Boat from MK to VWL at night.....

[Sunshine1010]

Sooooooo, how crowded is the boat back to the Wilderness Lodge at night? Is it hectic and crowded like the bus lines?

[ArtDeco]

It's a much better experience than the busses once you're on board. I have waited for as little as a minute and as long as 25 minutes after the fireworks and park closing. The hardest part is waiting for a boat if they're a little off schedule and there are a few boat loads of people in front of you.

Coming back to WL or VWL from MK via boat, though, is the way to go. I find it very relaxing. We often sit in the open bow and sometimes we get lucky and get a closeup view of the Electrical Water Pageant. I am a huge fan of taking the boat, can you tell?

Be aware that the boats stop running pretty early - not too long after the park closes. You can't dawdle in the shops and expect to get a late, uncrowded boat. That doesn't usually work out :)

[BashfulMom]

We just returned from WL and the boat ride to and from the MK was wonderful. My husband was truly thankful that we didn't have to wait in the long lines for the ferry or the monorail.

[Goofster]

It really depends on what time you're leaving the park and whether the boats are running on time. Normally, we didn't have to wait long. But there were a few occasions on our last trip where the boats 'doubled-up', so to speak, and we waited about 30-minutes for a boat, only to have 2 show up at the same time (one docked and we got on ...the other kind of waited until we left).

[mickey&missy]

The only time we had a problem was the night of MNSSHP. And it wasn't a problem really, we just had to wait through 1 boat load.

MIL and FIL got caught in the boat behind the electric water pageant and it took a bit longer to get back.

It's, to me, a much more relaxing experience then the bus.

Enjoy!!

[SgtTigger]

On a side note...... the bus from MK to Wilderness Lodge is not very crowded on the ride back one night we only had 2 other people on the bus with us.....
the boat was packed and had a ton of people waiting to get on.......

it is also a lot closer to your room at the Villas if you take the bus that could be a good thing at the end of a long day.......





:cop: :tigger:

[Goofster]

On a side note...... the bus from MK to Wilderness Lodge is not very crowded on the ride back one night we only had 2 other people on the bus with us.....
the boat was packed and had a ton of people waiting to get on.......

it is also a lot closer to your room at the Villas if you take the bus that could be a good thing at the end of a long day.......





:cop: :tigger:


Ditto. We made the mistake last year to take the boat from WL to MK in the early evening on our last full day. We wanted to get one last shot in at the MK. We ended up waiting 15-minutes for the boat and then had to travel to FW and then on to MK in the scorching heat. After a nearly 35-minute boat ride, we realized we were covered in sweat and should have rode the bus in AC comfort (and would have gotten there a lot sooner).

I do enjoy riding the boat back to WL at night, it is a very soothing and calming ride. If we were to stay at WL in the summer again, we would most likely take the bus to MK and the boat back.

[ArtDeco]

Several good points, guys... I forgot that many times when going from WL to MK, you have to stop by Fort Wilderness. Sometimes that makes the trip seem long. The boats are flagged so you can avoid this but the flags don't always hold true in my experience!

The 'doubling-up' of boats is another good point. If they get off schedule you can wait longer than you would have liked.

Lastly, the MK-WL bus point is EXCELLENT. I've never experienced a crowd on this bus route and it does indeed drop you off much closer to VWL than the boat does.

Ah, the calm and magic of the boat, though. It is worth the occasional trouble.

PS I just thought of a boat annoyance - horn-happy boat pilots. If you're sitting in the bow seats, beware!!!

[tarzan_rocks]

A couple boat points from my frequent riding of it this past weekend...

1. The boats run about an hour and fifteen minutes to an hour and a half past park closing. Friday night was an Evening Extra Magic Hour at MK and the park closed at 3 AM. According to our watercraft operator, he was going to be running the boat until 4:15 and probably put it to bed at 4:30 assuming everybody is back to their destinations.

2. Before 3 PM the boat cycles from Fort Wilderness -> Wilderness Lodge -> Magic Kingdom. After 3 PM they cycle from Magic Kingdom -> Wilderness Lodge -> Fort Wilderness. I assume the thinking there is that the majority of people would be going to MK before 3 PM and returning from MK after 3 PM making the route non-stop each way for WL guests. I assume they do that as a deluxe resort perk.

Also during peak exit times they will split the route sending a boat to Wilderness Lodge with only WL guests and the next boat to Fort Wilderness with only FWC guests.

By the way, that was my first time staying at WL or any deluxe for that matter. Wow, was it awesome! Are those pillows the most comfortable ever or what? I wish I knew how to get me some like that for home.

tr

[pook@wdw]

:sail: Boat transportation is the only way we travel to/from WL. Never waited more than 10-15 min or had standing-room only. Less crowded, open & breezy, and can sometimes catch the light parade on the lake...what's not to love? :cloud9: