Shuttle question

We are going to Orlando for 10 days at the beginning of April. Four of those days will be Disney parks. We plan to do one a day. We are staying at the Comfort Inn Lake Buena Vista which has complimentary shuttle to the parks. Has any one used the complimentary shuttles? Is it good? I want to be at the parks at opening so am concerned about relying on the shuttles. I know we will be able to check it all out when we get there but just thought I would see from experience here. We will have a rental car for the 10 days but hubby is a little cheap and doesn%26#39;t want to pay parking if not necessary!

Thanks in advance,

R

Shuttle question

If you want to get to the parks early use the car.

A 10 min drive can take an hour depending hown many other hotels the shuttle has to pick up at.

And you might only get the choice of one time to go and come back. These are not the hotels own shuttle buses but contract buses.

Shuttle question

Were XR is correct in a way because your hotel is in LBV i don%26#39;t think it would take up to an hour to get to disney....i might be wrong but i don%26#39;t think it would in the coaches interest to pick up yourselves then head up international drive and back to disney. This might possibly be the case if the shuttle takes you to universal or seaworld for example...but not disney.

Another problem that you might come across is the fact the majority of buses are on a first come first serve basis so if the bus is full by the time it comes to you you may not be allowed on...i honestly don%26#39;t know if they would say no or sort you out another coach but you could find out if this is the case when you get there...

Going by my previous experiences of hotel shuttles you will not get there for opening - you will get there not long after but there will be hundreds in before you....i presume you want to be in those hundreds like we do when we go....which is why we now opt for taxis. They are cheaper but not necassarily the easiest....

The hotel should have a kind of schedule and info of any hotels you have to stop at on the way - you will be able to see whats what when you get there however you could always email the hotel and get them to send you through their latest schedule, we%26#39;ve done this before... (they tend to alter depending on season so asking for it now if you are visiting in 6 months time probably won%26#39;t be of much use ;-)!)

I would probably see how much a taxi would cost from your hotel to disney - it maybe cheaper than parking AND it will get you there when YOU want to get there...

I somehow cannot see Hubby paying for a taxi + tip both ways when he doesnt want to pay the car park charge.

you can call the hotel prior to trip and ask what the shuttle schedule is. ask - how many stops (other hotels) does it make on the way...

We stayed in the Comfort Inn 8 years ago and did use the shuttle bus. It picked up at 2 other hotels at the time, It was on a first come first served basis and they had been known to leave people stranded (things may have changed since then). Another thing was they did not run as regularly as the Disney buses do. We found it more convient to use the car.

We just got back a week ago and stayed at Lake Buena Vista Spa and Resort which had a free shuttle also. It picked us up at 8:20 in the morning which was plenty of time to get there before park opening. It was only about a 10 minute ride or so. It picked us back up at either 6:15 or 8:45, whichever we preferred. Some nights we shuttled it, other nights we taxied it. Taxi was about $18 bucks for five of us. The shuttle service our resort used was Sterling. I would call the hotel and find out which they use and how it works. We enjoyed the shuttle as we met new friends on the way and back. They brought plenty of vans to pick us up, just had to reserve the return trip. Sure saved us lots of money!

Having a car is a little more convenient but you do park far away and it costs $11 to park and the shuttles are free. You can park at the marketplace at downtown disney for free and ride the shuttles and mono rails for free. THe car is nice for snacks and change of clothes and things

Thats another thing to mention - as with a previous poster the disney shuttles i%26#39;ve experienced before haven%26#39;t either been great heading back to the hotel....

for example if your wanting to use the shuttles AND stay for the late edition of Fantasmic or Wishes them 9 times out of 10 you will need to get a taxi back. The last shuttle service we used departed Epcot at 10.30....which meant we had to watch just half of wishes from outside the park at the transportation centre to ensure we got the monorail back to Epcot for 10.30...otherwise we%26#39;ll have been stranded. Also, and i%26#39;m sorry to create all the negativity but its all the possibilites you should be aware of, the shuttles from the various hotels tend to drop you off at just one of the disney parks.....i.e Epcot (as above) so you have to make you way to whichever park you are visiting by using the monorails/disney transport which are free and easy but to get to some parks you need to go to a resort and wait for a bus there to take you to the park...this is what will delay you getting to the parks on opening....

Lets bring some positivity back ;-)....

Shuttles are great...in theory...especially for those who don%26#39;t have a car and/or don%26#39;t wish to get there on opening nor stay until closing. Nine times out of 10 they are free...again great for those without a car or on a budget.

If i was you i%26#39;d just use the car - i agree that your hubby doesnt wish to pay the parking but in the long run it will be worth it....

the $11 parking is well worth it. you have your own flexibility and can come and go as you please all day at all of the parks for that one fee.

Thank you to everyone who replied. Can someone please tell me how I can reply to an individual or do I only have the option of replying to my original post? Anyways, I took the advice of emailing the hotel and they confirmed that shuttle starts at 8AM, that was enough for me, too late! I want to be there for that time, not leave. So, it is settled, we will take the car :) I am so excited, next Tuesday can%26#39;t come soon enough!

Thanks again everyone,

Renee

facial