Bus Horror Stories

[Missymoe4]

Regardless how long it "seems" to take, those are the ETA's.

And now to directly answer your question: MK Resorts to AK park take:
From GF 11mins
From Poly 10mins
From Contemp: 13 mins
From WL: 16mins

Say what? Really? It NEVER feels that short. I think the shortest trip from Contemp to AK was around 25 minutes. Now, this number is including the stop at the Poly (maybe even the GF, too). So those stops account for time adding up (plus locking down the wheelchairs adds even more). I don't mind the ride, truly. I like taking the time to people watch, plan my day and relax.

 

[hanwill]

I would guess that the wait times stress goes down since there are now wait time signs at the resort bus stops... It's awesome!

 

[Konor]

Why was it stuck?

When I stayed at the WL one trip, we took a bus to Epcot and had over an hour wait due to a fender bender on the road (I don't recall the cross streets).

The inaugural event did not factor in a strong desire for everyone to be there so traffic was atrocious, we were in sight of the park, but could not get there. So we sat on Buena Vista for most of the 2.5 - 3 hours other than when we had to pull over for a medical emergency of one of our fellow passengers (if you are reading this I hope all is well).

When we finally got to the normal bus turn into the parking lot, hours into this trek, THAT was when we were told that no one was allowed into the lot, Disney buses included. Our driver basically snapped at this point I believe, took us to Boardwalk with no explanation why or even where we were (many of us had never been there before and in the dark we hadn't a clue what resort we were at), told us to get off and drove away.

That is why, even to this day, when I see a bus go by I shudder just a bit...

 

[dodgr98]

We were staying at POFQ a few years ago and we were wanting to get to Animal Kingdom for the early extra magic hours. We had multiple buses come through for those wanting rope drop arrivals at the other parks. It was 30 minutes before a bus got us and others to the park. What irritated the heck out of me was that there was a cast member counting riders and talking to dispatch. She wouldn't do anything to help. "There's one on its way". When I got to the park, I saw one of the managers and ripped the bus service and the young fool with the radio. We did get Expedition Everest Fast Passes out of the drama but we would have rather have had the early time in the park.

 

[UberPlannerMom]

Oh man- which should I pick. Let me start by saying that we avoid the bus as much as possible because it never works out well for us.

Our first family trip: Hubby decided it would be a good idea to a)not listen to me about bringing the back up camera and b) not bring his cell with him to the mk. So, camera battery dies and he needs to run back to ASMovies to get the other camera. I said I would wait for him at the play area by donald's boat (tells you how long ago this was!) We had 90 minutes before our ADR so no problem, right? Well, pretty soon he has been gone the full 90 minutes so I ran up to crystal palace and asked if he had tried to check in. Nope. Run back to play area in case I missed him in the run to CP. Nope. Run back to CP again. No sign of him. I asked if I could call the room. Nope. Go to guest services. Guest services said they weren't allowed to let me call the room but after a bunch of crying let me try anyway. We are now at over 2 hours and it is pouring down rain on me and my 2 year old. No answer at the room. Sometime around 2 1/2 hrs he comes running up to CP (who wouldn't let me check in without him) and tells me that it took almost 2 hrs for one bus to our resort to show up! It would have taken him longer to get back but he just went ahead and drove! Crazy!

Fast forward a few trips. We NEVER use the bus! I mean NEVER because of that first trip. We have reservations at 1900 park faire. No big deal- we can take the water taxi or whatever. Nope, I am in an ECV and won't fit. My bad. No biggie- we can take the monorail. Nope. The monorail was shut down at 5 for maintenance. Uh oh! OK, let's brave the bus. Let me just say that I can't stand people looking at me and of course they were all staring as I tried to figure out how to park this thing. I kept asking the driver if he could do it because I was taking to long and getting flustered and he insisted he was not allowed. ACK! I finally get all loaded, as does everyone else and away we go. Well, sort of. The bus was leaning, hard. We scraped over every speed bump. Something was not right. Finally, the driver gets out and decides that a tire is flat. Then proceeds to get back in and keep driving. He told every gatekeeper we saw that his tire was flat but just kept driving. So then, when we finally arrived at GF , then he decides to get it looked at... before letting anyone off. Thanks dude. Thanks.

Finally, our last trip. This isn't really a bus issue but more of a transportation issue. We stayed at EPCOT for EMH. Had a really lovely time. Except that we were parked at the TTC. When we came out we were told that the monorail had shut down because it was two hours after closing (despite the EMH) and we needed to take the bus. We contemplated just going to the resort on the bus as a family and having hubby get the van in the morning but we got worried about it out there so I took the bus to the resort and he took the bus to the TTC... and beat me back to the resort!

Yeah, I am not a bus fan.

 

[daisyduckie]

I was on the other side of the spectrum as you. After a day at downtown Disney (this was about 5 years back) my party walks to the bus stop to get back to our resort for dinner at Cinderella Castle. We were at the bus depot 3 hours before our reservation (we planned accordingly to account for travel times to/from all places and time to get dressed for dinner).

We waited. And waited. And waited. And waited. After 15 minutes we were already debating hiring a cab, but as another bus swung around the corner, we hoped and prayed for it to be ours. We didn't want to spend money on a cab (we were all a bit tight on money), we ended up waiting 45 minutes for our bus. I was outraged, and voiced my opinion (respectfully) to the bus driver and the front desk at the resort. We skipped showers and simply freshened up for our special dinner.

I don't know what the heck was going on, but it was sure frustrating. Now, I take Uber. Solves so many problems and doesn't really cost much (it saves my sanity).

I'm with you, I take a cab to get to any ADRs that would involve transfers. Though I have to point out, if you left Disney Springs 3 hours ahead of your ADR by Disney standards you really didn't allow enough time. Disney recommends allowing 90 minutes to make it anyplace using their transportation. So by their formula you only allowed enough time to get from Disney Springs and to the Magic Kingdom. You didn't leave time to shower. So in reality you did well!

Disney Springs is known for having slow bus service, if I need to get someplace from there in a hurry, I definitely grab a cab!

 

[Cowboy Steve]

Which trip it was escapes me... I think it was our 2011 trip... we had gone to HS first thing in the morning to use a coupon at the merch store near the gate (Mickey's of Hollywood I believe) - I think the coupon was from a dining receipt perhaps? Anyway, it was my mom, sister, and me and I offered to take our purchases back to the rooms so my mom and sis could just go straight to MK (I think it was our last day and couldn't use the free resort delivery). They were going to take the park to park bus, and I was going to take the bus to POFQ, then the bus to MK. So, after about a 10 min wait I get on the resort bus to PO... ran our bags to the room (our rooms were really close to a bus stop), made it back to the bus stop... maybe waited 15 mins for the MK bus. Ride to MK... and no mom and sis. My trip had taken about an hour. 25 mins later, they finally got to the MK! lol! Mama was not happy... lol

 

[DisneyGirlNY]

In March of 2015, DH and I took a parent-only trip. We wanted to get from the BW to CSR and decided to take the bus to DD to transfer. About 5 mins away from DD, the bus stops, along with other traffic. The driver, who was highly entertaining and really tried to make the best of the situation, eventually told us that someone coming from the hotels across the street from DD, ran in front of a bus in the tight, little bus area. The dopey person was not hit, but to avoid him, the bus hit a barrier. Again, no one injured, but a disabled bus is now completely holding up traffic in that tiny area. We probably sat in the bus for at least 45 minutes, and the driver was talking to the passengers, playing all of the "please be seated..." messages, telling stories, he was awesome (wish I got his name so I could send in a good word for him). Anyway, as you can imagine - the lines to get on the buses at the bus stop were longer than I've ever seen -snaked down behind the Christmas store, all the way to the next intersection, crazy! Those people were going to be there for HOURS. DH and I crossed at the next light to the first hotel and hopped in a cab. Best $15 I ever spent!!

 

[IanDLBZF]

I have had a few with the Disney buses, & recently with LYNX:

• We were traveling to HWS via then-Downtown Disney Marketplace and the Swan. Ended up waiting a really LONG time, almost forever, for the bus to come! That was not fun at all! Never again, we are going directly to HWS via bus, the correct way! Happened once in XMAS 2005 and in June 2009.

Other than that, I can't really remember anything else.
For LYNX:

• Me and my mom were heading back from the TTC back to LYNX Central Station to catch the 6:58 PM NB train to DeBary, the bus at first had a few tourists from the UK, including this mom who had a rather heavy accent, and a few employees. We left Disney Springs West Side, and the bus was pretty busy. We picked up a TON of people on the way, including some construction workers, and there was this man who said "You've got to be kidding me..." when the all boarded the bus, and that's when the bus pretty much reached full capacity (mind you this is a 40ft Gillig BRT). We also happened to make a lot of stops on the way back, and ran into rush hour traffic, making us worried that we were going to miss our train back! Turns out, we didn't miss our train!
• On the way back from Disney, after doing three parks in one day, the bus I was on heading towards LYNX Central Station had ran into I-4 rush hour traffic, causing me to worry I would miss my northbound train back to DeBary. In the end I just made it to the platform, just as the train I was supposed to catch was arriving into the station!

 

[Missymoe4]

I'm with you, I take a cab to get to any ADRs that would involve transfers. Though I have to point out, if you left Disney Springs 3 hours ahead of your ADR by Disney standards you really didn't allow enough time. Disney recommends allowing 90 minutes to make it anyplace using their transportation. So by their formula you only allowed enough time to get from Disney Springs and to the Magic Kingdom. You didn't leave time to shower. So in reality you did well!

Disney Springs is known for having slow bus service, if I need to get someplace from there in a hurry, I definitely grab a cab!

You are totally right!

Good idea!! I Uber-it all around the complex now. So much easier and not worth the stress of the busses.

 

[Cowboy Steve]

I'm with you, I take a cab to get to any ADRs that would involve transfers.

We are definitely going to try Uber this trip for one of our ADRs at another resort (Sanaa at Kidani Village). Our only other ADR at another resort would be the Spirit of Aloha dinner show at the Poly. As we don't really have any other plans for that day (it is our arrival day), and we are doing the early show, we will probably just catch the bus to MK and ride the monorail over... but we'll see. The Game is that day... it is *usually* a noon kickoff, so we may need to catch an Uber ride if it runs long lol

 

[JasonDeyoung]

Wow! Guess I've been very lucky when it comes to Disney transportation! *knocks on wood* Only bus event I can even think of was actually pretty funny to me at the time. Was on bus from studios to pop and the driver was obv new and kept stalling the bus literally every like minute lol. By time we came chugging into pop the whole bus was clapping and cheering haha

 

[bethymouse]

I would not call it a horror story, but I will never stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge again both due to the very long walk from your room to the bus stop plus it seemed like you were on the bus forever. It was a long bus ride to anywhere...or at least it seemed like it to us. It was nice to stay there once but never again...mainly because of the bus service.

We feel the same way!

 

[Disney4family]

I guess not a true horror story - only rotten in that transportation in general stunk last August. We just couldn't figure out how the resort would offer EMH but not have transportation to get us there!? We stay at BLT so this happened at the CR. We tried to get to Epcot and AK early for their EMH. The monorail wasn't running yet - shortened summer hours? We were told there would be a bus. We waited. Many, many, many people joined us. Waiting. And waiting. Finally, I walked up to one bus driver and explained the situation. He called in. He was told a bus would be there soon. I guess that's a relevant term. It was August. Sooner than Christmas? I went up to so many bus drivers, that when I approached one of them, he said, " I know. I heard you over the intercom many times." I guess he realized that at that point there were at least 2 bus loads of people there. He called in and changed his sign to take as many as he could to the park. Honestly, the next day there was EMH we just grabbed a taxi. No stress. What's another $10 or so at that point? We're on vacation.

 

[Rickster7]

We were staying at Beach Club and a employee told the bus driver to take his time. I thought that was code for be safe. I was wrong. I knew pretty quick we were not going the right way but I just figured it was another way. It wasn't and we were on an adventure. I expressed my concerns to fellow passengers and pretty soon the bus was in a uproar. After yelling at the driver for a while I guess the driver realized his " take your time " ride was over. So going the wrong way he decides to pull a u-turn where you should not. Our bus was straddled across the highway blocking oncoming traffic. Another Disney bus was stuck waiting for this guy to finish his 16 point turn. He didn't look happy.

 

[danitaytay]

We went to Disney for me and my cousin's Sweet Sixteen back in 2013 during Christmas break. We were going back to our resort [AKL] from Hollywood Studios and it was probably a little after 9, but the bus happened to be fairly empty, which was very surprising for how many people were in the park that day. It was just our group of 8 and another family of four, a mom, dad, probably a 4 year old boy and a little 2 year old girl. They were having a lot of trouble folding up their giant stroller so my aunt offered to take the little girl from the father while my dad helped him fold up the stroller since the mother had the boy on her lap. Well my aunt sat down with the little girl on her lap and she happened to fall asleep so my aunt said it was fine and ended up holding her the entire bus ride.
Well that wasn't the smartest idea because halfway through the ride the little girl stirred, stood up for a second, and peed all over the floor of the bus and the seat next to my aunt. We couldn't believe it! The poor mother and father were so embarrassed but didn't have anything to clean it up with so we sat the entire rest of the bus ride avoiding touching the floor around us so we didn't step in urine I felt so bad for the poor bus driver who we had to tell about the mess as we got off.

 

[daisyduckie]

We were staying at Beach Club and a employee told the bus driver to take his time. I thought that was code for be safe. I was wrong. I knew pretty quick we were not going the right way but I just figured it was another way. It wasn't and we were on an adventure. I expressed my concerns to fellow passengers and pretty soon the bus was in a uproar. After yelling at the driver for a while I guess the driver realized his " take your time " ride was over. So going the wrong way he decides to pull a u-turn where you should not. Our bus was straddled across the highway blocking oncoming traffic. Another Disney bus was stuck waiting for this guy to finish his 16 point turn. He didn't look happy.

Omg, I would have taken the number off of the bus and reported both of them.

 

[Cowboy Steve]

Well that wasn't the smartest idea because halfway through the ride the little girl stirred, stood up for a second, and peed all over the floor of the bus and the seat next to my aunt. We couldn't believe it! The poor mother and father were so embarrassed but didn't have anything to clean it up with so we sat the entire rest of the bus ride avoiding touching the floor around us so we didn't step in urine I felt so bad for the poor bus driver who we had to tell about the mess as we got off.

Probably not the worst thing that bus driver has had to clean up off his bus floor... lol

 

[Rickster7]

Omg, I would have taken the number off of the bus and reported both of them.

Trust me at least half the bus did!

 

[cdeev8690]

I've never had a terrible issue caused by Disney transportation but here are my stories :

• During my senior class trip in 2008, one morning we started out for an early ADR in MK at the Crystal Palace. I must have eaten something that did not sit well or was a little contaminated, if you know what I mean, and I didn't feel right for the rest of the day. After a few hours in MK, we all hopped over to Epcot for the rest of the day into the evening. By the time I made it into Epcot, I was feeling horrific. I made it to the infirmary that is in side Epcot, and was escorted by a teacher who was advising the trip and a very good friend. At first, the nurse at the front desk wouldn't let me into the bathroom because she said another person was getting sick in there. Well, while my teacher was yelling at her, I threw up in the little waste receptacle next to the front desk (i still remember my teacher holding my hair back, screaming at this lady "ARE YOU HAPPY NOW?!"). Anyway, it was decided by the teachers that I needed to leave the parks now along with another girl in our group that was also feeling ill. They put is in wheelchairs, although I was feeling fine after the incident in the waiting room, and rain us to the bus stops (literally ran) during Illuminations because they didn't want to wait for an eternity at the bus stops after the show was over. By the time we got to he bus stop I began to feel nauseous again and was afraid to get on the bus. They put myself and my sick classmate in a seat together with barf bags. It's actually a very sweet memory because this girl and I, who were not friends, were consoling each other as we each had to use our bags during this cramped bus ride back to the All Star resorts. I am terribly sorry to all the people who watched us get sick on this ride and to the CM who had to clean up my mess on the side of the All Star Sports building.
• Another barf related post. My last visit, my flight back home was too early to qualify for the baggage check. It was 4:45 in the morning and we're on the bus headed toward the airport and literally 5 minutes into the 30 minute ride, a little girl got sick all over the floor. All of the moms on the bus were on it so quickly though, pulling out whatever materials or water they had to help clean it up and spraying perfume for the smell We just had to dodge it a bit while getting off the bus at the airport.
• Instead one more horror story, I'll tell you a nice story (without barf)! : One visit, I was at the Boardwalk enjoying Jelly Rolls until closing. We didn't quite understand how the buses worked at that point and didn't know if we would be able to get on a bus to get anywhere that would take us to a bus back to Pop. There was one bus hanging out and the driver asked "Where do you guys need to go?" and we told him we were staying at Pop and said he'd take us there. We had the bus all to ourselves at 2 AM and we were so so thankful that this driver went out of his way to help us!