wow actually had a horrible time at disney world

[yankspy]

I tend to be skeptical about the accuracy of reports like this that state busses came hourly throughout the trip or bus service at one resort is better/worse than others. Here's why I state that.



We've been to WDW 6 times in the past two and a half years and have stayed at 5 different resorts (POP, Coronado, POR, WLV and SSR). We've stayed a total of 45 nights on property and have taken busses to the parks or DD every single one of those days. We've experienced situations such as:

• Walking out of our resort or a park and walking on to a waiting bus.
• Waiting 20-30 min. for a bus and
• Watching, for example, 3 DD busses go past while waiting for our Epcot bus

I would state quite confidently that the AVERAGE wait time of all the bus rides, from all those resorts for those trips was 15 min...no more than 20 min. for sure! I understand that if the busses arrive about every 20 min. that the wait should never be more than 20 min., even if you just missed one. In reality, I doubt that the wait typically is more than 20 min.

So why the trip reports like this one? I think they are, in general, a result of 2 things I've consistently noticed about human nature in my work.

1. Many people tend to easily forget the 'good' and dwell on the 'bad'. Guests can take 20 bus rides during a trip and they'll remember the 3 that took 20-30 min. to come and forget about the 5 min. waits, etc.

2. Many people have an inaccurate concept of time. I see this everyday with presentations, meetings, etc. During every trip, while at a bus stop, I've heard someone state that they've been waiting 20-25 min. for a bus, when it's been more like 15 min. or so.

I'm sorry if you had an experience that you didn't enjoy, but I would expect the number of true 1 hour bus waits during a 7 day trip to WDW to be extremely rare. Unless you were always leaving and arriving at the absolute worst times, the law of averages suggests that during the week you would have had some long waits, some short waits and a bunch in between. That's always been our experience.

No need to bring my wife into this.:lol:

 

[bfbulldog]

so let me get this straight...you had a horrible time because you had to wait for the FREE buses?

You're joking?? The buses are nowhere near free their operating costs are built into your vacation, don't think otherwise. They advertise the buses as one of the perks of staying on property. If they don't run in a timely fashion then that's a problem and it should be brought to their attention. If they claim before you book that it's 20 minutes between buses and it ends up at 1hr+ then you've been duped and should bring it up.

 

[sleepybear]

lucky we went before our previous trip. We went the week of aug 11 and stayed for 7 days at port orleans french quarter. The busses were supposed to come every 20 minutes but they did not. it was more like every hour. SERIOUSLY. There was a HUGE line at just about every park for our resort.. we'd see Pop Century and all the other resorts get about 3-4 bus loads before our bus actually came. I just could not believe it. Some of the drivers even ignored people in the wheel chairs at times claiming to "come back soon" and when we went it was dead heat. The only reason I'm complaining is because there were always a lot of toddlers and older people in the heat like that. I was shocked to see how poorly the buses ran during our trip. I hope they fix their issues before someone gets ill waiting in the heat.. if so they'd have an hours wait like we did.

Baily, I'm sorry you had a bad experience. I, too, have experience awful bus service at both WL and Coronado Springs. Our solution is to rent a car. It's more expensive, yes, but makes coming and going to the parks so much easier. It's an especially good idea if you can only go during the sticky summer months.

 

[KCMouse]

When we stayed at POR in April and December, the bus system was not as efficient as it used to be. A couple of times we waited as long as 30 minutes but most of the time no longer than 10 minutes.

It gets very frustrating when you are waiting at the hotel and you want to go to MK but 4 empty DHS busses go by. When waiting at Epcot it never fails that 5 half full Contemporary busses go by before a POR bus comes.

I used to be a manager in retail and you learn that most people exaggerate times. Customers will say that they spent 15 minutes waiting in a checkout line, but when it is researched through video tapes and the time stamps on electronic journals it would have been impossible for a person to have waited more than 5 minutes.

This is why I time waits by looking at my watch. We saw many people getting very upset at the bus stops and start yelling at Cast Members because they had been waiting for 45 minutes, but according to my watch we had only been waiting 25 minutes. Most of the time, especially on vacation, times get exaggerated.

 

[Javier Boughton]

next time..rent a car

 

[SnowWhiteMomma]

Transportation is more likely to be "funded" out of ticket sales, since all park guests can use the transportation for free

I'd have to agree with you here. The only real extra thing you get is transportation from your resort to the rest of the world. I forgot all park guests can use the other buses.

 

[Disneykidder]

Some people can't afford the option of renting a car so telling them to do so may not be possible.

Buses are not free. The costs come from us paying for it from somewhere.

I don't think it is too much to ask that buses run every 20 minutes. During the summer months and holidays, they should make sure that they stick to that schedule...all times, for that matter.

I have never experienced any busing difficulties but that doesn't mean it doesn't happen. I can imagine your frustration. Standing in lines at the parks and then again for a bus? I wouldn't be a happy camper, either.

I hope we have great luck with the buses when we get there in 11 hours!!:sohappy:

 

[LudwigVonDrake]

My experience from 7/11 to 7/18 while staying at the POFQ was that with the exception of the two horrendous wait times that the bus system was efficient. I'll say it again, waits of 45 minutes to an hour are unacceptable whether paying for the service or not especially since Disney throws the 20 minute time figure out there THEMSELVES.

 

[Dwarful]

Why didn't you voice your concerns while you were there - that way it could have been addressed, instead of staying in your room "as much as you could"

I can feel the pain of the original poster. I don't know how to link other threads. But I wrote up a thread about issues we had at Movies on Tues. August. 5th. We did speak to management..several people went in over the course of an hour to get help/ find out where the heck the buses were etc., When the manager came out she was UNDISNEY! She basically spoke to us like we were toddlers. Explaining that Disney is not obligated to run buses at any specific interval. They try to run between 20-40 minutes but they are not obligated. It is a FREE service and if we didn't like what Disney was giving us for FREE we could rent a car or hire a taxi. If we didn't want to rent a car or hire a taxi we could wait for the next available bus. If there had been a tree nearby the woman would have been strung up by her toenails by many unhappy guests. This woman had no idea how much money people spent on their vacation at WDW. We spent a pretty penny for our two weeks. We could have done it much cheaper offsite,but we elected to stay onsite for the ease of getting to and from the parks. We drove so we had our own van. If we had known it would be over an hour we would have driven ourselves that day. Last year we spent close to $40,000 on our vacation at the same resort (yeah,36 in our girl scout trip, mostly over 9yrs old, all on the dining plan, 9 nights).

Needless to say, when we had our bus issues we spoke to management. Management talked to us like toddlers. I did go back to the front desk and got the address, wrote the letter and requested a written reply addressing my concerns. Haven't heard anything yet. The manager did call our room and appologize. Offered us a free one time use 'fastpass' style coupon. We declined. It wasn't about getting something out of it. It was about letting management know they did a poor job handling this issue. It was later discovered there were some other transportation issues that day.

Disney isn't perfect. I certainly wouldn't spend my time in my room because things weren't going smoothly. Let management know. But lets face it. The cost of those buses are figured into the room/package rates. Thats why they charge $110 a night for a $50-75 room at the values.

 

[dreamscometrue]

My experience from 7/11 to 7/18 while staying at the POFQ was that with the exception of the two horrendous wait times that the bus system was efficient. I'll say it again, waits of 45 minutes to an hour are unacceptable whether paying for the service or not especially since Disney throws the 20 minute time figure out there THEMSELVES.

As I suggested in my earlier post, 45 min. to an hour waits are unacceptable, but I maintain, exceedingly rare. We've had 2 waits that long during 6 trips.

 

[scottnj1966]

The bus system is horrible and you cannot ever think they will run on time.
Plus many times they will be full and your stuck waiting longer.

Stay at a monorail linked resort which will easily take you to mk or epcot, and a little walk to disney studios. bus would still have to be used for animal kingdom.

you can stay at wilderness lodge or fort wilderness also. there you can take the boat to mk and from there monorail to epcot and near the studios.

I never thought the bus system was good and the more they have to utilize it the worse it gets.
They need more monorail track.

 

[CAPTAIN HOOK]

It wasn't about getting something out of it. It was about letting management know they did a poor job handling this issue. It was later discovered there were some other transportation issues that day.

Two very big points here -

1) If Disney doesn't know about transportation issues then they can't fix them

2) If the guests don't know that Disney have transportation issues they'll continue to complain - if the guests are told about the issues most will understand and be more tolerant.

Everyone needs to communicate more and at a better level. The World will be better for it

 

[Bairstow]

Here's a trick that some of you might try in the future: If you're ever stuck waiting for a bus at a park or at your resort, try hopping on a bus headed to Downtown Disney and make a connection there. Since Downtown Disney is a shopping-oriented area Disney seems to give it priority on their bus lines.

 

[Dwarful]

Exactly! I imagine at the the end of the night on the 5th very few (out of about 60 people) took the time to go to the front desk and complain. But I felt it was needed.

For some of the other posts..not everyone can stay on a monorail resort for every trip. Nor can everyone rent a car for the whole trip. Last year for example, I took my daughter's girl scout troop (mostly 11 yr olds/families). We were a Grand Gathering of 36, staying 9 nights on the dining plan. Not counting airfare we spent somewhere in the neighborhood of $35,000 (10 pref. rooms at movies/adult hopper tickets/diningplan). We would have been hard pressed to rent enough vehicles to transport our group, then add in the number of licensed drivers needed. I had adult drivers in my group who have never driven outside of their hometowns..never will drive in St.Louis, across bridges, etc., because they fear driving in areas they are unfamiliar with. So there was no way I could let them take a van full of kids in an area they had never been. The buses do provide flexibility, although, limited flexibility. Usually they run smoothly,when they don't people need to speak up. We did notice after the 5th there was always someone outside with a clipboard to keep an eye on things.

The only other bad bus experience we had on this most recent trip was after a meal at Whispering Canyon.

 

[DivineMadness7]

Why didn't you voice your concerns while you were there - that way it could have been addressed, instead of staying in your room "as much as you could"

eeexactly :wave:

The expectations people have for a Disney vacation are higher than anywhere else they will travel in their lifetime. Not saying 45-60 min waits are acceptable (if this is accurate...) but you need to put it in perspective. It is free, even though others are saying you technically "pay" for them, you know this up front. You have the option to arrange other travel. I've never seen it printed ANYWHERE that waits are GUARANTEED to be "20 minutes or less" so if someone can point me to officially Disney literature that states this, I would be surprised.

It's vacation...take a deep breath and relax. I just fail to see how spending the entire vacation in your room improves the situation. If you were that bothered, you needed to file a complaint and/or find another means of transportation.:shrug:

 

[disneymyway]

I think that everyone's experiences are their own and shouldn't be second guessed by others.

You can say, "That wasn't my experience." But it is just not fair to say "You shouldn't have felt the way you did."

Just my opinion for what it is worth.

 

[kingslyZISSOU]

I experienced this myself back in june. We waited about 50 minutes for a bus. I understand, gas is expensive now a days, but they need to at least make the wait bearable, and make guests aware of a potential high wait time.

They spend millions on lavish rides, shows, and other various attractions. People come from miles and miles away to see the wonder of Disney. Then they are forced to wait for about an hour in Florida weather (which most aren't used to) just to get to somewhere else on property?

I can't think of a better way to drive away customers.

It just seems so ridiculous on managements end to me. It could be fixed rather easily. they could at least put some fans or AC at the bus stops around the resorts.

 

[DisneyGigi]

We have only used the bus one time and it was a pain. It is just so much easier and comfortable to be in a car, not to mention way faster. IMO anyway.

 

[kucarachi]

magic bus

we go every year and we've always had a rental car to get around. But last year we took the bus 2 times and were sorta disappointed. It took almost a full hour and half after the pirate and princess party to get back to pop century...thats while holding a sleeping kid the entire trip back, and standing on the bus just to fit us on.

It did take roughly 30 min to get a bus to the park from the resort as well. They are free, they are comfortable but if you are going to experience the parks then you'll save at least a few hours over the trip by getting a cheap rental car. How cheap? we are getting a car from budget for 10 days and dropping it off at a different location and its still only 150.00 with taxes! sure it could go towards food but we are getting free dining the whole trip.

I thought of a way to avoid the lines back to the hotel if you stay till the park closes and there is a huge line. Take a bus to another park that is closed or either still open for a while! even if it takes 20 min or longer you wont have to wait in a line in the heat...and you'll have somewhere to sit and relax for a few minutes!

If you were paying for it im sure it would be faster, but you cant make people load on fast, these are the same people that drive 35 miles an hour on the parkway in the fast lane! get the car and you can go and get snacks at walmart which is pretty close, and occasionally go out for fast food instead of spending 9 dollars a value meal at the disney mcdonalds near animal kingdom! i still cant believe that the prices are that high for a mcdonalds that gets that much business!

 

[Rufus T Firefly]

Everyone needs to communicate more and at a better level. The World will be better for it

Amen Captain Amen :sohappy: