What was the crowd level like when you were there? Were the buses very crowded? Did you ever not get a seat on the bus and have to wait for the next bus?
CL 6 and we were the only people on the bus every time.
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Would you use this to avoid MK security? staying at AKL, thinking of going into AK, getting on express to get to MK, and then return trip reverse. Does it save that much time?
Not only do you not have to wait in security lines but you do not have the long walk from the park exit to the bus and then from the bus to the park entrance at the next park. It worked great for us and we saved almost two hours a day while park hopping.
If we were hopping directly to parks, I would totally use this service. Iāve heard absolutely nothing bad about it. Weāre leaning towards taking breaks at the hotel mid day this summer, though, and I doubt weāll go directly park to park. If that changes, Iāll purchase the add on though, happily.
We were planning on renting a car due to using an ecv and hotel dining reservations. This express deal is only for park to park transportation right?
Correct. P2P only.
Thatās the only thing that keeps me from trying it. Otherwise it sounds great
This service is not from resorts to parks???
No. The express bus is park to lark only.
You are taken from points within the park to a point in the next park. You bypass security and tapstiles.
There is a new resort to resort service starting but rumor is $15-20 a ride.
While itās rolling out, with limited boarding options, itās free. Once itās resort wide, rumor has it $20/ride. Which, after an extremely long day of open to close touring and a huge line for a bus, is a steal. In my eyes anyway.
Although that is twice as much as Uber and about what I have always paid for a Mears Taxi?
I donāt understand the hype on this extra bus system?
Itās not that good when you compare it pros, vs cons.
Pros;
To/from AK is a win regardless of the other park.
MK/HS is a good option.
Bypass bag check.
Anything else?
Cons;
It cost extra money!
MK/Epcot you would pay extra to ride a bus over the monorail?
Epcot/HS; free boat ride or walking trail through boardwalk area. Your third option is a bus ticket, your choice?
Extra bag checks, please note most hoppers are switching parks at low bag check wait times. International gateway, at midday no bag line.
HS/MK either direction, you could monorail/boat to epcot worlds for lunch then monorail/boat to final park, think about it. Iām going to do it on 9/12 boat from Swan to rope drop HS, then boat to worlds for food and wine (lunch/dinner) then monorail to MK for Halloween party! Early dinner so da belly will have room for Halloween snacks! Normal bus back to Swan at park close.
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I agree there, and my thinking is itāll likely lead to a ban of Uber & Lyft on property, in the same way some airports ban them. Then your choices are: overcrowded bus, slow ferry, inconsistent at times monorail or $20 WDW uber. My guess is that the regular taxis will stay as the alternative, the lobbying that the taxi cabs have is relatively impressive.
Plus I think the taxis are all Mears, which also contracts for DME.
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MK/Epcot is actually probably one of the longest hops to make, unless you manage to walk right onto a monorail at MK, then right onto the Epcot monorail at TTC, and can use the no-bag line when you get there. Going from MK to HS via the boats from an Epcot resort is probably the only one that would be longerā¦ that means waiting for a bus to the resort, and then waiting for the boat and taking the 15-25 minute boat ride!
In any case, thereās really not any free hop thatās going to take less time than being able to get on a bus at Buzz Lightyear and get off right at Rock N Rollercoaster or Future World.
The Express option is for people who think itās worth $29 per person to save 15-30 minutes per hop. If you have a large family or lots of extra time (like, a 6+ day trip in early September) then it may not be economical.
Yes, Iād think it was more a difference in time in the waiting to go through security rather than the actual transportation - we have waited in lines midday at Epcot for 45 minutes! with groups, Christmas rush, lots of groupsā¦
Our upcoming trip, though, we bought Hoppers to be able to eat anywhere we want, and to do a couple of half days, but honestly, we avoid hopping because of the time involved/wasted. This might make me rethinkā¦I like half days - I kinda get burnt out with full park daysā¦
We used this service in June and found it very helpful with the crowds and the rain. At that time, the buses were not crowded. Compared to the total cost of our Disney vacation, it was a drop in the bucket. One suggestion though if you are going to purchase it: make sure you are aware of the scheduled pick up / drop off times and incorporate the walking time it takes to get to the buses in your TPs. We ran behind a few times and just missed the buses.