Disney Transportation: Monorail

 I love the monorail! A Disney trip never feels complete until I take a spin on the highway in the sky. I don’t even need to be going anywhere specific-I’ll just do the whole Magic Kingdom resort loop. 

There are three different monorail loops. The first one is the Express monorail. It goes between the Transportation & Ticket Center (TTC) and the Magic Kingdom. The second is the Resort monorail. It goes to the TTC, the Polynesian, the Grand Floridian, the Magic Kingdom, and the Contemporary. The final one is the Epcot monorail which goes between the TTC and Epcot.

The monorail is one of the most accessible forms of Disney transportation. Each monorail car is divided into two sections and each section can accommodate a whole wheelchair/scooter. The transportation Cast Members will put a ramp down so you can drive right on.They also let the CMs at your stop know so they are ready with another ramp. 

You can also keep your stroller in its normal configuration. That’s probably extra nice at the end of the night.

Normally, people will stand on the monorail. There are bars to hold onto so you don’t fall down. But now with Covid they are limiting people on each car. Those two sections in each car are divided by a hanging barrier. And each section only seats up to two parties. There are two bench seats across from each other with a fairly open area between them (where the scooter would go). So each party would get a bench and be distanced from each other.

The Epcot monorail is not running right now due to Covid. That is sad because it is a fun ride. The monorail will go into the park a little bit before going to the station to drop you off. It gives you some great views of the front of Epcot. 

The monorail is fun. I always love hearing “Por favor manténgase alejado de las puertas”. 

Holly’s Hot Tip: If you’re staying at the Polynesian and want to go to Epcot, walk to the TTC. That’s faster than doing the whole resort loop and transferring at the TTC. Especially if you’re staying in the DVC rooms, because they are incredibly close to the TTC. 

I also did a YouTube video on this if you’re interested:

Thanks for reading!

Holly

Disney World Transportation: Busses

 Busses are the most prolific form of Disney-provided transportation methods. Some people complain about them and we will discuss the negatives, but I’m a big fan of them. Let’s get into it.

Walt Disney World offers busses from most hotels to the 4 Disney theme parks, 2 Disney water parks, and Disney Springs. If there’s another form of transformation between the hotel and teh park, there usually won’t be a bus. For example, the monorail goes from The Grand Floridian to Magic Kingdom. A bus will only go between them in specific situations like a monorail outage.

The busses begin running around 1 hour before the park opens and end about 90 minutes after the park closes. And they run approximately every 20 minutes. It’s important to keep the time in mind when you are trying to get somewhere by a certain time.

There are bus stops at each hotel. Some hotels that are more spread out (Saratoga Springs, Caribbean Beach, etc.) have multiple bus stops. At the bus stops, there are TVs and signs detailing your transportation options. Often the TV will give you an approximate time for the arrival of the next bus.

The parks and Disney Springs also have bus stops. These are organized by resort. Each resort will have a specific location for you to catch a bus. Sometimes you will share a bus with another resort. This is typically during slower times of the year and the resorts sharing a bus are typically near each other like the All Star Resorts.

Now, let’s discuss accessibility. All Disney busses are wheelchair/scooter accessible. They can accommodate 2 scooters. The bus stops will have a specific line for scooters which lines up with the back door of the bus. The bus driver will lower a ramp to drive the scooter onto the bus and for safety you will be asked to transfer to a seat. Of course, if you’re incapable of transferring they will accommodate you.

Then, there are strollers. Strollers can go on the busses, but they need to be broken down. The stroller will stay with you. As a non-parent, I think the hardest part of this is at the end of the night. Since you will have to break down the stroller, sleeping kids will have to get out. That’s just something to keep in mind.

Historically, busses will get filled. And I mean filled! After filling all the seats, people will stand. There are metal handlebars and woven straps to help support you. It’s nice because it can speed up your travel time, but can also be exhausting especially after a long day in the parks.

Things are different in the world of Covid. Teo aid in social distancing, Disney is limiting the number of people on each bus. The seats are separated into sections-usually of 2,3, or 4 seats. The sections are numbered. Typically, before getting on the bus the driver will assign you a section/number. There is also no standing right now.

The busses are great because they are free and can take you almost anywhere on Disney property. But you are also reliant on how efficient or not they are. It can take longer to get somewhere than if you drove a car. There are pluses and minuses to each option. You just have to weigh the options for your own situation. It can even change based on where you’re going and what day it is.

I also did a YouTube video on this topic if you want to check it out:

Thanks for reading!

Holly

Trip Report: Dinner at the Boathouse (Day 4, Part 4 | November 2020)

 Our dinner reservation was at the Boathouse so we had to get to Disney Springs. We walked to the Contemporary to catch a bus. We waited about 15 minutes-definitely one of our longer waits, but we weren’t in a hurry. 

At Disney Springs we had about an hour to kill before our reservation. Can I talk about the Tigger plush wearing a mask at the temp check? He’s so cute!

We walked around and looked at the Christmas trees. We like this new Christmas Tree Stroll because it’s less congested. There was a map that you could complete and get a prize. It took awhile to find the maps, but we eventually found them at The House of Blues. We were able to find all the trees. The Fantasia-themed tree had a Baloo sticker, so I’m guessing there was a change for what that tree’s theme was supposed to be. The prize was a button. It isn’t anything fancy, but this was also a free activity.

Since we didn’t have any shopping to do, we checked in at the Boathouse a little early. We asked to sit outside to enjoy the view and were seated immediately. That was a happy surprise. Our waitress recognized my ears were from an Etsy shopped called Clearly Magic which was cool.

I got a cheeseburger-I didn’t write down my dad’s meal. He did get the blueberry lemonade which is an alcoholic drink and he did like it. We ordered a side of green beans, but they didn’t come with our meal. It worked out because that would’ve been way too much food. So, our waitress was nice and just took them off the bill.

I wasn’t feeling good again so we finished up and walked back to the room. I fell asleep pretty quickly.

Steps walked: 21,793

Up Next: Day 5

Trip Report: Pretty Princesses (Day 4, Part 3 | November 2020)

 Next we were going to get food, but the Space Mountain wait was 20 minutes, so we decided to get in line for that instead. Buzz was on the stage in Tomorrowland and we were able to see him from the line because it wrapped around the stage.

After a spin through space we trekked to the other side of the park and got lunch at Peco Bill’s. This is quickly becoming one of my favorites in Magic Kingdom. 

A cavalcade stepped off when we left the restaurant so we were able to see the princesses. They were in their winter outfits which are gorgeous. 

Then, we headed back to Tomorrowland. We were going to do Buzz, but the line was a little long so we switched to Carousel of Progress. I love this ride, but it always makes me sleepy. I think it’s because it’s dark and cool.

The Buzz line was shorter so we hopped in line. I won, but no galactic hero. It’s been years since I got that.

We were done with the park so we decided to leave. The Dapper Dans were on Main Street so we stopped to watch them. Dad stopped in the bathroom so I waited by the Roy and Minnie statue. A family took a picture with the statue while I was there. The dad asked his wife if they had an extra mask for Roy. She didn’t but I did and appreciated the humor so I gave them a mask. 

Up Next: Dinner at the Boathouse 

Trip Report: Sorcerer’s of the Magic Kingdom (Day 4, Part 2 | November 2020)

 After eating we got in line for the Hall of Presidents. It was a hard line to get in/find the end of because a lot of people took cover under the portico that covers the line. We had to wait for another show before we could go in. That makes sense because I’m sure a lot of people got in line to get out of the rain. But we did get to watch the show and dry off a little.

When we got out it wasn’t raining, but the ground was still very wet. Another character cavalcade came around. The characters were mainly in cars which I hadn’t seen in Magic Kingdom before.

After the characters went by we returned to Adventureland. This time we did get in line for Pirates of the Caribbean. It was about a 20 minute wait. Then, we checked out the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse. If I didn’t know before now I know I’m out of shape. It is cool to check out, but it does have a lot of steps.

We decided we wanted to play a game of Sorcerer’s of the Magic Kingdom. Little did we know this would be the final game because Disney will be ending this activity in a few months. We went to the Train Station to be assigned a new game. And we ended up back in Adventureland to fight Hades and his villainous friends.

It was a fun game that had us walking around the land a lot. A few of the magic portals didn’t work very well. I will miss doing this, hopefully they’ll bring it back in some form.

Then, we headed toward the hub. The Main Street Philharmonic was out playing.

Up next: Pretty Princesses

Trip Report: Eating in a Downpour (Day 4, Part 1 | November 2020)

 I set my alarm this morning for 8, but ended up waking up at 7. I checked the weather and they were calling for rain around mid-day. Looks like I was packing my new raincoat today. I scheduled our shuttle pick up for Friday when we had a rental car so we could get a Covid test before returning to New York. 

We left the room around 9:30. I’m a big fan of these low-stress mornings where we aren’t rope dropping the parks. We only waited a few minutes for the bus and we got one of the new busses which is very nice.

At the park we decided to do Jungle Cruise first. The line wasn’t supposed to go down for the rest of the day. The wait was about 30 minutes.

Pirates of the Caribbean was next up, but the line was all the way to Frontierland so we decided to skip it for now. With the social distancing in the lines it’s hard to judge if the posted wait times are accurate or not. I’m sure we’ll get better at judging it.

Instead, we headed to Liberty Square for the Haunted Mansion. The Cast Member working the line said it would be 20 minutes, but it was a walk-on. It was a longer walk because the line went around to the River Boat queue area. I’m always up for a ride on some Doombuggies even though I do get a little scared.

Then, we were off to Neverland since we were close to Peter Pan’s flight. This is another queue that goes outside the normal line because of social distancing. I love Peter Pan’s Flight. It’s the perfect classic attraction and always makes me smile. 

We headed back to Liberty Square because I wanted to do the Hall of Presidents. I’m a new fan of this attraction and regret not doing it before so I could know what changes have been made under previous presidents. There was 25 minutes until the next show so we decided to get some waffles from Sleepy Hollow first. Unfortunately, it was at this time that I learned the nutella and fruit waffle is only available for breakfast now. I got a funnel cake. I don’t remember what my dad got-maybe a corndog. While I was in line it started to thunder. By the time I sat down to eat, there was a torrential downpour. It was not the most pleasant experience. But that’s Florida especially when there’s a hurricane nearly by. It’s a memory I’ll probably never forget.

Up Next: Sorcerer’s of the Magic Kingdom