Disney bus transportation etiquette rant

[Chernaboggles]

When we stayed on property last year, there was an empty seat between myself and another woman. There were no people standing , so my husband sat down next to me. The woman on the other side of him got super mad and huffed, "Well, if you're going to sit on me..!" and stormed off to stand on the other side of the bus. It made no sense. She was petite, he's average sized. Nobody was encroaching on anyone else's space. It was early evening on the way to the parks and she was just seething with rage that he'd dared to take the empty seat.

It was terribly awkward.

 

[BJones82]

When we stayed on property last year, there was an empty seat between myself and another woman. There were no people standing , so my husband sat down next to me. The woman on the other side of him got super mad and huffed, "Well, if you're going to sit on me..!" and stormed off to stand on the other side of the bus. It made no sense. She was petite, he's average sized. Nobody was encroaching on anyone else's space. It was early evening on the way to the parks and she was just seething with rage that he'd dared to take the empty seat.

It was terribly awkward.

That sounds horrible lol...

 

[Doug Means]

Diiiiiiiiing! You're the winner. Exactly what I was thinking. I try not to judge based on appearance because I often forget that not every illness or injury is a visible one.

well i don't think the poster is trying to say that people that are healthy and able, in the past would give up seats for pregnant or elderly or people that weren't as healthy or able is all. in my family who are all healthy and able, we will stand before taking a seat on a full bus...at park closing its not always really a great option for a lady with a young kid to wait for the next bus because this one is almost full and standing room only. i've never seen a lady carrying a young kid (or elderly person) ask or expect a seat...in fact i see them do whatever they can with their tired kid to make it work. AND normally i see them being VERY thankful to anyone who gives up their feet for them.

 

[daisyduckie]

Yeah this is one of my pet peeves too...my husband and I have taught our children to give up their seats...what REALLYYYY BOTHERS ME...is when people let babies and small kids take up seats...if a bus is crowded everyone 10 and under needs to lap it! A few weeks ago there was a mom, dad and 2 kids under 3 taking up 5 seats with their giant stroller and their toddlers getting 2 seats to themselves...ughhh! Let me add that yes...my husband and I did make our 9 yr old lap it when needed.

Another thing I used to agree with--until a friend who has Fibromyalgia told me how painful it was sometimes to even hold their child on their lap.

Again, judging without knowing only makes you unhappy. In most cases, the people you are judging don't know what you are thinking, and probably wouldn't care if they did.

 

[Gig 'Em Mickey]

Sadly, manners in this country are quickly being eroded. I guess I was taught old school manners and pass those on to my kids. Too many people in this country are only concerned about themselves and are so absorbed in glorifying themselves that they forget about those around them. You see it everywhere. Buses. On the roads. The selfie fad. It's everywhere.

 

[PhotoDave219]

Well, this has been common behavior of bus-goers for years. Nothing new.

Reinforces why I like having a car.

 

[BJones82]

Sadly, manners in this country are quickly being eroded. I guess I was taught old school manners and pass those on to my kids. Too many people in this country are only concerned about themselves and are so absorbed in glorifying themselves that they forget about those around them. You see it everywhere. Buses. On the roads. The selfie fad. It's everywhere.

Couldn't agree more, it's sad to just hear and see it everywhere in this country...

 

[SAV]

the more I hear about them the more horrified I am. We decided last week to add a rental car to our package.

We always rent a car for our trips so we don't have to deal with the busses. It's nice to have them available if needed, but we prefer to not use them. Last trip I needed to be at DHS before RD so my son could do the Star Wars Training Academy. My Wife and Daughter weren't going to be ready on time, so I drove with my son and left them behind to take the bus from CS. They didn't have any horror stories and they only waited a couple of minutes for a bus, but my wife said she wouldn't want to do that for a whole trip. It's worth the extra expense for us to rent a car.

 

[harryk]

A suggestion to help solve this 'problem' -- possibly double the number of busses at park closing. Avoids long lines,
helps to get the handicapped vehicles out of the lines sooner - so as to load the busses. My family frequently has waited 45 minutes at park closing to get on a bus and at the same time watch 'empty' busses move on by after unloading passengers. This may be due to the drivers going off duty and if so it also indicates that there is poor scheduling of drivers by the dispatchers. It is not as if WDW transportation lacks the experience - it is that the transportation powers that be obviously do not use the bus service at park closings. A so called '20 minute' wait between busses is a joke when it comes to park closing.

 

[jloucks]

When we stayed on property last year, there was an empty seat between myself and another woman. There were no people standing , so my husband sat down next to me. The woman on the other side of him got super mad and huffed, "Well, if you're going to sit on me..!" and stormed off to stand on the other side of the bus. It made no sense. She was petite, he's average sized. Nobody was encroaching on anyone else's space. It was early evening on the way to the parks and she was just seething with rage that he'd dared to take the empty seat.

It was terribly awkward.

Nutjobs are everywhere, best to just laugh at them. ...or ignore them...but that is far less satisfying.

 

[CAPTAIN HOOK]

Disney provides me with a system of transport that gets me back to my resort. This means I can drink when I have an evening meal. I therefore don't drive on Disney property.

I am of a certain age that I was taught it is good manners to offer your seat to the infirm, the elderly or to a female. There are some who will be offended if you do so. There are others who will be offended if you don't. There are some who appear healthy yet they need to sit. There are a few who are selfish and ignorant and grab a seat and wouldn't give it up if royalty boarded the bus.

The human race has come along way over the years (and not all of it for the good).

My personal opinion is if anyone looks like they need my seat (elderly or infirm) then I offer it, I don't offer it just for the sake of giving up a seat

 

[jloucks]

Sadly, manners in this country are quickly being eroded. I guess I was taught old school manners and pass those on to my kids. Too many people in this country are only concerned about themselves and are so absorbed in glorifying themselves that they forget about those around them. You see it everywhere. Buses. On the roads. The selfie fad. It's everywhere.

Manners when mixed with superiority complexes gets unfair to the polite very quickly. I content that the decline in manners is a reaction to the increase in people thinking they are somehow better than others. Traffic behavior is a great example of this. You know the types, the ones who will wait until the last second to cut into whatever lane. They save a lot of time while all the polite people get the shaft. This is a very effective way to convert more and more polite people to the dark side.

Ultra-Hypocrisy - The line cutter thinking the people not letting them cut in are rude.

 

[JasonDeyoung]

Do keep in mind, WDW is the most visited place in the world from guest around the world. A lot of these guest not giving up seats are probably from other parts of the world where it might not be a common thing or something they do. I've always given up my seat no questions asked, it's how I was brought up. Not everyone was brought up the same. This topic can relate to about 101 different things we see at WDW we disagree with. I just learned don't judge a book by its cover. We don't know why this person isn't standing Instead of giving up a seat. It's a common nice gesture, but it's not required.

 

[Chernaboggles]

Nutjobs are everywhere, best to just laugh at them. ...or ignore them...but that is far less satisfying.

Mr. CBs and I sort of exchanged "ooookaaaay" looks and everyone avoiding looking at each other for the rest of the seemingly endless ride.

 

[daisyduckie]

A suggestion to help solve this 'problem' -- possibly double the number of busses at park closing. Avoids long lines,
helps to get the handicapped vehicles out of the lines sooner - so as to load the busses. My family frequently has waited 45 minutes at park closing to get on a bus and at the same time watch 'empty' busses move on by after unloading passengers. This may be due to the drivers going off duty and if so it also indicates that there is poor scheduling of drivers by the dispatchers. It is not as if WDW transportation lacks the experience - it is that the transportation powers that be obviously do not use the bus service at park closings. A so called '20 minute' wait between busses is a joke when it comes to park closing.

Really? I have never had that problem at park close. Maybe I'm just lucky.

I always think that a lot of the whole bus seating thing could be solved with a bit more personal responsibility. I get that the first time someone is at WDW and uses the bus they may be surprised by the lack of seating. But after that first ride, it is no longer a surprise. At that point if you have a wife/mom/dad/husband who shouldn't stand on a full bus, then it would seem prudent to rent a car. Or if that isn't in the budget to at least pay attention and step aside if it looks like there won't be any open seating.

 

[EmmieSue]

I'd like to bring another person into this. I greatly appreciate how some of the bus drivers can be fun and polite and try to expand on the Disney magic, but I wish they put a tiny bit more thought into it. We waited for a bus for twenty minutes, we must have just missed one, at animal kingdom during the worst heat of the day. We were all hungry and hot and tired. We were out of water by that point as well.

Finally the bus pulls up and you hear the same relieved sigh from the entire line only for the bus driver to have to make his rounds checking the inside of the bus (that's fine, I get why, but then he decides its appropriate to stand in the doorway of the bus for a good five minutes stating he wasn't going to let us on the bus until we all smiled. I am sure we all looked pretty miserable, but come on man...you have been in your air conditioned bus all day. We just came from animal kingdom and have been standing here forever. Let me on the dang bus and out of the heat and I will gladly smile all you want.

 

[BJones82]

but then he decides its appropriate to stand in the doorway of the bus for a good five minutes stating he wasn't going to let us on the bus until we all smiled. I am sure we all looked pretty miserable, but come on man...you have been in your air conditioned bus all day. We just came from animal kingdom and have been standing here forever. Let me on the dang bus and out of the heat and I will gladly smile all you want.

That would have been too much for me lol...

 

[MotherofaPrincessLover]

This wasn't on the bus, but when we were in the waiting area for Hall of Presidents, my husband was holding my sleeping 5 year old (and she's not a small 5 year old) and was walking to sit on a bench. This probably 40 some year old lady raced him there and took the seat on the bench. Neither of us was real impressed.

 

[EmmieSue]

That would have been too much for me lol...

It was probably a good thing that my mother and small children were around me...

 

[Misterdcp]

to me it's common courtesy to give up your seat to either elderly people or people with small children. If there are seats available when I board a bus, I will sit, but I always give up my seat to anyone who looks like they may need it.