Beach Club - Bus Transportation Question

[ScottyP]

As a returning family to WDW, we are looking for a new experience and the Beach Club looks fantastic with the pool and location near Epcot. From the reviews I have found, people find the resort to be excellent but have a common complaint: the buses to the parks (other than Epcot).

From the sounds of it, the bus takes a "milk run" between 4 or 5 resorts before getting to the parks resulting in an extended time period on the bus.

Those who have stayed there recently, how were the buses with regards to frequency, time spent on traveling to the parks, and how full are the buses for a family with 3 small children, stuff and strollers?

[CanadianWDWFan]

We have experienced the same with the buses at the BWI. So we either drove to MK or AK. At the time our youngest was 2 so we had the stroller and stuff. Driving was the better way of getting the stroller and stuff to the parks. Walking is the preferred way to get to Epcot or DHS. Waiting for the boat is not an option, you will beat the boat to either park. Unless of course if the boat is right there already.

Also what we did to get to MK one day was to walk through Epcot and then get on the monorail. You would of course need park hopper passes but it worked for us.

[spoiledraf]

Also what we did to get to MK one day was to walk through Epcot and then get on the monorail. You would of course need park hopper passes but it worked for us.


Thats a lonnnnngggg walk to avoid a 10/15 minute wait. I did it once as well. Never again.

By the time you walk over a mile, usually in 85degree heat, in the sun, wait for the monorail, wait to transfer to the other monorail, stop at the poly, stop at the GF....



I'll wait for the bus

[playdead88]

we stayed at the beachclub and boardwalk which share a bus route along with the swan and dolphin and never found the bus transportation much of a delay or problem - now you have to take into consideration that you will only use the bus for MK and AK - there is a boat to DHS and the walk to epcot is about 5 minutes - if i were going to complain about a delay it would have been the boat to DHS that sometimes can be a crowded with 30-40 min travel time - as far as we were concerned the location of beachclub to epcot and the boardwalk and of course stormalong bay more than make up for the small travel delays :mickey: have a wonderful vacation!!

[CanadianWDWFan]

Thats a lonnnnngggg walk to avoid a 10/15 minute wait. I did it once as well. Never again.
While it is a long walk, for us it is an enjoyable one. It is not that we avoided the bus that day but we wanted to try a different route to MK. We enjoy the monorail and you are assured a ride up in the front since no usually one is going to the TTC first thing in the morning.

We waited for a bus one day at BWI to MK and we waited over half an hour before we left and got our car. It seems that some days the buses are hit and miss I guess. But for us the car is the best way to get around the World.

[ScottyP]

It seems like others have had similar experiences with the buses. The resort looks beautiful and as long as we are prepared for a longer bus wait or a drive to the parks, I am sure we will have an amazing time. Thank you for passing on your experiences, it has been very helpful.

[dream6]

I don't think the bus ride was really any longer than at other resorts. We did have one horrible bus ride late at night - but we think it was because the driver was new and had no idea what he was doing (we got the full tour of Disney World). But other than that, the bus rides weren't bad. Plus, you can just walk to two parks out of the four - or take the boat.

[FiggyFan]

I haven't found the busses at BC to be a problem. While there are 5 resorts (Dolphin, Swan, YC, BC, and BW) all on one loop road, they are usually split up into at least two different bus routes to MK and two more to AK. During slow times of day, they sometimes run one return bus to all 5 resorts. When they are running multiple return routes, we occasionally hop on whichever bus comes first and stroll the Boardwalk back to our resort.

One other thing I just thought of: the morning busses to AK usually stop at Blizzard Beach on the way there.

[Tinkerfreak]

We were so excited the first time we stayed at the BC. We loved the resort but were not prepared for the bus sharing because we had usually stayed at the AKL. We had to stand several times on the way to a park because by the time the bus got to the BC it would be full because BC was the last stop. We were not used to having to stand because AKL does not share a bus so we were always the first stop:D.
We love the BC location though and might try it again this year.

[jakeybake]

We have never found the buses to be a problem. It has always been a normal wait time for us and yes you do make stops at other resorts but strangely we have always enjoyed that. By enjoying it I mean we like having the option to jump off at one of the other Epcot resort stops and check out the resort or take a leisurely stroll along the Boardwalk and back to the Beach Club.

It's a rather short walk but can be relaxing and a nice way to unwind after a long day at the parks.

Jay

[spoiledraf]

I believe the BC is the last stop before going to the park. That is a plus as you go straight to your destination and don't have to stop at the other resorts.

[Belle619]

We actually just returned from a stay at the Yacht Club :captain:, and I have to admit, the buses were a problem for us.

If you're just headed to the parks for a leisurely day - then the wait isn't that big of a deal.

But, if you are trying to get to the parks right at opening or for a parade/fireworks, then you really have to factor in the time for the bus to go from the Yacht, to the Beach Club, to the Boardwalk and then to the Swan/Dolphin. :rolleyes:

All in all, the hotels are really nice and the buses shouldn't deter you from staying there, it is just something you need to be aware of.

[HJL413]

We are thinking about the same issue. We are preparing to book a late September trip and can't decide between Beach Club and Contemporary. The BC pool looks great and the lure of the Contemporary monorail. This kind of problem is fun

[Yvette]

While we LOVED :cloud9: the BC, the busses were a major hassle on our trip. So much so, that when we later stayed at BWI I just drove to AK and MK..... way too many bad memories for us.

Since we are huge EPCOT fans and always seem to end up there at the end of the day, this wasn't a problem. Now, if I had little ones? I don't know.

For me personally, once my DD gives me grandkids :secret: I plan to take them to either the Contemporary or the Poly until they are older, probably in that order since MK is such a part of taking little ones.

Again, don't get me wrong, we loved both BC and BWI (especially at XMas) but I hate to stand on buses more.

[Tinkerfreak]

We are thinking about the same issue. We are preparing to book a late September trip and can't decide between Beach Club and Contemporary. The BC pool looks great and the lure of the Contemporary monorail. This kind of problem is fun

I agree 100%. How great to have this kind of problem. We also can't decide between BC and Contempory. We considered a split stay but it is a hassle when you are doing a package and the tickets end up costing more so we have to pick just one.