Staying at Animal Kingdom - how's the bus?

[Sillygirl]

We're going to WDW this fall, in the off-season. We'll be staying at Animal Kingdom (DH made the reservations and it's a done deal) and the guidebooks seem to warn that AK is far away and the bus can be a hassle. We'll either have two umbrella strollers or we'll rent at WDW. Is the wait time for a bus that huge a deal in the off-season? Should we rent a car?

[TwinFoxes]

We're going to WDW this fall, in the off-season. We'll be staying at Animal Kingdom (DH made the reservations and it's a done deal) and the guidebooks seem to warn that AK is far away and the bus can be a hassle. We'll either have two umbrella strollers or we'll rent at WDW. Is the wait time for a bus that huge a deal in the off-season? Should we rent a car?

I don't have any experience with AK, but I think the waits are worse off season. It's not that you have to wait in line because the busses are full. Rather, the busses take a long time to come, and there are fewer running in the off season.

[egoldber]

We stayed at AK in January.

http://www.windsorpeak.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=349517&highlight=animal+kingdom

Honestly, I wouldn't stay there again given a choice. The theming was cool, but it was a longish bus ride to most places. That doesn't bother me so much, but it drives DH crazy, so we seldom take the bus. Car rentals are pretty inexpensive in Orlando. Check out mousesavers.com for rental car codes.

If you want to spend a lot of time hanging out at the resort, there are a lot of activities for the kids.

[fivi2]

My sister stayed at AKL in January one year (not the same year as egoldber!) and said the buses were fine. I know that isn't especially helpful, but I did specifically ask her because I had read that about the buses. she shrugged and said they were fine.

We stayed at Ft W (not near AKL, but generally considered a far off resort with bad buses) in May (sort of off-season). The buses were pretty hit or miss. Sometimes they came right away, others we waited forever. The worst were the buses we shared, which I don't think AKL does a lot of (sharing). But overall, it wasn't bad enough to ruin our trip or anything - you just build in extra time!

Have a good trip - my sister LOVED AKL!

eta: Egoldber has better info :)

[Fairy]

I really would rent a car. I know the bus is free, it's one of the perks, etc. But you have so much more freedom with a car rental, and it doesn't add that much more to the cost of your trip.

Be sure to eat at Tusker House. Can't say enough about it. Easily my favorite restaurant in all the parks.

[egoldber]

AKL does not share buses, which is a nice thing. It's just that the resort itself is very far from the MK and Epcot especially and the buses are not speedy at the best of times. ;)

I actually rode them a lot. DH and older DD would stay at the parks longer than younger DD and I would. We would bus back to the room and they would drive back. I like the buses because it gives us the flexibility to do things like that. Or they would drive to another park and younger DD and I would meet up with them later. As I said, I don't mind the buses, but they drive DH crazy. It just depends on your personality.

The resort itself is beautiful. The pool at Jambo House was just re-done and should be very nice. As I said in my other post, there are a LOT more amenities at JH than at Kidani Village, so something to bear in mind.

ETA: I also thought the QS dining place at AKL (The Mara) was really lacking in variety.

[fivi2]

Yeah, I personally found the buses kind of relaxing. We were rarely in a hurry and it was nice to let mickey drive and not worry about getting lost. Of course the one bus that took the longest was the one morning we were in a hurry to get to an early ADR, but generally it was fun. We also did things like take a boat to CR, ride monorail to brunch at GF, monorail to EP, and then bus back to FtW, which would have been crazy with a car. My dad is local and we did ride with him some, but used disney transportation most of the time. But I can see how waiting around would stress some people out! And if the buses were full or crowded, that would be a pain!

And we love Tusker House too!

[Momof3Labs]

I like that AKL doesn't share busses with any other resort. Sometimes we waited longer for a bus than other times, but that isn't unique to AKL - that's just the Disney bus system for you. I love the theming at AKL. It is so rich and relaxing - I truly feel transported away from the crowds and noise of the parks when I walk in there!

[las710]

We went in November '09 and stayed there with two little ones (both of which were still taking naps). If your kids do not take naps anymore and you are just taking the bus in the morning and back to the resort at night, then I think it is fine. If you have to go back for naps, I'd look into a car or stay closer to the MK. One day, I calculated we spent three hours on the bus back and forth because of a mid-day nap. Now... we had one 40-minute bus wait that day which was a real pain. But otherwise we usually waited about 15 minutes.

Sounds like the buses are hit or miss anywhere you stay and I did appreciate that once we got on the bus, we had a direct shot to the parks/AKL... that is a real plus. Other than the bus, I thought the resort was wonderful. And when we went, the car rentals were pricey ($400 for a minivan) so I liked having the transportation included.

[SnuggleBuggles]

I have nothing 1st hand to offer but my q is...is it really faster to drive? If you know the bus schedule (do they have a schedule?) you shouldn't have to wait. Vs driving and having to possibly park really far away, have to walk/ wait for transport...Just curious.

Beth

[egoldber]

If you know the bus schedule (do they have a schedule?) you shouldn't have to wait.

There is no schedule. You go to a bus stop and hope you haven't just missed one.

For all the parks except the MK, it is my seasoned WDW opinion that it is FAR faster to drive. ;) Unless you are going at a high season when the parking lots may potentially fill up, we have never parked more than a 5 minute walk from the park entrance. Now, we also know EXACTLY where we are going when we drive. Most parks, it takes about 10 minutes to get there from any WDW hotel.

Now, the MK is a different story. You have to park at the TTC and then boat or monorail to the front entrance of the MK. The MK parking lot is also huge and generally requires a tram ride to the front of the TTC to even catch the boat/monorail. Whereas the bus drops you right at the front of the park entrance. So we will typically drive everywhere except the MK. Although my kids love the boat/monorail rides to the MK, so sometimes we do it anyway. :)

[fivi2]

A couple of times my dad drove his car while we took the buses from the parks (he drove his wife's car without our car seats in it). Without fail, he beat us by at least 20 minutes, sometimes more. And I never felt like we had long waits for the buses on those occasions. (not the MK, this was AK and EP)

[DebbieJ]

For all the parks except the MK, it is my seasoned WDW opinion that it is FAR faster to drive. ;) Unless you are going at a high season when the parking lots may potentially fill up, we have never parked more than a 5 minute walk from the park entrance. Now, we also know EXACTLY where we are going when we drive. Most parks, it takes about 10 minutes to get there from any WDW hotel.

Now, the MK is a different story. You have to park at the TTC and then boat or monorail to the front entrance of the MK. The MK parking lot is also huge and generally requires a tram ride to the front of the TTC to even catch the boat/monorail. Whereas the bus drops you right at the front of the park entrance. So we will typically drive everywhere except the MK. Although my kids love the boat/monorail rides to the MK, so sometimes we do it anyway. :)

We did this when we were there last month and it worked great. Drove to every park except MK so we didn't have to lug our stuff twice (strollers and all that). That way we could come and go as we pleased a bit more freely (afternoon nap/swim breaks) and not have to wait on busses.

[SnuggleBuggles]

There is no schedule. You go to a bus stop and hope you haven't just missed one.

For all the parks except the MK, it is my seasoned WDW opinion that it is FAR faster to drive. ;) Unless you are going at a high season when the parking lots may potentially fill up, we have never parked more than a 5 minute walk from the park entrance. Now, we also know EXACTLY where we are going when we drive. Most parks, it takes about 10 minutes to get there from any WDW hotel.

Now, the MK is a different story. You have to park at the TTC and then boat or monorail to the front entrance of the MK. The MK parking lot is also huge and generally requires a tram ride to the front of the TTC to even catch the boat/monorail. Whereas the bus drops you right at the front of the park entrance. So we will typically drive everywhere except the MK. Although my kids love the boat/monorail rides to the MK, so sometimes we do it anyway. :)

Very helpful! Thanks!