Buses at AS Movies- Good or Bad?

[nolamom]

Help! I am staying at Movies next month with my 3 1/2 year old and 19 month old, and DH. Everyone who has come back from WDW lately is telling me that I MUST rent a car intead of taking WDW buses.

To be honest, I'd rather NOT rent a car. But I need opinions! Are the buses that unreliable and are the rides to the parks that horrific with toddlers?

 

[cabihler]

forget the car rental idea

hi there. when it comes to the Values i like to stay at Pop Century because i like their setup/bus management better that the other Values. with that said let me tell you that this pass June i stayed for 1 week at Pop Century and then moved over to the Movies for another week. i was not keen about going over to the Movies because the last time i stayed there, some 6 years earlier, i was not please with the bus situation.

well i was surprised to learn on this trip that disney actually corrected some of their bus problems i had expierenced years earlier. primarily what i did not like years earlier was that disney would make the buses stop at each of the 3 All-Stars. not so much a problem when crowds were lite however at the end of the night or at peak crowd times this was a MAJOR PAIN.

well this past june i was surprised to see that disney had dedicated buses for each of the All-Star hotels at the end of the night and also during the peak crowd hours such as park openings. to be sure, disney still does have buses shared between the 3 All-Stars during the off-busy hours typically from late mornings to late afternoons but even in june when there were fairly good crowds i did not find the sharing problematic.

as to driving, well the Movies is close to animal kingdom so driving would be not too bad however it is quite a drive to the other parks and considering you would have to drive the distance, pay to park and then have the time taken to catch the tram into the park from the lot... well i just don;t think that it is any faster than taking a bus especially since disney has improved the service as i described above.

so to end this... i ask myself this question(s) prior to june would i describe myself as desiring to stay at the Movies? well that answer back then would be NOPE.... HOWEVER.... now if were to ask myself that same question or to be exact WOULD I STAY AT THE MOVIES AGAIN??? absolutely.

forget about the car. i always stay on property and even when i drive down, which i just did 6 weeks ago and i will be driving down again in 2 weeks, i always avail myself of the disney transportation and never drive to the parks from the resorts.

 

[disney4life2008]

hi there. when it comes to the Values i like to stay at Pop Century because i like their setup/bus management better that the other Values. with that said let me tell you that this pass June i stayed for 1 week at Pop Century and then moved over to the Movies for another week. i was not keen about going over to the Movies because the last time i stayed there, some 6 years earlier, i was not please with the bus situation.

well i was surprised to learn on this trip that disney actually corrected some of their bus problems i had expierenced years earlier. primarily what i did not like years earlier was that disney would make the buses stop at each of the 3 All-Stars. not so much a problem when crowds were lite however at the end of the night or at peak crowd times this was a MAJOR PAIN.

well this past june i was surprised to see that disney had dedicated buses for each of the All-Star hotels at the end of the night and also during the peak crowd hours such as park openings. to be sure, disney still does have buses shared between the 3 All-Stars during the off-busy hours typically from late mornings to late afternoons but even in june when there were fairly good crowds i did not find the sharing problematic.

as to driving, well the Movies is close to animal kingdom so driving would be not too bad however it is quite a drive to the other parks and considering you would have to drive the distance, pay to park and then have the time taken to catch the tram into the park from the lot... well i just don;t think that it is any faster than taking a bus especially since disney has improved the service as i described above.

so to end this... i ask myself this question(s) prior to june would i describe myself as desiring to stay at the Movies? well that answer back then would be NOPE.... HOWEVER.... now if were to ask myself that same question or to be exact WOULD I STAY AT THE MOVIES AGAIN??? absolutely.

forget about the car. i always stay on property and even when i drive down, which i just did 6 weeks ago and i will be driving down again in 2 weeks, i always avail myself of the disney transportation and never drive to the parks from the resorts.

I like having a car. When you stay on disney property, parking is free at the parks. It gives me the added convenience of going to a resturant on the way back to the resort after a long day, etc. Disney transportation is good.. DRIVING WORKS FOR ME!

 

[Minnesota]

If you get lucky enough to stay in the Mighty Duck wing you can ride the movies and the music's bus. When you get off at the music hotel you walk around a couple of corners and there you are. It's slick. I have also noticed most people in the world are willing to give up their seat on a crowded bus at night for a family with little ones. But don't expect that from teenagers or most in the 20's. It's usually the parents with a little older kids who have been there ,done that, and feel your pain. When I've been to ASMo it is usually families,lots of little ones, and yes in 2003 it was my DD having the overtired tantrum. So relax most of us have all been there. Use the money you save from renting a car to buy something for yourself and have a Dolewhip.:wave:

 

[disneynut4u]

We stayed at Movies 4 years ago. It was in October, so it was a little "off season". The busing was not that bad.If the lines were very long, we just stood back, let them get on and waited for the next one. Very rarely did we stay til the park closes (except at EPCOT for Illuminations). We drive down and I REALLY REALLY hate the drive trying to find the resorts!! You could not PAY me to drive to each park!!! The buses are too convenient. Let them worry about the traffic. We loved the AllStar Movies, by the way!

 

[Philo]

People always say "rent a car" but my advice is not to. I just don't see the point. OK, a car might be a little more convenient at times but it's so much more relaxing and simpler (and cheaper) to just jump on the bus. Yes it might take a little longer but as long as you're ready for that then you'll be fine.

Bottom line for me - if your off site then you might want to look at renting a car (depending on where your staying), if your onsite, jump on a bus, a monorail or a boat and have a good time.

 

[Craig & Lisa]

Having a car does have advantages, but, driving all over only means you have to fill the tank more often. But when you park for free you also have to walk farther to get to the parks, you don't get dropped off close to the entrance. But, as we have driven to the World twice we have found that the only time we really needed to drive anywhere was when we were running late for table service at another resort, you are aloud to park with no hassle at the resort, just notify the guard that you have adr's there and they let you thru. Outside of that we always take the bus, they are supplied for our convience, WDW is huge and I don't feel like getting lost.

 

[wvdisneyfamily]

As the above poster said, people always say to rent a car. Honestly, I think that it depends on the person / family. My family is not happy driving around the WDW (parking traffic, etc...) so the bus system is okay. We wouldn't even have to rent a car since we drive. We've stayed at every level of resort and honestly felt the bus system at POR and AS Movies was better than the WL (at times). The bus system works okay for the most part. The bus system at AS Movies is not that bad. Don't let it worry you. If you aren't going to have a car to begin with, don't go out and get one just for that purpose. My one piece of advice concerning AS Movies. If you end up in the Mighty Ducks building, use the AS Music bus.

 

[rsoxguy]

I live within driving distance of WDW and always drive to the resorts. I have stayed at the ALL Stars several times and have never driven my car beyond trips to church or Walmart. It is true that the bus service to the All Stars is the worst available on Disney property because each bus goes to all three of the resorts, thereby creating a bit of a problem with congestion. With that said, it is still better than driving each day to a park with the added expense of renting a car. If you are going in December, the problem will seem less oppressive because the weather will be much cooler as you wait for the buses. I don't have small children, so you will have to judge for yourself as to how well you would manage the buses, but I personally believe that they are a better option than renting a car.

 

[no1swfanindy]

I would agree with the majority of posters, take the bus.

I don't have any problem with the bus system at any of the value resorts, just the usually large amount of people who stay at them. This last trip to Pop was almost always standing room only on every bus trip we took. I like the buses and prefer to ride them, but after a long day walking in the parks, standing on the bus is not what I would prefer.

We have stayed at moderate resorts and find the crowds much lighter, and usually always a seat on the bus!

I know that the price difference is a consideration, belive me that is why I have stayed at values for the last 3 trips, but if you can swing it, the moderates are much better.

 

[DisneyMusician2]

I never had any problem with the bus service at any of the All-Star resorts.

I'd say GO FOR IT and have fun!

 

[CountryBear]

Take the bus!

 

[RussJT]

We have stayed at All star Movies a few times. Last was in April '08. We have never had any major problems with the buses. We have never had to share a bus with any of the other All Star resorts.

One morning on the last trip, we were the only 4 people on a bus to Epcot (we had just missed one and another showed up minutes later).