanted to go to Epcot you could hop on the monorail and then go to the Tickets and Transportation and then hop on to the monorail going that way. As for the Wilderness lodge they have a ferry that takes you to Magic Kingdom, Contemporary, and to Fort Wilderness. Personally these are my favorite resorts because the monorail is so much more convient than the buses, however, they are much more expensive. Have fun planning for your trip.

dragonfly

The monorail stops at most of the older hotels. There is bus service from most hotels as well. Weather in December could be 85,could be 35,depends on the year. This past year it was in the 70's and raining on Christmas Day. Try checking
http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wdw/index?bhcp=1

Ms.Hockey!

All of the resorts have a bus system to take you to all the parks. They usually run between 15-30min depending on time of day and how busy it is. THe resorts on the monorail are The Grand floridian, Polynesian and Contemporary. The resorts that have boat acess from Magic kingdom are those three plus the wilderness lodge ( welll i thoughth so any way)
Resorts that have boat access from epcot and mgm are The swan and Dolphin, THe yacht and Beach club and The Board walk. Im sure i've missed some but this is what I remeber.

Just know this all resorts have free transportaion to all Disney attratctions!! and if your staying on property you can get free transportaion to and fro the air port.

The weather in december is usually nice. Lower 70's high 60's chilly at night, parks are usually busy do to The holidays. The parks will probably be open later as well do to the holidays. Lots of great holiday atmosphere and parades and fun things like that!

It is a nice time to go, busy but nice!!

sdrazzirg

The only resorts that have monorail access are Grand Floridian, Contemporary, and Polynesian, but those are not value or moderate.

All resorts have buses that can take you anywhere on the WDW property.

The only value or moderate hotel that you can access the Magic Kingdom by boat is Fort Wilderness.
You can reach MGM Studios or Epcot by boat from the Boardwalk, Yacht and Beach Clubs, and the Swan and Dolphin resorts.
You can reach Downtown Disney by boat from Port Orleans or Old Key West resorts.

Personally, I would recommend you just driving your own car (or a rented one if your flying) to and from the parks.

I would recommend the Pop Century resort for a family of five.

Weather really varies that time of year. I would definitely recommend taking a sweatshirt no matter what because it can get chilly at night. Check the weather at least a week in advance before you trip. If it's going to be sunny, pack light. But if it could possibly be rainy or windy, bring jeans and clothing to keep you warm, because the wind chill drops the temperature dramatically.

Enter Your Message or Comment

User Name:
User Email:
Post a comment: