Having a car at POP

[DISfirstTimer]

We will be staying at POP and will have a car. I will be traveling with DH, DS 6, and DD4. We will probably utilize both Disney transportation as well as our car. I'm not excited by the thought of having to wait 20 minutes for a bus to arrive. Which parks would you recommend driving to and/or using Disney transportation for? We have a PPO at MK one day and plan to utilize Morning magic hours at Epcot another day.

 

[goofy4tink]

Most people here will recommend taking the bus to MK. It's just easier. If you drive, you have to enter the lot, park, walk to the tram (unless you get there really early and get a close up spot), tram to the boat/monorail area, then take one of them to the main gate area. If you take the bus, you get dropped off a short walk to the gate.
The other parks are much more easily accessed from the parking lots.

 

[Wild4Walt]

I'd also add Epcot to the 'take the bus' pile. Depending on when you arrive it can be a long walk or train ride to the bag check area. The bus will drop you off very close to the baggage area. I found the HS and AK lots easier to navigate with a car.

 

[Disneylover99]

Pop's buses are great! We only drive to Disney Springs and the waterparks. On occasion we will drive to AK too, but we mostly use the bus. We always bus to MK, Epcot and HS because we like to park hop on a whim and will often take the boat between Epcot and HS and the monorail between MK and Epcot.

 

[bumbershoot]

I drive to all. Mk bus in the morning is fine but the last thing I want to do at the end of my day is wait in a long line for a bus. I want to be moving to a ferry to the car to my resort.

 

[Timothy02359]

For the past 20 yrs or so we`ve always rented a car. I like the idea of not being on or waiting for buses especially in the morning and at end of day when parks close.

 

[CarrieR]

I drive to all. Mk bus in the morning is fine but the last thing I want to do at the end of my day is wait in a long line for a bus. I want to be moving to a ferry to the car to my resort.

For whatever it's worth, with the "new, improved" early closing times - I'd opt for the bus. We came through right at 10pm last week and they were telling folks 1.5 hour wait for the ferry, >25 minute wait for the bus to the TTC... we were on a bus to Pop within about ten minutes.

 

[Day-Day]

I drive to all. Mk bus in the morning is fine but the last thing I want to do at the end of my day is wait in a long line for a bus. I want to be moving to a ferry to the car to my resort.

We do this most times, especially if we are returning to the resort early in the afternoon but many times at night as well. Closing time at MK can be good or bad. At closing, the buses will be packed and there may be a wait for a 2nd bus to arrive. The ride back to the resort is awful. At least when we have a car, we all have a comfortable seat and a drink if we want it.

Some major events can have big effects. We attended the very last showing of Wishes fireworks last May and decided to use the bus (to POR not POP but about the same difference) because I expected the parking lot to be awful with many locals attending. The lines for the ferry and monorail looked nuts.

 

[bumbershoot]

>25 minute wait for the bus to the TTC...

The *bus* to ttc?

 

[CarrieR]

Yes. They had a bus to TTC in addition to the Ferry & monorail.

For context, we were coming from the Poly/GF boat dock (after dinner) and walked past the TTC bus line. About halfway up, a family was complaining to a CM and he was explaining that from where they were, it was 25 minutes to the bus; if they bailed and went to the ferry line it would take an hour and a half. No clue about the monorail.

It was a mess.