Christmas Eve Dining Reservations/Transportation

[kaismahma]

Hello! We have dining reservations for breakfast at MK for CRT on Christmas Eve morning. Then the plan is to go to Animal Kingdom for the day (we will catch a bus at one of the nearby hotels) and have dinner at Ohana in the evening. We plan on using Disney bus to get back to MK on Christmas Eve and then monorail to Poly for dinner. Are we going to have issues getting a bus to MK from our resort if they close the parks down due to capacity? Will we need to take a taxi or Uber straight to the Poly? Just trying to plan ahead thanks!

 

[NYCgrrl]

Your first part of the day's travels should be easy enough since I'm guessing you'll be on one of the first buses to MK from your resort. MK to AK via bus is a pretty short ride...maybe 20 minutes and possibly 30 depending on your bus depot arrival time. Give yourself 60 minutes for the ride from AK to Poly since it'll be later in the day during high season; normally it would take 30-40 minutes. Don't forget that you can also take a ferry or skiff to Poly from MK if the monorail is backed up.
Have fun out there!

 

[FSU Girl]

I haven't been there on that day, but I have heard that it will be very crowded and traffic will be slow. Plan to sit in traffic and wait for the buses so you aren't late for your ADR. If you're pressed for time an Uber would a lot quicker. Could you change your day around so you're at Magic Kingdom that day instead of Animal Kingdom? That is a lot of back and forth. If the park is closed for capacity the buses should still run. Hotel guests can get in during the first couple phases and people will want to leave and need the buses so I don't think that should cause any issues.

 

[Hopefully]

I haven't been there on that day, but I have heard that it will be very crowded and traffic will be slow. Plan to sit in traffic and wait for the buses so you aren't late for your ADR. If you're pressed for time an Uber would a lot quicker. Could you change your day around so you're at Magic Kingdom that day instead of Animal Kingdom? That is a lot of back and forth. If the park is closed for capacity the buses should still run. Hotel guests can get in during the first couple phases and people will want to leave and need the buses so I don't think that should cause any issues.

Actually an Uber will not necessarily be a lot quicker than the buses. It is the fact that traffic clogs the roads for miles. There are a few areas (Disney Springs comes to mind) with bus only lanes. which would be quicker.

 

[kaismahma]

Thank you all for your suggestions I really appreciate it. Most of the time we are here it is off season and slower so trying to be prepared for the busy times.

 

[TwinkleKS]

Christmas Eve isn't New Year's Eve traffic wise. If I remember correctly from past experiences, you shouldn't see any park closures on Christmas Eve (someone will jump in if I am wrong on that). We are normally at Epcot on Christmas Eve for the CP, but haven't had any real traffic issues getting around. The real traffic nightmares we have seen get progressively worse leading up to New Year's Eve --- when you can sit in traffic FOOOOORRRRRREEEEEEVVVVVVEEEERRRRR

 

[Ksquared]

Last year on Christmas Eve we went to Epcot in the morning, went back to hotel to swim, showered and went back to Epcot for CP and dinner then headed over to Magic Kingdom via monorail. We didn't have any issues. We left MK a little b/4 midnight and were on the bus exactly at midnight....bus was crowded but everyone in line made it on....no real transportation issues all day.....although we were staying at Beach Club so we walked over to Epcot that day.