Annual Passholder: Bus vs. Driving to Parks

[Driver]

Municipal buses work the same way. The problem is that people that do not use buses regularly think that they are just big private vehicles that should be on demand. If they are ready to go and the bus is not there we hear how awful the bus system is. I don't know how many buses WDW currently have, but I'd have to guess close to 200. I was told back over 10 years ago that there were 1000 drivers employed. That is a big busing system. All buses are subject to traffic and crowds. If 10000 people leave MK at closing they expect that there will be a sufficient number of buses to all be lined up like a train just to pick them up. If during the day they see a bus that is just sitting there that it should be picking them up, to hell with the fact that the driver is on lunch break. They don't even think about the fact that there are three other parks with people needing transportation at the same time. It is just a huge lack of knowledge about how bus systems work and how it isn't the comfort of their private automobile. I'm glad I didn't pursue my original desire to drive for Disney when I retired. As I get older and my patience gets shorter, I doubt I would last over a week before I went verbally ballistic on somebody. It would not be a magical day for any of us.

We currently have 380 busses in operation with approximately 1600 drivers. There are 75 new busses on the way, the old Nova's are going to be phased out ( thank goodness)

 

[Driver]

They already do that in the DS area for the buses due to the high volume of traffic.

That's true! It's called the BRT Bus Rapid Transit, or as the drivers call it Barrel Right Through LOL!

 

[Goofyernmost]

We currently have 380 busses in operation with approximately 1600 drivers. There are 75 new busses on the way, the old Nova's are going to be phased out ( thank goodness)

I take it back then, that is a huge system. Never was a fan of Nova's, so like you said.. thank goodness. People don't realize how much is invested in their free bus ride. Let's say we assume that they paid, on average, $200K (low ball, even for them) for each bus that is an investment of $76,000,000. And the payroll for 1600 drivers per week would bring tears to our eyes. All to give our entitled butts a ride to the parks. I don't think that that number includes the shuttles to the docks or to and from the airport does it? And then we wonder why it costs so much to go to WDW.

That's not to say that I don't think that the gouge the hell out of us in many areas, but, seriously most of us cannot even picture how much the daily cost of operating that place is. There isn't a company in the world that should be making Billions in actual Profit! Profit is money retained after all expenses are paid. It's nice to be successful but, gee's Louise, let's be reasonable.

 

[imperius]

If staying on site I always drive. No thanks on waiting on a bus. Don’t have issues with getting a team during the middle of the day when we park hop so driving is much faster.

 

[Texas84]

I am amazed every time I get on a crowded bus at the twenty year old men sitting comfortably (of course they could have some medical condition I am not aware of, but that would be an absurd amount of healthy looking men over the years) while, older folks, and children stand.

But as far as the OP's question: Like many I prefer the convenience of being taken to the gate over the hassle of waiting. I have three boys and once the boys got out of strollers I became a bus person.

I'm not exactly 20, and I've said this before, but I don't offer my seat anymore. Some people are insulted and I'm tired of getting an attitude. I offered my seat to a pregnant woman and she snapped at me. So no more.

On the other hand, one time a kid saw my Dopey medal and offered me his seat. I politely declined and said thank you with a big smile.

 

[Trackmaster]

I take it back then, that is a huge system. Never was a fan of Nova's, so like you said.. thank goodness. People don't realize how much is invested in their free bus ride. Let's say we assume that they paid, on average, $200K (low ball, even for them) for each bus that is an investment of $76,000,000. And the payroll for 1600 drivers per week would bring tears to our eyes. All to give our entitled butts a ride to the parks. I don't think that that number includes the shuttles to the docks or to and from the airport does it? And then we wonder why it costs so much to go to WDW.

That's not to say that I don't think that the gouge the hell out of us in many areas, but, seriously most of us cannot even picture how much the daily cost of operating that place is. There isn't a company in the world that should be making Billions in actual Profit! Profit is money retained after all expenses are paid. It's nice to be successful but, gee's Louise, let's be reasonable.

Really begs the question as to how long until they get a driverless bus system and/or driverless rideshare program worked out. It would save them a lot on labor.

 

[Goofyernmost]

Really begs the question as to how long until they get a driverless bus system and/or driverless rideshare program worked out. It would save them a lot on labor.

Or they could do like every other place and be like they were for the most part when it was only MK. You drove there whether or not you stayed on site or you took a cab from the airport to onsite or if you stayed offsite (like most people did) you either drove there or took the hotel shuttles.

 

[Trackmaster]

Or they could do like every other place and be like they were for the most part when it was only MK. You drove there whether or not you stayed on site or you took a cab from the airport to onsite or if you stayed offsite (like most people did) you either drove there or took the hotel shuttles.

I think you misunderstand. Our discussion is about what kind of "shuttles" or transportation that Disney has to offer. I was saying replacing the manned buses with the unmanned tech buses. I don't see how what you said has anything to do with what you quoted.

 

[JohnD]

I think you misunderstand. Our discussion is about what kind of "shuttles" or transportation that Disney has to offer. I was saying replacing the manned buses with the unmanned tech buses. I don't see how what you said has anything to do with what you quoted.

Technically, being that I'm the OP, the discussion is on whether you prefer bus or car to the parks. I can understand, however, that some of the discussion could segue way to other types of transportation that WDW could offer.

 

[Shouldigo12]

I'm not an AP holder, but since price isn't a factor for me is it ok to throw my two cents in? If not, I'll remove the post.
For me, buses easily win. I am not a navigator. Like, at all. I still occasionally get lost in my own neighborhood, I would end up in Texas if I tried to drive around the labyrinth that is DW. I like being able to just hop on the bus and trust that the driver knows what they're doing. Plus they knoe the roads well. On our way to the airport to get back home there was a huge amount of traffic, but our driver knew a side route that got us to the airport with almost no delay. That alone is worth it to me, but add in how tired you are after touring all day and being able to just let someone else do the work while you just sit (or stand) there is also a wonderful bonus. Driving in an unfamiliar area can be difficult. Driving in an unfamiliar area while tired at night can be dangerous.

 

[JohnD]

I'm not an AP holder, but since price isn't a factor for me is it ok to throw my two cents in? If not, I'll remove the post.
For me, buses easily win. I am not a navigator. Like, at all. I still occasionally get lost in my own neighborhood, I would end up in Texas if I tried to drive around the labyrinth that is DW. I like being able to just hop on the bus and trust that the driver knows what they're doing. Plus they knoe the roads well. On our way to the airport to get back home there was a huge amount of traffic, but our driver knew a side route that got us to the airport with almost no delay. That alone is worth it to me, but add in how tired you are after touring all day and being able to just let someone else do the work while you just sit (or stand) there is also a wonderful bonus. Driving in an unfamiliar area can be difficult. Driving in an unfamiliar area while tired at night can be dangerous.

Perfectly reasonable post. There is no right or wrong here. Makes sense to me.

 

[thomas998]

I'm not an AP holder, but since price isn't a factor for me is it ok to throw my two cents in? If not, I'll remove the post.
For me, buses easily win. I am not a navigator. Like, at all. I still occasionally get lost in my own neighborhood, I would end up in Texas if I tried to drive around the labyrinth that is DW. I like being able to just hop on the bus and trust that the driver knows what they're doing. Plus they knoe the roads well. On our way to the airport to get back home there was a huge amount of traffic, but our driver knew a side route that got us to the airport with almost no delay. That alone is worth it to me, but add in how tired you are after touring all day and being able to just let someone else do the work while you just sit (or stand) there is also a wonderful bonus. Driving in an unfamiliar area can be difficult. Driving in an unfamiliar area while tired at night can be dangerous.

For people that can't figure out the roads, the buses make perfect sense. If my wife was our only hope for navigation we would always use the buses because her sense of directions is completely absent... And while usually have a good sense of direction, I have to admit that driving around WDW can be extremely difficult especially if you try to simply rely on the signs for guidance as I've found some signs to be less than helpful and am half way convinced that Disney pays the state to do a half a--ed job of putting up signs to force people to use their buses. The first trip we took there I foolishly thought I could just use the signs and got lost several times, it was only when I sat down and looked at a map before I ever started the car that I was able to avoid getting lost.

 

[Goofyernmost]

I think you misunderstand. Our discussion is about what kind of "shuttles" or transportation that Disney has to offer. I was saying replacing the manned buses with the unmanned tech buses. I don't see how what you said has anything to do with what you quoted.

Just pointing out yet another option that they have at their disposal if they want to use it. When it comes to liability I would go with my stated option instead of unmanned buses. They have a long way to go before that becomes a workable reality. The point was they survived and grew with very little other transportation other then a monorails, boats and a few buses and most major theme parks do not offer that much free transportation. Neither one is likely at this time.

 

[DavidS1234]

I preface this for Annual Passholders because AP holders get free parking, so a choice could be made while staying on property. Non AP holders have to pay $25 to park so bus may be the preferred option for them.

I stayed off property this past weekend because I decided on a last minute trip. I stayed at the Springhill Suites at Flamingo Crossings. Because of that, I had to drive to every park. I drove to HS on Saturday after arriving, AK Sunday morning, Epcot Sunday afternoon, and MK Monday morning. For AK and MK, I arrived before rope drop.

I think I've become a convert to driving to the parks rather than taking the bus (if I were staying on property). I was able to get through the entrance plaza relatively quickly, I always got directed to wherever the CMs wanted me to park effectively and efficiently, I made a note of where I parked, hopped on the next tram, and I was at the gate within 15 minutes after parking.

I'm not sure I ever want to take the bus again. What is your preference?

I always drive, no matter what my plans are. I'm one of those people that has a few favorite spots from each park/resort/area that I like to visit... and not much else. That's really only doable if you can come and go quickly without any delays or additional stops.

 

[Darth_Wes]

Since they started charging for parking at the resorts, we will only stay off property. Currently enjoying our 3rd trip as I write this since they started charging for parking. That's about 3000 to 4000 bucks per year that they no longer receive from me because of that choice.

 

[Trackmaster]

Since they started charging for parking at the resorts, we will only stay off property. Currently enjoying our 3rd trip as I write this since they started charging for parking. That's about 300 to 400 bucks per year that they no longer receive from me because of that choice.

Another way of looking at it:

You're still coming to their theme parks and giving them money, and they don't have to worry about providing lodging for you -- they've successfully found a way to outsource that function.

Its pretty funny how emotional people get about parking. They could have raised the prices of the hotels by that amount and still given "free" parking and nobody would have cared.

 

[Goofyernmost]

Another way of looking at it:

You're still coming to their theme parks and giving them money, and they don't have to worry about providing lodging for you -- they've successfully found a way to outsource that function.

Its pretty funny how emotional people get about parking. They could have raised the prices of the hotels by that amount and still given "free" parking and nobody would have cared.

It is not how much they charge, it is that they charge at all. It seems that when you charge as much as they do for a single night in a resort hotel they would be able to survive without charging that extra parking fee. They already change a massively huge room fee so we all can drool all over ourselves looking at the plastic theming. Believe me, that 3 or 400 dollars mentioned is just the tip of the iceberg. It is so much cheaper offsite that it is mind boggling.

The whole thing is just a scam to get people to leave the cars at home and become a prisoner on Disney property where you can pay the premium price for everything. As long as the lemmings are willing to be placed upside down while Disney shakes loose what ever money is in their pockets... it will continue to be greed central.

 

[Trackmaster]

It is not how much they charge, it is that they charge at all. It seems that when you charge as much as they do for a single night in a resort hotel they would be able to survive without charging that extra parking fee. They already change a massively huge room fee so we all can drool all over ourselves looking at the plastic theming. Believe me, that 3 or 400 dollars mentioned is just the tip of the iceberg. It is so much cheaper offsite that it is mind boggling.

The whole thing is just a scam to get people to leave the cars at home and become a prisoner on Disney property where you can pay the premium price for everything. As long as the lemmings are willing to be placed upside down while Disney shakes loose what ever money is in their pockets... it will continue to be greed central.

They'd be smarter to allow free parking, or a one-time visit parking fee, but charge you for every time the car leaves and comes back, not per day. Cuts down on the traffic and gives incentives for people to stay on site.

Parking spaces are resources -- they're not infinite, but Disney can easily create more if they need to. My take is that parking garages are expensive facilities... and may not fit into Disney's magic. And endless parking blacktop lots are cheap but ugly and don't fit into Disney's magic. So anything to keep people from bringing cars into the picture works in Disney's favor.

 

[Trackmaster]

I guess that if you're dealing with people who irrationally get emotional about economic matters, the parks could just raise the per night prices of their resorts to equilibrate to the revenue they'd get from parking, and offer giftcards of the price that they were going to charge for parking if you don't need a parking spot. Kind of like how they trick people into doing their own room service, and not looking like a sleazy hotel that rents by the hour by charging for room service.

 

[JohnD]

One thing I didn't realize: WDW Resort guests get free parking, whether an AP holder or not.

"Standard theme park parking is included for registered Guests of Disney Resort hotels and select Annual Passholders."
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/guest-services/parking/?int_cmp=INS-intWDWtoWDW-Parking