Full buses

[reptar77]

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. Is this the norm for this time of year? We are used to waiting 20-40 min during the off season (value season) which is typically when we go but then the buses are never full.

As a side note I have never seen bus drivers try to CRAM so many people onto a bus, very dangerous. Does anyone know what the bus capacities are?

 

[mousermerf]

You could of walked through Epcot and taken the monorail to MK and been there is less time. For future reference.

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.

 

[Fantasia freak]

as a bus driver, i can tell you that 72 is supposed to be the max we put on a bus. But as long as you are all behind the line, we can put more. But a signal 72 is a full bus. we have to call and tell the dispatcher so they can dispatch a new bus, thats what takes so long. sometimes, the next bus isnt dispatched until after we call and tell them we filled up. and now that we have the counters on our busses, i can tell you that i have driven some full busses that only had 60 guests on it, when i am supposed to fit 72, and i have also had busses with 80 on it. but again, 72 is full, but if there is still room for people, especially at park closing, and in the mornings, we will cram it full. as long as you're behind the line, it's legal.

 

[AEfx]

It's one of the things that will come to bite Disney in the behind one of these days, and then we'll see a massive overhaul. It is ridiculously unsafe to hold that many people on a moving vehicle; if there ever was an accident or a turnover more people would be crushed than anything else. And the toddlers? Babies? Old people? I can't even bear to think about it.

Then they will have to seat people like they do on a ride, and every bus will have an attendant in addition to a driver. I can see it now.

AEfx

 

[reptar77]

You could of walked through Epcot and taken the monorail to MK and been there is less time. For future reference.

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.

We didn't feel like walking through Epcot. It was 98 degrees with no wind, YUK!! Thank you for the suggestion.

 

[Fantasia freak]

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.

New system is supposed to fix this when it phase 3 comes online in oct(if it stays on schedule).

 

[Fantasia freak]

It's one of the things that will come to bite Disney in the behind one of these days, and then we'll see a massive overhaul. It is ridiculously unsafe to hold that many people on a moving vehicle; if there ever was an accident or a turnover more people would be crushed than anything else. And the toddlers? Babies? Old people? I can't even bear to think about it.

AEfx

Thats why we take our safety record seriously. We have the lives of 72 people in our hands, and with the way some of the tourists and cast members drive around WDW, its tough. and don't have any computer safety systems like on the attractions. we don't know when someone is gonna cut us off and slamm brakes, or pull out in front of us because they dont wanna be behind a bus. Thats one of the reasons we wanted more money this last contract. It's all on our shoulders, our responsability. as long as we drive there will be accidents, but we do our best to make sure they are minor ones. but even so, it's a big responsability to drive 72 people in a $400,000 bus and only make $9.35/ hr when other bus company's starting pay is betwenn 12-15 /hr

 

[raven]

Thats why we take our safety record seriously. We have the lives of 72 people in our hands, and with the way some of the tourists and cast members drive around WDW, its tough. and don't have any computer safety systems like on the attractions. we don't know when someone is gonna cut us off and slamm brakes, or pull out in front of us because they dont wanna be behind a bus. Thats one of the reasons we wanted more money this last contract. It's all on our shoulders, our responsability. as long as we drive there will be accidents, but we do our best to make sure they are minor ones. but even so, it's a big responsability to drive 72 people in a $400,000 bus and only make $9.35/ hr when other bus company's starting pay is betwenn 12-15 /hr

How about when a Disney Bus Driver slams on the brakes entering Pop Century Resort forgetting that the security gate is down and all of us people standing fly forward knocking each other down? There wasn't any other issues of cars cutting off the bus. The driver just didn't see the gate until the last minute. Many kids were crying and a lot of us that were standing went straight to the front desk to complain. As soon as I saw the same driver the next day I knew that Disney didn't do anything about it.

I know that money is always an issue working for Disney but no matter what each person gets paid they still have to keep people safe.

It's stories like these that people don't hear about every day.

 

[mousermerf]

I had a bus driver going from AKL to DtD blatantly run 2 red lights. It went into my guest survey thingy when i got back to my room.

 

[summergirl32]

I really think there should be more buses in operation especially at opening and closing times. There is nothing worse than standing in line waiting for a bus and then having to stand another 15-20 minutes while on the bus. We always try to leave well before of well after closing time to avoid this. With that said, I truly believe the bus drivers do a wonderful job. They are human and will sometimes make bad judgements as does anyone else but I think for the most part, the bus drivers are very cautious.

 

[met19]

what is really annoying is how at park closing they still combine buses to the resorts. E.g. all star sports and music, yet all star movies has its own bus all day. No clear thought process there. 2 resorts with 1900 guest rooms combined and no extra buses.

 

[ag2000]

How about when a Disney Bus Driver slams on the brakes entering Pop Century Resort forgetting that the security gate is down and all of us people standing fly forward knocking each other down? There wasn't any other issues of cars cutting off the bus. The driver just didn't see the gate until the last minute. Many kids were crying and a lot of us that were standing went straight to the front desk to complain. As soon as I saw the same driver the next day I knew that Disney didn't do anything about it.

I know that money is always an issue working for Disney but no matter what each person gets paid they still have to keep people safe.

It's stories like these that people don't hear about every day.

give the guy a break hes doing his job. thats the risk you take when standing on a moving object. Ever try driving a big rig? its hard not to mention using airbrakes can sometimes come to a slamming hault when you try to stop fast and press them hard. its not like he could just stop and back up to the window. plus you should have complained to him and not his boss, did you want him to get fired for that? he probably couldnt think with a buss full of rude adults and screaming childeren all night long.

 

[CBOMB]

It's one of the things that will come to bite Disney in the behind one of these days, and then we'll see a massive overhaul. It is ridiculously unsafe to hold that many people on a moving vehicle; if there ever was an accident or a turnover more people would be crushed than anything else. And the toddlers? Babies? Old people? I can't even bear to think about it.

Then they will have to seat people like they do on a ride, and every bus will have an attendant in addition to a driver. I can see it now.

AEfx

I totally agree with you, this will all come back on them one day. When you have women standing holding young babies you are asking for a disaster. Nothing like paying thousands of dollars for a vacation, and have your family standing on a bus, and no there is no excuse for this. What do you think would happen if a school distict had young children standing on a school bus. Before I forget, no the bus service is not free, you are paying for it one way or the other. WDW really needs to address this problem, it is a very dangerous situation.

Thats why we take our safety record seriously. We have the lives of 72 people in our hands, and with the way some of the tourists and cast members drive around WDW, its tough. and don't have any computer safety systems like on the attractions. we don't know when someone is gonna cut us off and slamm brakes, or pull out in front of us because they dont wanna be behind a bus. Thats one of the reasons we wanted more money this last contract. It's all on our shoulders, our responsability. as long as we drive there will be accidents, but we do our best to make sure they are minor ones. but even so, it's a big responsability to drive 72 people in a $400,000 bus and only make $9.35/ hr when other bus company's starting pay is betwenn 12-15 /hr

You all are so underpaid I still can't believe it. Also I have experienced nothing but professional service from the bus drivers 99% of the time. Thank you all for a job I think most of you do very well.

 

[RiversideBunny]

Weren't they supposed to install cameras at the bus stops so the schedulers can see how many people are waiting and thus adjust the bus frequency and/or routes?
The schedulers are the key to efficient bus service.

 

[Karolena]

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. Is this the norm for this time of year? We are used to waiting 20-40 min during the off season (value season) which is typically when we go but then the buses are never full.

As a side note I have never seen bus drivers try to CRAM so many people onto a bus, very dangerous. Does anyone know what the bus capacities are?

A little off topic, but did you stay in Florida for 21 days or Disney World?

And I agree with some of the people here, they should run more buses at closing time especially during the peak times.

 

[lilmizpixie3]

A little off topic, but did you stay in Florida for 21 days or Disney World?

And I agree with some of the people here, they should run more buses at closing time especially during the peak times.

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?!!

 

[eroyee]

Sorry, but I agree with the busses packing way too many people on them and standing also. If some accident happened no one on that bus would have a chance. I have never come across a bad driver, though, and they have always been friendly. I just think they need to adjust the amount of people shoved on to one bus at a time. I agree, paying thousands to stand on a bus after walking all day is pretty hard to handle. we sometimes wait for 3 busses to make sure we can sit down..............

 

[LeeLee D]

I take my car if I'm going to be leaving at park closing. During the afternoon, I haven't had a problem, but park closing is insane.

It probably takes me just as long to get back to my resort, but at least I am sitting.

 

[Pirate665]

What drives me nuts is when drivers forget to level out a bus and drive with it half titled to one side. ACK!! Just hit the stupid switch to pump back up the side!!! Other than that, the drivers in my mind do the best job with the budget they have they can.

>Steve

 

[happymom52003]

This is why we rent a car and drive to all the parks except MK (because we stay at WL and we've never had a problem with waiting for boats....but then again we have never been in a peak season). We decided to start doing this after a trip to DD took 1 and a half hours from our hotel room door to the DD entrance...we missed a bus because it was full, and then there was so much traffic on the route that we were on the bus 45 minutes. And this was not in peak season. It may have been a fluke, but it was enough to convince us to rent a car the next time. I know it is not in everyones budget, but if you can afford it, it makes things so much easier to drive a car, especially when you have small kids and strollers. Just my two cents.