I have reviewed the different ways to get to Hoop Dee Do Revue. We will have a car, and I know using a car to Ft. Wilderness and then taking the internal bus is fastest…but…is it worth extra time (since we have all the time in the world) to take the bus from SSR to Magic Kingdom, and then take the boat? I have been in the boat between Wilderness Lodge and MK at night, so I am not sure what kind of views it has.
Our ADR for the show is 4:30…so definitely would be light out getting there… possibly dark for the trip back.
How close of walk is it from the boat dock to Pioneer Hall?
And…if you don’t mind another question…how long would you think to expect to wait for a boat at MK to get to FW? One site said it could be 90 minute wait just for the boat…but at 4 in the afternoon, seems long.
Dock is really close to Pioneer Hall. We watched fireworks at the dock waiting for HDDR to start when we went to the 8:30 show in November 2022. Fireworks were early that night, it was a non MVMCP night.
This past trip in November 2023, we went to the 6:15 show with friends and they did what you are suggesting on their way home - took the boat to MK to catch a bus to their hotel. Also a non-MVMCP night. They got to see fireworks from the boat, what a cool perk!
It’s probably similar to the walk from the monorail to the tap styles at MK. You walk the dock, then from the dock across the actual beach - on a walkway - thru some screening trees into a cul de sac area with a Trading Post on the left, a green area on the right that had a play ground and may still do, Crocketts Tavern, Trail’s End and then the Hoop De Do area of Pioneer Hall. It’s all flat.
The boats take about 20 minutes to make the trip from MK dock to FtW dock. In busy times there may be 3 boats running. I can’t imagine 90 minutes. I’ve taken that boat a lot over the years. I usually allow 30 to 40 min.
The fireworks views were better at FtW than WL but not as good as Poly. There has been music on the beach but then other times it didn’t seem to be loud enough. FtW dock is further away than Poly and there are trees.
I don’t find the interior bus to be that onerous. And you can park right near the Outpost bus stop. Stone’s throw. The bus will drop you off at the Pioneer bus stop which is a short walk to the HDD end of Pioneer Hall. Not quite as far as the walk in from the boat dock.
Boat ride could be chilly as the sun sets.
Coming from SSR it’s about a 2 minute drive to FtW. Slight exaggeration. Left on E Buena Vista to left on SR 535 and immediate left onto Vista Drive to FtW.
As much as I like the boat, from SSR and with a car, I’d drive and do the internal bus.
Nothing stopping you from riding the boat to MK and back after your HDD fun just for the evening quiet. It is noisy in there. Or even the Contemporary launch, if it were running.
The boat basically loops to MK and back stopping at WL. I think officially they say 20 minutes but it’s usually less than that. If there’s thunder they could pause them so that’s where the 90 minutes oils come from. There is also a bus to FW from MK that drops you off practically eat to HDDR so that’s an option if there’s a storm. The boat is definitely the more fun option.
We too have always used a boat from the MK to HDDR and the former Trails End. The afternoon weather is the only issue we encountered. While it did not stop the boats we once hit hard rain storm while departing the MK. As mentioned HDDR is very close to the drop off dock.
We did take the boat to WL from MK but I’ve no recollection if I noticed a separate FtW boat line. And it’s not the kind of thing my sister would remember two months later. If it’s spreadsheets and per centages and budget stuff she’ll recall for years.
I believe there are three boat routes that pertain to WL and FW.
The red route connects MK to WL.
The green route connects MK to FW
The blue route connects WL - FW - CR. This just circulates among the three resorts, and does not connect to MK. This one did not resume after Covid until last fall, Oct. 1, 2023.
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IDK lol