The walk from Epcot to Beach club?

[Tammy]

Hi! We are splitting our stay this June. One week VWL and one week BCV. How long is the walk from epcot to beach club after illuminations? We have an autistic son and the wait for the buses and boats are always are most stressful part of the trip as he has very little patience. Would we be better off walking or is the crowd similar to main street after the fireworks? How long is the walk? Are the boats pretty efficient from Hollywood and Epcot? Thanks Guys!

[mathmouse]

I can't say specifically what it is like after Illuminations, since last year my kids were 4 and 7 and try as we might, we couldn't get them to stay up late enough. However, the walk is not bad at all...we managed it many times with the kids, even after a long day in the park. Never tried boat service since the walk was so reasonable. Took about 10-15 minutes from our room to the International Gateway, and that was with a little boy who a) has very short legs, and b) an even shorter attention span, so tended to get distracted a lot along the way!

Good luck, and enjoy your trip! The walk is really scenic and beautiful as well!

[nbodyhome]

Once you get out the International Gateway, about 5 minutes. I wouldn't take a boat - you'll walk it quicker. The Beach Club is *right* there, next to the IG.

Denise

[handa]

From EPCOT you will beat the boats almost every time. The walk is very short and the only reason I'd take a boat is for the view from the water.

From DHS, it depends upon how you walk. We timed our walk from DHS to BCV this past January and made it to BCV at about the same time that the boat leaving DHS pulled up to the dock to let passsengers out at the BC/YC Dock. From where we were at the time we left the park, we could have either walked or made it to the DHS dock to take that particular boat. I made a game of it without "racing" and enjoy the walk from DHS. Others who walk more slowly may prefer to take a boat.

At the end of Illiminations and Fantasmic, what really matters is where you are in relation to the rest of the crowd. If you are close to the IG exit in EPCOT (England, France, or the bridge in between the countries) you should have less of a problem navigating the crowds to the exit. Fantasmic lets out right at the park exit, so you shouldn't have a problem here unless you are caught up in a jam while leaving the seating area itself.

I work with a TSS who will be able to give me some fisthand experience after her trip w/ a family in May. It will be interesting to get her impression of travel at the end of the week. I'll share what I am allowed to at the end of her experience.

Chris

[Tammy]

Thanks Guys! This really helps! Chris can you tell me what a TSS is? For the life of me I can't figure out what that stands for. I will probably feel dumb when you tell me!

[TW1]

I'll second the comments on the walk, it is quickest. But please note, there is no bus at the front of Epcot to BCV. We made that mistake last trip. We found ourselves at the main gate, the kids were wiped out, and we thought we'd just hop the bus back to BCV. Alas, no bus.

Best to plan to be somewhere near the IG for the quickest walk home.

[carolina_yankee]

I agree with everyone else about walking to BCV after Illuminations - very easy to do.

I think there are 2-3 decent locations to see Illuminations from, based on your situation. The bridge between France and England is very good - but you have to line up early. would that be a problem? I would say at least 45 minutes.

There are very good spots in front of Italy and parts of Germany and over by Norway. I would say the wait there is about 30 minutes. The advantage of those locations is that you have to walk a bit to the IG, which means the masses have left before you - and it's a lovely walk passes the pavilions still lit up for the night.

Dirk

[Kynna]

I know you didn't ask about Fantasmic but since it was mentioned I would either wait until the show is about to begin or ask a cast member about assistance getting to your seat. Maybe the dinner package would help too. The line area gets Jam Packed with people and is pretty dark. It stressed out my entire family so I imagine it would be difficult for your son. I was seconds from just giving up altogether. The ironic thing is that there were plenty of seats so all the pushing was in vain.

My DH doesn't do crowds very well either so we end up finding a quiet spot to rest and people watch until a majority of the crowd disperses. I always have a little snack or toy in my bag ready for those times.

[mkhurley]

Hi! We are splitting our stay this June. One week VWL and one week BCV. How long is the walk from epcot to beach club after illuminations? We have an autistic son and the wait for the buses and boats are always are most stressful part of the trip as he has very little patience. Would we be better off walking or is the crowd similar to main street after the fireworks? How long is the walk? Are the boats pretty efficient from Hollywood and Epcot? Thanks Guys!

A picture is worth a thousand words.....it's kinda big so I'll put it in a link, on the right of the picture is a bridge, that is in the UK area and near the International Gateway, if you stay in that area for Illuminations you just walk down thru IG and follow the path (heading left along the water with the words Bay Lake on it) to the BCV, thats the resort on the left. A shorter walk than getting back to the buses.

http://mysite.verizon.net/vzeo1xmz/beachclub.jpg

[Colorado Belle]

If, after Illuminations, your child isn't too tired, I'd suggest just staying wherever you are for a few minutes and letting the crowds leave: most of the crowds are heading for the front exit and in 10 minutes, the WS is empty and quiet and quite beautiful. Then you can leisurely walk to BC which takes about 5 minutes from the IG exit.

If you need a 'safe harbor' while the crowds are exiting, any one of the 'countries' will be empty and the country 'grounds' are still open: so you can walk through the gardens and waterfalls of Canada, the maze of England, the tea garden of Japan, the miniature village/train at Germany,etc, if it isn't too dark you can even look for hidden Mickeys!

Can you tell that 'after hours' is my favorite time at Epcot!!!!????

[carolina_yankee]

I know you didn't ask about Fantasmic but since it was mentioned I would either wait until the show is about to begin or ask a cast member about assistance getting to your seat. Maybe the dinner package would help too. The line area gets Jam Packed with people and is pretty dark. It stressed out my entire family so I imagine it would be difficult for your son. I was seconds from just giving up altogether. The ironic thing is that there were plenty of seats so all the pushing was in vain.

My DH doesn't do crowds very well either so we end up finding a quiet spot to rest and people watch until a majority of the crowd disperses. I always have a little snack or toy in my bag ready for those times.

Also, the OP should consider whether a disabilities pass (or whatever it's called) could help in some situations. It might give them access to reserved seating at Fantasmic or Illuminations, which could reduce waiting even more.

Dirk

[Kynna]

Also, the OP should consider whether a disabilities pass (or whatever it's called) could help in some situations. It might give them access to reserved seating at Fantasmic or Illuminations, which could reduce waiting even more.

Dirk

Oh Yeah!

[irishdancer]

We've stayed at BCV with our DS7 who has Autism, the walk from Epcot is no problem and I definitely recommend it. We usually watch Illuminations from the far side of WS, wait for some of the crowd to disperse and then make our way through an uncrowded WS to the IG.

If you take the boat from DHS to YC/BC just know that it makes other stops along the way. We found that as long as DS knew what stop was ours that the ride went much smoother. We've learned to ask when getting on any WDW transportation to ask how many stops before the one we want.

[Brer_Claire]

We stayed at BCV this past February and we walked back from Epcot after Illuminations with no trouble at all :thumbsup: My 2 children are 10 and 7 and they did just fine. We waited about 10 minutes so we weren't 'swimming against the tide' as it were. It's a lovely walk and you're back in no time.

Claire xx

[Tammy]

These suggestions are just great! I try to map out any potential "tantrum times" in my head before our trip. I will defintely hang back a bit before heading out. Thanks for the map! It does help to see it. I never even thought of walking from MGM! Glad to know that is a possibility as well. Josh has a hard time waiting in very large crowds. If he is moving he does much better. We have been forced to spend $20 dollars on very short taxi rides on numerous occasions when the wait for the buses have been to long at the end of the day. More for others people's benefit than our own. A tantrum from a 3 year old can be tolerated for a few minutes, but one from an 8 year old freaks everyone out! Understandably so!
I am so appreciative of all of yall's great suggestions!

[handa]

I'm all about touring WS at night, too! I could stay there for hours if they would let me!

Tammy, TSS=Therapeutic Support Staff. I do Wraparound Services in Pennsylvania, and the company I currently work for focuses primarily on children in the Autism Spectrum. This is far from the norm, but one family presented a case to have their TSS travel with them to WDW because their family vacation could not happen otherwise. For obvious reasons, I cannot go into most of the other details, except to say that the person who wrote the plan did a lot of research and data collection before it was approved.

Chris

[Niki]

The pass for guests with disabilities is really helpful when traveling with a child with autism. Just get a note from the MD detailing the extent of the disability and any issues your child might have, such as standing for long periods, touching issues or crowd problems. I did this last June with a friends' son. If we had to wait for a show, we were escorted to a dimly lit quiet room away from people. We were directed to lines that led away from the large crowds, so that sensory issues wouldn't cause a meltdown. We weren't required to wait for long and were really kept moving. CMs were really helpful, and we were only hassled by another guest once. It was a real life saver.

BTW, we walked from BWV to MGM and Epcot several times. It was a good walk that kept us moving, a very important thing. There are alot of things to look at on the way to each park, which helped as well. Much better than squeezing onto busses or boats. Good luck. WDW is a great place for kids with disabilities.

[Tammy]

Chris, I want to move to Pennsylvania! They have much better services than we do in Texas. We have all ready spent over $300,000 in therapies for Josh in the last 6 years. One of our therapist moved from Pennsylvania and she said the parents did not pay her the sate did. I was shocked! As for the disability pass we do utilize it as it is the only way we can vacation with him in such a stimulating environment. The only scary times for us are the bus and boat rides. One time it was standing room only on a bus (we did not know when we entered) and he could not understand why he could not sit down as that was the norm. He tried to sit on a lady, he kept yelling "sit down, sit down!" it was very uncomfortable to say the least. Now if it looks like it will be to crowded we cab it. So glad we have the walking option for 2 parks. As much as we LOVE LOVE VWL we may do both weeks in BVC (if we can get it) next year if everything goes smoothly. Thanks again yall! By the way, whenever anyone ask him what is his favorite thing to do he says "ride roller coasters with daddy!" All the stress we go through is so worth it to see the smile on his face when he gets off the rock-n-roll roller coaster!