Am I the only one who doesn't mind the internal buses?

[drafthorsecrazy]

Using Disney transportation is part of our Disney vacation experience. Talking with the bus drivers, other guests, watching the young childrens eyes sparkle when they get their first glimpse of something magic. Wouldnt consider driving to the parks...nope... once we arrive the tow vehicle stays parked unless we need to go off property for supplies. I will admit to being envious at times of the people wisking by on golf carts while I'm waiting at the bus stop....but I remind myself that I opted to spend the extra money on staying for several weeks at the fort instead of a limited stay with a golf cart.

 

[Gillian]

I guess that DW and myself have been the only people ever to have stayed at FW who have waited numerous times more than 10 minutes for a bus. We have waited a max of 14 minutes on occasion. The big problem with FW and busses is that after the bus ride to the Outpost or Settlement there may be an additional wait of up to 20 minutes for another bus to get to your destination.

LOL we have also had to wait up to 15 minutes. And if you then have to wait for another bus/boat it can add 30 minutes to your trip. That's why we prefer to drive when we're in a hurry.

The busses are wonderful to have when you are just relaxing. I'm glad they're there, because otherwise many places would be too far to walk for my little ones & me with a medical issue.

Next time we want to bring bikes.

The golf carts look like fun, but they scare me a bit, and made us feel unsafe when walking around (1400 loop to the pool, for example). I felt like my kids were going to be run over by people not paying attention. It's not like a road where you know where to walk and where to drive. The carts seemed to be all over the place, going really fast.

 

[John VN]

LOL we have also had to wait up to 15 minutes. And if you then have to wait for another bus/boat it can add 30 minutes to your trip. That's why we prefer to drive when we're in a hurry.

The busses are wonderful to have when you are just relaxing. I'm glad they're there, because otherwise many places would be too far to walk for my little ones & me with a medical issue.

Next time we want to bring bikes.

The golf carts look like fun, but they scare me a bit, and made us feel unsafe when walking around (1400 loop to the pool, for example). I felt like my kids were going to be run over by people not paying attention. It's not like a road where you know where to walk and where to drive. The carts seemed to be all over the place, going really fast.

Thank you, I thought we were the only ones out there. Ditto on the carts, just not the same when there were none and things were more rustic. Too much abuse and even by adults driving around their pets.

 

[reneritch]

diddo

 

[rapriebe]

Totally agree with John VN and Gillian. We never use the internal buses because it's too much of a pain to go to another park. You have to wait for the internal bus and then you have to wait again to catch the bus to another park. Sometimes the other park buses can take a LONG time to come. We have waited upto 45 minutes for the external buses and to me, my time is more important than saving a few gallons of gas. So we always drive to the other parks and walk to the boat. I can't remember the last time we used an internal bus - years ago.

Oh don't forget the trip back to your campsite. You wait and wait for a bus back to FW and then you wait again to catch an internal bus. No way!!

 

[jeanylaser]

What color buses our family will need to take to go to Epcot?

 

[mrzrich]

What color buses our family will need to take to go to Epcot?

You take the bus to the outpost.

The color depends on your loop. Purple, Yellow, or Orange. All colors go to the outpost. At the outpost you get the Epcot, AK, DTD, Blizzard Beach, TL buses.

The Settlement is the stop you want for MGM or the Marina (Boat to MK) Also the settlement is were HDDR, Trail's end and the pony rides are.

 

[jeanylaser]

mrzrich thanks for the info i will do that when our family will check-in.

 

[Minnie's Mate]

We love the internal bus system so much after our first trip to Ft. Wilderness this past 4th of July we bought our own golf cart!

Now time for me to put on my asbestos suit.

It's not like a road where you know where to walk and where to drive. The carts seemed to be all over the place, going really fast.

It is exactly like a road. You drive golf carts in the road and you walk in the grass or against the flow of traffic on the edge of the pavement. What do you do when tow vehicles come through the loop?

We have almost been run over by a golf cart on every trip at FW, especially at night. It is like they need a path just for golf carts and a path for people walking, but I know that is not feasible.

Again, they do have a path for golf carts...its called a road, and a path for people walking...its called a side walk. If the golf carts were on the side walks, report them. If you were walking in the road or in the middle of the parking lot at night, well, do you expect any less from cars? BTW, the headlights on golf carts are very dim. I had extra bright ones put on mine so I could see better at night. I noticed when we were at the Fort in July that most private and all of the Disney carts had dim headlights.

You just need to use a little common sense folks. Now I'm not saying that there was no fault by the drivers of these golf carts, but you know they are there and you have to be pro-active with your own safety and the safety of your children.

 

[ftwildernessguy]

As far as I know, there are no sidewalks within the loops. It is the cart operators responsibility to watch out for pedestrians. And I do turn in violators of the cart rules.

 

[Off2DisIGo]

We love the internal bus system so much after our first trip to Ft. Wilderness this past 4th of July we bought our own golf cart!

Now time for me to put on my asbestos suit.
It is exactly like a road. You drive golf carts in the road and you walk in the grass or against the flow of traffic on the edge of the pavement. What do you do when tow vehicles come through the loop?

Again, they do have a path for golf carts...its called a road, and a path for people walking...its called a side walk. If the golf carts were on the side walks, report them. If you were walking in the road or in the middle of the parking lot at night, well, do you expect any less from cars? BTW, the headlights on golf carts are very dim. I had extra bright ones put on mine so I could see better at night. I noticed when we were at the Fort in July that most private and all of the Disney carts had dim headlights.

You just need to use a little common sense folks. Now I'm not saying that there was no fault by the drivers of these golf carts, but you know they are there and you have to be pro-active with your own safety and the safety of your children.

@Minnie's Mate: When I read your post, my first thought was "that poster sounds like they're from Peachtree City." I cracked up when I saw you're from Fayetteville...I was close!

Anyway, we'll be at the FW cabins next week and we rented a cart for the entire trip. I've heard too many complaints about the FW buses to risk it. Besides, I think the cart will be a blast!

 

[magicforever]

The buses are not that bad. I had to wait EARLY one morning for about 20 min. I stopped one of the other drivers and asked. He said they were short staffed and one would be by shortly and it was. I don't know, I think that it is give and take. I may be able to expect disney perfection and magic, but I can't expect them to cater to my every need. It is FW campground. It is not like we are all paying GF or CR prices. You know what I am saying.

I would love to rent a golf cart sometime. I would agree that $45 is a BIG price to use it 2 to 3 times a day.

 

[mrsgus06]

I noticed on my last trip that a lot of the people in the cabins (I was in my camper, but have to tour the cabin loops) drove their golf carts, the rented ones, to the bus stops and parked them there to catch one of the internal busses! I actually stopped when one couple did this and asked where they were going. To the MK. I had them follow me down to the marina on their cart and showed them the parking. They thought they could only drive to the bus stop! Some people do not take the time to read the information given to them and waste a lot of their day trying to make it to the parks.

 

[Minnie's Mate]

As far as I know, there are no sidewalks within the loops. It is the cart operators responsibility to watch out for pedestrians. And I do turn in violators of the cart rules.

I believe you are correct about there being no sidewalks in the loops. I didn't see any in any of the loops I "toured" and I don't see where there would be room for them. If there were room, it would make backing into those campsites a whole lot easier.

In the loops, the golf carts are supposed to be following the same direction that a car would: counter clockwise. If they are not, they should be reported to Disney Security. If the drivers are obviously under the age of 16, they should be reported. If the drivers are older and driving dangerously, intoxicated, or not following the rules, they should be reported. It is unfortunate that a few bad apples spoil the whole barrel. But at the same time, we pedestrians must exercise the same caution when there might be golf carts around as we would when there might be automobiles around. We must walk against the flow of traffic, i.e. clockwise in the loops and to the side of the isles in parking lots so we can see the silently approaching golf carts and look before we walk out into the line of traffic. It is the golf cart driver's responsibility to not run over pedestrians but it is also the pedestrian's responsibility to not cause them to by walking out in front of them.

As for the children, do you really let your children play in the streets at home? Why would you in a crowded camp ground when there are playgrounds provided and ample space at the campsites? Common sense is all that is really needed. When you expect someone else to be responsible for your safety, you are really taking your chances and truly being irresponsible.

 

[ftwildernessguy]

I believe you are correct about there being no sidewalks in the loops. I didn't see any in any of the loops I "toured" and I don't see where there would be room for them. If there were room, it would make backing into those campsites a whole lot easier.

In the loops, the golf carts are supposed to be following the same direction that a car would: counter clockwise. If they are not, they should be reported to Disney Security. If the drivers are obviously under the age of 16, they should be reported. If the drivers are older and driving dangerously, intoxicated, or not following the rules, they should be reported. It is unfortunate that a few bad apples spoil the whole barrel. But at the same time, we pedestrians must exercise the same caution when there might be golf carts around as we would when there might be automobiles around. We must walk against the flow of traffic, i.e. clockwise in the loops and to the side of the isles in parking lots so we can see the silently approaching golf carts and look before we walk out into the line of traffic. It is the golf cart driver's responsibility to not run over pedestrians but it is also the pedestrian's responsibility to not cause them to by walking out in front of them.

As for the children, do you really let your children play in the streets at home? Why would you in a crowded camp ground when there are playgrounds provided and ample space at the campsites? Common sense is all that is really needed. When you expect someone else to be responsible for your safety, you are really taking your chances and truly being irresponsible.

27 years as an Army officer - I AM responsible, and for more than just my own safety. Believe me, when my kids were small, they did NOT play in the street. However, I am used to obeying rules, and a violation of rules by a golf cart driver could be far more disastrous than someone walking counterclockwise in a loop. The reality is that some children will be in the roadway, and it can be after dark. It is the cart operator's responsibility to watch for these dangers, as it is an automobile operators responsibility to watch for the same on the road. Follow the cart rules established by Disney, and I have no issues. Violate them, especially a safety violation, and I will be reporting the violator to Disney security. I assure you, as a leader, if I don't take the responsibility of my own safety, then I can't be expected to take care of my soldiers, but I in turn expect them to assume their own responsibility too, and do their part to ensure their safety and mine. I have been in situations where my life depended on this. Be VERY careful who you call irresponsible.

 

[Minnie's Mate]

@Minnie's Mate: When I read your post, my first thought was "that poster sounds like they're from Peachtree City." I cracked up when I saw you're from Fayetteville...I was close!

I'm not sure if that's intended as a complement or not!

As you can tell from my signature line we go to Disney alot. Every chance we get. Since we just got into camping this summer we fell in love with Fort Wilderness and figured we would probably go even more. In fact we have added three long week ends to our usual week at Christmas and week at Spring Break. Our next camping trip is in three weeks for MNSSHP. We figured that going to Ft. Wilderness 2-3 times per year would pay for the golf cart in just a few years and we could use it at other camp grounds, too.

BTW, the internal bus system isn't bad at Ft. Wilderness, we just didn't want to add the extra time involved when we knew we would be eager to get to the parks in the morning and eager to get back to the camp site in the evening. We always use the buses when we stay at one of the Disney hotels and look forward to using the boat to MK and buses to the other parks when we stay at FW. But we also look forward to the fun of having a golf cart when we have our off days in the camp ground.

 

[CarolinaBlue]

We stayed at POFQ in August and had an ADR Trail's End one night. We drove our van to the Fort and took the internal bus. I was impressed with the short waits that we had and the very friendly drivers. This was another thing that convinced us to stay there.

 

[reneritch]

diddo

 

[ftwildernessguy]

We do use the sidewalk when we walk around Ft Wilderness, but there is not a sidewalk coming from the Marina back to the main sidewalks. Also, there is an area going into loop 100 from the marina/store that both people and golf carts use.

I guess if you could find out a way to walk clockwise in these areas, everything would be fine!

 

[Minnie's Mate]

27 years as an Army officer - I AM responsible, and for more than just my own safety. Believe me, when my kids were small, they did NOT play in the street. However, I am used to obeying rules, and a violation of rules by a golf cart driver could be far more disastrous than someone walking counterclockwise in a loop. The reality is that some children will be in the roadway, and it can be after dark. It is the cart operator's responsibility to watch for these dangers, as it is an automobile operators responsibility to watch for the same on the road. Follow the cart rules established by Disney, and I have no issues. Violate them, especially a safety violation, and I will be reporting the violator to Disney security. I assure you, as a leader, if I don't take the responsibility of my own safety, then I can't be expected to take care of my soldiers, but I in turn expect them to assume their own responsibility too, and do their part to ensure their safety and mine. I have been in situations where my life depended on this. Be VERY careful who you call irresponsible.

My daily commute takes me into Atlanta everyday. I trust my safety to no one other than myself. To expect other drivers to look out for me and my safety would be suicide.

Just because the name is Ft. Wilderness doesn't mean that the folks that are there for a week or less at a time are soldiers. YOU need to keep that in mind. There is a tenfold world of difference between soldiers and civilians to say the least. We are not talking about the military here where resposibility and teamwork and cooperation and the other priciples of dependancy on one another are taught. We are talking about an environement of people who will never see each other again, that no longer practice manners, are in close proximity to one another. To expect someone else to look out for you in this type of environment is a very narcissitic point of view and IS irresponsible.

There is no need for you to get defensive and start making threats. In doing so you are admitting to that which you accuse me of calling you. You are turning this thread into a confrontation, something which I certainly did not intend.

I never said that the golf cart drivers aren't responsible for following the rules. I said, "unfortunately, a few bad apples spoil the whole barrel." I said report them if they don't follow the rules. But I also said use common sense and practice the same safety precautions you would where you expect automobiles to be present. Don't walk in the middle of the traffic lane in the parking lots at the settlement and other areas where golf carts are prone to be. In the loops, walk in the opposite direction that traffic is supposed to follow. I don't see the issue here. On city streets pedestrians have the right-of-way, but not to jay-walk or to step out into the middle of moving traffic. The vast majority of pedestrians that are hit in downtown Atlanta are run over crossing in the middle of the street and not in cross walks. All I am saying is use common sense and you will not get nearly run over as often. There will always be idiots driving cars, golf cars, and walking in the wrong places. We all have to look out for them and for ourselves.