Best and worst bus service

[Robbi]

Originally Posted by alecshawn

Not if its free. Or "unfree" if you dont use it.
We goto WDW 2 times a year...some lots more...We've never waited close to 45 min. Longest....20 and that is with Allstar Music whe we JUST missed a bus. But, its all good.

It isn't free. People pay extra to stay onsite and ride the buses.

[WDWNext]

Originally Posted by Robbi

45 minutes is not a long wait?

Hey Robbi,
I'm curious which value and deluxe hotels did you stay at ? I am actually planning on a split-stay value-deluxe.... from your experience seems like I am doomed !!

It seems like disney is promising nothing. The 20 mins is just whats suggested as the average wait time between buses. I guess it means the same number of people have waited for 2 minutes, or 20 minutes or 40 minutes and everything else in between. If one had to wait for 40+ minutes every single time during their stay... guess what, bad luck !! I know we are in a rush for rope drop and other stuff, which is what causes the frustration to build up, but what can you do ? Just chill and enjoy. Atleast my expectations are low, so things can only get better huh ?

[Chaoticsweetness]

Originally Posted by vinotinto

Which resorts have the best bus service? The worst? Why? Thanks!

I have to say POFQ had the best bus service over all. Not much wait for the buses to or from parks & downtown Disney, the boat was a added bonus.

The worst by far was AoA, especially after MNSSHP. They were not prepared for the crowd & when we left the park at closing, we waited for about 2 hours before we were able to board a bus & head back the resort. It was awful.

[Chaoticsweetness]

Originally Posted by Robbi

It isn't free. People pay extra to stay onsite and ride the buses.

You can use the buses even if you don't stay onsite. It really is free.

[ErinsMommy]

I can't say whether they're good or bad, but the lines for the All Star buses were ALWAYS 4-5 rows deep.

[Marla1106]

The buses at Pop have always been fine. We've never had to wait more than 10 minutes for a bus. When we leave the park at mid-day it seems that it is a longer wait for a bus, than when we leave the resort in the morning.

[siskaren]

Originally Posted by minnie mum

There is a veteran Diser who goes by the name of CleveRocks who wrote an opinion on the WDW bus system back in 6/12. I think it should be required reading for any newbie coming to stay at WDW, and for some who whine and complain about the buses without any sound knowledge to base them on. Here it is:

Too funny - I clicked on this thread with the intention of quoting this post myself. (I have it bookmarked.)

[cmhguy]

I feel the wait on a bus has been equal no matter where we stay - the every 20 minute concept and our timing in arriving in that mix has been our experience and was better than driving our car.

A few things we found that made a difference for us...

I liked the one-stop at PoP for everyone - for that, PoP get's an A+ in my book. I would conclude AoA would be the same.

At CSR, we found during a heavy convention time - meaning multiple conventions with evening activities, equaled empty buses. The resort holds X number of guests, and if a higher percentage of those guests are in conference related functions vs going to the parks, this equaled lower volume on the buses with higher odds of having a seat. We never had to stand one time in 8 days at all times of the day including park close - during a busy time of year. That was a huge bonus for us too. I also wished the buses at POR worked like CSR in that you could catch any of the park buses to the main building. Walking is not a problem for us - but having that option was nice.

Buses that share multiple resorts can feel annoying to me. We have visited some deluxe hotels after going to a park. We felt those that shared buses added to the commute times especially if you had to stand - shift around and wait for the loading and unloading process. We felt that was a huge negative for staying at those resorts with bus only choices for parks like AK.

[I loveStitchnippyjon]

I have found that the bus service can vary greatly at the same resort, so there is no way to anticipate what you will get.
In 2011 DD and I stayed at POP in May, and the buses were super. Never a long wait at the resort (although leaving the parks at night is always an ordeal). Based on that experience, I persuaded DH to try POP when we went to WDW 5 months later (October). It was a disaster! Most days we waited in the hot sun for at least 30 minutes. Some days we just gave up and boarded whatever bus finally arrived. DH now hates POP and won't return.
It is also a matter of perception. When we stayed in a 2-BR villa at SSR, I thought the bus service was fine, but DSis felt it was terrible.
Just goes to show you never can tell!

[vinotinto]

Originally Posted by minnie mum

There is a veteran Diser who goes by the name of CleveRocks who wrote an opinion on the WDW bus system back in 6/12. I think it should be required reading for any newbie coming to stay at WDW, and for some who whine and complain about the buses without any sound knowledge to base them on. Here it is:

I am the OP and I completely disagree with this post. Having stayed 3 times at YC/BC and loving those resorts, I will not be staying there again due to the bus service. Sure, you don't wait *that* much for the bus, but most buses stop at all 5 Boardwalk area resorts. So, my experience is that even if you get picked up in 5-15 minutes, it will still take you an hour to reach your destination, due to all the stops.

When we stayed at AKL the wait for the bus may have been the same, but there were only two stops (Jambo and Kidani), and they were *very* close to each other, so in effect you were going direct from your stop to all destinations. And because the bus didn't break down or needed to stop in the way, overall, it took us less time to get to Epcot than taking the monorail from Poly. It also took us less time to get to other parks than from the Poly, because we stopped at GF to pick up guests (and Poly and GF are not as close lobby to lobby as Kidani and Jambo). So, I know, because I have experienced it, that if I were to rate the resorts I have stayed at, there would be a clear pecking order in terms of bus:
1. AKL
2. Poly
3. BC and YC

I am not basing my review on how long to wait for the bus, but on the bus schedule and routing setup of shared bus service. And I am not an experienced Diser like many here who have stayed in multiple places and can make further comparisons.

[vinotinto]

Originally Posted by Chaoticsweetness

The worst by far was AoA, especially after MNSSHP. They were not prepared for the crowd & when we left the park at closing, we waited for about 2 hours before we were able to board a bus & head back the resort. It was awful.

That does sound awful! I hope the rest of the transportation was better!

[iheartdisney]

I love the values, but I gotta say that the bus service to the All-Stars is the worst. There are three resorts using one bus. Especially if you are in Movies, which is the last to be picked up and dropped off. Many times the bus pulls up already full from the other two resorts, so you. And they are usually the last bus stop at the parks- they want to remind you you are staying in the cheap hotel!

Best would be SOG- they arrive and depart on a set schedule, every hour so you know when it is coming. And if you miss that one, no worries. Just take the bus to the TTC which arrives every 20 minutes.

I also liked the bus service at Fort Wilderness. We stayed in the cabins, i don't know if that made a difference. But the internal bus wait was never more than a 10 minute wait, and the park buses ran pretty regular and were never very packed- I guess since most people drive into the fort, they would rather drive than take Disney transportation.

[Disneydreamer MN]

We love staying at the Epcot hotels for the easy boat/walking access for 2 of the 4 parks. Just back from our 1st stay at Wilderness Lodge and although the boat to MK was nice, we had some HORRIBLE wait times for the bus. It seemed to go beyond our timing. We also had stops at the GF as well.

[Angeejoe]

I don't think bad busing is related to any certain hotel, I really do think it's luck of the draw & timing. I think transport in am seems quicker probably because I'm so excited to get there & transport back to resort seems to take longer because I'm tired! Also I think if you wait until closing when everyone's leaving lines for buses are of course longer!! I like the Epcot area for the boats! I'll never been a bus fan, but they serve their purpose, drop us off close to admission doors & I like that. The bus I detest the most is to DTD, so we drive there in our car. Otherwise our car stays put in the hotel parking lot! I'm so happy to just be at Disney that I can put up waiting for a bus!!!

[augusta1]

I think all star movie was the worst. Had to share with the other values and movies was the last stop