Tips about Transportation

Recently in June, me and my family stayed at the Polynesian. We wanted to Rope Drop Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure. We decided to book a Minnie Van! The Minnie Van was a great experience, and we got to EPCOT really fast too! We were dropped off right next to France. By the time we got to RRA, it was only a 40 minute wait, which is very good for this ride, considering that it mostly has a wait way over an hour! And it turns out, the actual wait time was 24 minutes! When we got off, it was 75!


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While the bus depot at Disney's Hollywood Studios is under construction for Disney Skyliner, consider taking the boat to the Studios if you're coming from Epcot. It will drop you a little closer to the park entrance. You can take a boat from three other spots as well: Disney's Boardwalk, the Yacht and Beach Club and the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin. - Brian L.
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Just returned from a trip to Disney World. We had a wonderful time celebrating our 45th wedding anniversary. I would like to let everyone know that when traveling to Disney's Hollywood Studios by bus, you are now dropped off a loooong distance from the main entrance due to the construction of the Skyliner. If you have any issues with walking please be aware of this. I had hurt my knee before the trip and the additional walk really took its toll. - Karen D.

EDITOR'S NOTE: We've heard from several of you recently mentioning the same thing, and we experienced it ourselves a few weeks ago. We don't know how long this situation will exist, but for the time being, be advised that the bus stops are quite a long distance from the park's main entrance!
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We recently stayed at Disney's Port Orleans - Riverside and were shocked that we had to wait 90 minutes for a bus to Magic Kingdom! We found out later that just the MK buses stop at the South bus depot first instead of the usual bus route around the POR resort where the South depot is last (usual is West, North, East, then South), so the buses were filling up before getting to our depot. To remedy this issue, we walked to the South depot to catch a MK bus the next morning, and we didn't have to wait for a bus at all -- we boarded a waiting bus immediately! As we guessed, the MK bus filled to capacity at the South depot, so it bypassed the West, North, and East depots altogether and went straight to MK. Just wanted to share this info for guests staying at POR so they can avoid the headaches we encountered. (As a side note, we went to City Hall in MK since arriving so late made us miss one of our FP+ reservations, and they made it available for us to use at anytime that day.) - Alex and Kim
On mornings when Disney expects larger than normal crowds passing through the Transportation and Ticket Center, they often add bus service to get you to the Magic Kingdom. Be sure to take a look toward the bus area when coming in from the parking lot or at the end of the Epcot monorail exit ramp to see if the signs are out for the bus service. There are usually six buses in this rotation, so they are continuously dispatched. It is definitely faster than the ferry and usually beats the express monorail, too. This service only runs for a few hours in the morning; it is not available all day. - Jack
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When booking, my travel agent said that the package included onwards travel to Walt Disney World. I said yes, as I understood this to mean Disney's Magical Express. A few weeks before our travel date, I received the final travel vouchers, which included a voucher for travel with a separate coach company from Orlando International to our Disney resort. Upon checking, we had paid extra for this service. As frequent visitors to Walt Disney World, we are aware of and have used Disney's Magical Express service, which is included for free with all on-property stays! Thankfully, I was able to cancel this and made use of the Magical Express. You do need to book this yourself. Being from the UK, we do not get the extra baggage tags, so it is important that we take our luggage with us to the Magical Express check-in. Hopefully this can reiterate to overseas travelers the services on offer from Disney, which aid to a smoother start to the magic! - Jason Herrick
Remember, if you forget where you parked your car, tell a parking attendant about what time you parked. They can then usually tell you about where you parked within a row or so. - Fred
You really need to check what perks your various credit card and loyalty programs provide. I just noticed that my credit card entitles me to Avis President's Club membership. I use National Car rental in Orlando, but National will match the elite levels for Avis and Hertz. I joined the Avis President's Club, sent a copy of my Avis membership to National, and in about two days National authorized the match. I was upgraded from Emerald Aisle to Executive Aisle service. I was able to rent a Toyota Highlander for the price of a Toyota Corolla, saving $80 per day. - Ellen
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We typically stay off-property in a condo and rent a car for travel around Kissimmee and the parks. When driving from the Orlando airport there are various Sun Pass tolls that you are required to pay. This year, our rental car came equipped with an EZ Pass, which would automatically charge our credit card on file for the tolls if we activated it. It was great because we didn't need to have cash, wait in a line for a toll taker, etc. We didn't see until later (read the small print on the label underneath the pass) that they charge you $2.95 per day up to $14.95 max for the USE of the EZ Pass! Great convenience, but beware the extra charge! - Heidi Potenza
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Don't get stuck in the dark like we did. We rented a car for our honeymoon in Florida. We picked it up during the day. When night fell we were trying to navigate by map. Our dome light in our car did not work. So our next trip we will not forget to bring a small flashlight or most smart phones have a flashlight app. - Jennica McCoy Chryst
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For those using Disney's Magical Express (DME) service, know in advance how many yellow Magical Express luggage tags you will need. If you plan on bringing two or more bags per person, let DME know when booking your reservation. They only sent me one tag per person about 30 days prior to our trip, when I needed two per person. - Jessica Brogley
Relatives of ours didn't hire a car before they set off on holiday from the UK. They decided to rent a few days into their holiday. They went to book through the USA website for a large rental firm, but then decided to check the prices on the UK site. They found it was cheaper to book through that, despite being in the USA themselves at the time. - Louise from the United Kingdom
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On a recent trip to WDW, we stayed at the brand new Wyndham Grand Orlando in Bonnet Creek... However, we found out that when some non-Disney hotels include "scheduled transportation" to the parks, it doesn't always mean that the buses run every 20 or 30 minutes as the Disney resorts and Disney Springs member hotel buses do. The shuttle from the Wyndham Grand only went to and from the parks two or three times PER DAY! Just beware that if you want the convenience of being able to head to the parks (or head back from the parks to your hotel) whenever you choose without renting a car, stay at at a Disney-owned hotel or one of the Disney Springs member hotels that run several shuttles per hour to and from the parks. Otherwise, if you intend to stay at a hotel with less convenient transportation options, consider renting a car so you can still come and go as you please. - Jeff Hogan
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My wife and I have been visiting the World from the UK for the last 10 years. I have never driven, as we both prefer the hassle-free option of resort and Lynx bus systems. We were here in May for the Flower and Garden Festival and were dismayed to discover that Lynx had changed their system of discount fares for disabled passengers. They now require you to travel to the main bus depot in downtown Orlando to apply for a photo ID -- not a realistic option for an out-of-town visitor. As we were coming back in October for the Food and Wine Festival, I emailed Lynx headquarters asking if they would accept my photo ID from the UK. After two emails I got a very nice reply telling me they would accept my ID. They told me to show it along with the email to their drivers and they would give the discounted travel fare. - Paul
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Just want to add one note about car rental regarding the Sunpass. We have Fast Lane, the New England version, which can be used in other states. When we go away we bring it with us, and once the car is rented, simply log into our account on the Fast Lane website and add the rental car to our account. Get the benefits of zipping through the autolane without the rental company's fees. - Mike B.
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