Travel Time from CBR

[traceyo1]

We are staying at the CBR the 2nd week of December this year. We asked for a Prefered Room Location. If we want to be at the Parks each day when they open (assume 9:00 am) what time should be be out at the bus stop? How long does it usually take to get from hotel to park? Also going back to the hotels after the parks close, how long of a ride? We are also planning some late night dinners/events at Polynesian and Wilderness Lodge and Contemporary. How much time to we need to catch the bus (assuming we have to go to MK and either walk to take Monorail or boat) to make sure we get from hotel to dinner on time? Also, how long does the bus run from MK after the park closes? If it is too late, I think we will have to go from hotel to Downtown and then to CBR? I haven't done this before but that's what it looks like from what I have read. Any thoughts?

[jax86]

:):):secret:we stayed in CBR last Nov. we asked for a preferred room and were told they couldn't guarantee one and we would have to see if there was one available when we checked in. Unfortunately, my DD broke her foot a week before we left so they had no choice but to give us a preferred room. we went at a slow time of year and we didn't wait long for buses and i don't remember being on a bus for longer than 15 minutes or so. If we had reservations at another resort, I think we allowed about 45 min. to 1 hour. (it was a little time consuming getting DD on and off buses and monorails in a wheel chair) I know the buses run for about an hour after the parks close, after that I think you do have to take a bus to down town disney, but i'm not sure.

[CleveRocks]

We are staying at the CBR the 2nd week of December this year. We asked for a Prefered Room Location. If we want to be at the Parks each day when they open (assume 9:00 am) what time should be be out at the bus stop? How long does it usually take to get from hotel to park? Also going back to the hotels after the parks close, how long of a ride? We are also planning some late night dinners/events at Polynesian and Wilderness Lodge and Contemporary. How much time to we need to catch the bus (assuming we have to go to MK and either walk to take Monorail or boat) to make sure we get from hotel to dinner on time? Also, how long does the bus run from MK after the park closes? If it is too late, I think we will have to go from hotel to Downtown and then to CBR? I haven't done this before but that's what it looks like from what I have read. Any thoughts?Before I address the bus issue, let me just make sure you realize that if you merely requested a preferred location room, you are in line behind everyone who reserved and paid for a preferred location room. Jax86, in the above post, got lucky in that there happened to be a preferred location room available because they went during a slower time of year ... it's not at all uncommon for preferred location to be sold out, and when that occurs there is a 0% chance of a preferred location request to be granted.

As for bus times ...
Park buses run every 15-20 minutes. So right off the bat, if you just missed a bus for where you are headed, then you are in for a wait. Since there's no schedule, there's no way for you to maximize your chances of NOT waiting 15-20 minutes.

The on-the-road driving time to MK and AK are about 15 minutes. MGM is the shortest ride, at under 5 minutes. And even though Epcot is just across the street, it's the BACK of Epcot that's across the street; the bus ride to the front entrance is between 5-10 minutes. The on-the-road time going back to the resort is identical as the on-the-road time going from the resort.

So if you want to make sure you're at MK by 9:00 a.m., the math says if it takes 15 minutes to drive there and you might have to wait up to 20 minutes for a bus, then if you're at your nearest bus stop at 8:25 a.m. you will meet or exceed your goal. You can do the same math for the other parks.

Park buses run from the parks back the resorts for about 2 hours after closing, but I'd be nervous about banking on catching a bus past about 90 minutes after closing. If you are coming from Contemporary, you definitely want to walk back to the MK bus area rather than take the monorail ... it's about a 7-8 minute walk and the bus area is on the Contemporary side of the MK area; the monorail ride could easily take 15 minutes, plus any waiting time for the monorail to show up.

From Poly, the monorail is the best way to get to MK (rather than the boat), but again, it could easily be a 10 minute ride plus waiting time.

From WL, I'm thinking that the BUS to MK won't be running after park close, but I'm honestly not sure on that one. The boat should still be running, as there is usually a 9:15 p.m. Hoop Dee Doo Revue show at Fort Wilderness that lets out around 11-ish (the boat in question makes the loop between MK-WL-FW). But again, I'm not 100% sure of this part, so please don't bank on any of my WL-based info.

Taking a bus from a resort to DTD, and then from DTD to your resort, could easily take 1 hour, due largely because you'll be waiting for 2 separate buses, and waiting time can be a real time killer.

You have to decide if a $15 or so taxi ride would be worth it to get back to CBR in about 10 minutes.

HAVE FUN!

[traceyo1]

Thanks for the info. I misspoke when I said we requested a prefered room. We did actually order and pay for it, so that helps. So does all the info you have given me. We were only there once b4 and we stayed at AKL the week before Xmas and New Years, so I hoped it wasn't realistic in the waiting and bus ride times. As far as the taxi goes, how hard is it to get one and how long of a wait is it for one to get to the hotel?

[Beast_fanatic]

Taxis are usually readily available at the resorts - just ask at bell services and they'll call one around for you.