We jsut got back from another great trip to the Poly, our favorite resort. It was great. DW surprised me by getting a room with Concierge which we love. Between the Concierge service and the Dinning Plan, we were very well fed the entire trip. That said, the only thing that marred an otherwise wonderful trip was the Disney Bus System. This service is the worst! I get angry just about everytime I ride it, but this trip really got me. We used the bus to get from the Poly to MGM, Animal Kingdom, Blizzard Beach and Downtown Disney, each on separate days. The trips to MGM, AK and BB weren't too bad, but the trip DD was ridiculous. I was so angry I wrote an email to WDW to express my displeasure.
I generally found the buses to be smelly, overcrowded and noisey. Just not the same experience that you get on the monorail. Several times the buses that came were mismarked as to their destination and I am certain people missed a bus because they did not ask every driver where they were going.
By far the worst experience was our trip to Downtown Disney on our final day. We arrived at the Poly bus stop to find a bus to DD loading. There were a LOT of people getting on and it was obvious to us that we weren't going to make it. Sure enough, us and another family could not get on, but the bus driver assured us another bus would come along soon. Well we sat down and waited. Buses came for other parks and left and after about 20 minutes i started to get annoyed. the next bus came and I asked the dirver about the next bus to DD. He said that he would call it in. The next bus came and same thing. Several buses came for MGM and AK but none for DD. As we waited, a crowd again formed and DW and I knew we were going to have to be agressive to get on the that DD bus. Sure enough, the bus pulled up 45 minutes after the last one and the whole crowd stood and formed a line. Fortunately DW and I and the kids were near the front of the line but we still had to push to get on. THe same with the other family that was waiting. If they weren't agressive, they were going to be left behind again. By the time that I got on the bus I was livid. I stopped and told the driver that we were waiting 45 minutes and that was completely unacceptable and asked that he let his dispatcher know what is going on. I also said as nicely as I could, that I knew that it was not his fault. He said he would call it in and I believe he did because, sure enough, some of the people waiting did not get on. Little did they know they would also probably have to wait 45 minutes for the next bus.
What further annoys me is that other bus stops have people from the bus system waiting to assist passengers. I have seen this at GF, BC and YC but never at the Poly. It is very aggrevating.
I am a Transportation Professional so I know that this could be solved easily. There are systems now that will alert riders as to when to expect the next bus. They are not expensive and could easlier be installed at every bus stop in WDW so people will know when to expect the next bus. I have written WDW with this complaint. I just hope that they will do something about it. I am also contemplating whether to complain to the Manager of the Poly. I paid a lot of money to stay there and do not think it is too much to ask for decent bus service. JMHO Jay
I generally found the buses to be smelly, overcrowded and noisey. Just not the same experience that you get on the monorail. Several times the buses that came were mismarked as to their destination and I am certain people missed a bus because they did not ask every driver where they were going.
By far the worst experience was our trip to Downtown Disney on our final day. We arrived at the Poly bus stop to find a bus to DD loading. There were a LOT of people getting on and it was obvious to us that we weren't going to make it. Sure enough, us and another family could not get on, but the bus driver assured us another bus would come along soon. Well we sat down and waited. Buses came for other parks and left and after about 20 minutes i started to get annoyed. the next bus came and I asked the dirver about the next bus to DD. He said that he would call it in. The next bus came and same thing. Several buses came for MGM and AK but none for DD. As we waited, a crowd again formed and DW and I knew we were going to have to be agressive to get on the that DD bus. Sure enough, the bus pulled up 45 minutes after the last one and the whole crowd stood and formed a line. Fortunately DW and I and the kids were near the front of the line but we still had to push to get on. THe same with the other family that was waiting. If they weren't agressive, they were going to be left behind again. By the time that I got on the bus I was livid. I stopped and told the driver that we were waiting 45 minutes and that was completely unacceptable and asked that he let his dispatcher know what is going on. I also said as nicely as I could, that I knew that it was not his fault. He said he would call it in and I believe he did because, sure enough, some of the people waiting did not get on. Little did they know they would also probably have to wait 45 minutes for the next bus.
What further annoys me is that other bus stops have people from the bus system waiting to assist passengers. I have seen this at GF, BC and YC but never at the Poly. It is very aggrevating.
I am a Transportation Professional so I know that this could be solved easily. There are systems now that will alert riders as to when to expect the next bus. They are not expensive and could easlier be installed at every bus stop in WDW so people will know when to expect the next bus. I have written WDW with this complaint. I just hope that they will do something about it. I am also contemplating whether to complain to the Manager of the Poly. I paid a lot of money to stay there and do not think it is too much to ask for decent bus service. JMHO Jay
) I think even dressed up in mouseears, public transportation is just that, public transportation. Besides, Disney does recommend you give their transportation an hour to get you to your destination, so it sounds like they were not too far off 
.
