# Check in days and bus usage



## bbobo1812@yahoo.com (Jul 17, 2012)

Must you check into any Disney resort only on Saturday or are other days possible, if so which ones? If exchanging into a DVC resort through RCI can you use the Disney bus system to get to and from parks? Are there particular good buildings to request for good access to busses? Thanks!


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## chalee94 (Jul 17, 2012)

bbobo1812@yahoo.com said:


> Must you check into any Disney resort only on Saturday or are other days possible, if so which ones?



any day of the week for pts reservations.

for RCI exchanges, you are limited to whatever DVC deposits.



> If exchanging into a DVC resort through RCI can you use the Disney bus system to get to and from parks?



disney charges RCI exchangers an additional $95 for the privilege, so yes.  (actually, anyone with a wdw ticket is eligible to use the bus system whether they are staying onsite or not.)

when staying in a DVC resort, you get all onsite privileges: extra magic hours at the parks (when the parks are open early or late), free parking at the parks (if you have your own car) and gifts bought at the parks can be delivered to your resort gift shop for later pick-up.



> Are there particular good buildings to request for good access to busses?



bay lake tower allows you to walk to the magic kingdom - or take the monorail there or to epcot.

beach club villas and boardwalk villas allow you to walk to epcot (or a slightly longer walk to hollywood studios.)  you also can take a boat to either park.

the villas at wilderness lodge allows you to take a boat to the magic kingdom.

but all of the resorts have bus access.  

(bay lake tower might be the "best" as it is near the magic kingdom bus hub, so it's easy to take a bus from there to another resort (say, if you have dinner reservations at the animal kingdom lodge) since buses don't generally take you from resort to resort.)


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## bnoble (Jul 17, 2012)

> for RCI exchanges, you are limited to whatever DVC deposits.


And those are Friday, Saturday, and Sunday; full weeks only (even in Points)


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## ronparise (Jul 17, 2012)

chalee94 said:


> disney charges RCI exchangers an additional $95 for the privilege, so yes.  (actually, anyone with a wdw ticket is eligible to use the bus system whether they are staying onsite or not.)



Does this mean with a ticket to a park I can ride the bus system for free?


BTW: When staying at Bonnet Creek i have driven to Boardwalk Villas, parked for free, and taken the boat to the parks, for free


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## fluke (Jul 17, 2012)

ronparise said:


> Does this mean with a ticket to a park I can ride the bus system for free?
> 
> 
> BTW: When staying at Bonnet Creek i have driven to Boardwalk Villas, parked for free, and taken the boat to the parks, for free



I don't know what the actual rule is but practically speaking yes.  I have never been asked to show proof of a ticket or room key in boarding the bus system.


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## jmpellet (Jul 17, 2012)

The guard at most any Disney resort including DVC usually looks for a parking pass in the window or asks for an ADR for the resort restaurant.  The bus system can be used by anyone so they can get to restaurants, but I believe the avoidance of paying to park is "against the rules."  It also makes it hard for those guests (especially the Boardwalk) to find parking at their resort.


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## ronparise (Jul 17, 2012)

jmpellet said:


> The guard at most any Disney resort including DVC usually looks for a parking pass in the window or asks for an ADR for the resort restaurant.  The bus system can be used by anyone so they can get to restaurants, but I believe the avoidance of paying to park is "against the rules."  It also makes it hard for those guests (especially the Boardwalk) to find parking at their resort.



I dont recall being given an opportunity to pay.   No guard no gate just drive in and park (at the lot to the right in the map link)...I dont know when google took this picture, but it looks like plenty of parking to me   map

another time I drove to the Park, paid to park and then road the monorail the rest of the day

Could I take the Bonnet Creek bus to one park and then the Disney busses 
and/or boats the rest of the day?

I guess my question is: Is the Disney transportation system provided to get everyone around on the property, or just for guests staying at the various Disney hotels and resorts


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## staceyeileen (Jul 17, 2012)

Buses are for everyone, not just resort guests. I have even parked at downtown Disney when staying at the hilton across the street and rode the disney bus to MK.


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## presley (Jul 17, 2012)

ronparise said:


> Could I take the Bonnet Creek bus to one park and then the Disney busses
> and/or boats the rest of the day?



You can, just don't let the people who have to stand on the bus going back to their resort know you are freeloading.   

I've read several people post (who live close to WDW) that they go to a resort and eat there, get their parking validated and take Disney transportation the rest of the day.


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## Purseval (Jul 18, 2012)

chalee94 said:


> disney charges RCI exchangers an additional $95 for the privilege, so yes.


That $95 is for Magical Express, not the WDW bus system


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## rsackett (Jul 18, 2012)

Purseval said:


> That $95 is for Magical Express, not the WDW bus system



I think that $95 is because Disney can get it.  Not for any real reason.  If I could still get Disney through II I would gladly pay the Disney-Because-We -Can charge.


Ray


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## chalee94 (Jul 18, 2012)

staceyeileen said:


> Buses are for everyone, not just resort guests. I have even parked at downtown Disney when staying at the hilton across the street and rode the disney bus to MK.



i don't think the buses at DTD go directly to the parks any more (to discourage this and keep from having to charge for parking at DTD.)  maybe that's just in the mornings, though, i can't remember.

it's really frustrating to the BWV (or other wdw resort) guests who can't find a place to park because folks park at their resort and head to the parks for several hours.  please be considerate with that.  but once you are at a park or park parking lot, yes, it's completely it's appropriate to use the disney buses, boats and monorails to move around the larger wdw resort..

(i believe the $95 is listed as a transportation charge - could be wrong - but basically agree that they just do it because they can.)


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## jmpellet (Jul 18, 2012)

chalee94 said:


> i don't think the buses at DTD go directly to the parks any more (to discourage this and keep from having to charge for parking at DTD.)  maybe that's just in the mornings, though, i can't remember.
> 
> it's really frustrating to the BWV (or other wdw resort) guests who can't find a place to park because folks park at their resort and head to the parks for several hours.  please be considerate with that.  but once you are at a park or park parking lot, yes, it's completely it's appropriate to use the disney buses, boats and monorails to move around the larger wdw resort..
> 
> (i believe the $95 is listed as a transportation charge - could be wrong - but basically agree that they just do it because they can.)



Agreed the DTD bus transport only goes to resorts so certainly someone could park there, take the first bus to come, go to that resort, and then on to any park.  To me, it's a huge waste of precious vacation time to take an hour to save $15.


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## Purseval (Jul 19, 2012)

rsackett said:


> I think that $95 is because Disney can get it.  Not for any real reason.



True, it's just a BS charge, especially for people like us who drive in.  But the excuse they give is Magical Express.  If they didn't use ME they would just come up with a different excuse so that's as good as any.


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## bnoble (Jul 19, 2012)

> Does this mean with a ticket to a park I can ride the bus system for free?


The policy used to say any multi-day ticket holder.  But, now, as long as you have a "legitimate" reason to go from points A and B, you can use Disney transport to get there.  The only thing not "legitimate" is to self-park at a resort or DTD and go to the theme parks.  There is little to no enforcement of this, except at peak times/certain resorts.  Also, you *can* "legitimately" valet park at a resort (and pay for it, of course) and then go from there to a theme park.

Ron, the lot you parked in is the Boardwalk Overflow lot---that's the only one over there that doesn't have a guard shack.  It is rarely used for much of anything, and only gets even sort of full during Food & Wine weekends.

Personally, I just park in the theme park lots if I am visiting a theme park.  They are usually more convenient than parking elsewhere and shuttling in, and I'd rather save time than money these days.


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## bnoble (Jul 19, 2012)

> I think that $95 is because Disney can get it. Not for any real reason.


There is one thing that the $95 entitles you that would not ordinarily get: the use of the Member Services 800 number.  Normally, only Members traveling on their *own* points can call that number to arrange the details of a particular stay---if you rent from another Member, that Member has to call on your behalf for that stay, even if you are also a Member.

If you work it out, you are paying about the same as you'd pay for phone sex to call Mickey.  Otherwise, it's pure nuisance fee.  Don't pay any attention to what Mickey calls it.  Mickey is positively Orwellian.


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## Purseval (Jul 19, 2012)

bnoble said:


> Mickey is positively Orwellian.


Since we were paying for it anyway I just took advantage of a fare sale and booked a flight for my wife to Orlando, leaving Atlanta at 6:55am and arriving in Orlando at 8:30.  I'll drop her off at the airport around 6am and she can take ME over to BLT.  While I'm driving down she can lounge around by the pool, sipping on a cocktail and catching some sun, maybe even get into the room early and take a nap.


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## bnoble (Jul 19, 2012)

Sounds like vacation to me!


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## SOS8260456 (Jul 19, 2012)

The $95 fee was charged LONG before Magical Express was even heard of.  It is a charge that is suppose to cover the additional benefits that you get from staying onsite Disney and I agree that it essentially is a charge that is being charged because they can get away with it.

There are no buses that go directly to the parks from Downtown Disney.  You have to go to a resort, then transfer to a park bus.  

Technically you are not suppose to park at a resort and then go to a park, but it is only really monitored during busy times. I have read that valet parking at a resort and then heading to the park is also not allowed.  We have valeted parked when going for meals and I always ask if there is a specific time limit and we were always told not to worry about how long we were.  We only had a problem once at GF when they asked to see our restaurant receipt and made a comment about how long we took after eating to "see the resort", but not sure if he was being a jerk or just messing with us.  We used to time our dinners with fireworks times or when the kids were little the water parade.


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## roach (Jul 19, 2012)

Back to the original question.  





> Are there particular good buildings to request for good access to busses? Thanks!


  Yes, once you select a resort, you can request to be close to a bus stop.  Each resort has units that are more convenient to bus access.  Arrive early and make your request at checkin also.  It is a long walk to get to the bus stops or pools at a few resorts.  Some resorts have better access to WDW parks than others, as mentioned earlier.  If you do not have a specific park you will be visiting most often, it doesn't matter where you stay since you haven't been before.  All of the resorts with get you to all the parks or Downtown Disney fairly quickly.  Once you make a few WDW trips you will pick out a favorite park or resort that will influence your plans.  Maybe your family will agree on a favorite.  Unfortunately, each of my four family members has their own favorite resort and park but none are the same.  There are a couple of DVC resorts that we haven't tried yet, so I still have hope.



> The $95 fee was charged LONG before Magical Express was even heard of.


  Magical Express started up before RCI picked up Disney.  Our first WDW trip was in 2006 and ME was available then.  Well, not for us since we stayed off property.  It was 2009 when I was able to book a trip through RCI to stay in DVC.  I do not know if II charged this same fee when they were the only exchange option for DVC.  I am happy to pay it and not have to rent a car.  I am just glad that it is only charged once per stay and not by the week.

Mark


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## SOS8260456 (Jul 19, 2012)

roach said:


> Back to the original question.    Yes, once you select a resort, you can request to be close to a bus stop.  Each resort has units that are more convenient to bus access.  Arrive early and make your request at checkin also.  It is a long walk to get to the bus stops or pools at a few resorts.  Some resorts have better access to WDW parks than others, as mentioned earlier.  If you do not have a specific park you will be visiting most often, it doesn't matter where you stay since you haven't been before.  All of the resorts with get you to all the parks or Downtown Disney fairly quickly.  Once you make a few WDW trips you will pick out a favorite park or resort that will influence your plans.  Maybe your family will agree on a favorite.  Unfortunately, each of my four family members has their own favorite resort and park but none are the same.  There are a couple of DVC resorts that we haven't tried yet, so I still have hope.
> 
> Magical Express started up before RCI picked up Disney.  Our first WDW trip was in 2006 and ME was available then.  Well, not for us since we stayed off property.  It was 2009 when I was able to book a trip through RCI to stay in DVC.  I do not know if II charged this same fee when they were the only exchange option for DVC.  I am happy to pay it and not have to rent a car.  I am just glad that it is only charged once per stay and not by the week.
> 
> Mark



Great answer regarding the different resorts. Our family is the same way and as of our last trip, we have stayed at all of the Disneyworld DVC's.  Each family member has their favorite and least favorite resort.  To me, personally, as long as I am close to the pool and the bus stop, I am happy.  

Magical Express started in May 2005.  I am not sure when the $95 fee started, but I know it was there when we started timesharing in 2001 and it didn't sound like a new thing back then, but a well established practice.

I did notice your comment about paying it once per stay and not by the week.  If you can provide more info about how you know that, I would really appreciate it, because I just came off of a 25 day onsite stay, with 3 of the weeks in a row being RCI exchanges, one week at Wilderness Lodge and then 2 weeks straight at Saratoga Springs.  I was charged 3 $95 fees, one at the beginning of each week.  We have also had other consecutive stays in the past and have always paid the fee per week.  Would love to know if they are overcharging us for future trips.  Thanks.


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## SOS8260456 (Jul 19, 2012)

Purseval said:


> Since we were paying for it anyway I just took advantage of a fare sale and booked a flight for my wife to Orlando, leaving Atlanta at 6:55am and arriving in Orlando at 8:30.  I'll drop her off at the airport around 6am and she can take ME over to BLT.  While I'm driving down she can lounge around by the pool, sipping on a cocktail and catching some sun, maybe even get into the room early and take a nap.



We just finished off our trip at BLT and when we checked in at 11 AM our room was ready.  We only did a few days and I used DVC points so I knew going in that it was a Lake view room, but even without a Magic Kingdom view, it was so neat looking out the windows by the elevators and seeing the castle and Space Mtn.  

What a nice husband you are sending her down early.......


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## roach (Jul 20, 2012)

> I did notice your comment about paying it once per stay and not by the week. If you can provide more info about how you know that, I would really appreciate it, because I just came off of a 25 day onsite stay, with 3 of the weeks in a row being RCI exchanges, one week at Wilderness Lodge and then 2 weeks straight at Saratoga Springs. I was charged 3 $95 fees, one at the beginning of each week. We have also had other consecutive stays in the past and have always paid the fee per week. Would love to know if they are overcharging us for future trips. Thanks.



We have done a few multi week Disney stays.  The first one was a mix of RCI Weeks and Points exchanges.  The first week was with points and the next two were with weeks.  Two of these weeks overlapped one night and we arrived the morning after checkin so our stay was 19 nights.  We were billed only once and thought nothing of it.  Our next stay was all RCI Weeks.  It involved two DVC weeks with a stay at HGVC on the end so the kids could do SeaWorld.  We were billed twice for this stay until I inquired about the second fee.  They removed it when I showed them my receipt showing it was paid during the first week.

Mark


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## bnoble (Jul 22, 2012)

> Magical Express started up before RCI picked up Disney.


The $95 inbound fee predates RCI; they charged it with II too; I paid a couple of them in that system.  At least one long-time member suggests that the system's *original* move from RCI to II was motivated by the fact that RCI would not let them charge it, but II would.


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## stanleyu (Jul 22, 2012)

chalee94 said:


> disney charges RCI exchangers an additional $95 for the privilege



Just to reiterate, this $95 is a HUGE rip-off. The week you get thru RCI was deposited by a DVC member, who already paid for the bus system in his/her annual dues. Charging you for the bus would be equivalent to another resort charging for linens. The only reason I pay it is cause I really want to stay on site and trading thru RCI is so much cheaper than owning DVC outright. But it still is a double-charge.


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## dvc_john (Jul 22, 2012)

If $95 is such a big rip-off, just stay at one of the off-site timeshares, and pay for transportation to/from the airport, $14/day parking at the parks, no access to extra magic hours, no free transportation between resort and parks, no free mid-week trash/towel service. I don't get any of those things when I stay at the Marriott's or Hilton's, or any of the others.
At the DVC resorts, you get services that you don't get at other Orlando timeshares, and $95 is pretty cheap IMHO. 
You're already getting a bargain by trading in thru RCI, so quit  whining already!!!

I've been at resorts where owners get free parking, or free golf, and I have to pay for it. Also some resorts charge a utility fee. That must be a big rip-off too!


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## SOS8260456 (Jul 22, 2012)

Well, chalk another savings up to fellow TUG members...thought it might be too late for this past trip, but called and billing will be refunding 2 of the 3 $95 fees charged.  I will NOT think about the 12 plus other multi exchange trips that we have done in the past where I paid it each week and just be thankful that I learned about it with enough time to do something about this year's trip.

It was just pure luck that you guys mentioned it in this thread and even at that it was a casual off hand mention, so I am glad that I picked up on it.

Thank you!


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## itradehilton (Jul 24, 2012)

What great news about only paying the fee once, we paid it twice last visit and I am in planning mode for 2013 hoping to get 3 weeks this time.

 I understand people's complaints about the fee but I rationalize the fee by thinking it is Disney's way to offset the employee costs for the extra hours I get to be in the park. I know it is a BS fee but I love the early extra hour when we stay on site.


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## staceyeileen (Jul 24, 2012)

chalee94 said:


> i don't think the buses at DTD go directly to the parks any more (to discourage this and keep from having to charge for parking at DTD.)  maybe that's just in the mornings, though, i can't remember.



Ah, you're right!  My bad.  We actually rode the DTD bus to the Contemporary and walked over the MK.  It's so close that I forgot we actually didn't get dropped off at MK.


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## sfwilshire (Jul 29, 2012)

Purseval said:


> That $95 is for Magical Express, not the WDW bus system



Not true. It's charged even if you are not flying in. It covers all modes of transportation.

Sheila


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## tahoeJoe (Sep 9, 2012)

SOS8260456 said:


> Would love to know if they are overcharging us for future trips.  Thanks.



If you are visting WDW, I can guarantee you are being overcharged.   :hysterical:


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## happybaby (Sep 10, 2012)

ronparise said:


> Does this mean with a ticket to a park I can ride the bus system for free?
> 
> 
> BTW: When staying at Bonnet Creek i have driven to Boardwalk Villas, parked for free, and taken the boat to the parks, for free




Why if staying at Bonnet Creek did you not just use their bus to the parks.  It is free.   That's what we plan on doing.

But I may tell my other daughter to drive to the boardwalk and park the car there and walk to Epcot or Studios   But she doesnt mind driving to the park and pay for parking either.

I will try the transportation at WBC and this way if DH gets tired, he can get the bus back to the room


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