Disney buses, good or bad?

[bgraham34]

One of the things I love most about going to Disney and staying at a resort is that I dont have to drive a car to get to and from the parks to my resort. Not having to drive is a vacation in itself. But i certainly do know that in some cases taking the bus can be very slow but i just deal with it. It could be worse, i could be waiting for a bus to get to work or something like that.

 

[Patsc85]

Buses also travel to Downtown Disney (DTD) and the Ticket and Transportation Center (TTC) near the Magic Kingdom. If there is no direct link between where you are and your destination, you can take a bus to either location, and then make a connecting bus route. For example, Disney does not run buses from one resort to another, so you would need to connect at Ticket and Transportation Center or Downtown Disney. Another option is to take a bus from your resort location to a nearby park, then take a bus from that park to another resort.

This is a Critical Error. There are NO resort buses dropping off or picking up at the TTC under normal operation. I can't tell you how many furious guests I have had to deal with at the Monorail Platform because Suzy Cast Member over at Space/Splash/Turnstyles/Security/Custodial/Front Desk told them to get their resort bus at TTC. Or because they swear they got dropped off there in the morning.

 

[sarabi]

I can't imagine what we'd do without Disney buses, so ....

DISNEY BUSES ARE GOOD.

Also, the argument that the deluxe resorts get better bus service than moderate is totally false. The best bus service is at Pop (a value resort) and Port Orleans (a moderate). We stayed at DAK once and the buses were much less frequent with more stops at other resorts. We also rode a bus from DTD to Boardwalk once... what a nightmare. That thing stopped at Typhoon Lagoon, Swan, Dolphin, Yacht, Beach, and FINALLY boardwalk. It was over an hour ride.

The bus service I think depends on how many stops there are between the resort and the destination, how many other resorts are being serviced, how many stops there are at the resort you are staying at, and where the resort is located. PO is very central, so I think that explains the good service. I don't know how to explain Pops, but that's what I hear.

 

[StingraySam]

To me taking the buses is all a part of the Disney experiance. I really enjoy the fact that when we arrive we will not have to use our car again until we leave. We have driven to the parks from our resort a few times but I really like it when I exit through the gates at the end of the day I can just sit back a relax and have someone else do the driving. Yes, there are times when it seems like every bus that comes through is going everywhere but where you are going and you get a little impatient. Some evenings when leaving at park closing it can seem like you are never going to get back to your resort, particularly if you are staying at any of the Allstars or Pop Century and holding a sleeping child can seem like the hardest workout you have ever had, but during these time I have met some of the nicest people and had some great conversations with other guest that I most likely would never have had, and then of course there is the cheer from everyone when thier bus does finally arrive.

 

[brertigger]

Overall, the bus service is good. Usually, it is not more than a 15-20 minute wait at any of the stops.

I have only had two bad experiences on the buses:

1) We were trying to go from All Star Movies to Magic Kingdom. The bus driver got confused and thought the bus was going to Epcot, and took us to the Epcot bus drop-off. Once we arrived there, he came on the PA and said "Uh-oh, I'm usually an Epcot bus driver, but today they assigned me to Magic Kingdom. We'll be there in another 10 minutes."

2) We were going from Animal Kingdom to Pop Century. Normally, this is not a really long ride. This time it took over 1.5 hours to get there (it was a nearly full bus, but there was a family who had needed to get to Downtown Disney and the bus driver decided to accomodate them, before dropping everyone else off). Needless to say, there were many very angry guests on this bus.

 

[fyn]

This is a Critical Error. There are NO resort buses dropping off or picking up at the TTC under normal operation. I can't tell you how many furious guests I have had to deal with at the Monorail Platform because Suzy Cast Member over at Space/Splash/Turnstyles/Security/Custodial/Front Desk told them to get their resort bus at TTC. Or because they swear they got dropped off there in the morning.

The issue with this is that this used to be true, but changed ~8 (?) years ago. Growing up, we would always use the TTC has the hub of our non-traditional transportation routes (resort to resort, etc), but now the TTC is downright useless for resort guests.

 

[DougK]

We have a car every year its never been a problem, and as you say if you are dining at other resorts its a real bonus.

It also means of course you are not stuck with on site restaurants and their deteriorating menus.[/quote]

(emphasis mine)

AGREED! We always rent a car so we can avoid the Disney restaurants. It's a shame because the restaurants used to be one of the highlights of our trips. Now with only a few exceptions we eat off-site. This works because we go to WDW pretty regularly so we don't mind the extra time it takes to go off site for dinner, if you are only making the occsasional trip I imagine you may not want to be away from the parks so long. We like to go at a slower pace anyway so it works for my wife and me. And frankly the rental car is almost fully paid for by the savings we achieve by not paying Disney prices for dining. In the past I didn't mind paying the Disney prices for great food, great selection and great atmosphere, now most of that is gone due to DDP. Also thanks to DDP I need to know where I want to eat months in advance. No thanks.

 

[fizzle75]

Yeah, we've had our share of problems with Disney's transportation system but overall we still love it. I'm one of those freaks who thinks the transportation system is part of the experience whether it be busses, monorail or ferry. I just love how the bus begins to play park specific music as you approach the park. I especially love it when you are pulling into MK and they start to play Mickey Mouse March or It's A Small World.

People can knock Disney's transportation all they want but it still blows my mind that they are able to run it as incredibly efficiently as they do. It's a massive undertaking with a huge margin for error...but overall they pull it off with only minimal inconveniences.














...and the occasional bus fire.:lookaroun

 

[cinderellafan6]

We love the Disney Buses. We are renting a car to drive there and then it sits the whole time because we love that we dont have to drive.

 

[fizzle75]

We have a car every year its never been a problem, and as you say if you are dining at other resorts its a real bonus.

It also means of course you are not stuck with on site restaurants and their deteriorating menus.[/quote]

(emphasis mine)

AGREED! We always rent a car so we can avoid the Disney restaurants. It's a shame because the restaurants used to be one of the highlights of our trips. Now with only a few exceptions we eat off-site. This works because we go to WDW pretty regularly so we don't mind the extra time it takes to go off site for dinner, if you are only making the occsasional trip I imagine you may not want to be away from the parks so long. We like to go at a slower pace anyway so it works for my wife and me. And frankly the rental car is almost fully paid for by the savings we achieve by not paying Disney prices for dining. In the past I didn't mind paying the Disney prices for great food, great selection and great atmosphere, now most of that is gone due to DDP. Also thanks to DDP I need to know where I want to eat months in advance. No thanks.

I must respectfully disagree. Most of Disney's dining is till top notch in my opinion. Here in the small town where I live the most exciting restaurant we have is...Subway.:hurl: And if we want a halfway decent meal we have to travel at least 25-30 miles, so one of the main things I look forward to on our trip is the fantastic dining. Even some of the lesser quality counter service locations at WDW are head and shoulders above what I'm used to .

And as far as making ADRs goes...It's really not that big of a hassle and is a big part of the fun of planning a WDW trip.


I now return you to your regularly scheduled program(about Disney's transportation system), already in progress!:animwink:

 

[Boomdog15]

I could not imagine renting a car at Disney. We have never had a problem with the buses & only 1 driver who was not a very good driver to say the least.

 

[Eyorefan]

As a person who takes a mass transpertaion into work everyday, Disney has an exclent mass sytem. Moving thousands of people to multiple parks, resorts and shoping districts every day isn't easy and sometimes there will be problems.

Overall though, I think most of the complaints I have heard about Disney buses are just part of mass transite. Sometimes a bus won't be on schedule (maybe someone called in or a bus broke down) and you will end up waiting longer. Sometimes it will seem like one place is favored over another. Yes, places like Pop and All-stars will have more buses stoping at park close because they have alot more people to move. That's also why they have their own buses while places like GF and Poly share.

And to all the Disney Divers out there, (bus, boat or monorail), thanks for all your hard work!:wave:

 

[cooleo]

We have absolutely no problem with the buses & would much rather ride on them then have a car. Especially since we fly down & a rental car would just be an unnecessary expense, unless we chose to leave the Disney property, :lookaroun which we have done a time or two :lookaroun. Plus, by the time you drive to any park & then wait for the tram to get you to the park entrance, you probably end up not saving that much time. :shrug:

 

[MKCP 1985]

We also rode a bus from DTD to Boardwalk once... what a nightmare. That thing stopped at Typhoon Lagoon, Swan, Dolphin, Yacht, Beach, and FINALLY boardwalk. It was over an hour ride.

I can vouch for this . . . I've had the same experience, only in reverse. We walked over to the Boardwalk one night after Epcot closed. When we were done, we decided to go to DTD, and experienced all the stops described. By the time we arrived at DTD an hour later, we were over it and caught a bus that took us straight back to our own hotel, which I think may have been Coronado Springs that year.

For what you pay to stay at all those resorts mentioned by sarabi, they really deserve better bus transportation.

 

[figment3258]

We have had great bus transportation and really bad too. While staying at the beach club going to downtown Disney took us 1 hour. And on the way home people would push through us just to get on the bus a few people a head of us. We have a stroller and a baby and a 5 year old we always let elders ahead of us but come on people they actually cut off my husband just to get the same seats as us. Just take your time and be kind of others.

 

[happymom52003]

We're staying at AKL this September and have decided to rent a car. We did the busses last time and thought it was a great service (except when we tried to visit or dine at other resorts). Because we'd like to enjoy spa treatments and dinner at other resorts this year, we went the route of rental car.

Has anyone else had a rental car at WDW? Is it a pain to park? Get around?

We have done it both ways, and for our family renting a car makes things so much easier.....especialy since we have two small kids and two strollers. The time we save is amazing.

I've never understood how people think driving to the parks takes up just as much time as the buses...in our experience, this just is not true the majority of the time (with the exception of the MK....but we stay at the WL so we take the boat there).

Half the time our parking spot is close enough that we just walk to the entrance.....we figure we are walking all day anyway, so what is another 5 minutes of walking.

And in the cases where we needed the tram, we have never once had to wait for one....maybe we've just had good luck.

But with all of that being said, I think Disney does a great job with their transportation. The occasional delays and the pain of having to stand on a crowded bus are just the nature of bus transportation. The times we have used the buses, we have had few problems.

But still, given a choice, I would choose a rental car.

 

[PhilharMagician]

We have had great bus transportation and really bad too. While staying at the beach club going to downtown Disney took us 1 hour. And on the way home people would push through us just to get on the bus a few people a head of us. We have a stroller and a baby and a 5 year old we always let elders ahead of us but come on people they actually cut off my husband just to get the same seats as us. Just take your time and be kind of others.

Sounds like you had some bad luck. I thought the Beach Club was the last stop on the loop and then right to DTD which is only a couple minute ride.

I have my share of waits in the past and one horrible bus driver who was edging on some drunk people in the back of the bus. We were leving Epcot and were heading back to SSR and these kids were looking to go to DTD to finish their night. The drivers was calling herself Hot Mama Mickey over the loud speakers on the bus and getting them whooping and hollering. Myh then 6 Y/O DD was petrified and crying. Still we like Disney Transport.

 

[cymbaldiva]

It also means of course you are not stuck with on site restaurants and their deteriorating menus.

I totally agree! I don't mind Disney transportation at all - I just wish I weren't stuck dining at Disney! I mean, the food is okay I guess, it's just nothing to get excited about, and certainly not worth planning 180 days out for the experience.

 

[the-reason14]

I think the busses are definately good. Its one of the perks of staying on property. Even if they take awhile to get there, and the lines sometimes are long. Its still cool. I def. enjoy them at pop half century, just because its that one stop and you dont have to worry about picking up other people at other stops or waiting to be picked up and find that you have to stand. So overall, Id say the busses are good.

 

[mickeymatt]

We have absolutely no problem with the buses & would much rather ride on them then have a car. Especially since we fly down & a rental car would just be an unnecessary expense, unless we chose to leave the Disney property, :lookaroun which we have done a time or two :lookaroun. Plus, by the time you drive to any park & then wait for the tram to get you to the park entrance, you probably end up not saving that much time. :shrug:

That was my question. I always drive down because I live close enough to where it is cheaper to drive rather than flying. Yes, even with gas prices today! I was thinking that I will just drive my car to the parks for free and not hassell with waiting for the busses. However, I remember last time waiting for a tram for a while and I might as well wait for a bus where I won't have to drive especially after, as another poster pointed out, imbibing one or three drinks.