Need room advice for Princess please

[AmyAnne]

My kids and I are running the Princess 10K in 2018 and they are bringing some friends. In the past, we have splurged on the Poly because of the monorail. The stress of waiting for a bus at 3 am with a bunch of other stressed people just is not the way I want to start my day. But, we will need two rooms this time, and the cost of two rooms at the Poly is also making me stressed! The other monorail resorts are similarly expensive. My question is, is the start of the Princess 10K walkable from any of the EPCOT resorts? Any and all advice welcome.

 

[FFigawi]

My question is, is the start of the Princess 10K walkable from any of the EPCOT resorts? Any and all advice welcome.

No. You must drive, take a bus, or catch Uber in order to get to the start from the Epcot resorts.

 

[Ariel484]

^^and in case you decide that the above is a deal-breaker and you want to spend more to stay on the monorail, know that the monorails (very likely) won't be running the morning of the 10K.

 

[crazylady]

And riding the bus wasn't stressful for us at all. They are charter buses and they are much nicer than the Disney buses. We waited maybe five minutes and caught the bus. One of the race mornings we were spectators so we caught a later bus and that bus was packed. I imagine that would be stressful as a runner but as long as you leave yourself enough time, you should be fine.

 

[AmyAnne]

No. You must drive, take a bus, or catch Uber in order to get to the start from the Epcot resorts.

Thanks - that's what I remembered from my research a few years ago.

^^and in case you decide that the above is a deal-breaker and you want to spend more to stay on the monorail, know that the monorails (very likely) won't be running the morning of the 10K.

We missed last year, but the previous two years it was running. Has there been a change?

And riding the bus wasn't stressful for us at all. They are charter buses and they are much nicer than the Disney buses. We waited maybe five minutes and caught the bus. One of the race mornings we were spectators so we caught a later bus and that bus was packed. I imagine that would be stressful as a runner but as long as you leave yourself enough time, you should be fine.

Can you say what resort you were staying at? About five years ago we stayed at Caribbean Beach Resort and the buses were awful - we waited 20 minutes and people were pushing to get on. And this was plenty early (or should have been).

What would you say is the best resort bus-wise?

 

[Ariel484]

We missed last year, but the previous two years it was running. Has there been a change?

I think so. The event guide from this year only has it listed for the morning of the half: http://rodale-usa.instantmagazine.com/rundisney/dwphmo22317#!/event-transportation

 

[AmyAnne]

I think so. The event guide from this year only has it listed for the morning of the half: http://rodale-usa.instantmagazine.com/rundisney/dwphmo22317#!/event-transportation

Yikes - thanks for that. At least that makes the decision not to stay at the Poly pretty clear.

 

[bumbershoot]

We missed last year, but the previous two years it was running. Has there been a change?

Started last-minute and by surprise in 2016. I had booked Bay Lake specifically for the monorail and I was NOT HAPPY to have that change happen way too late to do anything different. Continued this year and I don't anticipate it'll change back. Disney doesn't tend to give us things back that they took away.

 

[mrsg00fy]

Thanks - that's what I remembered from my research a few years ago.



We missed last year, but the previous two years it was running. Has there been a change?



Can you say what resort you were staying at? About five years ago we stayed at Caribbean Beach Resort and the buses were awful - we waited 20 minutes and people were pushing to get on. And this was plenty early (or should have been).

What would you say is the best resort bus-wise?

For race weekends I have stayed at Boardwalk, Pop Century and All Star Sports. All have had very good bus service on race mornings. By far the best overall bus experience was our most recent stay at the Pop Century. Never waited for a bus for anything. My only issue with this resort is that if you stay at parks until closing, you WILL wait for a bus back to hotel. On this trip, I didn't close any parks so that wasn't an issue.
But as for the rundisney bus schedule, they were excellent. the Pop would also save a good deal of money vs a monorail or Epcot resort.

 

[crazylady]

Actually, we stayed at CBR for Princess in 2016 and had no issues with the buses for race transportation. We didn't go to the parks too much that trip so I don't really have a current review of park transportation from there.

But, IMO, park buses can be good or bad wherever you stay on site and one resort is not necessary better than another. The only big difference to me is if you care if the resort has internal bus stops or not (like CBR). Personally, I prefer the internal stops because I'd rather have a stop by my room then to have to walk to the one bus stop.

 

[NicoleLarson]

I think your question has been answered but there's no monorail for the 10K and you can't walk to the start line from any Epcot resort. For race weekends, I've stayed at BWI (3 times), YC, BC, GF, AKL and OKW. I haven't had an issues at any of these places. Once at BWI, they had one bus for BC, YC and BWI. 3 buses came and they were all full, the bus attendant was about to have a stroke so they brought 2 buses just for BWI and we all got on, plus made it to the start line in plenty of time. Unless you just want to be the first person at the race you don't need to be at the bus the stop at 3 am. Just get there before 4. The only place that I didn't care for was OKW because the resort is huge and I was really far from the only stop and it was raining....not a great way to start a morning. I think the moderates would have the same issue, except POFQ. So if it's in the budget, deluxe hotels are better for race weekends. Have you looked around on the internet at some of the travel agencies that offer hotel discounts? I was quoted 44% off at BC for princess weekend just a couple of days ago. I can't mention the travel company name on here but it's not hard to find.

 

[AmyAnne]

Thanks all for the comments. I hadn't researched rooms for several years and thought perhaps there was a "clear winner" as far as buses go but it looks like there's not. At least I feel like I am making an informed choice now.

 

[Keels]

If the busses stress you out, Uber and Lyft have both been readily available over race weekends since Marathon Weekend. During Marathon Weekend, I even remember they had availability to schedule your pickup in advance.

 

[runalarm]

I stayed at CBR a few years ago for Princess and found the buses a little stressful. The first buses that came through were completely full so we had to keep waiting and waiting.

Last year we stayed at POFQ and I thought the buses were great. Never had to wait - I did all 3 races - and we were the first stop (before POR) so always got a seat. It was also a super quick bus back to the resort after the race.

 

[sidrich]

We stayed at OKW and our room was close to the bus stops. Our group picked it because the bus route itself from OKW to the start drop off was pretty short. The only bus stories I've heard on race days that scare me are the ones where the driver gets lost!

 

[Anisum]

The only bus stories I've heard on race days that scare me are the ones where the driver gets lost!

That's definitely always a concern (though really it shouldn't be because I think it should be something Disney could fix) but I don't believe anyone has missed the race because of it? There have definitely been close calls (I was in a bus that got lost once) but to the best of my knowledge there has never been someone not able to run... at least not that I've ever heard.

I would say short of Uber, Lyft, or having a rental car getting on the first bus will be a safe bet.