Just Back! Our one big complaint!

[SCOTTNJ]

We stayed at Port Orleans Riverside and the buses were a complete nightmare. We had a two hour wait leaving Magic Kingdom. People were getting hostile. It was so bad we ended up taking the monorail to the TTC - bus to downtown disney - bus back to Port Orleans.

Complained the next morning to the girl thats stand at the bus stop in the morning and she said she had heard about it already and would bring it up at the next meeting. Later in the week I asked her again and she said "It was because of Grad Night". That's it, no apology.

Had an hour wait leaving Epcot. 25 minutes leaving Typhoon Lagoon, which isn't too long but we saw 4 All star buses in that time period.

A lot of the people I talked to from our resort had the same complaints. I talked to one lady who said she was close to the east depot (i believe) and she said she made one of the disney transportation people sit with her to count all the busses that never stopped at their bus stop because the busses were full. She said that if she wanted to get somewhere she was forced to walk to the main depot.

I made 2 calls to wdw-ride and one cm said he would look into it, but he never called back. I will be writing a letter, I guarantee it.

So my point is, allow A LOT of time to get to the parks and expect to stand no matter what time of day it is.

[JasonLyons]

I was at Dixie Landing last Nov, and the busses where always packed, when they stoped at our bus stop people ran into them like a mad dog at a meat market. Men would not give up there seat for 8 yr old daughter and of course not for my wife. But yet I always gave my seat up. Any resort ay anytime could be bad for crowds at the bus stop, I do believe Dixie is the worse of all. I have stayed at 5 resort, but this is the only one I will never go back to.

[addicted_to_WDW]

Now I'm nervous. I'm staying at Riverside later this week, after staying at All Star Sports for my past 2 trips. The bus service at Sports was fabulous, with waits rarely being over 10 or 15 minutes. I guess I shouldn't worry too much about it, considering I've promised myself to be a tad more mellow this trip...

[SCOTTNJ]

We did have one day on our trip that we didn't have a crowded bus and it came quickly, so who knows, you might be lucky. Don't be nervous, you will have a great trip even if the buses are a problem.

I was completely frustrated but I had a great time anyway.

[JasonLyons]

I still had fun too.

[GrumpyOne]

This is why I rent a car...

[SCOTTNJ]

When were were there in '99 I decided that the buses at CBR were so good that I no longer need a car. This time I used Tiffany, had a great experience but everyday I wished I had rented a car.

Next time we go, I'm going back to CBR. Then, If I have problems again, I will go back to renting a car. I'm hoping it was just a Port Orleans problem.

[SCOTTNJ]

When were were there in '99 I decided that the buses at CBR were so good that I no longer need a car. This time I used Tiffany, had a great experience but everyday I wished I had rented a car.

Next time we go, I'm going back to CBR. Then, If I have problems again, I will go back to renting a car. I'm hoping it was just a Port Orleans problem.

[mikimaus]

I'm so glad to hear someone else with this problem. I was just there 4/28 - 5/1. The buses at the French quarter were a nightmare. I had just been there in January and it was fine. I spoke with one of the bus drivers and he blamed it on this new system that was supposed to start but crashed. Bull. They always had separate busses for PO and DL first thing in the am. But now every bus stops at every depot at both hotels (that's why they combined them?!) One bus even went from French Quarter then all 4 stops at Riverside and BACK to French quarter again before leaving for the parks. One morning I caught the first bus at 6:50am (as we always have) for ee at MK. We MISSED the opening because it took almost an hour to get there.
Please e-mail me with the address of who to write to - I'll write too. I alsready registered a complaint at guest relations at EPCOT.
If it doesn't get better, why stay on property if you can't get to ee anyway.:mad:

[mikimaus]

Originally posted by mikimaus
I'm so glad to hear someone else with this problem. I was just there 4/28 - 5/1. The buses at the French quarter were a nightmare. I had just been there in January and it was fine. I spoke with one of the bus drivers and he blamed it on this new system that was supposed to start but crashed. Bull. They always had separate busses for PO and DL first thing in the am. But now every bus stops at every depot at both hotels (that's why they combined them?!) One bus even went from French Quarter then all 4 stops at Riverside and BACK to French quarter again before leaving for the parks. One morning I caught the first bus at 6:50am (as we always have) for ee at MK. We MISSED the opening because it took almost an hour to get there.
Please e-mail me with the address of who to write to - I'll write too. I alsready registered a complaint at guest relations at EPCOT.
If it doesn't get better, why stay on property if you can't get to ee anyway.:mad:

[jesdmill1]

When we stayed at PO french quarter the bus service to the parks was good because we were the first stop (though it did stop often and got really crowded!) But leaving was a nightmare sometimes! We waited an hour and a half for our bus at Epcot one night. This year we're staying at the GF and I hope it will be better - if not we'll have a car so it should be ok!

[GailT]

all my yrs going to DW I have only taken the bus once, can't even remember what hotel we were at but those are the reasons why I rent a car. it was mob, kids crying, people pushing. I guess we should all expect that, after all the parks get crowded so why wouldn't the buses.

[CarolAnnC]

This is good information to share with our Transportation Board.

[ABBSMOM]

This is a great reason to consider staying at an Epcot area resort. The thought of the whole bus thing is what helped us decide.

[Heidi]

I have heard these complaints about these particular resortds MANY times. If little ole me knows about it you would think WDW would know and FIX it already!!!

[Wendy]

I've stayed at Dixie Landings/Port Orleans many times and have never run into these kinds of problems. The only times I've had long waits is after Illuminations or Spectromagic/MSEP. That's to be expected since you have several thousand people all trying to leave at the same time.

I wonder if this doesn't have to do with the new Bus on Demand system. Last I heard, the problems were due to computer problems. It seems their computerized system wasn't working properly and they were having to manually call in for busses and have a dispatcher reroute the busses where they were needed. It seems like so far, it's making the bus problems much worse, rather than better. Let's hope they get it fixed soon!

[Disney Doll]

We usually wait til the crowd thins out before we try to leave. If we're at EPCOT, we sit in the Fountainview Bakery and watch the world go by, enjoying a coffee and dessert. Sometimes we leave via the International Gateway and take the bus from the Boardwalk. If we're at MK, we'll stop at Casey's or the Plaza and have a snack while everyone else runs to the exit to catch a bus. I don't want to get aggravated waiting in line for a bus for an hour...I'd rather enjoy a leisurely snack and stroll later. ;)

[Coloradomom]

I feel the same as Wendy and Disney Doll. We do not expect to rush out at the end of the evening..we know it will take some time.In fact with kids ages 16 and 11 I'd rather leave the buses at that hour for people with little ones.I remember what those days were like!

We like taking the buses and NOT driving because we can completely relax, not worry about traffic and just enjoy looking and "people watching". We've stayed at PO Riverside the last two years and have had no problems. We do try to leave very early for EE, so we beat the crowd that way too.So, if EE means the park opens at 7:30, you'll find us at the bus stop no later than 6:45.

[SeaSpray]

I believe we might've been in WDW at the same time, we just got back last week. We stayed at CBR and were pleasantly surprised at how efficient the bus service was. I knew that the busses ran every 15 minutes, but only once or twice did we wait more than 10 minutes, and 90% of the time our wait was less than 5 minutes. Let us know if you get a reply from the letter you're writing, I'd love to know why the busses would be so great for one resort, and not for another (both moderates!). Glad you had a great time, despite the bus problems.

[denisenh]

We also ran into a bus problem on our last trip, at the end of April. We had planned on a non disney trip but little by little it turned into one. We did go to the MK one day. We were staying at CSR, which I love, and honest to goodness we waited over 45 minutes for a MK bus to come. We did have a rental car. Anyway, another man at the bus stop ended up making a call on our behalf, he was so frustrated by us waiting. We saw 4 cycles of buses going to every other park. I just figured that one would be along at anytime. I really don't know what the reason was. I did mention it to the driver, very nicely, and she ignored me. Oh well, it didn't ruin my day.
Our other transportation problem was in Feb. 2001 we stayed at DxL and found the buses always packed, and i mean packed. We also had a rental and did use it to get to parks on a couple of occasions.

[vacationwoman]

Have stayed at DL (now Riverside) for the last 7 years and have never had a major problem with the buses. Sometimes they are crowded (and noisy) but still is easier than driving, parking and then taking shuttle or ferry or monorail from TT to MK.
Sure hope this year won't be any different. You really need to board at the stop near the general store.
14 days till departure. CAN'T WAIT OF COURSE

:pinkbounc :pinkbounc :pinkbounc :pinkbounc

[SCOTTNJ]

Hope you have a great trip. When you return, please come back to this post and give us your opinion of the bus service.

[vacationwoman]

Will let you know Scott
Only 12 days now, but whose counting
Love Jersey Shore too, am there now for long weekend

[ksmom]

We leave in 10 days and plan on using the bus system. We are staying at the BC so we'll be able to walk to Epcot. From what I've read (thanks to these great boards) we will also be walking to MGM. On June 9 we plan on going to the Murder Mystery Dinner Theater at the Grosvenor Resort. We may take a taxi or rent a car for the day because we will also be going to Animal Kingdom in the morning and I'm not sure how reliable the bus system is to that park. It sound like the bus should not be a problem going to MK.

[Beverly Lynn]

what happened to the bus on demand?

[Chicklet]

Just back last night (5/26) and can honestly say we had NO problems with buses heading out of the resort. We wait no longer than 10 minutes every time and we were there 9 days. We of course, got on at the South Depot, main stop and that could be the big difference. I don't recall going around the whole loop more than 3 times in my stay. That is why I chose to stay close to the main stop. Now, coming home from crowded parks took some patience, but I don't think we waited more than 1/2 hour. As a matter of fact, Friday night I was in a long line coming out of MGM and ran to go to the bathroom. When I got back, which was not that long, my husband said he had to let 2 buses go and they were waiting for me to board the next one.

To sum it up - I wouldn't rent a car. I've done that in the past and would just rather tough it out with the buses - let someone else face the aggravating drives. The buses were always cool enough even when crowded.

[HugsForEeyore]

Hi,
If you want good bus service, try Animal Kingdom Lodge! We just got back, and the bus service was great!! There is only one bus stop at the lodge, so the bus is never "already" crowded. And there are no other stops at other resorts, so the routes are pretty quick and direct. Our group even had a member in power wheelchair and a service dog, and there was always room for all of us on the bus with no problems. We also never waited long for a bus. :) :)

[Laz]

why some people have bad experiences with the buses while others have good experiences? Could It be a matter of perception, or inconsistency with Disney Transportation. I have always said that WDW has outgrown its current system, and many CMs have agreed, saying that the bus system was only suppose to be a stop gap measure. WDW then never found the cash to modernize.

However, people may percieve good or bad services depending on their point of view. For Example, my wife and I have always complained about poor bus service from the AS resorts, but many others on this board rave about it.

Like to hear others thoughts

[VickiVM]

It seems that everyone has various expectations of WDW's services - expectations that may even be fed off of what others report on these boards. Would you all agree that if you knew in advance what potential problems may arise (i.e. grad. night, bus mis-communications) then you wouldn't feel so frustrated and would have opportunity to alter your plans accordingly?? Is it so difficult for Disney to admit up front to their guests that they're having problems as fair warning? I know I would feel better knowing what I might encounter rather than seethe for an hour knowing that tons of fun is waiting for me, but I just can't get to it fast enough. Just a thought....

[Laz]

For Example, I know what to expect when I go in June with the Dolphin full of High School Students. However, many who stay there during this time will be quite surprised. Some would choose not to stay at the Dolphin if they knew this. Maybe Disney should have wait times posted at each stop. Most people hate not getting information when waiting.