Full buses

[JCAEdge21]

But yes, they do this often at the Epcot-area resorts. The new bus dispatch system ought to fix it, but that's not online yet.

Does this really happen often? I'm going to be staying at the Beach Club Villas for 14 days in late July-Early August. Am I really going to be having a tough time with the bus situation at my hotel?

 

[yeti]

We just returned from a 21 day trip. We have never gone this time of year due to the crowds but this time it couldn't be helped. We were staying at the Boardwalk and tried to take the bus to the MK. Several times the interval btw buses was 40-50 mins and then they were full making us and several other couples have to wait for the next bus which was another 40 mins.

Clearly, this is the reason I do car rentals instead.

 

[Mickey&Minnie]

We used the bus system last November and it was horrible. We didn't like it at all. I was crammed to the max. I would sit in my hubby's lap when we weren't standing up with our rearends in others faces. And does anyone else find that the long bus ride puts you to sleep after a long day at the park?? We discussed it and decided that the only time we will use the busses this year is when we go to Pleasure Island. Don't drink and drive!!!!
I do feel sorry for the bus drivers b/c i didn't know that ya'll are so underpaid. I can only imagine how stressful that job can be too.

 

[AEfx]

Clearly, this is the reason I do car rentals instead.

Same reason I bring my own now, LOL.

I always felt bad for those poor people who had to drive to themselves to Disney...and then after using exclusively Disney transportation for many years I began using my own car earlier this year. My God, the difference! I was so much more relaxed when I got back to the room, so much less stressed in the morning, and 9 times out of 10 I was at the park quicker than waiting for busses and the convoluted, extra-long bus routes.

I'm completely a changed person when it comes to driving at Disney...and I love it. It's also so nice to take a nice car break during the day - 15 mins in an A/C car does just as much for me as my 2+ plus hour "take a bus to resort, relax for awhile, take bus back" breaks used to. The parking lots really look a lot worse than they are. Most days I just skipped the tram and walked to my spot, even at the MK. It's SO nice knowing when you get there, you've got your own wheels and are in control. To never have that "oh crap" feeling as your bus stop comes in sight and you see 1000 people standing in line.

I hate to use the term "trapped" in terms of Disney, but it really makes me claustrophobic to think that I used to only take Disney transport. Just thinking about those mornings and nights of standing, or lucky sitting (with a butt in my face) just makes me want to go hug my car, LOL.

AEfx

 

[EpcotGrl]

Does this really happen often? I'm going to be staying at the Beach Club Villas for 14 days in late July-Early August. Am I really going to be having a tough time with the bus situation at my hotel?

I stayed at BC last summer and didn't have a problem with the busses at all...they were full, sure, but I never had to wait an ungodly amount of time or got passed up by full busses...

Amusingly, though, our bus driver late one night forgot where he was going and took us to BC after a scenic trip to MK :lol: All in all, the busses are great.

 

[reptar77]

I would assume they stayed at Disney for 21 days, because it says their from Boca Raton, FL but maybe not.

But seriously..what did you do for 21 days?!!

We stayed at WDW for 21 days. There is plenty to do: Parks, golf, boat rental, dinning, work outs, swimming, spas etc... It is much easier to do these things and relax since we do not have any kids. It is nice to get to our vacation spot in 2 hours and then not have to get in the car again if we do not want to.

 

[Beauty_Belle]

I have to agree with anyone staying at Beach & Yacht, Boardwalk, Swan and Dolpin, the bus system is horrible! It took me 2 hours to get to DTD and had to wait two hours to return back to my resort. The busses to those parks were always full. I do not understand why some of them do not have their own specific bus. The resorts are much larger, and you are paying a higher amount to stay in a deluxe property.
I've stayed at Animal Kingdom Lodge, Caribbean Beach, and Old Key West and have never had a problem. Sure the bus was full but they only serviced that particular hotel and not 5 resorts.

 

[gsimpson]

Busses are not a lot of fun when full

I have seen the drivers try to stop the flow of people onto a bus and a few more slip on, especially at park closing. It amazes me the number of people who will not get up and let a parent with a kid have the seat. One of the few times I will mouth off to another guest, usually they still stay in the seat and just look the other way. I hope if I am ever that rude someone slaps the tar out of me.

99% of the time the only problem I have with the buses is waiting, and waiting, and waiting. It sometimes takes the better part of an hour to get one of the parks and frequently over an hour to get to DTD or the water parks. The drivers do a good job of making the best of a bad situation, most of them provide pretty sterling customer service under rather adverse conditions. I have noticed in the last year or two more and more of them do not speak English, which is a little sad because that was the one thing I liked about the buses was hearing what the variety of drivers had to say.

I agree with several other posters that Disney really needs to do something to address this. I would prefer that do something not at grade, so they didn't have to worry about rude or poor driving tourist. Perhaps something that didn't have to do through a gate at the resort or the destination. Something that ran off electricity rather than diesel or natural gas. Some members may wish to avert their eyes because I am about to use the M word.

Connect more of the destinations and larger resorts via a small number of additional Monorail loops which could go back to hub type station or two. Not every resort, but enough to take some of the load off the existing and apparently overloaded bus system which would also take traffic off the road ways. I know that when I stay at the MK resorts I always take the monorail to Epcot as well as MK and when I stay at any of the Epcot resorts I walk through Epcot to the monorail to get to MK rather than wait for the bus.

 

[WEDisney]

We stayed at WDW for 21 days. There is plenty to do: Parks, golf, boat rental, dinning, work outs, swimming, spas etc...

This is the ONLY way to see all of Disney. When you have the luxury of time Disney becomes an even more Magical experience. If you ever get the oppurtunity do not pass it up because there is plenty to do.