Disappointed in the Disney bus service

[cslafferty]

We just returned from a week long visit to WDW last week (Aug. 16-21). We have not been to WDW since 2004. We have always had great experiences with the bus service - never waiting more than 10-15 min. for a bus. However this trip was different. There were at least 3 times that we waited for nearly an hour for a bus to arrive. This caused us to be late for 2 of our ADRs. One of those was for Le Cellier at 1:50pm (not a busy time for travel). It took us an hour and 45 min. to get from Downtown Disney to Epcot, and we ended up walking there from Boardwalk (which isn't a bad walk, but we had our daughter in a wheelchair). We got to Le Cellier over a half hour late, hot, exhausted, and angry. Thank goodness Le Cellier felt sorry for us and squeezed us in. If they don't care about my inconvenience, they should think that the time I waisted waiting at a bus stop was time I could have been spending money in the parks or shops! I know everyone has cut back due to the economy, but I it really took some of the magic out of my trip.

 

[Tom]

We just returned from a week long visit to WDW last week (Aug. 16-21). We have not been to WDW since 2004. We have always had great experiences with the bus service - never waiting more than 10-15 min. for a bus. However this trip was different. There were at least 3 times that we waited for nearly an hour for a bus to arrive. This caused us to be late for 2 of our ADRs. One of those was for Le Cellier at 1:50pm (not a busy time for travel). It took us an hour and 45 min. to get from Downtown Disney to Epcot, and we ended up walking there from Boardwalk (which isn't a bad walk, but we had our daughter in a wheelchair). We got to Le Cellier over a half hour late, hot, exhausted, and angry. Thank goodness Le Cellier felt sorry for us and squeezed us in. If they don't care about my inconvenience, they should think that the time I waisted waiting at a bus stop was time I could have been spending money in the parks or shops! I know everyone has cut back due to the economy, but I it really took some of the magic out of my trip.

Their bus service honestly has gotten worse over the course of our last several visits. I will agree with you 100%. We've been late to more than one ADR because of them (and that's after allowing what SHOULD be plenty of time to commute).

We've been in June, October and January a few times each in the last 6 years. Not once was I ever pleasantly surprised with a bus being at the depot when we walked up, or by one showing up in a timely manner - no matter where we were (resort, theme park, dtd).

They tout that the buses are on an approximate 20-min schedule, but it's complete bull. It sickens me to think about how much they spent on their GPS-based announcement system, but yet they still use an antiquated system of radioing in every time they reach a checkpoint, manually change their marquees, and are dispatched by a "guy in a van" at each theme park at closing time.

I don't complain about much at Disney. Really, I don't. I try to look at everything they do through slightly rose-tinted glasses and give them the benefit of the doubt (which is why I don't fit in on these boards), but the bus system is absolutely deplorable, in my opinion.

It's just too bad it costs as much to rent a car for a week as it does to fly (and it kills me to put an extra 2,000 miles on my car for a week vacation).

 

[Disney05]

I hate to say it but I agree. The bus service has been lacking our last few trips. You shouldn't have to wait 30-60 minutes for a bus. Yes it was speckled with a few 5-10 minute waits. But I think the long waits out numbered the short. I've also been caught a few times in a bus driver change mid trip. I've had that take what seems like forever. I don't know what the solution is. :shrug:

 

[Tom]

I hate to say it but I agree. The bus service has been lacking our last few trips. You shouldn't have to wait 30-60 minutes for a bus. Yes it was speckled with a few 5-10 minute waits. But I think the long waits out numbered the short. I've also been caught a few times in a bus driver change mid trip. I've had that take what seems like forever. I don't know what the solution is. :shrug:

I too have had to experience this too many time. I really, really, really don't care that someone's shift is over and their replacement hasn't made their way to the MK depot yet. Not my problem. I'm the guest. Take one more trip, buddy, just for us paying customers. I'd rather not sit on an idle bus for 10 minutes while you go stretch your legs and chat with other drivers.

There's a solution, and they have the system they need in order to implement it, but they don't. Their system has the capability of tracking where each bus is, and dispatching them electronically. Dispatch could actually change the sign on the bus and change the display on the driver's little computer - meaning the driver looks down at his screen before he pulls into the Theme Park or Resort he's going to, and would know exactly which bus stop to pull into.

And they can put cameras at the bus stops (which I'm surprised they haven't done for security reasons already) and have a small staff monitor the queues for each resort or theme park, and dispatch accordingly. But instead, they rely of a guy in a van telling each bus where he thinks they should go.

Their "Magic in Motion" system has HUGE capabilities, but they're using it to play recordings on the bus, and that's about it. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the recordings and music (much welcomed, especially vs the alternative, which usually ended up being someone who natively speaks Spanish eating a microphone, in an attempt to tell you which depot you were about to pull up to at midnight, when you can't see out the bus windows at all).

I'm probably wrong on something, but from a repeat-guest's point of view, this is exactly how the current system works. If "real" cities can run a larger bus system and keep the buses on extremely strict schedules, it amazes me that WDW can't even handle "approximately 20 minutes".

 

[Tigger1988]

This caused us to be late for 2 of our ADRs. One of those was for Le Cellier at 1:50pm (not a busy time for travel). It took us an hour and 45 min. to get from Downtown Disney to Epcot, and we ended up walking there from Boardwalk (which isn't a bad walk, but we had our daughter in a wheelchair). We got to Le Cellier over a half hour late, hot, exhausted, and angry.

They make it very clear when making ADRs that when using the buses to give yourself at least an hour and a half to make it to your reservation.

It sucks but you can't say they don't warn you.

 

[mrbghd]

There were at least 3 times that we waited for nearly an hour for a bus to arrive. This caused us to be late for 2 of our ADRs.

One of those was for Le Cellier at 1:50pm (not a busy time for travel). It took us an hour and 45 min. to get from Downtown Disney to Epcot,

I know everyone has cut back due to the economy, but I it really took some of the magic out of my trip.

(1) Due to people trying to park at DTD to save the parking fee there is not direct bus service to the parks. I am curious if you were aware of this prior to this happening. I would think you were at least when you went to the bus stop at DTD and there was no stop for the park. So most likel you had to go to a resort and then transfer. This takes a lot of time.

(2) You should always allow 1-1.5 hours when hopping between parks or attractions like this. It is one of the longer tasks associated with the transportation.

(3)You cannot let little things destroy your trip.

While this is not directed at you per se but as the saying goes: failure to plan means planning to fail.

 

[raven]

I really, really, really don't care that someone's shift is over and their replacement hasn't made their way to the MK depot yet. Not my problem. I'm the guest. Take one more trip, buddy, just for us paying customers.

Disney gives disciplinary actions to CM is they clock out late. If it were that easy then I'm sure they would do it with no problem. But the whole bus system has been lacking for several years.

A couple of years ago we were at Ohana's for a late dinner and were planning on taking the monorail to MK to catch a bus back to our resort (since buses don't go from resort to resort). The monorail closed early that night for some reason and we had to take a bus to DTD which took 45 minutes for one to show up. When we arrived at DTD the island where guests wait for buses had about 300 guests all crammed onto it trying to get out. We waited there another hour for a bus back to our resort not getting back until after midnight.

 

[mrbghd]

I too have had to experience this too many time. I really, really, really don't care that someone's shift is over and their replacement hasn't made their way to the MK depot yet. Not my problem. I'm the guest. Take one more trip, buddy, just for us paying customers.

What if someone came to your job at quitting time and said that to you?

 

[French Quarter]

I dunno. I know that it's frustrating to be standing there for an hour waiting for a bus when you are only expecting to be there for 20 minutes. However, if I were at DTD trying to get to any of the parks, I would probably give myself a couple of hours anyway because a transfer is involved. If you show up at the bus stop right when a bus has just left, that could mean a 20 - 30 minute wait. Then once you get to a resort, you might have to wait for another bus which could be another 20 - 30 minute wait. (Now, I know that you didn't have to get the second bus but it still takes time to walk over from the resort.) Plus the time it takes on both of those buses could be another 20-30 minutes or so. Plus you should show up 15 minutes early for your ADR. That's 2 hours bascially. And if it takes less time to get there, well that's a bonus. That allows time to relax or look around a bit. They do tell you this when you make an ADR. At least on the online system.

I guess I'm a little more forgiving to the bus system since it basically is free. There are people that say, "No. You pay for it in the cost of your room." But I don't think that's exactly true. I don't know of any other hotel that charges me $80 - $100 per night and gives me free transportation around the city I'm staying in. Kwim?

So, I'm sorry that you had a bad experience. Is it frustrating? Yes. It is outrageous? No.

 

[Tom]

Disney gives disciplinary actions to CM is they clock out late. If it were that easy then I'm sure they would do it with no problem. But the whole bus system has been lacking for several years.

And there should be an equal policy in place, if there isn't, for CMs who show up late - especially if their job is to relieve someone. Take an hour from "late guy" and give it to "stayed late guy". But the union would never let something like that happen. God forbid.

What if someone came to your job at quitting time and said that to you?

I don't work in a customer service position. Cast Members do.

But yes, I know what you're saying...and I should actually be expressing my frustration toward the people who show up late, or more so toward the transportation management/leadership.

But it's extremely frustrating when you see a bus pulling up to your stop as you're approaching, say, the MK depot after a long hot afternoon in the park - in a hurry to get back to your hotel to shower and change for dinner. So you run and get on the bus thinking it's going to pull away right before you get there (which is Murphy's law - and usually applies to me), only to sit there for 10 minutes while the driver gets off, walks around the platform chatting to other drivers doing the same thing.

If the driver needed to clock out so he could hurry home to an important engagement, that's one thing - everyone has reasons for needing to leave work on time. But if he's just taking a break, or done with his shift but has time to stay and chat with other drivers not doing anything, it bothers me. And I'm sure the union is a major part of the problem, thus causing Disney to have to penalize CMs who stay on too long (or else risk having to pay them double time for 5 minutes of extra work).

 

[French Quarter]

But in the end it's only 10 minutes of time sitting on a bus that you aren't paying to ride parked in the greatest place on earth. Smile and relax.

 

[Tom]

I dunno. I know that it's frustrating to be standing there for an hour waiting for a bus when you are only expecting to be there for 20 minutes. However, if I were at DTD trying to get to any of the parks, I would probably give myself a couple of hours anyway because a transfer is involved. If you show up at the bus stop right when a bus has just left, that could mean a 20 - 30 minute wait. Then once you get to a resort, you might have to wait for another bus which could be another 20 - 30 minute wait. (Now, I know that you didn't have to get the second bus but it still takes time to walk over from the resort.) Plus the time it takes on both of those buses could be another 20-30 minutes or so. Plus you should show up 15 minutes early for your ADR. That's 2 hours bascially. And if it takes less time to get there, well that's a bonus. That allows time to relax or look around a bit. They do tell you this when you make an ADR. At least on the online system.

I guess I'm a little more forgiving to the bus system since it basically is free. There are people that say, "No. You pay for it in the cost of your room." But I don't think that's exactly true. I don't know of any other hotel that charges me $80 - $100 per night and gives me free transportation around the city I'm staying in. Kwim?

So, I'm sorry that you had a bad experience. Is it frustrating? Yes. It is outrageous? No.

There is definitely truth in saying that using DtD as an example of bad bus service shouldn't be a factor. We avoid DtD's bus depot like the plague, and we definitely don't go to or from the parks/DtD - just our resort.

However, I routinely have equally bad service just going between parks and resorts. In January, we stayed at AKL-Kidani and were heading to the MK in the middle of the day. 4 buses came for DHS, and 2 for DTD while we were sitting there (freezing to death because we had no idea FL was going to have their coldest January on record). If they really kept 20-min schedules, it wouldn't be terrible. 30 is starting to push it. 40 is unacceptable.

As for paying for the service in your hotel bill, that's entirely true. Just like you pay for the monorail in your GF, Poly or Contemp bills. Each department bills each other department internally, to keep all of the accounting budgets straight. The bus service isn't free. You're paying for it in your theme park tickets and resort hotel rates.

 

[LoriMistress]

DH and I normally get the bus station an hour before our ADR, in case if the bus runs late. I'm not sure if that's what you did, but we had one or two experiences waiting an hour to get back to our resort (POP). One time it was at DTD/PI, and the other time was at Epcot (45 minutes after closing).

 

[Tom]

But in the end it's only 10 minutes of time sitting on a bus that you aren't paying to ride parked in the greatest place on earth. Smile and relax.

Honestly, I smile and relax when it comes to 99% of the things at Disney that would normally be annoying....like standing in line

But the bus service is the one thing that I expect them to improve upon. It's mis-managed & poorly coordinated.

We visited Chicago (reluctantly) with our friends last year. We stayed at a hotel out by O'Hare and took the subway/el into town each day to do things. We could get from our hotel by the airport to an attraction in downtown Chicago in less time than it's taken me to get from the exit turnstile at MK to my Disney hotel. And I only paid a couple bucks for that luxury in Chicago. I know I'm paying at least that much at WDW in my hotel bill and through tickets.

 

[the-reason14]

I've vacationed to WDW a lot over the past 5 or so years much more frequent than I have years before that, and I can't say I noticed a huge change in times with the buses. The only times where it seems I wait longer than I would like is when traveling to and from downtown disney, but other than that it's usually pretty good. For the record, we have stayed at Pop 1/2 century for most of the trips, and this most recent trip was at All star sports.

 

[DisneyJoe]

Take one more trip, buddy, just for us paying customers.

That's the type of attitude that can cause serious transportation safety issues, right?? Unbelievable.

 

[wdwfan22]

As for paying for the service in your hotel bill, that's entirely true. Just like you pay for the monorail in your GF, Poly or Contemp bills. Each department bills each other department internally, to keep all of the accounting budgets straight. The bus service isn't free. You're paying for it in your theme park tickets and resort hotel rates.

If that is the case then Disney isn't charging near enough for the service.
I look at it this way, if you don't want to wait then rent a car.

 

[Tom]

You do understand that the DOT regulates how many hours the drivers can work?

Yes. But when it happens mid-morning, it's hard to believe that's the case. Seems more likely that it's a "required union break".

But even then, if a driver is going to have to get off his bus for 10-15 minutes, good customer service would say they'd schedule another driver to be there to hop on the bus, enter himself into the log, and take off.

If they just flat out can't handle the operation of a bus system, they should stop marketing the fact that they have a great complimentary transportation system with a 20-minute bus schedule (because that's how it was advertised the last time we were there).

They could actually save money if they ran the system properly, because they'd move people "home" faster at park closing and would be able to take buses out of the system quicker, and send the rest home earlier. It might only add up to a few buses a night that go home early, but a lot of "a few" adds up.

 

[Tigger1988]

I've never minded the occasional and in my experience RARE 5 - 10 minute stop at a park bus stop. It gives people a chance to get on (one that I would be EXTREMELY grateful for if I were running my butt off trying to catch the bus).

Sitting waiting at my hotel bus stop, that's another story.

 

[Tom]

That's the type of attitude that can cause serious transportation safety issues, right?? Unbelievable.

My father-in-law drives a haz-mat tanker all day, every day. He'll drive for a few hours, pump jet fuel out of underground tanks, drive to the dump site, unload it, then drive back to the shop and clean his truck. He, and the 3 other drivers, often work until the minute before the DOT requires them to stop being in a truck. Perfect driving record.

If driving an air-conditioned bus around in circles with a few breaks in an air-conditioned break room is causing these "accidents", then perhaps those people should find another line of work. These accidents are far more likely to have been caused by distractions than exhausted bus drivers.

But again, I admit that I should not blame the driver taking his break, but those who schedule the drivers and dispatch the buses.

If that is the case then Disney isn't charging near enough for the service. I look at it this way, if you don't want to wait then rent a car.

They just "charge" each department enough to show a balanced budget. It's only for bookkeeping purposes, not for "Disney Transportation" to show a profit. But you're still paying for it, just like you're paying for the guys to mow the grass along World Drive when you stay at a Disney resort.

I would rent a car if it were affordable. But I can fly to and from FL for less than I can rent a car for a week. Besides, Disney's entire goal is to keep you on property by picking you up at the airport for free, and driving you around property for free. These are incentives for staying on property - and to save you the money of renting a car. They're not living up to their own hype - because they're making it appear to be a better option to rent a car than use their buses....which means I could leave property and spend money somewhere else.