[TINKMAGIC]

Hi! I have been to Disney 12 times, but have
always had our own car or a rental.
My question is this: Can I use Disney transportation
to go from our hotel (Coronodo Springs) to another
resort for dinner? This will be our very first time
using the dining plan so I wasnt sure about getting
around if we choose some resort restaurants.
Thanks!!
TinkMagic

[DisneyTeacher]

You can't take a bus from resort to resort but you can make it work. Take a bus from your resort to a park closest to your resort or the resort you want to go to and from there catch another bus (or monorail, boat, walk....) to the resort you want to get to. Allow an hour to do this. OR you can take a taxi from your resort to another resort.

[TINKMAGIC]

Thanks for your response. They are good ideas.
I think I am just so used to having my own car to
buzz from here to there, but this is a girls weekend
w/out the family and we will be flying vs. driving down
with the families. We will probably choose mainly
restaurants in the parks, but I know there are some good
ones in the resort hotels and we dont want to limit ourselves.
Thanks again for feedback.

[WDW92]

Since it's a girls weekend, I can imagine there will be A LOT of shopping (I would know myself!) You can pick up buses to different resorts from Downtown Disney. Go shopping for a couple of hours, grab the bus and go to dinner.

Hope this helps.

[gingles]

The UG has a really good chapter on getting around in the World, including approx. commute times between different places using different transportation. It talks about the resort-to-resort bus issue, which is bit of a weak link in WDW transport. But, hey, it's all free so I guess we can't complain too much.

[evansfmly5]

Originally Posted by TINKMAGIC

Hi! I have been to Disney 12 times, but have
always had our own car or a rental.
My question is this: Can I use Disney transportation
to go from our hotel (Coronodo Springs) to another
resort for dinner? This will be our very first time
using the dining plan so I wasnt sure about getting
around if we choose some resort restaurants.
Thanks!!
TinkMagic

We have been twice and always used the bus. We are considering renting a car this time. Mainly because we are taking a cruise for part of our trip and the fee for using the Disney busses is almost the same as car rental for a week. I've never really had any big issues with the busses, although it seems I always just miss it when I get to the stop. I'm sure I'm the only one that happens to..lol..So how is it getting around from park to park in a car? Whenever we are on the busses the traffic never seems to be that bad. Has anyone done both?

[LittleMissMagic]

When using Disney transportation, whenever I have had a certain time I needed to be there, Disney transportation always made me late.

If you want more control over your arrival/departure times, driving is your best option.

However, Disney transportation can be convenient. You just have to allow enough time. Don't cut it close.

We went from the Grand Floridian to Artist Point at the Wilderness Lodge for dinner. Took the monorail to MK, then took the water launch to WLR. However, we actually had to wait a few minutes on the monorail, and we waited about 20 minutes for the boat.

We decided to take a bus leaving, but we probably would've been better off with the ferry. It was around closing time for the parks, so resort buses weren't running people to the parks for bus-swap.

But that was just one bad experience.

[gingles]

There is absolutely no faster way to get around in the World than by car.

[leslieh]

Originally Posted by evansfmly5

We have been twice and always used the bus. We are considering renting a car this time. Mainly because we are taking a cruise for part of our trip and the fee for using the Disney busses is almost the same as car rental for a week.

There isn't a fee to use Disney transportation while at WDW. Do you mean the transportation from the cruise terminal?

[evansfmly5]

Originally Posted by leslieh

There isn't a fee to use Disney transportation while at WDW. Do you mean the transportation from the cruise terminal?

Yes, they said the charge from DW to the cruise ship and back to the airport is $80 per person. Plus our flight is a day and a half after the cruise is over. In the mix...there is a parking charge of $15 per day at the parking lot for the ship.

[DisneyTeacher]

Originally Posted by evansfmly5

Yes, they said the charge from DW to the cruise ship and back to the airport is $80 per person. Plus our flight is a day and a half after the cruise is over. In the mix...there is a parking charge of $15 per day at the parking lot for the ship.

That's a lot more than I would have guessed.

[gingles]

Originally Posted by evansfmly5

Yes, they said the charge from DW to the cruise ship and back to the airport is $80 per person. Plus our flight is a day and a half after the cruise is over. In the mix...there is a parking charge of $15 per day at the parking lot for the ship.

Funny, they charge an arm and a leg for WDW to cruise transportation, yet they have the free Disney bus to and from the airport!

[WDW92]

Originally Posted by gingles

Funny, they charge an arm and a leg for WDW to cruise transportation, yet they have the free Disney bus to and from the airport!

I was thinking the exact same thing!

[LittleMissMagic]

Originally Posted by gingles

There is absolutely no faster way to get around in the World than by car.

Not necessarily.

Like if you want to get from the GF to MK, it would be much faster by monorail by car. Then it's probably faster to walk to Epcot from the Boardwalk or Yacht and Beach Club than it would be to drive around to the front entrance and park.

Parking is what sets you back. Early in the morning, there are lines to get into the parking lot because non-resort guests have to pay for parking. Then you have to wait in line for the tram. And in the case of Magic Kingdom, you then have to wait in line for a monorail or ferry.

I'd say it's definitely faster to get to MK by Disney transportation, since that's the only way.

But in the case of resort to resort, car is probably the fastest option.

[evansfmly5]

Originally Posted by DisneyTeacher

That's a lot more than I would have guessed.

Maybe I got it wrong...I'll check with the cruise line tomorrow. But I'm almost sure that's what they told me because as soon as I hung up the phone I thought I could rent a car for the same money.