The Diva’s have stayed both on and off property many times and know you have to plan differently when you are parking your car at Magic Kingdom than when you are taking Disney Transportation.
One of the things I thought I’d save and share exclusively with my Chip and Co. readers is the value of choosing the RESORT Monorail instead of the EXPRESS Monorail when heading to and from the Ticket and Transportation Center and Magic Kingdom.
OH, the EXPRESS is fine and dandy when you’re NOT trying to get to MK for the Park Opening Ceremony (aka rope drop) or trying to get back to your car after Wishes! Fireworks. It’s true that the odds of having not one, but TWO fanny- packs shoved indiscriminately in your face is significantly lower at, say…10am or 5pm, but when the monorail-tire-rubber hits the road large concrete pillar thingy from 7:30am-9:00am and 10:30pm-12:00am, all bets are off.
For those of us that would like to lessen the time we are stuck having two children sit in our lap with some big fellas booty two inches from their faces, I would encourage you to consider boarding the RESORT MONORAIL instead.
In the morning when we board the RESORT Monorail loop my children point & laugh at the already sweating (at 8am) Disney guests standing in a (bordering-on-insane) line for the EXPRESS. We are stretched out in an often empty section until we get to the Polynesian. We normally pick up people at the Polynesian, but there are usually still enough places for people to sit. Then at the Grand Floridian things get tighter, but normally only for the sections in the middle. I have found that if you’re willing to walk the extra 15 steps to a section further away it is possible to not have a single person standing the entire ride. And of course, by the time things are getting uncomfortable from the Grand Floridians on-board you’re already at Magic Kingdom.
The evening is the reverse. The RESORT MONORAIL line is long, as it is for the EXPRESS, but realize that you are losing many people at the Contemporary and usually everybody has a place to sit, save a few dads, by the time you exit at the Transportation and Ticket Center.
It also seems to me that those willing to pay the big bucks to stay on the monorail loop are less likely to cram themselves in like sardines on the monorail. Of course, they have other options like boats, buses and walking to lessen the pressure to get on the Monorail.
Is it longer to ride the RESORT monorail? Perhaps by 5 minutes maximum, but 5 minutes more for fewer whiffs of man-sweat more than pay off for a Diva like myself! Try the RESORT monorail next time and let me know what you think!
