BUS wait time RETURNING to All Star Resorts??

[Demon Llama]

Hi everyone!

I'm trying to decide on which resort to stay at for my party of 9's upcoming trip in October. The buses and wait times are the deal breaker here. I've priced out POR but I haven't ruled out ASMu yet.

We've stayed at Coronado Springs during our past two visits to WDW and the bus system has NEVER been a problem. Upon leaving the parks we always noticed LONG LINES at the All Star buses stops, and were thankful we didn't have to deal with that.

But when I search the reviews and the threads, I don't see anyone complaining about the wait times returning back to the All Stars from the parks!!

Can anyone shed some light on this subject please? We'd be going the first week of October and I would very much consider staying at an All Star resort if the buses weren't an issue!

Thanks guys!

 

[pat fan]

Well, I can think of maybe once when we had to wait through a couple busses, but it was pouring and they had just announced that Fantasmic was being cancelled, so it seemed like the whole park was trying to leave at once. Other than that one time, I don't recall any problems. We've stayed at the ALLStars 3 times and I can say that that one time was the only time I had to really wait.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Even though my family and I have never stayed at the All Star Resorts, whenever we were waiting for a bus to the Contemporary at MGM, Animal Kingdom and Downtown Disney, we saw a lot more All Star Buses show up before the next Contemporary bus. So you should be fine in terms of actually waiting for a bus to show up incase you just miss one.

 

[Demon Llama]

Thanks for the feedback guys! Anyone else have any input on this subject? Is it possible that the buses are more frequent at the All Stars than somewhere else?

 

[CanadianGuy]

Thanks for the feedback guys! Anyone else have any input on this subject? Is it possible that the buses are more frequent at the All Stars than somewhere else?

Simple math says yes.

All Stars have 5760 rooms between all three resorts.

A place like the Contemporary has something like 1041 rooms.

So you would see more buses for All Stars than you would for Contemporary at park closing....

Of course part of this depends on how 'full' each resort is..

Clear as mud?

Knox

 

[LurrrvtheDuck]

We just got back from a stay at ASMu. The lines to go to the parks in the mornings were awesome because there weren't any. We never waited more than 5-10 min for a bus. The longest we waited for a bus was when we went to MGM (go figure huh) and that took about 20min for it to arrive to get to the park.

Returning from the parks, the only bad thing I can say is that the buses are ALWAYS full . But with so many resort guests staying at the 3 All Stars that's a given. Usually on our way back from the parks we were standing in the bus. Most of the people with kids were offered the seats. The wait time wasn't too bad like others have said the buses came pretty frequently.

Although I was kinda envious of the other resort bus lines that were much less crowdes than the Value buses.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Here is the one thing I have never get about the All Star Resort bus system. From what I have read I know that sometimes they share and sometimes they don't. The times when they do not share does WDW take out the fact that there is 5760 rooms between the Sports, Music and Movies because by themselves the numbers must be different right? So when they send a bus for just 1 section shouldn't there be less of them and not more of them? Because they are seperate Resorts which happen to be located close to each other and since they are sister Resorts guests can use their mugs at each Resort and swim at the other pools. However in the end they are different Resorts just like the way Port Orleans FQ and Riverside are seperate, along with the Yacht and Beach Club Resorts.

 

[LurrrvtheDuck]

Here is the one thing I have never get about the All Star Resort bus system. From what I have read I know that sometimes they share and sometimes they don't. So when they send a bus for just 1 section shouldn't there be less of them and not more of them? Because they are seperate Resorts which happen to be located close to each other and since they are sister Resorts guests can use their mugs at each Resort and swim at the other pools. However in the end they are different Resorts just like the way Port Orleans FQ and Riverside are seperate, along with the Yacht and Beach Club Resorts.

I agree. What's funny is in the morning they're grouped, but the bus driver will announce different pick up locations according to time. Although we never did many stops at movies during pick up. At night they all have seperate bus stops, but you can basically get on any of them because they'll stop at all 3 resorts. I still think they should each get their own bus, I guess it's Disney's way of letting you know you're staying Value.

 

[pouty_tink]

To be quite honest, we've stayed at the ASMu and never had a problem with buses. But when we stayed at POR we waited forever, every time for buses coming and going. Buses were often quite crowded because of sharing with POF. But I love POR and would stay there again even though I didnt care much for the bus service there.

 

[KingdomHearts]

Hi everyone!

I'm trying to decide on which resort to stay at for my party of 9's upcoming trip in October. The buses and wait times are the deal breaker here. I've priced out POR but I haven't ruled out ASMu yet.

We've stayed at Coronado Springs during our past two visits to WDW and the bus system has NEVER been a problem. Upon leaving the parks we always noticed LONG LINES at the All Star buses stops, and were thankful we didn't have to deal with that.

But when I search the reviews and the threads, I don't see anyone complaining about the wait times returning back to the All Stars from the parks!!

Can anyone shed some light on this subject please? We'd be going the first week of October and I would very much consider staying at an All Star resort if the buses weren't an issue!

Thanks guys!

The only bad thing about the bussed to the All Stars is that at some bus areas, two or more of the hotels are in the same waiting area. So you actually go to every All Star to drop off or pick up. Which stinks at the end of the night when you are stuck with all the crowds, and everyone is waiting to go to one of the three all stars! I do love staying at the All stars, dont get me wrong, but if bussing is a deal breaker then I would consider staying at Pop Century. It has its own bus stops. Although POR is a beautiful area, it is a huge!!! resort, that contains up to three bus stops. So the same thing at the end of the night, you have two hotels, POR and POFQ both at the same area. Which at the end of the night you can spend a nice amount of time trying to catch a bus! But the way I look at it there is no where else on Earth I would rather have to wait then at Disney! Hope this helps!

 

[clkelley]

If you enjoy the parks for about an hour after Illuminations, Fantasmic, Wishes (etc.), by relaxing on a bench somewhere, than you have no lines for any of the resorts.

We generally stay at Values and always have a pleasant ride back to our resort with a seat on the bus.

 

[mnasmom3]

If you enjoy the parks for about an hour after Illuminations, Fantasmic, Wishes (etc.), by relaxing on a bench somewhere, than you have no lines for any of the resorts.

We generally stay at Values and always have a pleasant ride back to our resort with a seat on the bus.

I've been thinking that this will be our plan. Do the shops stay open for a while after the official park closing time?

 

[clkelley]

I've been thinking that this will be our plan. Do the shops stay open for a while after the official park closing time?

Yes they do.

Main street shops generally stay open about an hour after closing

The shops by the lagoon and Mouse Gear generally stays open about an hour after closing.

The shops on Hollywood Blvd generally stay open after closing. (Exception when there is a "late" Fantasmic (after 10:30 pm), things are generally all closed up by the time Fantasmic lets out.

 

[mnasmom3]

Yes they do.

Main street shops generally stay open about an hour after closing

The shops by the lagoon and Mouse Gear generally stays open about an hour after closing.

The shops on Hollywood Blvd generally stay open after closing. (Exception when there is a "late" Fantasmic (after 10:30 pm), things are generally all closed up by the time Fantasmic lets out.

Perfect! Thanks! Good time to do some souvenier shopping.

 

[BitsnBearsMom]

A different twist on this - if we were to take our car (staying at ASMu) how bad is it to get out of the parking lots?

 

[smep013]

The wait time for busses back to the resort is all about timing! That being said, because of our bus experiences while staying at the All Stars, we are planning on not staying at an All Star again. There were long wait and PACKED busses. So we are going back to CSR this summer, and one of the things we are hoping for is a better bussing experience. But I'm well aware that we may have to wait for these busses too.

 

[kdzbear]

I can not find the official article, but starting in April 2007 Disney was updating their bus systems. One of the improvements includes GPS tracking systems on all buses so that the buses can be tracked. They are also installing cameras at each bus stop so that they can monitor where more buses are needed and therefore re-route buses when needed. The improvements sound great to me!

 

[pat fan]

A different twist on this - if we were to take our car (staying at ASMu) how bad is it to get out of the parking lots?

Getting out of the actual parking lot isn't bad, but you will be waiting in a line for the tram to take you to your car. Disney's aaallllll about the lines...

Want to go to the park? Get in a line at TTC. Want to ride a ride? Get in line. Want a FP? Get in line. Gotta go potty? Get in line. Want to buy something? Get in line. Want to eat? Get in line. Want to leave said park? Get in line.

Really, I love Disney...it's just funny when you think about it. Lemmings, one and all we are.

Back on topic....the tram lines can be good and bad, we've hit both. If you can park really close at some of the parks (like AK or Epcot) you can walk to your car (a bit of a hike) which may not really save you time, but at least you feel like you are accomplishing something, and sometimes it's all about perceptions!

The Unofficial GB has a break down of transportation times. Your car vs Disney transportation to all parks etc... I'd quote some for you, but my DH has my car and it's in there. If you haven't got a UGB, I'd get one anyway. Very good book for planning trips

 

[MEK]

If I have a car, I drive it to all parks except MK. Standing gets old by the end of the week. I will always take the bus to MK.