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Transportation Problems
- Thread starter mattravels
- Start date
I agree with Erika, I have never hit transportation so bad that it would cause me to drive. We go off season also, so maybe that has something to do with it. No matter where we have stayed, from All Star Movies to the Poly, we have never,ever, hit bad transporation like that. Maybe I would change my mind if we did but as of now and we've been there about15 times, I can't complain at all!!!!!
I remember when I was younger when we rode on the buses. EVERYTHING disney was magical to me then. We got on a bus and I knew we were in disney...it's kinda strange. How Disney can take something that is found in every major city across the nation and give it an identity of their own. Come on people. When you cross that gate into Disney and the first thing you see...other than those cool purple signs...are the buses that say "Disney" written across them. You have to smile 
Oh well...I know I was complaining before but I just wanted to mention that too. Like I said...it's not like I hate the buses. Just the system:animwink:
Oh well...I know I was complaining before but I just wanted to mention that too. Like I said...it's not like I hate the buses. Just the system:animwink:
DisneyPhD
Well-Known Member
I am really with mattravels here, it isn't that I hate the busses, in fact I used to love them and never dreamed of driving. However during this trip I was gald we had the option of a car for sometimes. (BIL and SIL had one and we did take it for DTD, TL and going to GL) In all our trips we had never had bus problems like this most recent one. (I do belive most of our problem was being at OKW with their truelly alwful bus system, just going around the resort added 20 min to your trip.)
Of course in our younger days we used to just go to the bus stop and take the 1st one that shows up. Now with a child you have to do a bit more planning.
I think we will continue to use the bus system, but I think I will rent a car if I ever stay at OKW again.
I don't blame the poor bus drivers, but it does apear that Disney laid people off too fast, and then is having trouble getting as good of cast members as they used to have. (or is not doing as good of job training them).
Of course in our younger days we used to just go to the bus stop and take the 1st one that shows up. Now with a child you have to do a bit more planning.
I think we will continue to use the bus system, but I think I will rent a car if I ever stay at OKW again.
I don't blame the poor bus drivers, but it does apear that Disney laid people off too fast, and then is having trouble getting as good of cast members as they used to have. (or is not doing as good of job training them).
SpongeScott
Well-Known Member
I realize that some people go and have no car with them, so you are dependent on Disney transportation. However, for those of you that rent a car or drive your own, why don't you simply drive to the park yourself? The time you spend waiting on a bus is time spent in your car in route to the parks. I've done the bus ONE time and realized that it was for the birds. The freedom of coming and going when we wanted without waiting is well worth it to us. So, my question is, why do you ride the busses when you don't have to?
I've had rent a cars and never used them to go from park to park, why would I, I have never encountered bad transportation, (just once and that was going to PI) I have to park the car and walk when the other transportation is right there and leaves you off right in front. By the time we leave the park at night, I'd much rather hop the monorail or take a bus and not have to walk around to get the car. I love the busses and I find bringing the car a pain in the neck. The only time I use a rent a car is to go to DTD or outside the "world".
10 min. to wdw
Member
the funny part here is i live close to disney and alot of times I take the city bus (lynx) to disney to avoid having to deal with the traffic and toll boths finding a parking place riding a tram, remembering where i parked. event before i moved down here and was on vacation here i never drove to the parks when i could take a bus to them.
niteobsrvr
Well-Known Member
The myth of layoffs appears on theses boards from time to time. With the exception of some maintenance workers and some management two years ago, there were mass no layoffs. If Disney has fewer drivers or ones that lack training, it is because drivers have retired and not been replaced or left the company for more lucrative positions.
If I had to point fingers, it would be at the people who plan the bus routesin resorts like OKW, the drivers who do whatever they want and the managers who fail to adequately monitor and adjust the operation.
westie
Well-Known Member
Never had a problem w/ transpo. I don't mind standing or giving up my seat to a woman and, I even enjoy the drunk bus. (Last one of the evening from PI.)
Through the years I've learned which resorts are within walking distance, boating distance, or bus. I have even caught cabs from here to there when its quick and convenient. Now you know where not to go. Try the Y&BC's.
Through the years I've learned which resorts are within walking distance, boating distance, or bus. I have even caught cabs from here to there when its quick and convenient. Now you know where not to go. Try the Y&BC's.
Dopey Dave
New Member
This is one of the reasons I like the All Stars. There is always a bus available. Granted they may be crowded and you may have to walk a ways from the back buildings. Since they fill up with All Stars folks you don't have to worry about them going to multiple resorts.
aim
New Member
We have stayed at POR a few times..and each time was during the busy seasons (Summer, Christmas and Easter). We have not had a problem with busses at all. We actually thought that it was very smooth and POR is our favorite hotel. We have not stayed at at deluxe resort though (kind of tough when there is about 6 people in your party. or if you need two rooms). I do know that I found the bus system at Poly and the others to be kind of upsetting. I felt like we had better busses at POR. The longest we have had to wait for a bus at WDW in our whole 19 years of going, was about an hour. That was a few years ago.
We have also stayed at All-Stars during these times and found you wait the less time. Yeah, you most likely will have to stand, but it beats standing in line waiting.
Just thought I would throw my thoughts in on this subject
Edited to add:
Summer and Easter times we drive and Christmas we fly. We sometimes rent a car when we fly. To visit malls and stuff. And every now and then we will drive to a park. But never have had a problem with the transportation enough that we must drive everyday. The only thing about transportation we avoid is TTC.
We have also stayed at All-Stars during these times and found you wait the less time. Yeah, you most likely will have to stand, but it beats standing in line waiting.
Just thought I would throw my thoughts in on this subject
Edited to add:
Summer and Easter times we drive and Christmas we fly. We sometimes rent a car when we fly. To visit malls and stuff. And every now and then we will drive to a park. But never have had a problem with the transportation enough that we must drive everyday. The only thing about transportation we avoid is TTC.
strobe
New Member
I usually stay at the Beach Club resort, and I was very impressed by the different transportation options.
1) I could walk to Epcot or MGM
2) I could take a boat to Epcot or MGM
3) I could take the monorail from Epcot to the Magic Kingdom
4) I could take a bus to any of the above.
I did ride the buses, and I was personally pretty impressed. This was in April of 2002 and the buses came quite regularly, and while they were packed, worked out quite well.
If you plan on going to the parks when they FIRST open, or coming back right after they close, then you are going to run into more situations like you spoke about above.
Personally, I would strongly recommend Epcot resorts, because you have both monorail and boat access from that park. The only park you HAVE to ride a bus to reach is the Animal Kingdom.
GoofyMike29
New Member
I just got back from the World, and we stayed at the Caribbean Beach.
The busses there were either incredibly packed or very empty...
The only thing was crazy enough to bring up in this thread is at closing time for the parks the Caribbean Beach bus stop was way more full than any other bus stop, yet the deluxe hotels were receiving more busses than us But that is acceptable...If i was spending 300 dollars a night for a room, a bus better be coming to pick me up
Oh well, still had an awesome time...Mission Space Rules!!!
and I am going back for Memorial Day, and this time I am trying to save enough cash to stay at the Boardwalk, so I can walk most places
The busses there were either incredibly packed or very empty...
The only thing was crazy enough to bring up in this thread is at closing time for the parks the Caribbean Beach bus stop was way more full than any other bus stop, yet the deluxe hotels were receiving more busses than us
But that is acceptable...If i was spending 300 dollars a night for a room, a bus better be coming to pick me up Oh well, still had an awesome time...Mission Space Rules!!!
and I am going back for Memorial Day, and this time I am trying to save enough cash to stay at the Boardwalk, so I can walk most places
RMJKS05
New Member
No Problems Here...
...Just returned from our 8/16-8/23 trip. Stayed in Building 18 at POR. A hop, skip and a jump away from South Bus Stop. Never had to wait more than 15 minutes to whichever park we were going to that day. We might have helped our cause, in that we went opposite EE days. That is, we went to any park that was not having EE that day, so less crowding on the bus. Eventhough the EE parks always rolled more busses for whatever park was EE that day.
Heading back to the hotel at the end of our day, we always managed to get to the bus stop just as a bus was rolling up and were close to the front of the line, always had seats.
If I did have a complaint it would be that PORs stops at all 4 parks was usually the farthest away, or almost the farthest away from park exits.
Still for our next trip, it'll definitely be a Monorail resort!
...Just returned from our 8/16-8/23 trip. Stayed in Building 18 at POR. A hop, skip and a jump away from South Bus Stop. Never had to wait more than 15 minutes to whichever park we were going to that day. We might have helped our cause, in that we went opposite EE days. That is, we went to any park that was not having EE that day, so less crowding on the bus. Eventhough the EE parks always rolled more busses for whatever park was EE that day.
Heading back to the hotel at the end of our day, we always managed to get to the bus stop just as a bus was rolling up and were close to the front of the line, always had seats.
If I did have a complaint it would be that PORs stops at all 4 parks was usually the farthest away, or almost the farthest away from park exits.
Still for our next trip, it'll definitely be a Monorail resort!
I respectfully disagree... in March we were routinely waiting 30 minutes for busses to arrive, and when they did, what we encountered often is that one bus would be deployed for all 3 All-Stars, so it would fill up at Sports, stop at Music and only 10 people would get on when 100 were waiting....
Our rides to downtown disney were terrible too. We timed one at 45 minutes.
I have never had that problem before, so I attributed it to staying at a value resort for the first time in my life.....
thedisneyfan
Member
It appears as though everywhere has been bitten by the delay bug with the bus system. However, several bus drivers at various resorts have told me that the value resorts have the best buses. I guess it just depends now.....
cindrelly31
New Member
On this last trip to OKW we took the bus because we drove from Michigan to Florida with two stops on the way. It was knid of nice to have someone else drive for us, until the disaster with AK. We waited almost an hour. Three buses went by (full of people) before they sent a "Special Bus" to pick us up. It only had one stop before us and was PACKED when it got to us. (I almost waited for another bus, but my hubby didn't want to wait any longer):brick:
Invero
Well-Known Member
A few comments...
The majority of complaints "we waited for XXX minutes" are exaggerated. What might have FELT like 30-45 minutes often times is only 15-20 minutes. And once you have one person saying something, its like lemmings. All of a sudden now everyone has waited 45 minutes and is ticked off, when really it's only been 20 minutes. On occassion, there will be a legitimate service delay. These are typically ISOLATED incidents, that people tend to blow out of proportion. The majority of the time, buses are running on time.
In a study done awhile ago, Riverside had a 97% efficiency rate. This means out of the 1,000 or so buses that went through Riverside in a one week 8am-11am period, 970 of those buses arrived on time. (ie: less than a 20 minute interval) It works out to be about 4 buses per day that exceeded the 20 minute interval. Not bad when you consider the hundreds of other buses that arrived on time.
As for Dispatching versus Fixed Routes... there is no comparison. For Disney, the flexibility of Magic On Demand and Flex Dispatch cannot be beat. Instead of buses sitting idle, or running empty, we now put them to use. With fixed routes, you had buses sitting idle for 10 minutes on layover. You also had buses that were continuously late. That doesn't exist anymore. If a bus fills up, we can respond to it, whereas with a fixed route, you can't do that.
It's naive to not expect the buses to be crowded during peak travel times. All forms of transportation will be crowded during peak times, regardless of whether it rides on roads, rails, or water. And yes, they all will have thier share of screaming infants, hoards of strollers, and a few guests who use wheelchairs. They will also have thier share of guests who can't find anything better to do than complain. *shrug* It's life.
The majority of complaints "we waited for XXX minutes" are exaggerated. What might have FELT like 30-45 minutes often times is only 15-20 minutes. And once you have one person saying something, its like lemmings. All of a sudden now everyone has waited 45 minutes and is ticked off, when really it's only been 20 minutes. On occassion, there will be a legitimate service delay. These are typically ISOLATED incidents, that people tend to blow out of proportion. The majority of the time, buses are running on time.
In a study done awhile ago, Riverside had a 97% efficiency rate. This means out of the 1,000 or so buses that went through Riverside in a one week 8am-11am period, 970 of those buses arrived on time. (ie: less than a 20 minute interval) It works out to be about 4 buses per day that exceeded the 20 minute interval. Not bad when you consider the hundreds of other buses that arrived on time.
As for Dispatching versus Fixed Routes... there is no comparison. For Disney, the flexibility of Magic On Demand and Flex Dispatch cannot be beat. Instead of buses sitting idle, or running empty, we now put them to use. With fixed routes, you had buses sitting idle for 10 minutes on layover. You also had buses that were continuously late. That doesn't exist anymore. If a bus fills up, we can respond to it, whereas with a fixed route, you can't do that.
It's naive to not expect the buses to be crowded during peak travel times. All forms of transportation will be crowded during peak times, regardless of whether it rides on roads, rails, or water. And yes, they all will have thier share of screaming infants, hoards of strollers, and a few guests who use wheelchairs. They will also have thier share of guests who can't find anything better to do than complain. *shrug* It's life.