Transportation to and from parks from Kidani and Jambo

Jack shemmer

Earning My Ears
Joined
May 6, 2019
how long does it take to get back and forth to this parks from
How about wait times ?
Is it bus only?
 
how long does it take to get back and forth to this parks from
How about wait times ?
Is it bus only?
Just buses unless you use your own transportation. When we stayed at Kidani, it took about 13 minutes to get yo Epcot. DHS would be a bit less, AK a lot less, MK a bit more than Epcot.
 
Depends on where you're going....
To AK the bus runs on a loop and the wait shouldn't be more than 5 or 10 minutes. Sometimes we take THAT bus and transfer at AK to a resort bus. Sometimes this is quicker, sometimes it isn't. This is a good way to get to a resort for dining, though.

For MK we usually find it is 'about' 30 minutes from the time the bus pulls up until we get off the bus.
Epcot and HS are much quicker but I still plan on a 30-minute ride.

Once you factor in security and turnstiles it is a good idea to plan for an hour from leaving the room until walking into the park. I use this rule of thumb for most every resort - even Poly can take longer than you'd think with monorail traffic! If I'm early then I beat the system and have extra park time, if I'm right then I am not disappointed or frustrated.
 


How long is the wait for a bus?

Depends on time of day. In the morning they can come every 15 minutes or so, later in the day not as frequently. The MDE app will have wait times once you have checked in. We found it to be pretty accurate - though you have to allow time to walk to the bus stop (lots of time!). I find the app is a good way to get my group going. The bus is coming! The bus is coming! Really ups the urgency :snail:
 
Just like taking Ube or Lyft. MDE will prompt you to include access once you arrive. Super-easy but a little pricey depending on the size of your party. The big plus is they have car seats for little ones. We have used Uber/Lyft to get from AKL to BLT and then walked from there. It's a little cheaper than the MVs, but the MVs have priority drop off spot right in front of security.
 


What about the minivans?
How do they work?
You use the Lyft mobile app to request and pay for the Minnie Vans.

If you need an accessible Minnie Van, that needs to be arranged by the resort as you can't request those using the Lyft app.
 
Though like any of the resorts, there can be unreasonable delays at times, we have found the bus service at AKL to actually be better than at other resorts, with fewer delays, including because there are only two resort stops and both are within the same resort. Moreover, during rush times, they often have separate buses to MK from Jambo and Kidani. Wait for a bus is usually fairly short, and seldom any longer than 15 minutes. Moreover, With only the two (and sometimes one) resort stop, the trip to a park is either equal to and often shorter than traveling from resorts closer to a park, usually in the 20 minute range to MK, Studios or Epcot, and only 8 minutes to AK.

Nevertheless, depending on where your room is, the time from your leaving your room to getting to a park can be a lot longer. That is because the walk from room to bus stop can be very long, e.g., if you have a room near the end of the north wing of Kidani the walk to the bus stop can take 10 minutes or more with little ones along (e.g., distance down the hallway from those ends rooms to the bus station is about .4 miles).Jambo walks are shorter but still longer than most resorts (one may see comments about the "long walks" at BWV from end rooms to the lobby elevator and then the bus station; at Jambo they can be significantly longer and at Kidani three times longer).
 
I have said it before, and I'll say it again, and defend it against anyone who thinks they can challenge it: Overall, travel times from Animal Kingdom to the rest of the park ON AN AVERAGE is as good as from any other resort, and better than from most resorts.

Look at this 'Travel Time Wizard' http://www.ourlaughingplace.com/aspx/twiz.aspx

Punch in a few destinations. At the time that I am writing this, at 1:30 PM Eastern Time on a Wednesday, travel time from AKL to Magic Kingdom is 21 minutes. I have timed it myself, and I find the Wizard to usually be pretty accurate. AND, I think it seems to adjust longer and shorter depending on the time of day and traffic.

Why is travel time good from AKL? Because Disney is aware of the 'Perception' that it is too far out. They have a lot of good, dedicated buses, just for AKL. The buses usually only have to make 3 stops. One stop is at Kidani. One stop is at Jambo. And the third stop is at the park. Very few of the other DVC resorts and Moderate resorts are so lucky. From almost all of them, the buses make multiple stops, either within the resort (OKW, SSR, Caribbean Beach, Coronado Springs) or they stop at multiple other locations, such as other hotels (buses from Poly and Grand Floridian, and then most of the buses in the Boardwalk/Crescent Lake area. Travel time to and from almost all resorts IS NOT MOSTLY ROAD TIME. It is BUS STOP TIME, including pulling into the bus stop areas and loading and unloading. And the Monorail, though popular is one of the SLOWEST ways to get around Disney World.

Anyway, figure 10 minutes to Animal Kingdom park (actually less). 15 Minutes to HS and Epcot (usually less) and 20 to 25 minutes to Magic Kingdom. MOST OF THE TIME.
 
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the bus from AK to Jambo is about 5 minutes, to Kidani might be 10 minutes.
Either way, the longest time is usually waiting for a bus at AK. The ride itself is very short.
 
the bus from AK to Jambo is about 5 minutes, to Kidani might be 10 minutes.
Either way, the longest time is usually waiting for a bus at AK. The ride itself is very short.

A bit over 10% of Membership Dues at AKV are for Transportation. Compared to many other resorts that come in at 9%. I don't think AKV is being charged a bit more because they are farther out. I think maybe they are paying a bit more in order to make sure they get plenty of bus service. It seems the buses at AKV are more regular and dependable and more frequent than at a lot of resorts.
 
How long is the wait for a bus?

I have found the frequency of buses is similar to any other resort. Sometimes they are fast sometimes they are slow.
When we stay at AK, we usually take the buses. We had an early morning breakfast reservation one day and were running late and took a cab. He dropped us off at BLT entrance and we walked in.
 
I have said it before, and I'll say it again, and defend it against anyone who thinks they can challenge it: Overall, travel times from Animal Kingdom to the rest of the park ON AN AVERAGE is as good as from any other resort, and better than from most resorts.

Look at this 'Travel Time Wizard' http://www.ourlaughingplace.com/aspx/twiz.aspx

Punch in a few destinations. At the time that I am writing this, at 1:30 PM Eastern Time on a Wednesday, travel time from AKL to Magic Kingdom is 21 minutes. I have timed it myself, and I find the Wizard to usually be pretty accurate. AND, I think it seems to adjust longer and shorter depending on the time of day and traffic.

Why is travel time good from AKL? Because Disney is aware of the 'Perception' that it is too far out. They have a lot of good, dedicated buses, just for AKL. The buses usually only have to make 3 stops. One stop is at Kidani. One stop is at Jambo. And the third stop is at the park. Very few of the other DVC resorts and Moderate resorts are so lucky. From almost all of them, the buses make multiple stops, either within the resort (OKW, SSR, Caribbean Beach, Coronado Springs) or they stop at multiple other locations, such as other hotels (buses from Poly and Grand Floridian, and then most of the buses in the Boardwalk/Crescent Lake area. Travel time to and from almost all resorts IS NOT MOSTLY ROAD TIME. It is BUS STOP TIME, including pulling into the bus stop areas and loading and unloading. And the Monorail, though popular is one of the SLOWEST ways to get around Disney World.

Anyway, figure 10 minutes to Animal Kingdom park (actually less). 15 Minutes to HS and Epcot (usually less) and 20 to 25 minutes to Magic Kingdom. MOST OF THE TIME.

Shhh....don't tell anyone this. Let's keep AKL a hidden secret! :P
 
Stayed in January on rented points and we now own. We found the buses absolutely fine. Animal Kingdom buses seemed to be always pulling up and it was very quick to get there. We never waited long and with the app we just checked before leaving the room when we would need to head down to the bus stops.

Even Magic Kingdom only took about 25 minutes to half an hour most days to get to.

The worst seemed to be Disney Springs with the traffic around that area, but that would be the same if you are staying at any resort other than the Disney Springs Resort area.

It's absolutely still my choice for resort.
 

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