AKL buses

[nervous1sttimer]

Hi everyone - we're planning our first Disney trip November 9-16 and we're staying at AKL. We were planning to use Disney Transportation for everything, but I've been reading a lot of negative things about the buses.

How bad are the bus rides at AKL? I hoped that since they are direct routes (i.e. don't stop at any other resorts) that they would be okay. Thanks!

 

[Alabama Minnie]

Imo

 

[dzorn]

We've never found the bus to be an issue. If you are leaving at closing every bus will be standing room.

Denise in MI

 

[CaptainEO71]

We've stayed a few times each at Jambo & Kidani & never found the buses to be an issue. Yes the ride is longer to some parks but that's because of the distance between AKL/Kidani & the park - not an issue with bus service. If another resort was aside of AKL they'd have just as long a bus ride as well.

 

[Jedimike]

We've never found the bus to be an issue. If you are leaving at closing every bus will be standing room.

Denise in MI

Agree. ALL the buses suck at park closing. Some people will complain that the timing of the buses is worse at AKL but I did not find that to be true (Jambo House). Honestly, it seemed to me like the bus service was worse at Poly and GF.

 

[shannonstar]

The only bad bus we ever had from AKL was to DTD. Other than that, the buses seemed to run just fine. Yes it is a further ride to some parks, but that's just the way it is.

 

[magicaldisney]

Please remember when you are reading negative reviews on buses, that for every negative review there would/could be a positive review. For the most part, people just don't come on discussion forums to give kudos to bus service.

The buses are no more of an issue at one resort than they are at another resort. Every resort will have some negative bus rides at some point and every resort will have standing room only some of the time. Staying at AKL one year you might have an awesome experience with the buses and the next trip, staying at the same resort, you might have a horrible experience with the buses. I personally would not let reviews on the bus service sway where I would stay.

 

[mickeynut1]

We didn't find the buses to bad at all. It takes a little extra time (maybe 5 minutes more) to get around since AKL is kind of out away from everything, but it wasn't any worse (in our experience) than taking the bus from any other resort.

 

[Pakey]

In the past 10 years, I have stayed at every deluxe and DVC resort plus a few moderates and values. I have stayed at AKV twice and AKL once during that time. My most recent bus trip to this resort was 4th of July week this year when we traveled to/from MK and the bus was almost empty.

I think the bus service at this resort is better than most. Yes, the ride between MK and AKL is a bit longer than it is staying at other resorts but the buses are not any more crowded and we've never had a problem with excessive waits. If you are riding during the hour before park opening and the hour after park closing, you are going to be on a crowded bus regardless of which resort. MK back to AKL after park closing is a long ride to do standing but know it's going to be that way so you can prepare for it or adjust your plans.

This is my favorite resort and I wouldn't let negative posts here on the dis keep me from trying a very unique hotel experience.

 

[goofy4tink]

I've stayed at both Jambo House and Kidani. The buses are fine. Most buses go to Kidani first, then to Jambo House and then to the final destination. I think it might be the DHS bus that goes to Jambo House first.
Other than that one stop, no other stops are made. The issue is that AKL/Kidani are so far from most destinations that you feel that you are on the bus forever!!!
But, other than that, I have found the buses here to be just fine.

 

[magicaldisney]

I think it might be the DHS bus that goes to Jambo House first.

No, just to clarify....

All park buses stop at Kidani first then Jambo.
The bus to DTD will stop at Jambo first then Kidani.

 

[madalex]

I'll repeat what many others have said:

I've stayed at AKL many times and do not find the bus service there to be any better or any worse than anywhere else.

The bus rides are longish (except to AK) due to the resort location, but that length is offset by the relative directness of the transportation.

If you leave the parks at a peak time, you will likely end up standing on the buses. This has nothing to do with which resort you are going to and everything to do with the number of people trying to travel all at once.

For every negative comment on anything (transportation, restaurants, etc.), someone else likely has a positive comment.

 

[Sue M]

To put things in perspective, it's only a 25 min bus ride to MK from AKL.

AK is 5 min, and Epcot or DHS is around 15 - 20 min. Really not that bad.

We had very good bus service our last stay at AKL. All busses are crowded at park closing. If you don't want to stand wait for the next bus. Or hang out in the park shops a little and wait for the crowds to disperse more.

 

[Bravegirls]

Hey, any bus ride through Disney is better than a smelly bus ride through Glasgow let me tell ya! Who cares if it takes 20 mins or an hr, you are in Disney!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Hooked On The Mouse]

We never noticed a problem with the bus service, it seemed fine to us. We expected to have to wait a little for a bus at both the resort and park ends, and if we were getting on a bus at closing we expected to stand. I think some of these things get overblown.

 

[buzznina]

We've never found the bus to be an issue. If you are leaving at closing every bus will be standing room.

Denise in MI

We have found buses to be hit or miss at all levels of resorts we have stayed at, with no rhyme and reason to it.
So many people leave at park closing or right after the fireworks and then complain about the transportation. I guess they think that the hoards of people around them while exiting will magically vanish when they get to the transportation areas
If we are there at closing time we will either stroll through the stores or find a spot to sit and have a snack. Also; if we are next in line and the bus is standing room only and we do not feel like standing we just move over to let others go by and we are 1st in line for the next bus.

 

[BRAVEMERIDA]

I stayed at AKL and thought the busses were fine. I didn't think there was ever a long wait. But there were a few times the busses were crowded late at night and kids were tired and I bet the parents might have felt differently.