Dreams transfers for 4.0 - looking for advice from 3.0 travellers

DVC Kathy

DIS Veteran
Joined
May 22, 2003
DH and I are staying at AKL for two nights before the cruise.

We plan to get a rental car for our brief stay Right now we're thinking of driving to the Swan to pick up the Dreams bus. DH would drop me and the luggage and return the car to the Dolphin.

The advantage we see is that we know the bus will be at the Swan by 11, and we don't know when the bus would hit AKL.

On the other hand, we would be making things more complicated than they need to be.

So, any feedback about the Dreams transportation for 3.0, either from the Swan or from another resort, would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Kathy
 
Hi Kathy!

We stayed at the Swan before PCC 3.0. Dreams used a different bus company than they did before and we really liked it!

The bus was supposed to leave at 11am. The driver and a representative of the bus company arrived at the Swan at 10:30!!! We think that transportation was arranged very well by DU and the bus company, because there was a DU rep that took care of the passenger list, a bus company rep that took care of the bus and luggage and the bus driver. This all made it possible to leave at 11am sharp.

PCC 3.0 cruisers that came from other hotels were not far behind. Also consider that waiting at any hotel, with fellow DISers is FUN!!

What I would suggest to do with transportation for PCC 4.0 depends on your car rental and not where you stay. If it doesn't cost anything extra to drop the car off at the Dolphin the morning of the cruise, use the Swan transportation. When it would be cheaper to return the car during the day before (considering the 24 hour rental period) I would suggest taking transportation from AKL.

Ofcourse this only applied for PCC 3.0. I don't know how many people will be at the Swan, or at AKL for PCC 4.0, which might make a difference. We'll know more about that once the transportation details will be announced.

We'll see you in about 4 1/2 months.

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards
 
Emiel has given you some really good answers here. As he noted, Dreams does its best to make these arrangements as painless as possible. We were part of the group that took the bus from the Swan to the port and were very happy with the service. Plus it was a bonus to start our vacation socializing with fellow DIS'ers early - including a couple of surprise guests from afar. :thumbsup2
 
Emiel and Jeff, thanks for the excellent advice.

We were at the Swan for 2.0, and it was a lot of fun. Total chaos that time, but fun.

Jeff, I think DH and I were in the seat behind you and Mike Holland on that trip to the port.

I don't think we've priced rental cars yet, so we'll explore the pros and cons of a one day rental vs. a two day.

Thanks again.

Kathy
 


Emiel and Jeff, thanks for the excellent advice.

We were at the Swan for 2.0, and it was a lot of fun. Total chaos that time, but fun.

Jeff, I think DH and I were in the seat behind you and Mike Holland on that trip to the port.

I don't think we've priced rental cars yet, so we'll explore the pros and cons of a one day rental vs. a two day.

Thanks again.

Kathy


Ahh yes. I remember now. That was a fun ride.

As far as cars go, its an easy drive to the port. Val & I have done it a couple of times in the past year.

One big advantage of having a car, at least for us, is that you can stop at a store along the way and pick up some wine to have in your cabin on the ship.
 
We stayed at BLT prior to PCC 3.0 and stayed at BWV after the cruise so we arranged to take the Dreams busses from BWV. We split a cab (van) with another DISer that had the same arrangements as us. It gave us an opportunity to get to know each other while we were driven to BWV and while we waited for the bus to arrive.

For 4.0 we will have my parents with us so we are staying at the Hyatt at MCO the night before and will take Disney transportation to the port.
 
just fyi we have been pricing 1 way rentals and it seems that thrifty and dollar now charge a $50 1 way drop off fee. I have found that national and alamo do not :) i also found much better rates picking up at car care center adn dropping off at port canaveral than picking up at mco. So if your staying on property try that option as well. We got a car from port to airport on the way back (15th) for $50 and a car for 3days before cruise dropping of at pc for$120 all with tax. So not too bad :) Check out mousesavers or carrentalsavers.com for discount codes ( i used costco codes)
 


We used a code from Mousseavers for Dollar. (first we took ME to CBR for the beginning of our stay). Dollar picked us up at CBR and took us to the Wyndham to get our car. We drove out to Cape Canaveral and stopped at the DIS Welcome Center for a quick hello and decent cup of coffee. The Dollar agency is practically across the street from the Welcome Center. We drove over there and dropped off the car (the whole thing cost $42), then they took us via shuttle to the port. It was nearly painless. We reversed the process after 3.0, except we stayed for 2 nights at the Swan and drove ourselves to the airport. That was about $130. Even with the drop off fees, it was much cheaper than Alamo or Enterprise. I think the codes from mousesavers were the key.
 
I'm trying to figure things out and maybe get some help from friends (or soon to be friends). I'm flying in the day before the cruise, and staying at the Dolphin. I've already heard that Mears is the best (or at least cheapest) option for getting from the airport to the Dolphin since I'm traveling alone. I was then planning on taking the DU transfer to the port. The thing is, the only decent flights I could get on the 15th either left at 8am (not going to happen), or at 3:40pm. I'm imagining the DU transfer from the port to MCO is leaving pretty early in the morning. I just can't see spending hours and hours at MCO. Any suggestions on the best way to do this?

Thanks!
Sayhello
 
I'm trying to figure things out and maybe get some help from friends (or soon to be friends). I'm flying in the day before the cruise, and staying at the Dolphin. I've already heard that Mears is the best (or at least cheapest) option for getting from the airport to the Dolphin since I'm traveling alone. I was then planning on taking the DU transfer to the port. The thing is, the only decent flights I could get on the 15th either left at 8am (not going to happen), or at 3:40pm. I'm imagining the DU transfer from the port to MCO is leaving pretty early in the morning. I just can't see spending hours and hours at MCO. Any suggestions on the best way to do this?

Thanks!
Sayhello

You've got it right about the flights home Tobi. You'll likely be at the airport between 10-11 am. That leaves a long time to wait until a 3:40 flight.

An option: Rent a car for one day, picking it up at Port Canaveral and returning it at MCO. You could spend the morning touring Kennedy Space Center and then drive about an hour to the airport for your flight. If KSC isn't of interest, you could spend some time on the Cocoa Beach beaches and perhaps a stop at the DIS Welcome Center.

You might make acquaintance with somebody else that is cruising that has a similar flight time and split the cost of the car.
 
on 2.0 we actually shared the waiting area with some fellow cruisers at mco waiting for flights :) might happen and theres a disney and universal store:) if you rented a car, i would head to downtown disney one of my favorite time killers :)
 
DH and I are staying at AKL for two nights before the cruise.

We plan to get a rental car for our brief stay Right now we're thinking of driving to the Swan to pick up the Dreams bus. DH would drop me and the luggage and return the car to the Dolphin.

The advantage we see is that we know the bus will be at the Swan by 11, and we don't know when the bus would hit AKL.

On the other hand, we would be making things more complicated than they need to be.

So, any feedback about the Dreams transportation for 3.0, either from the Swan or from another resort, would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Kathy

Kathy -- For PCC 3.0 my husband and I stayed at the AKL (DVC Villas). We were the first to be picked up by the Dreams Bus. It was right on time. We had no trouble at all. We were greeted by a Dreams rep with a warm hello. Our luggage and my electric scooter were put on the bus and off we went to pick up other DISers at a couple other resorts.

It was actually fun to see who was going to get on at each stop which made it feel like an adventure.

The ride was comfortable and we were at the port with plenty of time to spare.

If you are like us the morning of the cruise is a bit hectic so I would try to keep as non-complicated as possible.

Good Luck and I look forward to seeing you on PCC 4.0,

Carol
It's a great day to be alive!!!
 
Kathy -- For PCC 3.0 my husband and I stayed at the AKL (DVC Villas). We were the first to be picked up by the Dreams Bus. It was right on time. We had no trouble at all. We were greeted by a Dreams rep with a warm hello. Our luggage and my electric scooter were put on the bus and off we went to pick up other DISers at a couple other resorts.

It was actually fun to see who was going to get on at each stop which made it feel like an adventure.

The ride was comfortable and we were at the port with plenty of time to spare.

If you are like us the morning of the cruise is a bit hectic so I would try to keep as non-complicated as possible.

Good Luck and I look forward to seeing you on PCC 4.0,

Carol
It's a great day to be alive!!!

Dear Carol,

Thanks for sharing your experience. I've got to admit, I've been thinking we should get rid of the car before Saturday morning. We have an ADR at Bistro de Paris Friday evening. We could take the car back to the Dolphin, wander over to Epcot, and catch the bus back to AKL after extra magic hours.

Were you staying at Jambo or Kidani? Where did the bus pick you up? The only downside I can see to catching the bus at AKL is if we have to walk our luggage from Kidani to Jambo House.

Thanks again. Look forward to meeting you on 4.0

Kathy
 
We stayed at Kidani Village. The bus picked us up right at Kidani Village just outside the lobby.

One piece of advice would be to have someone in your party be sure that all your luggage is put on the bus. That morning we called a bellman to get our luggage and they held it until the bus arrived. Unfortunately we had our owner's locker left with the bellman instead of put on the bus. In the end between Disney Cruise Line and the Podcast team extra efforts our owner's locker did make the ship.

Have a great dinner at the Bistro. We will be eating downstairs that evening at the Cafe with the Candlelight package.

Hope this helps.

Carol
It's a great day to be alive!!!
 
Kathy -- For PCC 3.0 my husband and I stayed at the AKL (DVC Villas). We were the first to be picked up by the Dreams Bus. It was right on time. We had no trouble at all. We were greeted by a Dreams rep with a warm hello. Our luggage and my electric scooter were put on the bus and off we went to pick up other DISers at a couple other resorts.

It was actually fun to see who was going to get on at each stop which made it feel like an adventure.

The ride was comfortable and we were at the port with plenty of time to spare.

If you are like us the morning of the cruise is a bit hectic so I would try to keep as non-complicated as possible.

Good Luck and I look forward to seeing you on PCC 4.0,

Carol
It's a great day to be alive!!!

Hi Carol! :wave2:

Until we saw some of your recent posts, we did not know that you and Michael plan to be on PCC 4.0. Can't wait to see you two again.:banana::banana:

Since you'll be there, we won't have to keep Michael from getting into trouble (like on PCC 2.0). :rotfl::rotfl:
 
Hi Carol! :wave2:

Until we saw some of your recent posts, we did not know that you and Michael plan to be on PCC 4.0. Can't wait to see you two again.:banana::banana:

Since you'll be there, we won't have to keep Michael from getting into trouble (like on PCC 2.0). :rotfl::rotfl:

Keep your fingers crossed. I intended to be on 2.0 but it just didn't work out. Thanks for keeping Michael inline. :rotfl:

I am looking forward to seeing you guys also.

Carol
It's a great day to be alive!!!
 
Kathy -- For PCC 3.0 my husband and I stayed at the AKL (DVC Villas). We were the first to be picked up by the Dreams Bus. It was right on time. We had no trouble at all. We were greeted by a Dreams rep with a warm hello. Our luggage and my electric scooter were put on the bus and off we went to pick up other DISers at a couple other resorts.

It was actually fun to see who was going to get on at each stop which made it feel like an adventure.

The ride was comfortable and we were at the port with plenty of time to spare.

If you are like us the morning of the cruise is a bit hectic so I would try to keep as non-complicated as possible.

Good Luck and I look forward to seeing you on PCC 4.0,

Carol
It's a great day to be alive!!!

Carol,

Thanks again for all your advice. We decided to catch the Dreams bus at Kidani and just go with the flow. Hope to meet you on 4.0.

Kathy
 
Sounds great and thanks for reminding me that I need to sign up for the bus. Maybe we will see you on the bus.

Carol
It's a great day to be alive!!!
 

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