What do you think of the WDW transportation system overall?

[DisneyKidds]

Poll time. Let's see (and hear) how you guys feel about the WDW transportation system. I hear good things, I hear bad things, but what is the consensus?

Let's consider the WDW transportation system as a whole. That would include the existing combination of busses (the primary mode of transport), boats, and monorails.

[Trekker]

:cool:

[DisneyKidds]

Keep the votes coming! :bounce:

How about a few questions.

How many of you have a car at your disposal when at WDW, but prefer using the WDW transportaion system anyway?

How many of you rent a car specifically so you don't have to use the WDW transportation system?

What do you think about resort to resort transportation and it this a big issue for you?

What do you thing the syatem does well? Poorly? What should be changed (if anything)?

Time for a little talk ;).

[DebbieB]

I always rent a car and use it to most places but the reason isn't because the transportation is necessarily ineffective or inefficient. I just prefer not to get on a crowded bus, sometimes having to stand, sometimes making multiple stops. We prefer the comfort of the car and being on our own schedule. I just don't like busses, it's not the transportation system's fault, it's just my preference. Maybe it's because when I first started working I took crowded city busses back and forth to work and hated it. Now I'm used to driving. I think driving in WDW is very easy.

[cbrfan]

When I'm on vacation I aim for the least hassle possible. We fly in, take a towncar to and from the airport and let Disney do the driving while we're there. No rental car pick-up and return, filling up with gas, filling out insurance forms and waivers, etc. I find the waits and crowds on WDW transportation to be a part of the total experience. It is what you make of it.

[OKW91]

We drive down and park the car, except for groceries, we never use our car while at WDW, I have to say that 90% of the time the Disney transportation is OK!! I believe in relaxing when in Disney, if I have to wait a few minutes for the bus or a boat what's the big deal? I rush around enough when home, I don't need it on vacation!!

[deb305]

We drove last time, and glad to have car. Stayed on monorail resort and used monorail for Epcot and MK. We drove to MGM,AK and DTD. We went in January so parking lots were not full. At both AK and MGM I walked from car to entrance because we had an oversized stroller. I'm not kidding, most of the time I was only a few yards away from the Buses. If they would just move the buses a little closer, it would be worth it.
Also for those with toddlers that need reclining strollers, using Disney transportation was a nightmare. I was allowed to roll the stroller on the monorail, but had to fold it for trams, buses etc. Try doing that with a 1 year old and their stuff. I don't blame Disney, just will be glad when he's older and can use the park strollers.

[drogerstn]

When I'm on vacation I aim for the least hassle possible and the most flexibility. We fly in, do a quick rental car pick-up using one of the services such as Hertz #1 Gold Club, Alamo's ***********, & National's Emerald Club, and use the car frequently during our stay. I find the waits and crowds on WDW transportation to be a a hassle at times. We also do some off site shopping in which it is helpful to have a car. We normally use the car when visiting Disney Studios, the water parks, AK, DD, other resorts and EPCOT.

[KathyR]

We either have our car or a rental, but we always take the WDW buses to the parks and DTD. We use our car to get everywhere else though :) I am always amazed how well they do moving the amount of people they do. We have had to wait more than 10 minutes on VERY few occassions. Most of the time it is under 10 minutes :)

[ron777]

I think the Monorail is better than the bus because the bus is too hot and slow to get to where you are waiting to catch it. The monorail is fast and comfortable. :D

[Barb]

We always rent a car. We usually use WDW transportation to go to one of the 4 major parks. But we NEVER use it to go to another resort, Downtown Disney or one of the water parks. The bus system to go to those places is awful. It literally takes one hour to get to Typhoon Lagoon. This is a waste of my time. Also, by renting a car we do have the option of leaving property and eating elsewhere.

[Chip 'n Dale Express]

Originally posted by ron777
I think the Monorail is better than the bus because the bus is too hot and slow to get to where you are waiting to catch it. The monorail is fast and comfortable. :D

I tend to disagree. Our busses have special high capacity air conditioner units. The vast majority of them turn the bus into a meat locker. I can't tell you how many times I have guests asking me to turn the A/C down because it's cold.

As for speed... the bus can travel far faster than the monorail.

[Chip 'n Dale Express]

Originally posted by Barb
It literally takes one hour to get to Typhoon Lagoon.

No... it doesn't. Not even close.

[helenk]

I have always relied on Disney transportation and I have not had any problems that would have had an adverse affect on my vacation. Once we had to wait nearly a half of an hour for the ferry leaving MK to the WL after the last spectromagic parade, but this delay was due to the water pageant going by.
The bus drivers have always been courteous and sometimes quite funny. I find that if you say hello, thank you, have a nice day etc they will respond in kind.
It amazes me that Disney can transport so many people to so many different areas as well as they do. It has never taken me an hour to get to Typhoon Lagoon.

[goofy4tink]

We usually rely on WDW's bus system. Have found it to be more than fine. This time down, my dh asked to stay at a deluxe for the ease of transportation. Since we'll be there in Aug he is concerned about the time going back and forth for mid-day breaks. So where do we end up staying?? WL. But we can't wait to try out the boats to MK.
As for the rest of our visit, the bus system tends to prohibit us from visiting other area resorts. The monorail resorts are okay but to get to Boardwalk or Yacht/Beach Clubs is way too convoluted for me. So we most likely won't get to visit their terrific restaurants. :( But, all in all, the transportation system does a terrific job moving all those people. Thanks to all of you that move us!!!

[WDW JKL]

we have always rented a car except for our first trip 10years ago. WDW does a good job of transporting people from/to resort/park but it's difficult to go from a resort to a resort. We like to try different resort dining and it's always more efficient to drive then ride WDW transportaton.

Eventhough we rent a car, we do ride the bus to MK since this appears to be more efficient then driving.

[pilotmono]

I like the monorail over buses. Shorter dispatch interval, quieter/smoother ride, better view--especially from the front cab--and a much shorter trip time to the hotels on the beam. One can ride a bus almost anywhere, but the WDW Monorail System is world renowned.

[jaysue]

Fun, Fairly Fast, and always have a chance to chat it up with other people on the bus

Lots of fun!!!

The Monorail is one of DS top 5 rides

Resort to Resort can be difficult though depending on where you are trying to get to (cab is best option for the odd time you would want to do this).

Having said that to go from example WL to GF via Boat or Boat and Monorail is a magical trip unto itself with the views of MK!!!

Thanks
Jason

[Uncleromulus]

Well-I voted #3, mostly because we always rent and use a car. DebbieB stated things about as well as I ever could.
I think WDW transportation does an excellent job, especially considering the sheer # of people they "move".

[drusba]

We always have a car. Our usual rule of thumb is: if your trip requires taking only one Disney transport (like to a park) use Disney; if it requires going somewhere to switch transports to get where you are going (like you often need to do to get to another resort from the one you are in) then drive. Using Disney's busses and boats is most often very pleasant particularly since most of the operators do their best to be friendly and entertaining. As far as efficiency goes, it is one of the most sophisticated and better run systems I have ever seen (a lot of cities could learn something) even though it can be slow getting somewhere when you have to do those switches. The problem Disney faces is that significant improvement can only really be acheived by spending a huge amount of money to put in a lot more monorail systems around the resort.

[Chip 'n Dale Express]

Originally posted by drusba
The problem Disney faces is that significant improvement can only really be acheived by spending a huge amount of money to put in a lot more monorail systems around the resort.

I won't drag it out into great detail here, but actually... that's not really true... Money set aside, an expansion of the monorail system would ultimatly require transfer points... something that 95% of guests would rather do without. The transfer from the MK Resort Monorail to the Epcot Monorail often sprouts many, many complaints. (As well as confusion)

[CynJ]

:teeth:

Back in 1991 I was only 18 and not able to rent a car so the WDW transportation system was our only way around! It worked well then and I think it was even better when my mom and I went down in Feb 2002.

I have never been to WDW during the summer or other peak seasons so I can't vouch for how it flows then but in Feb/March I loved it!! :)

And I found out that by asking at the TTC that we were able to catch a regular city bus to Seaworld for only $1 per person and they gave me city bus maps too - great customer service!

[wld]

We too would never rent a car. We live out in the country 30minutes from most places like shopping and work and to us a vacation is not driving.
We find the bus transportation fast and efficient most of the time and usually very nice and cool after a hot day at the park. We've also met some interesting people we would not have met in our car.
After our first couple of trips we found it fun to find as many different ways as we could to get from point A to point B. Resort to resort is a game to us. We always allow 1 hour but it rarely takes half that long. The boats are fun and relaxing too.
I'm not a big monorail fan though, that whole claustrophobic thing, if it breaks down and I'm way up in the air........

[Wes]

bump

[NotUrsula]

... but the one time we will move heaven and earth NOT to depend on the system is at MK closing on a fireworks night. Somehow, we always manage to be at the resort that has the bus stop just past the one for AS, and the waiting area always ends up being a nightmare to get to. On occasion we have had to spend close to an hour waiting in line behind the AS crowd because the path to our own stop was totally impassable.

The only other serious problem we've had personally was difficulty moving between MK and WL at major crowd movement times, such as opening time in the morning, or in the 2-3 hours prior to an evening parade presentation. WL is large, and at times when a large % of guests are headed to MK all at once, the boats can't handle the load. More than once we got out of line after an hour and took the car, and that was in the off-season. Overflow busses are needed at such times, I think.

I've heard many times that the system doesn't work all that well for transit between resorts, but then, it's not really designed to move people between those points, is it?

[clkelley]

I love Disney Transportation and use it extensively on all of our trips.

Sometimes we drive, sometimes we fly, but when we drive, our car never moves from the parking lot.

We usually stay at All Stars as a family, and I camp at Ft. Wilderness once a year solo. We have eaten at just about every resort, and we DON't spend a lot of time waiting on transportation or transferring to Downtown Disney.

The biggest key is to know the park closing times and use them effectively.

Plan ahead, schedule your meals so that you can have a nice dinner and get back to your resort without a lot of trouble.

For example:

When Studios closes at 7:00 pm - Fantasmic is over at 7:30pm
We make a PS at one of the Epcot resorts Beach Club/Yacht Club, Boardwalk, etc.) at 7:45 pm. Once dinner is over about 9:00 we stroll through Epcot while the masses are watching Illuminations, watch the fountain dance awhile till about 10:00 then onto a waiting bus at the Epcot stop.

When Magic Kingdom closes early, we go to a monorail resort for dinner, then take the Epcot monorail to get to the bus stops.

We also frequently make our mid day break at one of the resorts besides our own. We have lunch, we sit at the pool bar (we don't use the pool) We stroll around the lake, or relax in a garden somewhere.

At park closing, never rush to a bus stop, wait in the park till the masses leave. It is much more pleasant to sit on a bench with a drink and listen to the park music, or watch the Epcot Fountain, watch the castle change colors, watch the lights on the Sorceror Mickey hat (you get my drift) than it is to stand in a line with upset folks in a smelly bus station.

I guess what I am saying is don't try to make Disney transportation work with your schedule, make your schedule around Disney transportation and avoid some of its drawbacks.

The only thing about Disney transport that I have not ever been able to find an easy schedule for is Ft. Wilderness internal transportation. However, I have solved that by taking hubby's ECV with me when I camp there and use it similar to a golf cart.

[Chip 'n Dale Express]

Originally posted by NotUrsula
Somehow, we always manage to be at the resort that has the bus stop just past the one for AS, and the waiting area always ends up being a nightmare to get to.

That has been changed. The All-Stars are now the last bus stop. Swan/Dolphin, Yacht/Beach/Boardwalk, Coronado, and Old Key West are on the "A" side, then it goes AK Lodge, FQ, RS, CBR, ASMo, ASMu, ASSp

Originally posted by NotUrsula
WL is large, and at times when a large % of guests are headed to MK all at once, the boats can't handle the load. More than once we got out of line after an hour and took the car, and that was in the off-season. Overflow busses are needed at such times, I think.

There is an alternate route. There is a bus to the TTC, from which you can catch the MK Monorail.

Originally posted by NotUrsula
I've heard many times that the system doesn't work all that well for transit between resorts, but then, it's not really designed to move people between those points, is it?
Just like any major city's transportation system, you sometimes have to transfer to get from Point A to Point K. Our transportation system was designed to efficiently transport guests from Resort to Theme Park, and back. This is about 98% of our guest traffic flow.

[Chip 'n Dale Express]

Originally posted by clkelley
The only thing about Disney transport that I have not ever been able to find an easy schedule for is Ft. Wilderness internal transportation.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?threadid=354198

Check that out. Should explain everything in detail. It seems like a lot, but it's really quite simple.

[NotUrsula]

As someone else pointed out, stampeding to the busses right at closing isn't the best idea. However, in that old MK bus stop arrangement, waiting an hour always seemed to work against us. We would wait an hour, then attempt to walk out to our bus, only to find the path blocked by several hundred people still overflowing the line area for the AS busses. Of course, had we left as the fireworks were winding up, it probably would have been much worse, but I can't say for sure, as we have always waited an hour! The kid is usually zonked out in the stroller, so Dad & I take that opportunity to take photos and do a little shopping. I am positively thrilled at the thought of that waiting-area tangle being resolved at last! (We had taken to walking to the Contemporary and returning to our resort via taxicab.)

As for the WL alternate route, do drivers point that out at all? I remember asking the WL concierge if there was a way to get to MK by bus, and being told that there was not. I'm not sure that the staff at WL are telling guests that they have that option, but they probably should be. (I know one could figure it out from the transportation map, but lots of people have difficulty thinking outside the box. I saw tempers really flaring out on that WL boat dock, when at least 200 guests were standing in line for a launch that only holds around 20-30 passengers. That scene really could have used a CM--or at least a sign--offering alternatives.)

[Chip 'n Dale Express]

Originally posted by NotUrsula
As for the WL alternate route, do drivers point that out at all? I remember asking the WL concierge if there was a way to get to MK by bus, and being told that there was not. I'm not sure that the staff at WL are telling guests that they have that option, but they probably should be.

Well, I always tell people "Never trust anyone who's not in purple pants" LOL

There are signs that say this at the bus stop, however.