We will be staying in Port Orleans Riverside in mid-May with my 3 and 5 year old kiddos. We don’t plan to rent a car, so we’ll be relying on WDW buses to get around. I’d like to get to do rope drop most days; on some days, we’ll be doing am EMH (ex. Magic Kingdom) so it will be a rather early rope drop! Is that feasible using the buses? Or will the buses get us there too late? If we can’t rely on getting there early enough to avoid the lines, I’ll have to rework my touring plans.
As a side note, I have to imagine Uber won’t be an option with kids that need carseats, and I assume FL law requires them to be in carseats. If either of those are not right, please correct me. (Though I’d also rather not have to pay for an Uber/taxi a day, it would be nice to have as a backup plan if it’s an option.) I wish the Minnie Van was available park wide!
Side note number two, a forum protocol/etiquette inquiry. I have a one or two other questions about WDW. Is it best to post dissimilar questions in separate posts?
The buses will get you there early enough, but I’d leave plenty of time, especially at POR since it has to do the other POR stops. I’d suggest being at the bus stop 60-90 minutes before park opening. (My experience has been that the buses start ~70-80 min before park opening most days.
You can post however you want But you may get more specific responses to the other questions by posting them separately with clear thread titles as you have here.
One note for rope drop: if you’re hoping to catch the Avatar rides (especially Flights of Passage) at Animal Kingdom by arriving before rope drop, you probably want to do a Lyft or an Uber to the park before buses start running; that’s the best way to beat lines there.
Otherwise, WDW transportation will meet all of your needs!
We have stayed at POR 3 times. And had no problem getting to the front of Rope Drop. We just left our room at 7:30-7:45 and caught the next bus to the park. Not sure about EMH. You will have to wait for an answer from someone with experience.
If you want a more Uber like experience, you’re in luck - I just came across this story that Disney’s Minnie Van service (which includes carseats) is being rolled out to Port Orleans starting on Monday!
As far as I know FL law is that children must ride in a crash-tested, federally approved car seat or booster seat until they turn 6. My LOs are younger so we need the car seats. (And honestly, I much prefer for them to be in the car seats. Driving in the car is one of the most dangerous things you do with them, statistically speaking.)
I agree, if you don’t need the car seats, take Uber.
Oops, sorry, you did say Lyft! I don’t really know the difference. I’ve only used Uber once and Lyft not at all. Why don’t you like Uber, if you don’t mind my asking?
Their company policies internally are horrendous. Sexual harassment, etc. There is a reason their founder was forced out.
And the drivers for Lyft have always been better than any I had with Uber when I did take it before I learned enough to know better. Friendlier and just a better overall vibe.
Also, I’m fairly sure Disney could have partnered with either for the Minnie Vans, and they chose to partner with Lyft. That says tons to me right there.
MK, EP and HS are fine to take the bus for rope drop. With Animal Kingdom it’s a different story, but it all depends on what you want. (see below)
Flight of Passage queue is great and is part of the attraction. The problem is the FP line skips it and so does the “morning roman empire march” at rope drop since they take those initial crowds through the FP line.
Most people try to do FoP a few times, maybe once with morning march, once with FP, and then right around dinner time the standby queue time can drop down to 90 minutes (which is a gift) for the standby.
If you want to do the morning march to FoP, you need to get to rope drop about 90 minutes ahead. You won’t be at the very front, but close enough. I’d recommend taking Uber or Lyft for that. Buses can be long depending on where you’re staying.
Avoid AK on morning EMH day at all costs because it will be like standing in a Roman Empire formation at the battle of the Cannae.
If you don’t want to get to AK 90 minutes early or if other circumstances prevent you from getting there early and you end up getting there like 15-30 minutes before rope drop, then you will end up with a 90-120 minute wait for FoP, and probably 60’ish min for Navi River. What I would do is go to Expedition Everest at Rope Drop, then Kilamanjaroo Safari because you will walk practically straight on. Everyone in the morning is headed for FoP and Navi River. You might even be able to get in Dinosaur with like a 10 minute wait or so as well. By the time you do those 3 attractions it will be about 10am or so. See what Navi River queue wait time is…try to get that and use your FP for FoP after lunch.
Just my advice. It really boils down to when you get to AK in the morning. If you get there 30 mins or less from rope drop then you will be waiting. They let people in early and stop them at the bridge so all the crowds pack in elbow to elbow and when they let people move, it’s not smooth sailing, people run, walk fast, and move right past you.
I’m going also mid-may, (May 13th - 22nd). I’m staying at Beach Club and the bus system at the Epcot resorts is very hit or miss. So on my AK morning days, it’s Uber or Lyft for me every time.
This is what it looks like if you don’t get there early:
There aren’t enough Minnie Vans already, people can’t get them. I hope if they are rolling out to new resorts and increasing the price, they are putting a lot more vans on the road!
So would it be a bad idea to rely on a Minnie Van to get to AK Lodge for a dinner show? If there’s not one available you’d be stuck with the bus service, which would take way longer, especially if coming from another resort.
I’d just build in extra time in case they are running short. AKL is a beautiful lodge to wander and go outside and see the animals even if you’re early.
But unless you are staying at a “Minnie Van resort” I would 100% not count on them. Reports are mixed on people being able to get the code from a “Minnie Van Resort” even if not staying there - I’ve seen about 50% say they were able to get the code put on their phone no questions asked and 50% that were asked to show proof of staying there.
But you may get more specific responses to the other questions by posting them separately with clear thread titles as you have here.
