Location Question-Strange...I know

[stocker1042]

This is a weird question...but I'm having a hard time coming up with a solid answer...so let's see what the DIS'ers have to say.

What is the best DVC location to minimize travel time to all the parks?

The wife and I own at BLT. Over the past two years we've stayed there and used the monorail when possible, and stayed at SSR and AKV and have used the bus service to the parks. We've also sayed at the Dolphin and used the boats and busses, but that does not count for this question.

I know there are a MILLION variables in calculating overall travel time. Lines, time of day, breakdowns, where you go, etc. That said, I'm having a hard time trying to generalize a decent answer even given all our experiences. We mainly visit Epcot and MK, but do go to AK for 1/2 day and HS for 1/2 also. The rest of the time (mostly 3-4 day trips) we are at MK or Epcot.

If it helps you come up with an answer, we are usually at rope drop, stick until 1 or 2pm, come back for a nap, and head back into a park around 5ish. We don't do sit down meals, we usually don't stick for fireworks, and we don't have kids...so we can rock and roll pretty quickly. We also usually go during the slow times of the year, weekends in September, early December, and late January.

Any theories on the best places for us to stay given our patterns?

 

[tjkraz]

I don't think there is any perfect resort and when you start comparing and contrasting, it's difficult for any clear leader to emerge. For instance:

BLT: Walking distance to MK. Monorail trip to Epcot is somewhat romantic to most Disney guests but with the train switch and wait time at two platforms, it's not terribly quick. DHS and DAK require buses which are often shared with Grand Floridian and Poly.

Boardwalk and Beach Club: Walking distance or boat to Epcot and DHS (although BC to DHS is a 25+ min walk). To MK and DAK Boardwalk shares buses with Dolphin and Swan. BC shares buses with YC. Occasionally all of these resorts are on a single loop.

Wilderness lodge has boat to MK but buses elsewhere.

AKV, OKW and SSR have buses to all destinations. SSR (and OKW to some extent) is convenient walk to Downtown Disney.

If you're relying on Disney transportation, really there is give-and-take to every resort.

For my money, the most convenient tends to be staying at OKW or SSR and having a car. BCV is also very convenient with a car, as is AKV (as long as your room isn't down one of the longer hallways.)

 

[BirdsOfPreyDave]

This is going to be a very subjective thing. I bet there won't be two people with the same concept of "ideal" transportation. As to actual travel times, you could talk to people who left from a paticular resort 30 minutes apart from one another and get totally different stories.

Any resort is going to have the occassional "it took 40 minutes for a bus to show up, and there were 3 to another park while we were waiting" stories. So I'm not going to factor those in.

From my perspective, it seems the parks that have a very optimal transportation to one park, have very sub-optimal transportation to the others.

BLT, for example, is close enough to walk to the MK. Going to any other park, though, involves a bus that stops at either Poly or Grand Floridian (or both); or a monorail transfer at the TTC. I'm not a big fan of trying to get to Epcot from BLT.

VWL has a boat to the MK, but has a detour through Fort Wilderness on all the bus routes. These buses always seemed to be extremely crowded in the summer months when we're there.

BCV are close enough to walk to Epcot, but forces you to take a boat to DHS. (Sorry, that walk's just a little too much for me.) We always seem to just miss the boat, too. It's probably not actually any longer than waiting for a bus at other resorts, but it seems like a long wait standing out there on that dock. The buses from BCV take you on Mr. Toad's Wild Ride through all the Epcot resorts. I loath that bus route. (During the time of year we visit, the buses stop at all 4 resorts.)

BWV are close enough to walk to either Epcot or DHS, but we usually wind up waiting for the boat. Same comment as BCV on the bus route.

AKV don't seem to be close to anything, although if you were to time it with a stopwatch it probably isn't that big of difference from the travel times at SSR or OWK. My biggest problem with transportatio here was the mile and a half it seemed we had to walk between our room and the bus stop. (I never complained about the BWV hallway again after our first Kidani stay.)

OKW isn't a very familiar resort for us. We've only stayed there once, and that was just for an extended weekend. I didn't have time to learn the tricks or work-arounds for their internal bus stops, nor did I know what to ask for when making a room request. I'll therefore give it the benefit of the doubt and put it in the same category as SSR.

Which brings me to SSR. Ok, this is where the personal perceptions and opinions are going to come in big time. I'm willing to bet most people will rank this resort as very low on their transportation list. I'm going to rank it as my top choice. When we have a rental car, there's nothing more convenient than one of the condominium-design resorts for pulling up right to your villa. (I'll give AKV a close second here if your room is close to one of the garage elevators.)

When relying on Disney transportation, the buses at SSR seem to be fairly consistent to all destinations. (Well, the bus to Downtown Disney stinks, but that's pretty universal across all resorts. At least at SSR you have the option of walking or taking the boat.) Yes, there are 5 stops within the resort -- and if your room assignment is in the Springs you'll have a hard time getting a seat. That's why we prefer the Grandstand.

So, while it may take a little longer to get to MK from SSR than it does from BLT, and while it may take a little longer to get to Epcot from SSR than it does from BCV, my favorite resort -- for transportation -- is SSR (Grandstand section) because of the consistency to all destinations.

 

[dianeschlicht]

While it's true that staying at BCV, BWV, VWL, and BLT are all "near" a park, it does not necessarily mean it's either convenient or easy for EVERYONE to get there in a timely manner. We find we do way too much extra walking when we stay in the BWV/BCV area. Even if you opt to take the boat (which takes a long time in my mind), you still have lots of extra walking to do. With VWL, the boat to MK is convenient, but not necessarily extra fast. At BLT you again can WALK to the MK (the fastest) or ride the monorail and take a long time t o get there. While the monorail is convenient to Epcot, the walking down one ramp and up the other takes time and energy. At AKV, you are "near" AK, but you still have to take a bus ride there and the long hallways make for lots of extra walking. We do find the bus service there to be very good though.

Actually, I'm going to say the easiest resort for getting to MOST parks is OKW or SSR. They have dedicated buses to each park, and have an excellent number of buses to make it quick access as well. The only thing is that the bus to AK stops at a water park, making that one park a bit longer to get to.

 

[supernova]

Walking up to the dock and watching them undoing the ropes about to pull away does hurt. But it hurts a lot less than watching your bus just pull away. At least you can see the other boats and sort of have a sense when the next one is due in. The buses are too unpredictable. I've seen people waiting for quite a while (happened to me at SSR) and then two show up for the same destination. Oops.

 

[backyardponder]

If your main destination at Epcot is the World Showcase, staying at BCV and BWV is very convenient since you go in through the International Gateway (between France & England).

 

[Mtnman44]

If you rent a car, then that is the fastest route to all parks except when you are at a resort within walking distance to a particular park.

 

[disneynutz]

If you rent a car, then that is the fastest route to all parks except when you are at a resort within walking distance to a particular park.

I agree, that's what we do. Just got a 14 day rental from Alamo for $12 per day including fees using Costco Travel.

No waiting for Disney transportation, no stops at other resorts or water parks and no waiting for bus drivers to do a driver change. Best of all we can shop and eat off site when and if we feel like it without a ADR!

Bill

 

[stocker1042]

Interesting observations! The car is out for us. When on vacation, we like to drink some adult beverages. In addition, even if we didn't drink, I drive all week long...so that's out.

My initial thoughts on BLT was that we would save a bunch of time for Epcot. I quickly found out that it really does not unless it is very early in the morning and there are no monorail problems. In addition, at BLT having to go through Poly and GF takes quite a while. Of course, riding the monorail is a bit more enjoyable and has much better sights then a bus, but time wise...not much of an advantage over SSR and a bus.

SSR does have those 3 or 4 stops, but in the end, I think...after reading all these responses...it prob is the best overall average time waits once you factor in our pattern and destinations. Busses seem to come quite often there when compared to other DVC locations. Size maybe?

 

[supernova]

I agree, that's what we do. Just got a 14 day rental from Alamo for $12 per day including fees using Costco Travel. Bill

I just used Costco for the first time and got a phenominal rate as well. Wish I had thought of them when I took my cruise in Sept. Next time for sure.

 

[Sammie]

What is the best DVC location to minimize travel time to all the parks?

Based on distances to the parks, OKW and SSR are the closest to "all" parks.

As to travel time as everyone has stated it can vary from person to person.

With the frequent problems with the monorail lately, I would not recommend BLT.

We have stayed at SSR many times and find the travel times to be very agreeable.

 

[com_op_2000]

If you're relying on Disney transportation, really there is give-and-take to every resort.

For my money, the most convenient tends to be staying at OKW or SSR and having a car. BCV is also very convenient with a car, as is AKV (as long as your room isn't down one of the longer hallways.)

I have to agree with these comments. Having your own POV is the best of all for travel to all parks.

 

[Candy Orlando]

We rent a car and stay at OKW or SSR. We like to feel like we are in a vacation home. Parking outside the villa door and driving everywhere feels like home.

 

[Mtnman44]

Driving a car may seem like you "aren't on vacation", but if you want the most relaxing, trouble free transportation, taking the least amount of vacation time, not to mention easy transfers or easy to and from certain ADRs, then the rental car is it!

We have a much more enjoyable, relaxed vacation when we don't have to stress about and make time for busses or transfers, plus we always have a seat!

 

[BirdsOfPreyDave]

Driving a car may seem like you "aren't on vacation", but if you want the most relaxing, trouble free transportation, taking the least amount of vacation time, not to mention easy transfers or easy to and from certain ADRs, then the rental car is it!

We have a much more enjoyable, relaxed vacation when we don't have to stress about and make time for busses or transfers, plus we always have a seat!

I agree 100% when it comes to trips to other resorts for dining reservations. Having a car is head-over-heals better than trying to coordinate the trip with Disney transportation. But driving to the parks isn't perfect. Unless you're parked close enough to walk to the gate, you still need to deal with the parking lot trams. And if you're at Magic Kingdom, you need to take the monorail or ferry to get from the TTC to the gate. These can be every bit as frustrating as the buses -- especially at closing time. And even if you take the time to text your row to yourself or take a picture of the row number with a digital camera, there's still inevitably at least one, "Where the heck is the stupid car!?" moment during every trip.

 

[spiceycat]

My initial thoughts on BLT was that we would save a bunch of time for Epcot. I quickly found out that it really does not unless it is very early in the morning and there are no monorail problems. In addition, at BLT having to go through Poly and GF takes quite a while. Of course, riding the monorail is a bit more enjoyable and has much better sights then a bus, but time wise...not much of an advantage over SSR and a bus.

right now due to monrail problems yes - but once those are solved then BLT wins.

It will always be the fastest to the MK. which is the hardest of the parks to get into the park itself. You can walk over to it - this is also the fastest way to get to the MK - walking from BLT. the monrail is much, much slower.

now Epcot you just take the monrail to TTC (next stop) and then transfer to the Epcot monrail. coming back you just transfer back to the resort monrail (if it is open) and go thru Poly, GF and MK before CR. Or if the resort monrail is closed you can take a bus (which is horrible because there is nothing close about Polyn and GF) - or if the ferry if it is open take it and walk to BLT.

now while I own at BWV too - still prefer BLT because my favorite parks are MK and Epcot. not epcot and studios. Only go to studios never 3rd or 4th visit. then only if the star tours is open and running.

ak do ever 4th time as well. and I love animals...

you might love studios and AK. so you might want to see them everytime.

my problem with both OKW and SSR is the multiple stops - now don't think any stops should be taken away. but until the controllers understand that bus riders (and drivers) don't want to stop at any stops where no one is there and no one on the bus wants to get off at this stops. they are wasting our time and their gasoline. So far they have not listen to reason.

hoping in the future they will finally get that fact and change their attitudes and programming.

anyone know who I need to write too?