Do you use the busses or drive?

[tinah159]

We always use the buses. It allows us to have a drink or two.

 

[TheFlame]

We always use the buses. It allows us to have a drink or two.

WOW! Good reason!

 

[BigDaddyRog]

At the end of a long day in the park...the last thing I wanna do is get lost trying to drive myself back to the fort. I hate driving...at home, I let the wife drive everywhere....I hate driving even more than I hate the way my wife drives...and thats pretty bad. The busses are dark and cool and my kids stay quiet because their shy and tend not to talk around strangers (for the first 30 minutes, anyway)but in our vehicle they would be screaming at each other and loud and obnoxious and I would end up wrecking and we would all die a horrible burning death...so, with that in mind...the buses are a life saver!!!

 

[FairWeather]

My only concern is getting to the parks, I keep hearing that the busses are awful at FW and I don't want to spend forever on the busses. Would it just be easier to drive yourself to the park than wait on the busses? We've always enjoyed the busses during all of our previous trips, I'm just worried about time.

I'm new here, but have been to WDW many times. In fact, we just returned home from a week there last night. We decided to stay on property this time and forgo the car rental. Here are some reflections of our experience:

For us, relying totally on the bus service to get around was a terrible decision. Long lines and long waits in the hot sun only to have near-full busses arrive because they were shared with other resorts. I'm also unimpressed with the insufficient amount of available seating on these busses. We spent most of our trips standing with our young children as the bus blazed down the road at full speed. The constant accelerating/braking was aggravating ...and dangerous too, IMO. And at the end of a long day at the parks, I don't want to take the scenic tour back to my hotel -- standing, no less!

We're big Disney fans and love the parks, but we'll never be without our own set of wheels again!

 

[Born 2 Fish]

We're big Disney fans and love the parks, but we'll never be without our own set of wheels again!

Agreed.

 

[Junebugwv]

We are on day 8 of our 11 days at the Cabins right now. We have a rental car and would not want to rely on the buses. The weather has been hot most of this trip (really? in August?) and the rain hits without warning. I try to notice the buses and they look full most of the time...with a lot of people waiting to get on at the next stop.

If you are comfortable driving around the World, it sure is convenient to have your own transportation.

 

[Brer Bear]

We drive to everything except the boat to MK. Way faster and more flexible when my DW decides we need to go somewhere other than our original destination halfway there!

 

[jimlin]

In my only visit to the fort we parked our van the day we arrived and didn't use it all week. This time I want to drive to DTD and most of the parks with the exception of MK. Of course this will depend on how busy the parks on in january.

Jim

 

[Momof626x3]

We just returned from 12 days at the Fort. We did use the buses many times...I found that we should allow about 1 hour to reach the parks from our campsite. We were in loop 200 and had to catch a bus from the Settlement to the Outpost and then wait for the park bus (and our luck was always bad it seemed....they sent two of every OTHER park other than the one we were going to). Also to consider...Ft. W. shares a bus with the WL to Epcot and DHS, and Ft. W. is picked up second. We never had a problem finding a seat on the way to the park. BUT on the way home after a busy day at Epcot seating was at a minimum and WL is the first stop...we had to go all the way back around to get back to Ft. W. because the buses don't take the short cut through the woods. Sometimes it was easier to take a bus to WL and then catch the Ft. W. shuttle from there because it DOES go directly through the woods to the Settlement (near our site).

On several occaissions we chose to drive to the parks (in the morning so we parked relatively close) and I would say that is the way to go if you aren't planning on having a few drinks. It is a long hot wait in the sun for the buses, but it is also a long hot walk across the parking lot to your car (in August).

 

[chipscamping buddy]

We have been at the park for a week now (very sad - going home today), and have split between buses and bikes. I can say that until this trip we have pretty much always done the buses, and they have never been that bad. Will they take a little longer to get somewhere? Sure, but I am on vacation, the last thing I want is to be worried about following a schedule and meeting deadlines. If a bus in the park is ridicolously overfilled, then I will wait, because odds are the first bus was way off on the timing and the second bus will be along within 10 minutes. The travel to the parks is usually a bigger problem, but again, VACATION.

I have seen a lot of people who complain the buses take half an hour to get them to a park, get excited about ONLY waiting 30 minutes for a ride, and then leave 4 hours before the park closes.

 

[HeatherPage]

the bus is for people long on time and short on money.

Hmmm...it's been a few months, isn't it time for Gatordad to come back and mention this.

 

[Gatordad]

we had to use the bus on Monday, and yes, I'll re-iterate.

THE BUS IS FOR PEOPLE LONG ON TIME AND SHORT ON MONEY...... and for folks with a truck with a dead battery in a hurry to meet for lunch at wilderness lodge.

 

[clkelley]

Or folks that are long on time and who hate to drive!!!!!!

 

[saw1810]

ya, we were in no hurry while there, and only a couple of times did we have to wait long or get on a hot crowded bus. most of the time the bus we needed was right there!

 

[disney4dan]

We used to use the buses all the time when staying in the resorts, but used our rental car all the time when Nancy and I went by ourselves for a long weekend. Saved a lot of time and was entertaining to try and figure out where in the heck we were going! I remember the days when the bus drivers were also comedians and would get the guests going with songs or jokes.

However, I like the convenience of using our own car and it did save us time this last trip. Hard to say which is worse, waiting in a hot line for the bus or waiting in a hot car for the AC to get cranked up.

On another note, for all you folks who drive a truck, have you noticed that people who design parking lots lately have graduated from inner city schools where people drive nothing but Smart Cars or VW's? I don't drive a big truck by any stretch of the imagination, but I'm getting sick of having to let the family out of the truck before parking, then squeezing into some miniscule parking spot with half the truck hanging out one end or the other. Usually go to the far end of the lot.

 

[Born 2 Fish]

I totally agree with disney4dan.
And that big truck / parking spot thing,,we do have a big truck and you nailed that "park'n/gett'n in an out" thing right on the head !
Gett'n harder all the time.

 

[debraW76]

Hi All! We are staying at Ft Wilderness for the first time this fall! I have a question about transportation from the campground. You all mentioned the pros/cons of driving vs. taking the bus to the DHS, AK, and EPCOT parks (I think there is a general consensus that taking the boat to MK is better). But what about the monorail to EPCOT? Couldn't you just take the boat to the contemporary or MK, then take the monorail to TTC, then monorail to EPCOT?

I've never done this as we always drive and have never use disney transportaition - but then again we have always stayed offsite. The Unofficial guide lists driving time from Ft Wilderness to EPCOT at around 25 minutes (I think, going from memory here) but using disney transport to nearly an hour. I was just wondering if he was referring to bus or monorail or if one is quicker than the other? For those who have stayed at FTW and have taken the monorail, how long did it take? THanks!

 

[Rhonda]

Hi All! We are staying at Ft Wilderness for the first time this fall! I have a question about transportation from the campground. You all mentioned the pros/cons of driving vs. taking the bus to the DHS, AK, and EPCOT parks (I think there is a general consensus that taking the boat to MK is better). But what about the monorail to EPCOT? Couldn't you just take the boat to the contemporary or MK, then take the monorail to TTC, then monorail to EPCOT?

I've never done this as we always drive and have never use disney transportaition - but then again we have always stayed offsite. The Unofficial guide lists driving time from Ft Wilderness to EPCOT at around 25 minutes (I think, going from memory here) but using disney transport to nearly an hour. I was just wondering if he was referring to bus or monorail or if one is quicker than the other? For those who have stayed at FTW and have taken the monorail, how long did it take? THanks!

That's the way we usually do it. Not so much to save time, as we just like to ride the monorail!!

The Disney transportation system is great -- it may be slow at times, but we figure we're on vacation, and it's one time we don't have to RUSH to get anyplace! The buses, boats, and monorails are part of the fun for us!

 

[debraW76]

thanks Rhonda. Do you remember if you went to Cont or MK first? And do you remmeber about how much time it took?

Also, do the boats go anywhere else (DTD, beach resorts, etc) ?

 

[TheGreatGonzo]

I'd see which boat arrives first and is least crowded. Either will probably take about the same amount of time since you may need to stop at WL before CR - depends on the time of day weather they go CW or CCW. You'll do less walking using the MK boat since you don't have to walk down the long CR dock and go up several floors to the platform.