Taking Disney Transportation to DTD

[cslafferty]

We are arriving at POP in 3 weeks after being away from WDW since Feb., 2004. I'm wondering if things have changed concerning Disney busses and DTD. We've never had a problem getting to DTD from our resorts before, but I have read things in threads here and there suggesting that transportation from the resorts to DTD is limited, taking 1 to 2 hours to get there??? Help!!:veryconfu

 

[disneygirl1]

Hey there, when we were there in Sept 2009, we stayed at POP and had no problem getting to DTD to and from the resort. I am not sure if it is still the case, but when we were there, they were doing construction around the bus spots and there was only 1 pick up and drop off location at DTD, which was the spot closest to Planet Hollywood.

 

[wolf359]

On my trip last month the buses to Downtown Disney seemed pretty few and far between during the day. I'm sure transportation is in full "get 'em to the theme parks" mode, especially during the summer, but I've realized it's worth it to use your own car to go to the minor attractions and avoid the bus.

 

[Ziffell]

We are arriving at POP in 3 weeks after being away from WDW since Feb., 2004. I'm wondering if things have changed concerning Disney busses and DTD. We've never had a problem getting to DTD from our resorts before, but I have read things in threads here and there suggesting that transportation from the resorts to DTD is limited, taking 1 to 2 hours to get there??? Help!!:veryconfu

Not sure about the "1 to 2 hours" part, but I have definitely always found Disney bus transportation to be incredibly inefficient and disorganized. It's worth the money to just rent a car IMO.

 

[Cmdr_Crimson]

Hey there, when we were there in Sept 2009, we stayed at POP and had no problem getting to DTD to and from the resort. I am not sure if it is still the case, but when we were there, they were doing construction around the bus spots and there was only 1 pick up and drop off location at DTD, which was the spot closest to Planet Hollywood.

Ugh I remember that! Everyone had to hightail it to the Pleasure Island bus stop as the Marketplace stations were being refurbished during that time...It made it horrible to wait there:brick:..Which I why I really wished they would have used the La Nouba/West Side bus lot during that transition..

But getting back to the OP..It's really no problem..all bus lots are now open..Depending on what time you go during the day since the bus to DTD Does make a stop to Pick up/Drop Off guest to Typhoon Lagoon...Wait times can be from 10 to 15 min from DTD stations and it's really not too bad.

 

[CleveRocks]

We use Disney Transport exclusively. I LOVE the idea of a Disney vacation because I can leave my car key at home and never drive the whole week!

No way it takes an hour or 2. The DTD buses from the resorts run just like the park buses, every 20-25 minutes. Even if buses are backed up for some reason and you just missed one and end up waiting 30 minutes for a bus at your resort, no resort is father away than 15 minutes on-the-road, so it's 45 minutes tops, and usually much less time than that.

 

[cslafferty]

But getting back to the OP..It's really no problem..all bus lots are now open..Depending on what time you go during the day since the bus to DTD Does make a stop to Pick up/Drop Off guest to Typhoon Lagoon...Wait times can be from 10 to 15 from DTD stations and it's really not too bad.

That's what I've always experienced, but it was suggested that if I had a dinner ressie in DTD I should leave 1-2 hours ahead to get there on time, and when leaving DTD late I would be better off taking a cab because it could take up to two hours to get to POP!! I thought maybe there was only one bus that went from DTD to all resorts or something.

 

[JohnLocke]

I don't really ever remember too much trouble getting from POP to DTD. The busses are spaced further apart, but there's no way I think it should be a 1-2 hour wait to get back, especially since the resorts fairly close to DTD.

 

[EpcotAgent007]

...Heard the buses get pretty crowded in the morning and evening hours...i've never experienced this myself, since me and my family stay of property and drive....

 

[Master Yoda]

About the only problem I have had with DTD buses is during peak hours when they take the back way in. This can add about 10-15 minutes to the drive.

 

[Pioneer Hall]

That's what I've always experienced, but it was suggested that if I had a dinner ressie in DTD I should leave 1-2 hours ahead to get there on time, and when leaving DTD late I would be better off taking a cab because it could take up to two hours to get to POP!! I thought maybe there was only one bus that went from DTD to all resorts or something.

I would leave an hour to get to a dinner reservation anyway just in case there are delays.

 

[whitney37354]

We were at WDW in June and we waited around 15 minutes at DTD for a bus back to CR. Not bad and it was under cover. Our worst waits for a bus was DHS after F! & AK to get back to CR---we decided to take TTC bus & from TTC get on monorail to EPCOT since we were trying to get Soarin' FP. Otherwise, the wait wasn't bad at AK, we were just in a hurry that day. You cannot get in a hurry at WDW or you will get frustrated.

 

[kverdon]

Like others have said it may depend on the time of day. We often want to head down to DTD after a short day at DHS. We've hopped over to the Swan and caught the bus from there. This often happens in the middle of the day and the last 2 times we tried this we waited over an hour for the bus. It seems they just don't run the busses that often to DTD during the middle of the day and once you get on the bus it can be a bit of a long trip as they always stop at Typhoon Lagoon. The last 2 times we have been to WDW we have rented a car for a few days to do some grocery shopping and to make our trip to DTD. This worked MUCH better.

Take care,

Kevin and Mona

 

[luckyeye13]

This often happens in the middle of the day and the last 2 times we tried this we waited over an hour for the bus.

Unless you fell asleep and missed several Downtown Disney buses, I find it kind of doubtful that you waited over an hour on two ocassions. The longest wait I've ever experienced for a Disney bus was 40 minutes from Caribbean Beach to Disney-MGM Studios back in 2006 when I had a shift where I recorded the arrival times and numbers of all of the buses at Caribbean Beach for several hours. That was an anamoly, rather than the norm, as most buses for all of the destinations arrived within less than 20 minutes. This has also held true during similar shifts and during my own use of the Disney buses.

Often, when waiting, time seems to go by much faster than it actually does. I remember how one time, when I was waiting for a bus to Downtown Disney at the Contemporary, there was a family who had gotten to the bus stop about a minute or two after the last bus had left. When the next DTD bus came, they complained about how they had waited close to an hour for the bus. In reality, they had waited about 18 minutes, since the interval between the two was exactly 20 minutes. (I knew this because I was videotaping various bus rides with the Magic in Motion system for fun and had not boarded the previous bus, as I was waiting specifically for a NovaBUS LFS going to DTD. Thus, I had looked at my watch when the bus left so that I knew when I should be expecting the next bus, which also turned out to be the type I wanted to record for that trip.) That's not to say that very long waits never occur, but waits are often shorter than they appear.

 

[kverdon]

Trust me, the last time we tried to catch a bus to DTD from the Swan was Sept 2007 and all 4 of us timed it at over an hour. I'm almost positive that it was over an hour the year before, it however was definately longer than 20-30 minutes that we normally expect for disney busses. We have not taken a bus to DTD since then, we've always driven. Maybe they've they've stepped up bus service in the afternoon since then.

thanks,

Kevin and Mona

 

[janoimagine]

To me I always find that whatever bus your not needing, is the one you will see the most of while you are waiting. It's Murphys Law.

 

[mp2bill]

We are arriving at POP in 3 weeks after being away from WDW since Feb., 2004. I'm wondering if things have changed concerning Disney busses and DTD. We've never had a problem getting to DTD from our resorts before, but I have read things in threads here and there suggesting that transportation from the resorts to DTD is limited, taking 1 to 2 hours to get there??? Help!!:veryconfu

1-2 hours? Don't know about that. Since that's the only way to get their from a resort (short of your car or a taxi) I don't know why they'd let that much time pass between buses. That being said, your own car is always the best bet for things like DTD.