Animal Kingdom Lodge and Buses

W

writersblock

Mouseketeer
Joined
Jul 10, 2016
Hi
So I’m looking for experiences of people who have stayed at AKL and the buses to the parks and other resorts. I’d like to know how convenient they are, how long they take, and particularly if anyone has stayed there and successfully taken a break during the day to go back to AKL and then has come out again.

Also for those who would be at a park from early, then go back to AKL then travel out again for dinner at other resorts (e..g Contemporary).

And what about late nights back from the park e.g after special events or extra magic hours.

Is it as bad as it seems?

I’m aware there are rideshare options or a taxi but I’m just interested in bus experiences at the moment. Thanks!
 
The busses were fine when we stayed there in 2013. Yes you are pretty far from some of the parks, but it’s not too bad. Animal kingdom is an amazing resort. It’s so quiet and beautiful there.

We had the deluxe dining plan and went back and forth a lot along with other resorts. As long as animal kingdom is open, it’s a great transfer point because it’s so close and a short bus ride.

We did take a taxi back late one night from the contemporary after dinner at California grill. Other then that we used buses
 
We stayed at Kidani in April and had no problems with the buses. They have digital displays at the bus stops to tell you about when the buses will arrive (not as important now that that information is on the MDE app).
The only issue is for those wanting to go back to the resort and then to the park. It is further away from some of the parks than other resorts so you spend more time on the bus. Never had a problem with the buses being full.
 
We used the buses last April and they were fine-we never waited more than 5 minutes-maybe 10? Coming home from MK at closing was crowded but that’s to be expected.
 


We have stayed ad AKL numerous times. Bus transportation has always been good.

In general, WDW buses are pretty efficient. In my experience, bus issues are most prevalent at Disney Springs and in large resorts with long internal routes (SSR, OKW).
 
Buses at AKL/Kidani are no better, no worse than any other WDW resort. They tend to arrive every 20 mins. Very early in the morning they run a bit less frequently (from 6:30 until an hour prior to park opening). At park closing, they are crowded, and you may very well have to wait through a bus or two to get back to the resort.
When going to another resort, it's best to head to a park that is either near to your resort, or near to the resort you want to get to, and transfer there. From AKL/Kidani, I would go to the MK for the CR and then walk over to the CR. To get to an Epcot resort, I would head to DHS, and either walk or boat to those resorts. Or, head to AK and transfer to the desired resort there.
 


Buses are overall efficient. Keep in mind that Magic Kingdom is a SOLID 20-minute ride. I thought people were being dramatic, but it's true. So leave plenty of time to wait for a bus AND take the 20-minute ride.

Coming back from MK at night was a bit stressful, as everyone (including our 5-year-old at the time) had to stand on the bus for the whole 20 minutes because it was packed. We survived though! And we're staying at AKL again in September, so obviously it wasn't a deal-breaker.

Finally, I will say we DID manage afternoon breaks each day. But there were a few times we were stressed out to make FastPasses or ADRs because we had to wait for a bus in the afternoon/evening. This time, I've done my best to leave the evenings more flexible so it doesn't matter what time we make it back to the parks. Hope that helps!
 
writersblock said:
So I’m looking for experiences of people who have stayed at AKL and the buses to the parks and other resorts. I’d like to know how convenient they are, how long they take, and particularly if anyone has stayed there and successfully taken a break during the day to go back to AKL and then has come out again.

Also for those who would be at a park from early, then go back to AKL then travel out again for dinner at other resorts (e..g Contemporary).

And what about late nights back from the park e.g after special events or extra magic hours.

Is it as bad as it seems?

I’m aware there are rideshare options or a taxi but I’m just interested in bus experiences at the moment. Thanks!
Click to expand...

Stayed at Jambo in April and I thought they were very efficient. Meaning: they come frequently and the bus rides aren't that long (some people online pretend like AKL is on the other side of the earth).

I had a few 'breaks' while staying there. Once was from AK to Jambo and then back out again later in the evening. No issues, and breaks are so easy if you're at AK because the ride is 5 minutes, tops. The 2nd was Jambo to AK and then back again in about 3 hours. Again, no issues/no long waits.

If you're leaving from AKL and doing dinner at another resort, though, I'd suggest just getting an Uber. Otherwise you'll have to bus to a park and then bus to a hotel. I guess if you bused to AK and then to a hotel it wouldn't be too bad, but just save a step and Uber.

Late nights back from the park...I did do a few late night EMH. Again, no issues. By 'no issues' I don't mean there wasn't a wait for a bus, but the lines were never long and the wait was never more than 20 minutes.
 
I did not read through other responses, so not sure what has been shared....

I have stayed at AKL three times, and found the bus service to be good, not great, but good enough. I find to get to DS, Studios, AK, and Epcot it works well, waits are not too long, ect.

MK is a long haul, like 35-50 minutes, and for some reason bus service from AKL to MK is always pretty bad. As in, we love AKL, and thought about a split stay this year in order to be closer to MK for a couple of days.

We do the typically afternoon break, and do an ADR near the park where we will be in the evening, which is different from the park in the morning. The bus issue can be somewhat annoying, but overall works quite well. For the afternoon ADR, where two buses or conveyances can be required, it can eat up a lot of time. So for this August, I saved up cash back, ect to use ride share for the afternoon.

One good thing, is that stops are not very crowded in the morning, and it has only happened twice where we could not get on a bus. In those cases, a CM was available to indicate a bus was right around the corner.

I have seen individuals exclude AKL due to transit. My basic take is that its really not that far from anything, except the MK area; and the buses run reasonably well. I would recommend ride share if a connection of some kind is required.
 
I stay at AKL frequently and always use the buses. They're as good at AKL as they are anywhere on the property. The ride to MK is 20 minutes, which will seem long if you're used to staying at WL or a monorail resort. But if you stay anywhere else on property, the bus ride from AKL to MK isn't that much different. I've never had the 35-to-50-minute experience described above, unless the above poster is describing the time spent waiting for the bus, which is no different at AKL than it could be anywhere else at WDW.

If you're not used to what is basically public transportation, you may not enjoy waiting for the bus or the fact that sometimes, especially at park close, you may have to stand on the bus or wait for the next one. If you're used to staying at CR and walking to MK, staying on the monorail line, or staying at one of the Boardwalk-area resorts and walking to DHS and Epcot--and this convenience is a big plus for you--AKL doesn't provide that kind of convenience. It's only a 5-minute bus ride to DAK, but even though it's close, you cannot walk from AKL to DAK (and, side note, I wish they would build a pedestrian walkway!).

Sometimes you will wait a long time for a bus, either at a park or at the resort. There's traffic, bus breakdowns, construction, etc. It just happens. That's what Uber's for, IMO.

Please note that there's no resort on property that runs buses to any other resort. The only sort of exceptions to this are (1) there's a boat (not a bus) that goes from WL to CR to the fort, and of course if you're on the monorail line you can take the monorail to another resort on that line. Similarly, there's no bus that goes from Disney Springs to a park--the buses from Disney Springs go only to resorts.
 
First, there are no buses between resorts, you have to either go to a park and transfer or take private transportation. Second, the buses are the buses are the buses. I've stayed at every level and just about every resort on site and have had good and bad service at every single one of them. We do go back to the room mid day most of the time during our visits and it really doesn't seem that bad for us. Lots of times, we are the only people on the bus. The buses are going to run every 20 minutes no matter where you stay. There is a possibility of traffic slowing them down and handicapped and stroller people slowing them down but it is going to happen everywhere.
 
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