AllEars Disney bus review

[Mouse Tracker]

This article basically ended with "use a rideshare" as the solution to the sometimes inadequate bus service. Is being "self reliant" becoming the norm inside the bubble now? It seems guests are having to overcome a lot of what used to be the perks of staying onsite.

 

[AstroBlasters]

This article basically ended with "use a rideshare" as the solution to the sometimes inadequate bus service. Is being "self reliant" becoming the norm inside the bubble now? It seems guests are having to overcome a lot of what used to be the perks of staying onsite.

We were there 2 weeks ago and the busses worked just fine. I actually came away pretty impressed with the bus service. I’d still prefer to walk or take a boat…. but no issues.

 

[fatmanatee]

Had a couple of occasions at All-Star in January where the wait was kinda rough. One time it looked like our bus was just getting delayed and the other it was just a long time before it was scheduled to arrive, in both cases the wait was about 30 min. Seemed odd tbh.

 

[disneydreamer1980]

Only time we had to uber because bus was taking too long on our most recent trip (end of this past January) was once to DS from WL. We found busses to be pretty efficient although the sharing with other resorts bothered me. We frequently shared with Contemporary and FW. The boat from WL to MK was great, never waited long and the boat dock is directly across from MK entrance. All in all we were pleased with Disney transportation. We usually drive to the parks from our resort but this trip we didn’t and it wasn’t as bad as I thought it’d be.

 

[jimmymc]

Getting from resort to resort has always been tough at Disney. I remember when we stayed at Port Orleans and spent way too long at the Downtown Disney bus stop transferring from our dinner at the Boardwalk. I'll normally use a rideshare if I'm doing for dinner at a resort that isn't within walking distance of park transportation.

IMO, the resort to park and park to park busses are great. Wait times are usually predictable, and busses run regularly in the morning and around closing. The only bad waits seem to be getting to Disney Springs for dinner. Rideshares are still nice to use in certain situations, but I think Disney's transport has actually gotten better over the years.

 

[beccasmom]

We don’t mind the buses. Most of the time they’re fine. They’re doing the driving and that’s a treat for me! I prefer walking and taking watercraft over buses, but I think that WDW basically does a pretty good job overall.

 

[FastPasser.]

I think that WDW basically does a pretty good job overall.

As a former long time WDW bus driver, I agree.

 

[LadybugsMum]

The bus is great for the most part, but I do find it frustrating when staying at VGF since GF shares with Poly. The buses often arrive full in the mornings when trying to get to HS. I just drive to HS and AK when I stay there and often drive to Epcot as well since the monorails can be full as well. I have not stayed at VGF since PIT has opened, but my assumption is that it's worse now with so many more people using transpo.

 

[ZerasPride]

For me and my family we find the expense (and it is expensive!) of Minnie Vans to be worth it for us. We have had bad experiences with Uber and regular Lyft. I have developed extreme anxiety in crowds post-Covid so crowded buses and queues do not work for me anymore. We build the price of private resort to resort or resort to park MVs into our budget. Being DVC owners we always stay in either the Epcot or MK area so we are pretty conveniently located to walk, take the sykliner or boats to many of our desired destinations. But it's Minnie Vans for everywhere else.

 

[japanese maple]

We stayed at AKL during a busy time in last December and surprisingly only used Uber once. And that was only because it was early morning and we bought the big MK pass that was expensive, so we wanted to get there fast and start using it! There was a long line (to be expected) for MK park opening, so we took Uber to TTC and jumped on ferry boat. Kind of fun actually.

Bus service was great! Yes, some waits at times but nothing bad.

 

[Sparrow'sLady]

I would use a Lyft if going to a meal at another park/resort where I have a scheduled time, but for casual transportation, I see that as a complete waste of money.

 

[elvispursley]

THIS We book an accessible Minnie Van for early breakfasts at Kona Cafe. Hate doing it but no real other option that allows us to use a scooter. Although last year we did just take a bus to MK and used the monorail.

 

[Lewisc]

THIS We book an accessible Minnie Van for early breakfasts at Kona Cafe. Hate doing it but no real other option that allows us to use a scooter. Although last year we did just take a bus to MK and used the monorail.

Mears accessible wheelchair vans cost the same as a regular taxi. More expensive then ride share but significantly less expensive then Minnie Vans

 

[Lewisc]

Allears is click baitish.

20-30 , minute waits have always occurred. Years ago resort bus sharing was more common

 

[_19disnA]

As with most things Disney, it is difficult to generalize what 'most people' think. Transportation is shared with everyone else on the property, so if you don't like to wait or view it as your personal valet that will instantly take you somewhere, you will likely be disappointed. Transportation is also a function of where you are staying and which park(s) you plan to visit since no one resort is closest to every park.

Clearly I wouldn't recommend staying at a monorail resort if you only plan to visit Epcot/HS. Similarly, why stay near Epcot if you only plan to go to MK?

Disney property is HUGE with LOTS of visitors, so just like you have to wait in ride lines, I don't view waiting for transportation any different. Sometimes you arrive just as a bus/boat/monorail is departing, but then the next one will arrive in 10-15 minutes. Renting a car is also an option as taking multiple trips using any of those online taxi services quickly adds up to a lot of money.

Advice offered by any 3rd party/online newsletter always makes me question what their real intent is.

 

[Headless]

I have only once taken a ride share from the parks back to my resort, It was last April during a school break and I got gun shy about the length of the line for the skyliner. Somehow I got a killer deal on a Minnie so I took advantage of it. While I waited I kind of kept track of a couple who was waiting in line and by the time my ride got there they were about to get on the skyliner so I ended up losing on that one. Live and learn.

I say that all to say from parks back to resort I think the majority of the time you are safe. Disney Transportation is also a very complex system with many moving parts and well.. things can happen. sometimes you will just get lucky.

The one time I will always air on using ride share versus Disney transportation is going to a Dining reservation at another resort. I've done the bus/boat/monorail/skyliner hop and unless it's monorail to monorail or skyliner to skyliner I find the minimal cost of a ride share is totally worth my time saved.

The big transport thing I'd like to see 'fixed', and I know many of you will all agree, is bring back the perk of free bus transport to and from MCO. Disney - you offer that the money I save on the bus will be spent in the parks!

 

[gottalovepluto]

I don’t think bus service has changed over the last decade (that’s as long as I’ve done WDW). Sometimes you’re lucky, sometimes you’re not.

Alas for All Ears there simply isn’t much Disney news these days- but a review on buses? Yikes. Talk about scraping the bottom of the Disney writing barrel…

 

[loves to dive]

I love the WDW transportation and use it 98% of the time. I even have my own car there and park it don't get in it again until I leave. We have used Uber twice in all the time we have been going. One when we had dinner at V&A's and were leaving after the buses had stopped running and even had they been running we didn't want to use them all dressed up. The second time was a late dinner at Topolino's. Again, it was after the buses had stopped running or we would have bused to either HS or Epcot and walked back to Dolphin. Other than that, it's Disney transportation all the time for us. I like most of All Ears UTube content but rarely read their news letter since most of it is either recycled or big on pushing the LL system (which we also don't use).

 

[Miffy]

We do not have a car at WDW and we use the buses all the time. They are usually just fine and really I much prefer them to using a rideshare.

Rideshare can be problematic, the biggest problem is getting lost. Even with using GPS, we have twice had a rideshare driver (different drivers, different trips, different years, in fact) take us to the DAK parking lot instead of AKL and then had a heckuva time trying to get to AKL instead. And, yes, when we ordered the Uber, we asked to go to AKL (not DAK). And several times I have had to redirect rideshare drivers who were about to miss an exit--even though they all have GPS and the roads at WDW are, I think, very well marked.