On our last trip, Disney Transportation made us miss all but one rope drop. Very annoying. I was thinking next time about using a Minnie Van to make RD at the various parks…
Question: at MK, where do the vans drop you off? Do you have to take the ferry, or does it take you right to the front like the Dis buses?
Beware that rope drop is one of the busiest times for minivans and you should request one very early ahead of when you’d like to leave in order to ensure that one is available when you want it
Is this normal for the buses to cause people to miss RD? Most of my plans rely on disney bus transportation to make it in time. We will be at POFQ for reference.
++ @OBNurseNH … I’ve never missed an event or reservation due to bus transportation, but I do recognize the peak demand periods and plan my departures accordingly.
NOW, the monorail is another story. But to be fair I’ve only been stuck out on the track once in all the years I have been going.
We used a couple Minnie Vans, and they worked very well for us traveling with a 2 and 5 year old. We used them for a BOG meal prior to RD on a day where there were also the ticketed morning event going on. Quick to pick up, even with having to install the two car seats, and dropped us off at the bus area.
We also really didn’t have any problems with the busses in the morning, but we also anticipated busy times so we always made it there pretty early.
My experience was that Minnie Vans were difficult to get in the early morning without a wait, but were fairly easy to get when we headed back to the parks mid-afternoon after a break at the resort.
We used Minnie Vans to get to and from the MK on our recent trip - twice for PPO breakfasts (aiming to leave Beach Club around 7:15am) and twice to get home in the evening. They weren’t cheap, but they were very convenient given that we had 2 kids who need carseats. A few times we had trouble connecting with a driver and that took a few minutes. One night we tried to order a van just before the fireworks started and the listed arrival time was 45 minutes away, but that just let us go out to the beach at the Poly and watch the show. And one other night we ordered the van just after the fireworks ended, they predicted a 15 minute arrival time, and by the time we got to the buses it was about a 1 minute wait. I think it just depends on how lucky you get.
I hear they are cracking down on this (probably checking for resort or restaurant reservations as you enter.) You might want to see if this is still an option or not by the time you travel.
I agree to double check, but I can’t see how they can stop it? You could need to arrive at the hotel for a litany of reasons. Pick something up, meet someone, food in Contempo Cafe, gift shop, arcade, etc…
Now, the staying and parking one, sure… makes sense, but a drop off I can’t see being policed. And it’s not like the driver usually asks your reason for travel.
Previously, we had rough bus experiences with waiting, but not our last trip. There had to have had increased bus frequency! It was night and day especially in the am…buses literally every few minutes for MK. Where are you staying?