Bus Roulette at Walt Disney World

[LeahZ]

The rules are simple, you jump on the first bus that comes.

Read more here:

http://www.wdwinfo.com/walt-disney-world/bus-roulette-at-walt-disney-world/

 

[Cee]

Yes! We've done this! Why not? Improvise!

 

[WillAustin]

I think FP+ has made this a bit less fun than it used to be. Not knowing where you're going on a given day can be fun, but you'll most likely have to give up headliner attractions unless you don't mind waiting in the lines.

 

[DOOM1001]

Or more commonly referred to as resort hopping.

 

[bellazachmom]

This is NOT how we used to play Bus Roulette ~ we would head to the bus stop in the morning and hop on the first park bus that arrived and enjoy that park.

We would start very early in the day and utilize short lines and FPs to hit our favorite rides a few times a day and then could usually get everything else done that we wanted, too.

FP+ has made this a lot less fun, I'm sorry to say.

 

[Ambear]

I agree fp+ has made this more difficult. However if you have park hoppers it can be a lot of fun in the evening after you've done your fp or the morning before you do them. Sometimes we wanted to go somewhere after our siesta but didn't really care where so we'd get on the first bus that came. It was fun and made the trip seem less planned.

 

[Jannephotog]

Going once a year, this sounds kinda iffy, seeing as I barely can fit in 5 days what we're going to do, but I love the idea of bus roulette...we may have one night we can try it after dinner. =D

 

[EastYorkDisneyFan]

Since I travel solo unless I have early plans for a breakfast or tour somewhere that's how I usually pick what resort I go to and traveling solo I don't really care how long a line is for an attraction is. I pretty much get on the first bus to arive

 

[Doug M]

If we did this last year we would have been at AK almost every day...

 

[leebee]

When we have a "down day" (i.e., a rest day, or a day when we are going to MNSSHP or MVMCP and want to rest up), we play our version of this, but it's the Disney Transport Game. Basically, the idea is to see how many different forms of Disney transportation we can pack into one round. For example: Start at POP, bus to Epcot, monorail to MK, boat to WL and back to MK, ferry to TTC, loop out to the parking lot on the tram, monorail/ferry to MK, bus to POFQ, boat to DTD, bus back to POP. There are different iterations and versions, stopping at different resorts for lunch or a refreshing adult beverage, taking a bus from DTD to an Epcot resort hotel and adding in the boat between Epcot and DHS, etc. We started doing this when we swapped from offsite to onsite hotels; one day DD asked if we were "ever going to take the train to the parking lot again!" What I like about it is it's Disney, we are mostly off our feet so relaxing for the evening's festivities, and it's fun to experience the different modes of transportation!

 

[cruisingkat]

We love to play bus roulette to determine the park we visit which is why we hate fast pass+. At least with the old fast pass system you had a chance at the more popular attractions when deciding the park on that day.

 

[Barnabe]

We used to play bus roulette, but now I don't waant to lose our FP+ reservations. We don't buy park hoppers, they're not right for our family. FP+ has basically locked us in to one park for the day once the reservations are made prior to our arrival.

 

[Sherrkel]

If you would like to break up the trip you could take a boat from the Grand Floridian,Wilderness Lodge, Contemporary, Polynesian, Port Orleans Riverside and Port Orleans French Quarter.
We tried this one trip, took the boat ride from POR to DTD because we wanted to do something different, but we were not planning to get off at DTD, we just wanted to ride the boat right back to the resort. However, when we arrived at DTD, the capital made us disembark because the folks who were already lined up waiting for rides back to POFQ and POR had preference over us. The line was long, and we didn't make it back on the first trip, so had to wait for the next boat to get back to POR.
Lesson learned: don't plan to try to ride the boat both ways without possibly having to disembark!

 

[cigar95]

A few years back I played bus roulette for about five hours. The only additional rule I had was that if the first bus was headed to a place I had already been, I'd skip it. I think I took about 11 bus hops before I packed it in.
I also added the variation that if my bus took me to a park, I'd go inside the park and do "something".
Certainly not something for a first-timer, when you want to maximize your vacation time with new activities - this is something for the veterans looking for something new and unique, and a bit off the beaten path.

 

[JennyDrake]

This is NOT how we used to play Bus Roulette ~ we would head to the bus stop in the morning and hop on the first park bus that arrived and enjoy that park.

We would start very early in the day and utilize short lines and FPs to hit our favorite rides a few times a day and then could usually get everything else done that we wanted, too.

FP+ has made this a lot less fun, I'm sorry to say.

YES! DH and I did this for YEARS.

 

[Lucius Best]

I could have sworn I replied to this, but maybe I'm mistaken, or maybe it got deleted. We used to keep one or two days at the end of our week-long trips as completely open, with maybe a dinner ADR at Epcot or a resort. Sometimes we would try to hit all 4 parks in one day. Other times on our open day we would get on the first park bus that rolled in. But like others have said, it's a lot less fun with FP+, wouldn't even consider bus roulette now that we've got our FPs booked 60 days out.

 

[GillianP1301]

I've never done this, because we mostly drive around WDW, but I can see how it would be a lot of fun! And I do think it's still very doable with FP+, if you have hoppers. Just do it on your hopping park after FP+ are used up.

 

[Indio]

I've played bus roulette! I don't play it to determine which park to visit (got to use my FP+), we do it during non-park time as a free activity. I went with my sister to a conference several years ago. I didn't go into the parks until she finished at the conference for the day, so I'd go out in the morning and get on the 1st bus. Then after arriving at the park (since I wasn't going in), I would either hop on the monorail or go to the bus stop and get on the 1st bus that pulled up there. Also rode the boats during my adventures. I had a blast! During the course of the 3 days she was at the conference, I visited 15 resorts I think! We also went out to Disney once when I was in Cocoa Beach for work and played bus roulette. Had my kids with me that time. They thought it was a lot of fun.