Orlando theme park transfer

[nelblu]

On 3/19/2023 at 7:19 PM, OCVTSGIRL said:

We were on Adventure and took the bus to WDW because it was only $14 each...not the case anymore.  We are annual pass holders but didn't go to any parks because of the time frame.  We chose instead to go to Disney Springs and also visit some resorts...like those that are on the monorail loop.  We were told to return back to the bus at 7:00.  I couldn't imagine paying for park admission for such a short period of time.  There were a few others who did what we did.  Again, the cost of the bus ride was worth it.  Not sure about now.  We are seeing around $33 for our Anthem cruise in November.  Not sure if we will do it.

In October it was $19.99 to each of the parks. 

[monorail81]

11 hours ago, playingpossum said:

For those of you considering going to Disney springs it is doable as well.  One option would be to take the monorail to the Contemporary and then the bus from there to Disney Springs.  Coming back take the bus to either Polynesian or The Grand Floridian and then the monorail back.

If the Royal bus drops you off at the TTC, walk to the Poly and get a bus to Springs from there. Takes too long to go all the way around to the Contemp for a bus. Coming back from Springs, bus to the Poly and walk back to TTC. 
 

All Disney Transport, especially the monorails, is becoming more and more UNreliable by the day. Factor that in to all transportation times. When on a tight time schedule, Minnie Vans might be the way to go. I would personally never rely on the monorails or Skyliner to get me somewhere in a reasonable amount of time. I do consider myself a bit of an expert on the subject because I used to drive the monorails…

[Pratique]

My earlier recommendation to avoid the Disney excursion stands unless you really understand what you’re getting into. We are on Oasis out of Cape Liberty and today took the bus to WDW from Port Canaveral knowing full well what to expect. And it went pretty much as expected.

 

The ship arrived at 1:00 and the gangway opened at 1:30. The tour bus left at 2:15 and arrived at the TTC at 3:20 with some usual I-4 traffic that is as bad as it was when I first lived there 33 years ago. Walked to the Poly and waited 15 minutes for the Disney bus. The bus then stops at the Grand Floridian and it took almost half an hour to get to Disney Springs including a short delay unloading a wheelchair guest from the bus. It’s a long ride with long traffic signals on the dedicated bus lanes. So we got there at about 4:25 and had to be back to the bus by 7:00 because for some reason all aboard was at 8:30 (the original itinerary had us departing at 10:00 instead of 9:00 which cut an hour off the excursion).

 

We ate dinner at STK Orlando which was wicked expensive but very good although there was a DJ blasting music so table conversation was out of the question. Recommended for the food but not for the price or the noise level at 4:30 pm on a Sunday afternoon setting off the environmental noise alert on my Apple Watch.

 

We got to the bus stop at Disney Springs at 6:15 and the bus to the Poly left at 6:35. We got back to the tour bus at 7:02 so technically we were two minutes late but we waited for stragglers who arrived at 7:15. With traffic and torrential rain we got back to the ship at 8:35 five minutes after all aboard. They held us in the terminal for 10 minutes waiting for the rain to ease up but still got soaked running to the gangway.

 

Not surprisingly a few folks were anxious about getting back late and worried that the ship would leave without us. I just put my AirPods on and enjoyed the ride.

 

So all in all we had an hour and 45 minutes at Disney Springs but we were gone for six hours and 15 minutes. Do the math and make the call but you have been warned. Even under the best conditions you’ll only have a few hours at Disney. It’s 120 miles round trip and that’s not going to change.

[Tin can]

We have done both Universal and Sea World shore excursions with transport from Royal from Port Canaveral.

 

Would do both again as we had a great time in the hours available, each visit was late August and no issues with crowds or queues. The time of year or lucky I guess but we found it worth it. 

[poocher]

On 3/19/2023 at 8:18 PM, VernRDH said:

We just did this on Anthem in Feb. Went to Magic Kingdom. Got on one ride, saw one show, walked the whole park and shopped. Ate dinner at Columbia Harbor House.  Had Dole whip from Aloha Isle. Went on Monorail to Contemporary, shopped there, then back to TTC and walked over to Polynesian to look around.

We left PC at 12:45, were at Disney before 2pm. Our return however, was far more eventful as there was an accident on the highway and we sat in traffic for quite some time. We did however, see the SpaceX launch from the bus, driving right past it as it went off. We were the last to return to the ship. Most of the port was shut down, limited staff hurrying us through. By the time we got back to our cabin they were hauling in the gangway and we were shoving off!

Was it worth it? For us, we wanted to see MK for its 50th anniversary, and we have been there many times so the rides are not that important to us. So I can't say it was, but I can't say it wasn't either.

The reason why we did not do Disney Springs was transportation. There is no direct transport from TTC to DS, so you have to go to a resort or park to take a Disney bus to Disney Springs. DH was concerned about travel time, so that also factored into why we chose MK. 

It’s a 5 minute walk from TTC to the Poly if you’re looking for a bus to DS.

[Pratique]

8 minutes ago, poocher said:

It’s a 5 minute walk from TTC to the Poly if you’re looking for a bus to DS.

Maybe if you hustle. It took us more like 10 minutes leisurely walk. It was too hot to hustle.

Edited June 19, 2023 by Pratique

[Pratique]

30 minutes ago, Tin can said:

We have done both Universal and Sea World shore excursions with transport from Royal from Port Canaveral.

 

Would do both again as we had a great time in the hours available, each visit was late August and no issues with crowds or queues. The time of year or lucky I guess but we found it worth it. 

Both of those parks are about 15-20 minutes closer to PC and there is less distance to cover once you arrive. With Disney they drop you at the TTC and then you need to make your way to your destination using something other than your feet. All of these factors increase transit time meaning less play time. It’s doable but expectations need to be calibrated.

Edited June 19, 2023 by Pratique

[Roybthered]

We did it last October on Oasis and had about 4 1/2 hours in Universal, coming over from the UK it was worth it as we had our granddaughter (6) with us. Word of warning though our coach broke down on the way back and we had to jump onto another at the roadside making it back a little later than planned. It's a good job the transport was booked with RC as if not we might have been waving goodbye to the ship.

[RodolfoMejia]

I don't have the exact details, but you should reach out to the excursion provider for accurate info. It's important to consider the available time when deciding which park to visit. Spending only 2-3 hours at a park for a $100 ticket might not feel worth it. If you're really into amusment parks in the us, you could plan a separate trip with more time to fully enjoy them.

[Biker19]

4 hours ago, RodolfoMejia said:

Spending only 2-3 hours at a park for a $100 ticket might not feel worth it.

Welcome to CC.

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

I'm confused by the 2pm leaving the ship. Did the ship not get in until later? And was it scheduled earlier?

 

I booked it for my Feb Anthem cruise and it shows meeting 9:15 on the ship. My plan was to book a meal either at Disney Springs or one of the monorail resorts and hang out - but if they're going to change the time that drastically on me, I'll just have yet another day on the ship. I'm really regretting booking this cruise at this point.