Park hopping - how much time to allow?

[Tori-ori-oria]

Hi all,

I remember in the last I've done a fair bit of park hopping with my family.

Just if anyone has even a rough idea - how much time would you allow for two young adults to leave one park, jump into the car, drive to another Disney park and gain reentry there?

Normally I'm there for 3 weeks but this time it's 2. First time for the boyfriend and last trip probably until we have kids so I want to cram as much as humanely possible in!

Thanks all

[Mexy02]

We allow 45 minutes minimum , it's also dependent on monorail/ferry if at mk as it's often not working. Between hs and Epcot it's easier to jump on the boat I think and leave the. Are in the car park with the later park opening when you first arrive, mk you could park at ttc and get monorail to mk then do the same for Epcot so takes out the time to move the car.

[sky13]

There's now a VIP Express Transport option - you have to pay for this and it isn't cheap (I think is $27 or $29 or so for a 7 day pass), but it is probably the fastest way of park hopping at the moment.

Basically, this is for direct buses that go between parks. You check in at a place that is inside the park and they check your magic band to make sure you have park hopper etc. A bus leaves every half hour (at scheduled times) from a backstage location that is near the check in place, and goes directly to another park. You enter the second park at a location that is already inside the park, with no need to go through security again.

Check-in locations while I was there earlier this month were:
MK: somewhere in Tomorrowland
Epcot: near Spaceship Earth
HS: near Rock n Roller coaster
Animal Kingdom: near Tusker House

And buses depart every half hour. E.g. I would get told that from Park A, a bus would depart to Park B at 00/30, Park C at 10/40, and Park D at 20/50.

Completely worth the cost and brilliant for night shows in particular... So much easier and less stressful than exiting the parks, waiting an uncertain amount of time for the buses, and then having to go through security and walk through the park again... I think the longest park hopping time would be about half an hour (for anything involving AK), the rest were probably around 20 minutes or so...

[Tori-ori-oria]

This sounds amazing but we are driving from offsite so not sure how useful it would be as our car would end up stranded!

[Forkbeard]

The car drive from one park to another is around 15 to 20 mins. So the question remains how long to get from where you are to your vehicle?

We do this all the time but I've never really taken note of the times. We usually do it having parked first thing and therefore within easy walking distance to the car from the entrance, except MK of course.

Trams are like every 5 to 10m, so maybe 20m max (except MK). That gives around 40 minutes more or less, more for to/from MK.

[stace&tink]

I allow an hour using the Disney transport so would imagine driving would be a bit quicker?
Never can know for sure though... waiting for trams/traffic etc... its all unpredictable.

[Unexpectedpenny]

Originally Posted by Tori-ori-oria

This sounds amazing but we are driving from offsite so not sure how useful it would be as our car would end up stranded!

See more...

You can hop back and forth with that all day long so could go back to the park you started in to collect the car. Could be quicker than driving between them all, especially getting in to MK as that always feels like it takes about 10years!

[Forkbeard]

Originally Posted by stace&tink

I allow an hour using the Disney transport so would imagine driving would be a bit quicker?
Never can know for sure though... waiting for trams/traffic etc... its all unpredictable.

See more...

Depending on many factors, Disney transport can be very time consuming. In some cases I feel much more able to control the timing with a car or on foot tbh. Plus you get the added bonus of having the car where you are for when you leave.

Adding up the overall time of journey on transport vs. car, and the messing around to get back to your car, I'd say car wins.

Obviously if you're onsite then the choice of car vs. transport is quite a bit different.

[Nimbus]

Originally Posted by stace&tink

I allow an hour using the Disney transport so would imagine driving would be a bit quicker?

See more...

The only difference between your own car and Disney transport is the wait for the next bus/monorail/boat. Mind you, you still have to wait for the next tram to take you to your car (or walk it, I suppose), so the difference is not that great.

The buses take the same amount of time to get from one park to another as a car does - perhaps slightly quicker because they don't have to queue at the carpark entrance.

Hopping to/from MK is quicker by Disney transport. Getting a Disney bus direct from MK to HS or AK (and vice versa) is going to be a lot quicker than getting the monorail or ferry from MK to the TTC, getting to your car via a tram, driving from the TTC to HS or AK, parking up and getting a tram to the entrance.

[bigbear]

You may find this link useful:ourlaughingplace/aspx...x#.WNKgwmdWLcs