The day we arrive, we hope to drive a rental vehicle from Port Orleans Riverside to somewhere near the Wilderness Lodge in order to view the electric water pageant. I understand that we can’t park at the WL without a dinner reservation (which we already have at Boatwight’s at POFQ). Various forum users advised me that I should park at the TTC and walk to the Poly when that was the plan. But the plan changed a little, making it necessary for us to take in the parade later. We think there’s enough time for us to get our stuff done and go see it at the WL at around 9:30 PM.
What are the transportation options to get from POR to WL? Is the TTC still the place we should park and is walking practical? Or would we be better off with monorail or boat? I think we will only have 30-40 minutes to get there if we park at the TTC.
We only ate at Boatwright’s once (and it was long ago) but it was likely my least favorite restaurant experience on Disney property. I’d definitely consider trying to switch ADRs to Wilderness Lodge or somewhere on the monorail loop. But I will say I’ve read other people enjoy Boatwright’s and it may have improved and/or we just got unlucky that night.
Anyway - I think easiest is either boat or monorail over to Magic Kingdom and then hop the boat back to Wilderness Lodge. Express Monorail vs. Boat is likely just a matter of timing/luck. The boat to WL runs fairly often, is big and unless you timed it just wrong (like just after MK fireworks wrong) you should make the first boat…
By Minnie van or rideshare (again, they may not let you in without ADR);
By bus
By boat.
So, skipping options 1 and 2, you could
Drive to Disney Springs, park there and take a bus to WL;
Get to the Magic Kingdom and take the boat from MK to WL; you could get to the MK by bus from PO.
You could drive to TTC, but you would still have to get to the MK for the boat…
You COULD take the boat from POR to DS and then catch the bus to WL
Lastly you could take a Minnie Van (specifically a Minnie Van) to the MK and then catch the boat. Minnie Vans drop off at the bus area at MK.
Option 5. Make a new ADR at WL and enjoy dinner there…
I would guess bus (or MV) to MK then Boat to WL would be my preference. I can’t imagine you would save much time driving to TTC, then Monorail/Boating to MK and then to WL…
Also, you will have to reverse your method to get home, so watch the timing with regard to MK closing/fireworks. Trying to hop on a bus or monorail at park close could be a LONG wait.
You can also drive to the nearest park other than MK, and then catch a bus to WL. Or, take a POR bus to MK, and boat to WL. I just think you will be pressed for time no matter which route you take. There might be better/less stressful ways to fill your arrival evening.
Your answers convinced me to cancel our Boatwright’s ADR and I was able to book Whispering Canyon Cafe at a workable time! With an ADR, I assume WL will allow me to park there? The latest available ADR was 7:40 PM and I think the electric water parade hits the WL about 9:30 PM. Will I be forced to move my vehicle after we’re done with dinner or would we be able to walk around and view the property before the parade?
You can stay as long as you want. I am unaware of any official “policy” on the matter, but practically speaking, you could probably spend the night if you wanted to!!! LOL
So that is a good question, and one I don’t know the answer to. Generally, they don’t let you into the resort unless you are staying there or have an ADR… regardless of the type of vehicle you are in. Although places like CR where walking to magic kingdom is your main goal, might make them more protective of those resorts.
I think it boils down to YMMV. I was at WL at Christmas and they wanted to keep holiday tree watching traffic to a minimum, so they were a little more protective of access - regardless of how you arrived. In a different season, you may get a different result.
The new schedule with an ADR at Whispering Canyon is much better! Our ADR at Boatwright’s (which I made quite a long time ago) assumed that our flight would be on time, it would take us 1.5 hours to get our luggage, pick our rental car and drive to POR and that we’d have about an hour to check in and get settled before the ADR at 6:05 PM.
Now we have some wiggle room if the flight is a little late. We can still go grocery shopping, get back to POR and store the groceries and still have enough time to drive to WL.
That’s what I was figuring. They aren’t going to turn you away anyplace if you don’t have an ADR or resort res if you arrive on free WDW transport (bus, boat, Skyliner)…surely they wouldn’t turn you away if you’re in a PAID Minnie Van!
Last time in december we drove Uber to Poly I belive 4 times and were never asked for proof of staying there. However, someone here posted that when taking a Mears shuttle to some resort they needed to show ID which was surprising. So I suppose you really can’t know for sure
By the way this is a good reminder of how ridicilous it is not to be able to walk to TTC from WL.
