It’s all part of being “in the bubble”. 
Ironically, it is very possible I will leave our rental house 30 minutes away from Disney and be in the parks FASTER than some of the on-site guests using the Disney transportation.
1 Like
To be honest I have no patience for waiting so part of this is my own issue. The early mornings at the bus stop weren’t bad–we took the bus to EMM at TSL and had no issues. We took afternoon breaks several days and it did take a chunk of time so just be prepared for that. Waiting after park closing was the worst part of it. Your trip will be great even if you wait for bus.
1 Like
Hmmm. So, if I plan to park hop, take midday breaks, eat at different resorts, or some combination thereof at least once per day, is it reasonable to think that bus transportation could eat up 3 to 4 hours every day? Times 8 days? 
(starts eyeing Priceline Express deals for rental cars)
I hate to say it, but maybe. I would allot for an hour at minimum for bus transportation (meaning be at the bus stop at least an hour before you need to be at your destination). Even doing this we were late to several ADRs.
1 Like
It depends. For example, you probably work out ahead on trips to/from Magic Kingdom, because if you drive, you have to deal with parking, tram, monorail/ferry each way…whereas the buses/resort boats do not.
And depending on your resort, you might find that many of your comings/goings won’t take that long.
On the other hand, if you are on-site at a resort where you have to take the bus every single time regardless (such as POR, or the All-Stars, etc), then driving will likely be advantageous (except, as mentioned, perhaps MK).
1 Like
There are some situations where busses / boats are faster though. The Magic Kingdom buses, monorails, and ferries take you right to the entrance, while everyone else has to go to the TTC and transfer. For the rest of the parks, driving is almost always faster.
1 Like
I’m staying at Pop (first time). I know that when I’ve stayed off-site in the past, it seems like I can get to any park (other than MK) and any resort within about 15 minutes. And I love not having to wait to be taken “home” at the end of a long day, but can hop in my car and just go. MK is a pain, but I usually arrive so early that I get a great parking spot and am first on either the ferry or the monorail.
Also, I had planned to dine at multiple resorts during my stay, which is starting to throw a major wrench into my schedule. I wish there were resort-to-resort buses… It’s crazy to think that it could take 90 minutes or more to get from Pop to AKL… And then another 90 minutes to reverse the process after dinner. 
2 Likes
Rather than re-thinking your car rental status, maybe you should re-plan your ADRs to better align with where you plan to be any given day.
3 Likes
That’s a great suggestion. I’m not sure it would make a huge difference in my case though, because my plans included taking an afternoon break at Pop to cool off, shower, and rest, then go to my ADRs all clean and refreshed. I don’t think I’d want to go straight to Jiko after spending all day at AK, even though it makes the most sense distance-wise…
1 Like
Clearly, I need to do some serious thinking about what my priorities are for this trip. 
Also, play around with transportation times.
For example, if you want to go from Pop to AKL, you might find that taking the bus from Pop to Blizzard Beach, and transferring to the AKL bus is faster than transferring at, say, Animal Kingdom. You can play around with this to get approximate times:
It isn’t perfect, but it can help.
1 Like
I will definitely look at this. Thank you!
I am officially rethinking my entire trip, including where I’m staying and how I’m going to get around.
Two weeks before I’m set to leave.
I’ll keep you all posted on what I decide to do. Because (obviously) y’all are going to be on the edge of your seats, nervously nibbling at your fingernails, and unable to focus on anything else until I make a decision.
1 Like
I’m sorry. Please don’t stress about your trip. You can take Disney transporation successfully just leave plenty of time to do it. And take an Uber/Lyft to Jiko from your hotel.
Oh please don’t apologize! I may not change anything, tbh. Not sure yet. 
Whatever I decide, I do want my expectations to be realistic so that I’m not disappointed, so I really appreciate hearing about your experience with the buses! I know I’ll have a marvelous time no matter where I ultimately decide to stay. I will just need to plan accordingly and adjust my expectations a bit. There are definite pros and cons to staying both on-site and off, so really I just need to decide what is most important to me on this trip! 
2 Likes
Okay–I really don’t want my post to cause you any stress. I think I did not have realistic expectaions as to the time involved with bus travel. So that was frustrating. Taking MDE was so pleasant I am trying to figure out if renting a car on property would be feasible for our next trip.
1 Like
You have not caused me any stress. 
If anything, you have avoided the stress of unmet expectations and plans spoiled by slower-than-anticipated bus travel. 
I’m reevaluating my itinerary and may start a separate thread later tonight to get feedback on how realistic it is… I think I’m leaning towards keeping my reservation at Pop and just going in with a new set of expectations and a stronger game plan. 
2 Likes
At MK, you can walk 5 minutes over to the Contemporary and take an Uber from there. You don’t have to go all the way to the TTC.
I’ve heard that can be hit or miss. Apparently some people have had issues with the gate guards letting Ubers in. I don’t know I’ve never tried it.
So we’ve only been once for a two week holiday. But during that time we commented how we wouldn’t want to have a car! We found the Disney transport excellent even when it was busy. Occasional queues for transport at certain times was expected and we tried to work around those busier times. Sometimes it’s unavoidable and we used that time to make plans or chat about our day. To have a car would’ve made us leave the bubble.
2 Likes