shuttle service question

[mrb]

how efficient and reliable are the shuttle buses from the downtown disney area hotels in regard to transit time to and form parks and being on time for pickups at hotels.

 

[Invero]

They run approx every 30 minutes. They're usually always on time, since the drivers are maniacs on the road, doing well over the speedlimit.

 

[BJones]

I stayed at the Doubletree in DTD at the beginning of March, and used the Downtown Disney buses. The buses start out on time in the morning, but quickly abandon any type of schedule as the day goes on. I didn't notice a speeding problem, but I'm sure FantasiaBoi is right as he encounters them everyday. The buses stop at EVERY hotel in the DTD area, so plan to allow atleast 45 minutes each way for your trip. Here's a tip - use the Magic Kingdom bus when you want to go to EPCOT. The Magic Kingdom bus drops you off at the TTC and from there you take the monorail to either the MK or EPCOT. If you take the EPCOT bus, it drops you off pretty far away from the entrance, and returning on the bus from EPCOT is a nightmare. You get to stand in the middle of a huge, dimly lit parking lot on your designated "space" and hope that another bus doesn't hit you. Disney property guests are treated much better and have designated areas that are covered and well-lit. Also, be aware that DTD buses don't go to the DTD area until 6 p.m., so if you're planning on going to the DTD area during the day, you're on your own. All in all, it wasn't a pleasant experience and I will always stay on Disney property in the future. Their transportation system is much better, and you "feel" like you're at Disney!

 

[mrb]

please clarify for me. I can leave my hotel in the morning but I can't get back there until 6 pm on the bus. Is this right or am I misunderstanding.

 

[BJones]

Sorry for the confusion! I meant to say that the Downtown Disney hotel buses will not take take you to the Downtown Disney Marketplace area until after 6:00. This is the area located close to the hotels that has many restaurants, shopping, etc. There are many places on the internet that will list everything that is located in the Downtown Disney area. If you want to catch a bus from your hotel to take you to this Downtown Disney Marketplace area BEFORE 6 p.m., it's not going to happen. Depending which hotel you are staying at, some are close to the Marketplace area (Doubletree isn't close) and you could walk there. Buses run constantly from the Downtown Disney hotels, however, to all of the Disney parks (Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, MGM, Animal Kingdom and the waterparks) from an hour before park opening until about 2 hours after the park would close (I think, it probably depends on crowd levels) about every half an hour. This schedule is not closely adhered to, and it's pretty much hit or miss whether you'll be able to catch a bus to the parks on the half hour. The Doubletree was a very nice, updated hotel, it's just that the transportation is lacking due to the fact that they will stop at every hotel in the downtown Disney area (I think there are 5 or 6) and this really slows things up. They also don't have enough buses running to accomodate the crowds from all of the Downtown Disney hotels. Hope this helps!