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Disney World Express Service -Start/end time


Harper

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Has anyone done this excursion recently and can tell me when you got on the bus/ when you had to be back on  (and docking times). Not looking to debate the excursion, we are doing Disney Springs and have made up our minds, just trying to estimate how long we'll have to make dining reservations.

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@Harper I'm not sure I understand your question. What transportation option are you going with? Is it a ship sponsored excursion? Also, (we live in close proximity to the Disney area) the time they calculate to get to the doorstep within Disney Springs is an hour, depending on the actual day and date that time will be longer. The sheer volume of vehicles on the road to include all of the snow birds as well as unfamiliar tourists make the drive an excruciating test of one's patience, I can attest that unless you are extremely lucky the pace is SLOW going, at least 90 minutes especially if the Disney Springs area with all of her traffic lights is congested and backed up. Are you then trying to make dining reservations within the Springs? I personally would aim for 3 hours from the time you exit Port Canaveral, allowing for the drive, then locating the facilities within the Springs to freshen up (usually better then what are available at the restaurants) and then finally navigating the foot traffic within the Springs to arrive at your dining venue at or close to your appointed time. I really hope this helps and you have an amazing visit, just pack your patience and a smile :1_grinning: Also I would look to the archived cruise compass here similar to your sailing you MAY be able to get an idea as to the docking times you were referring.

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Times can very from sailing to sailing, so I wouldn't really look for specific times but rather an estimate of how long after docking does the Disney transportation typically leave and how long before the all aboard time does the return transportation typically leave.  That should give you somewhat of an idea of what to expect based on your scheduled port time.  Just be aware that the port time can change or be altered due to a number of situations, so don't make any reservations that have non-refundable deposits required just in case.

 

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What's the timing of your day in port?  Our Anthem cruise is in port from 12pm- 9:30pm and I've seen a comment on the other cruise forum that you are there from around 2pm-7pm, but hopefully someone on here can confirm.  (And depends on your ship time).  

You were helpful on the other thread. Would love to hear your final plan for the day when you decide. We're still trying to decide between the two options.

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We're also doing the Disney transport when we are in Port Canaveral in Feb, but we are at the port 7am-7pm.  We are planning on doing Magic Kingdom that day and just packing in what we can (we've been there a couple times so we kind of know what rides and whatnot we want to hit up), figured that with the ship in port for 12 hours we would maybe have 7-8 hours in the park, am I way off by assuming that?  I don't think it will change what we do if I am, but just curious if anyone else has any experience with it

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8 minutes ago, Geoff P said:

figured that with the ship in port for 12 hours we would maybe have 7-8 hours in the park, am I way off by assuming that?  I don't think it will change what we do if I am, but just curious if anyone else has any experience with it

While I've never booked this excursion, we just moved away from the area after living there for nearly 5 years.  I can tell you from the port to Magic Kingdom it's probably a 70-80 minute drive depending on traffic each way.  Factor in that plus they will likely have you back to the ship at least an hour before sailaway.  All that along with whatever the actual departure time from the port is and you're probably looking at 6 hours max IMO.  I don't know the cost of the transport there, but I would highly recommend at least pricing out a one day car rental.  There are multiple agencies in the port area and the drive there is pretty straightforward.

If driving there isn't your thing, just be aware that you may not get as much time in the parks as you'd like.  Not saying don't go (we do enjoy all the WDW parks), just set expectations.

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8 minutes ago, codyh21 said:

While I've never booked this excursion, we just moved away from the area after living there for nearly 5 years.  I can tell you from the port to Magic Kingdom it's probably a 70-80 minute drive depending on traffic each way.  Factor in that plus they will likely have you back to the ship at least an hour before sailaway.  All that along with whatever the actual departure time from the port is and you're probably looking at 6 hours max IMO.  I don't know the cost of the transport there, but I would highly recommend at least pricing out a one day car rental.  There are multiple agencies in the port area and the drive there is pretty straightforward.

If driving there isn't your thing, just be aware that you may not get as much time in the parks as you'd like.  Not saying don't go (we do enjoy all the WDW parks), just set expectations.

Yea we talked about renting a car but decided we'd rather just spend a little more on the transport "excursion" so we wouldn't have to drive or worry about it at all.  The time for the transport says 7:30am-5:30pm...I'm assuming that means we would be leaving at 7:30 and then back at the ship for 5:30 right?

I could always call to find out more details, as cruise planner isn't super helpful with some of these specific details, but figured I'd ask here first.

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8 minutes ago, Geoff P said:

Yea we talked about renting a car but decided we'd rather just spend a little more on the transport "excursion" so we wouldn't have to drive or worry about it at all.  The time for the transport says 7:30am-5:30pm...I'm assuming that means we would be leaving at 7:30 and then back at the ship for 5:30 right?

I would assume so, which will likely mean you'll arrive around ~9:00 and back on the bus ~4:00 or so.  That should still allow you to see quite a bit.

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 11/15/2019 at 9:07 AM, Geoff P said:

Yea we talked about renting a car but decided we'd rather just spend a little more on the transport "excursion" so we wouldn't have to drive or worry about it at all.  The time for the transport says 7:30am-5:30pm...I'm assuming that means we would be leaving at 7:30 and then back at the ship for 5:30 right?

I could always call to find out more details, as cruise planner isn't super helpful with some of these specific details, but figured I'd ask here first.

how did you find out the times for the transport? We are on Grandeur sailing in January and are in port 6am to 6pm but I cannot find times for the transport anywhere. The best I can find is the duration for the excursion is 10 hours so I am assuming off the ship for 10 hours which translates into about 7 hours of park time. I'm worried though since I've read comments on other forums that people were in port for 12 hours but the bus got them back 3-4 hours before they left port so they missed several park hours due to the transport system/schedule.

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21 hours ago, madeline236 said:

how did you find out the times for the transport? We are on Grandeur sailing in January and are in port 6am to 6pm but I cannot find times for the transport anywhere. The best I can find is the duration for the excursion is 10 hours so I am assuming off the ship for 10 hours which translates into about 7 hours of park time. I'm worried though since I've read comments on other forums that people were in port for 12 hours but the bus got them back 3-4 hours before they left port so they missed several park hours due to the transport system/schedule.

After I booked the transportation excursion I just looked at my calendar and it shows the times as 7:30-5:30.  We're scheduled in port from 7a-7p, I'm assuming the 7:30 departure time may be a little ambitious, but who knows, maybe it's not, we figured if we were able to get more than half a day in the park we'd be happy, hit some of our favorite rides and walk around and whatnot.  I think the park is scheduled to open at 9am the day we are there, which I believe is typical, so we figure we would be there around opening, if not slightly after.

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48 minutes ago, Geoff P said:

After I booked the transportation excursion I just looked at my calendar and it shows the times as 7:30-5:30.  We're scheduled in port from 7a-7p, I'm assuming the 7:30 departure time may be a little ambitious, but who knows, maybe it's not, we figured if we were able to get more than half a day in the park we'd be happy, hit some of our favorite rides and walk around and whatnot.  I think the park is scheduled to open at 9am the day we are there, which I believe is typical, so we figure we would be there around opening, if not slightly after.

Is the transportation excursion booked via Royal Caribbean Cruise Planner or third party?

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3 minutes ago, Geoff P said:

I booked through the RC cruise planner

730am may seem ambitious but that is what it will be assuming no issues getting to the port.  Being that you booked with RC, they are going to prioritize getting you off and on your way.  You may even meet in a particular location for this shore excursion on the ship so that they can be as efficient as possible getting you off and loaded into the transportation vehicles.

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59 minutes ago, Geoff P said:

I think the park is scheduled to open at 9am the day we are there, which I believe is typical, so we figure we would be there around opening, if not slightly after

Rope Drop is so much fun at Disney World. I love the energy and excitement. I also love being first in line for my favourite attractions and not waiting. Sigh. Great memories.

I emailed RCCL excursion desk and for my cruise we are expected to be in port from 6 - 6. They responded that we can expect the bus to leave at 7:30 to head to the park and likely the meeting time for returning is around 4. That would line up with what your calendar says for a 7 - 7 time frame since leaving the park at 4 would mean returning to the ship at around 5 - 5:30 depending on traffic. Strange that they wouldn't adjust the times for a ship that's on a slightly different schedule. You would think that my bus would leave an hour earlier than yours and return an hour earlier too.

If you pre-buy your tickets to the park and connect them to MagicBands, you should get almost 7 hours in the part then assuming you go to Magic Kingdom or Epcot. Getting to/from the other parks would take more time sadly and I really want to do Hollywood Studios to see Galaxy's Edge. Oh well, it will still be awesome.

 

12 minutes ago, CruisinUpinLife said:

Is the transportation excursion booked via Royal Caribbean Cruise Planner or third party?

If it showed up in Geoff's calendar, it must have been booked via RCCL as third party excursions never show up in the calendar on the cruise planner.

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3 minutes ago, madeline236 said:

If you pre-buy your tickets to the park and connect them to MagicBands, you should get almost 7 hours in the part then assuming you go to Magic Kingdom or Epcot. 

I have been on their site just to see what day passes would cost for the day we're there to price things out, haven't purchased the tickets yet, how do I connect them to MagicBands and what are the benefits to that?  We planned on Magic Kingdom to get the most hours in the park we could.

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2 hours ago, Geoff P said:

I have been on their site just to see what day passes would cost for the day we're there to price things out, haven't purchased the tickets yet, how do I connect them to MagicBands and what are the benefits to that?  We planned on Magic Kingdom to get the most hours in the park we could.

MagicBands are most useful if you are doing a Disney vacation as they are your room key, your charge card, your entrance tickets, your FastPass tickets - everything really. The benefit for a one day trip is smaller and they do cost something if you aren't doing a Disney vacation so it may not be worth it to you. The main benefit for a one day is if you already have them and they're connected to your ticket, you don't have to stop and pick up tickets at a wicket when you arrive (which may have a line) - just scan it at the entrance and you're in. So basically more time in the park. Also, if you are interested in going to Hollywood Studios, Star Wars Galaxy's Edge and riding the brand new Rise of the Resistance ride, you need to get a virtual FastPass (called "joining a boarding group") the day of once you're near the park. if you have a magic band linked to your tickets, you can do that before you're even in the park and increase the chances of actually getting on this ride.

I have magic bands already from a previous trip and so I don't need to buy now. For a one day trip, unless I was planning on coming back, I'd likely not buy as it's already so expensive.

If you go, regardless of whether or not you also buy Magic Bands, buy your tickets at least 30 days beforehand because on My Disney Experience you can pick 3 Fast Passes which you're going to want for having so few hours in the park.

If you want sit-down meal instead of fast food/counter service, make those reservations beforehand too. You can make them before guying a ticket as early as 6 months before your trip.

My final advice for Disney (I love Disney and have been multiple times), is to make a plan ahead of time of what you want to do and look at maps of the park so you know what is where. You don't want to waste time discussing it in the Park and missing time actually doing stuff. A great website for that is www.TouringPlans.com.

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On 12/6/2019 at 9:51 AM, Geoff P said:

After I booked the transportation excursion I just looked at my calendar and it shows the times as 7:30-5:30.  We're scheduled in port from 7a-7p, I'm assuming the 7:30 departure time may be a little ambitious, but who knows, maybe it's not, we figured if we were able to get more than half a day in the park we'd be happy, hit some of our favorite rides and walk around and whatnot.  I think the park is scheduled to open at 9am the day we are there, which I believe is typical, so we figure we would be there around opening, if not slightly after.

I'm not sure if it is possible (haven't heard all your particulars), BUT! If you can book fast passes at Disney, you might get to ride 2 or 3 of the better rides while you are there. Even with fast passes there are waits, but it does make it possible to ride more than a couple during the time you will be there.

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@Harper and @Geoff P I just posted this to another discussion, thought it might come in handy for you. I have used this and found it helpful: https://www.undercovertourist.com/orlando/crowd-calendar/ We did four days in park at Animal Kingdom, then took a DCL cruise in 2018. I would do it again in a heartbeat except I would not pay through the nose for DCL again. Rather, RCCL.

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On 12/7/2019 at 12:47 PM, Baked Alaska said:

I'm not sure if it is possible (haven't heard all your particulars), BUT! If you can book fast passes at Disney, you might get to ride 2 or 3 of the better rides while you are there. Even with fast passes there are waits, but it does make it possible to ride more than a couple during the time you will be there.

you can book fastpasses 30 days beforehand. Depending on which park you go to, there are tiers so you can have one for a tier 1 attraction and 2 for a tier 2. They also have to be at least an hour apart so if you have one at 10am, your next cannot be before 11am. With them though, even at busy times, you can get more done and they're totally worth it.

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1 hour ago, KrissySeas said:

We were docked from 12pm-9pm and we were dropped off at the Transportation and Ticket center around 2pm and had to be back on the bus at 7pm.  So we got about 4.5 hours in Epcot.  We are big Disney people and go frequently so it was a nice little taste for us (though pricey)

Thanks, that's the type of info I was looking for! We already have a plan, just want to know what hours we're working with.

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