With the exception of the monorail Resorts, it can take a good 30 minutes to get from your lodging to any of the Walt Disney World Parks. Factor in crowd levels, special events, hour of day and distance to/from your destination (and how many other stops there are along the way), and the amount of time you spend on the bus, boat or monorail can add up to a considerable amount of time. If you’re not prepared, that can seem like a lot of lost, unmagical moments.
To perk up the pace, here are my top five things to do while riding to the Parks:
- If you are healthy and able, get up out of your seat and offer it to someone who needs it more than you do. Days at the Parks are long and tiring—even more so to a mom carrying a sleeping infant, an ailing grandmother, someone with a handicap or a small child. Consider others before yourself.
- Chat with the people next to you. Sometimes people just stare at their feet to avoid conversation, but you know what? Most strangers don’t bite! If they’re staying at your Resort, you’re likely to bump into them again, and it’s always nice to see a friendly face. If nothing else, you’ll gain a new Facebook friend.
- Drill the bus driver. They are a wealth of Disney information and can answer any question you have about the Parks and surrounding area. They give great advice and tips on how to get around and make your stay even more enjoyable.
- Get your things organized and ready to present at the gate. If you’re carrying a bag, make sure it’s accessible, maybe go ahead and open it for the quick search. Make sure your tickets are out and ready to go so you don’t have to dig through your stuff. You’ll want to get into the Parks as quickly and as easily as possible.
- Sleep! Seriously. The average person walks eight to 10 miles a day while visiting Walt Disney World Resort. That fact alone exhausts me! Now consider all the things you’re doing while walking those miles. Add in the emotional excitement, the effort to keep your kids reigned in, the anticipation of the following days, keeping to schedules, and generally trying to do and see everything there is to see and do, and you’ll be begging for one of those ECVs by nightfall if you don’t rest up when you can. If you are parents of young kids, tag team it. Let Mom catnap on the way to the Parks and Dad snooze on the way back. They say a 15-minute nap can give you an extra hour of energy later on, so grab it while you can!
What do you do to pass the time on buses, boats and rails?
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My plan this trip is to do my dd5’s hair! It will save us about 10 min. in the morning if I wait to braid it or pull it up while we ride to the park!
You’re welcome! It is very important that people consider others’ needs. I hope that advice will be taken more often 🙂
We like to sing, plan, talk to those around us…. Thank you for suggesting people give up their seat to people who may need it more than they do. I hate seeing a mother with a young half-sleeping child standing trying to hold on to the child and keep her balance or a person who is older try to brave it while a young, able-bodied person sits without a clue. Sidenote- As a person who usually travels with at least one older person who has to use a wheel chair when visiting WDW, I know they would rather be able to stand on the bus or walk around the parks than have to be glared at as they are loaded on ahead of everyone. I hope people will remember this when they are waiting for the busdriver to load a wheelchair onto a bus.
I study the park map.
After reading this article I think I may not leave my car parked during my stay at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. It must be less than 30 minutes to drive myself including parking and tramming it from the parking lot? I’d love to hear opinions on both sides, driving vs bus transportation, discuss.
We keep entertained with the signage. We are at a loss as to what the one that looks like a 1070’s radio means… No Smoking is fairly obvious and the no food or drink but the last one????