First Bus to Parks/Timing & DS Boat??

[Elias1901]

Hey all,

So... I hear that first bus to the parks happens 45 minutes prior to opening. Is this true? If so, is it 45 minutes prior to the EARLIEST park’s opening time that busses begin service to all destinations? Or does each bus route run specifically to their destinations hours and will only operate 45 minutes prior to that specific park? Also, does the first bus of the day actually turn up at the resort bus stops at the 45 minute mark or is that just when they are dispatched??

If this is the case... I assume if you’re on that first bus, you’ll be fine for MK, EPCOT and DAK... but if you’re wanting a boarding group for Rise of the Resistance, I imagine that calling a Lyft to take you to the park early will be necessary? We’re going in March after Runaway Railway opens, so I’m not sure what the crowd patterns will be like then but I assume it’s not gonna get any less hectic. We’d like to be at DHS in time enough not only to get a boarding group successfully, but we would be like to be there early enough to be somewhat near the front of the crowd to actually get to our first rope-drop attraction without getting left by the wayside by the masses... what time do you reckon we should be aiming to hail our Lyft for to do this without issues??

Lastly... we have a Kona Cafe breakfast ADR at the Poly for 7:35 AM and then we planned to go to MK for a 9 AM opening. However, I’m not sure where I thought busses started 2 hours prior to the earliest park opening time but that must’ve been me mixing up the closing bus service with opening... so, am I correct in assume that we would need to cal a Lyft to get to the Poly from our resort (Riverside) as well? At first, I thought we’d catch a bus to MK and then monorail over but clearly that isn’t going to work if these timelines are the case...

Oh! And just a quick thing about the boat from Riverside to Disney Springs. What time do they start service and what time do they stop service? How frequently do they run/do they have a schedule to gauge which boat you could catch or is it just a general back and forth continuous service?? If we were at DS til 1 AM or something... would bus service be our only option at that point?

Any extra tips or tricks would be appreciated!

 

[kaytieeldr]

Buses start at about 6:30 AM Every. Single. Day. except when parks open early (i.e. before 9), when that park's buses start an hour before that park opens.

 

[Elias1901]

Buses start at about 6:30 AM Every. Single. Day. except when parks open early (i.e. before 9), when that park's buses start an hour before that park opens.

Oh yeah? Is that so? So, even when a park opens at 9 AM, busses to those parks will be running at around 6:30 AM regardless?? That’s to all destinations, correct? Hmm... interesting... I wonder why the CM I spoke to on the phone said 45 minutes before the park opens. I could’ve sworn I’ve been out and at ‘em earlier in the past, so, good to know for sure...

 

[Alesia]

Oh yeah? Is that so? So, even when a park opens at 9 AM, busses to those parks will be running at around 6:30 AM regardless?? That’s to all destinations, correct? Hmm... interesting... I wonder why the CM I spoke to on the phone said 45 minutes before the park opens. I could’ve sworn I’ve been out and at ‘em earlier in the past, so, good to know for sure...

Never trust anything a phone CM tells you. Also, never trust anything an in-park CM tells you unless it is about something very specifically related to their job.

I would definitely take a Lyft to your breakfast at Kona

 

[KayaWildfire]

We got a bus from Music at 5:45am to HS for a 7am opening on our last trip, specifically for rise of the resistance. And we have had several character meals over the years that were an hour plus before the park opened and we have always gotten there on the bus no problem.

 

[joelkfla]

I wonder why the CM I spoke to on the phone said 45 minutes before the park opens.

Because the that cm was in a phone center, usually miles away from WDW, and they have neither specific training nor detailed info about WDW Transport. They were just looking your question up on the internal website, which largely mirrors what's on Disneyworld.com. As it relates to transportation, that info is conservative so as not to set expectations which might not be met in all cases.

 

[Searc]

Oh yeah? Is that so? So, even when a park opens at 9 AM, busses to those parks will be running at around 6:30 AM regardless?? That’s to all destinations, correct? Hmm... interesting... I wonder why the CM I spoke to on the phone said 45 minutes before the park opens. I could’ve sworn I’ve been out and at ‘em earlier in the past, so, good to know for sure...

Because phone CM's have no idea what they're talking about. If you want a correct answer, don't ever call Disney. Ask here or google it.

 

[ncc1701]

Oh! And just a quick thing about the boat from Riverside to Disney Springs. What time do they start service and what time do they stop service? How frequently do they run/do they have a schedule to gauge which boat you could catch or is it just a general back and forth continuous service?? If we were at DS til 1 AM or something... would bus service be our only option at that point?

The boats start at 10:00am and run until 11:30pm ish. If you are leaving after that you would need to take the bus or get a taxi , Minnie Van or Uber/Lfyt. The boats run approximately every 20 minutes & weather permitting are constant. In the evening they tend to run more frequently .Just a FYI the POR boat sometimes stops at POFQ , especially in the morning and afternoon. By late afternoon they usually have separate boats.

 

[Elias1901]

Would catching a bus around 7 AM to DHS opening at 9 AM be enough time to not only get a boarding group but also be somewhat towards the front of the pack to be in good standing for hitting an attraction at rope-drop with a minimal wait? I’m just not certain because the opening videos I see on YouTube look crowded as all living heck...

 

[Elias1901]

Lol. I was watching a recording of the WDW Today info channel on YouTube and EVEN THAT said busses start 45 minutes prior to opening... why are they lying like that??

Also! Bus question... you can get from the parks to Disney Springs on the bus, correct? You just can’t get back via the bus to try to cut down on people trying to park for free and bus over? Is that right??

 

[Alesia]

Lol. I was watching a recording of the WDW Today info channel on YouTube and EVEN THAT said busses start 45 minutes prior to opening... why are they lying like that??

Also! Bus question... you can get from the parks to Disney Springs on the bus, correct? You just can’t get back via the bus to try to cut down on people trying to park for free and bus over? Is that right??

There are buses from the parks to DS after 4 pm. There are never any from DS to the parks

 

[Halle]

We got a bus from Music at 5:45am to HS for a 7am opening on our last trip, specifically for rise of the resistance. And we have had several character meals over the years that were an hour plus before the park opened and we have always gotten there on the bus no problem.

We were unable to use Disney transportation to go to HS for an early breakfast reservation. I was there last week and there was signage at the Skyliner indicationg that transportation begins 45 minutes prior to park opening.

 

[kaytieeldr]

That's Skyliner transportation. Buses run regularly before the Skyliner opens, and then hourly in conjunction with it.

 

[KayaWildfire]

We were unable to use Disney transportation to go to HS for an early breakfast reservation. I was there last week and there was signage at the Skyliner indicationg that transportation begins 45 minutes prior to park opening.

Ok, but as I posted, we used the bus. We also weren't staying at a Skyliner resort either at the time. Buses run earlier than 45 minutes before park opening, even if the Skyliner does not, so you in fact could have used disney transportation, just not the skyliner.