Bus service at Epcot resorts?

[Linus Van Pelt]

Is the bus service for the Swan/Dolphin, BWI, and YC/BC as horrendous as TGM makes it out to be? I ask because we're currently planning a second trip to the World for later in the year, and SO and I have always wanted to stay at an Epcot resort (I especially have, since Epcot is my favorite theme park).

Opinions of the bus service at these resorts, good or bad, would be very appreciated! Thanks!

 

[Ilovestitch]

I stayed at the Beach Club and Boardwalk and didn't think the bus service was bad at all.

 

[jimmiej]

We've stayed at Swan & Beach Club. The bus service was fine. Just be prepared to stop at all the Epcot resorts.

 

[Linus Van Pelt]

We've stayed at Swan & Beach Club. The bus service was fine. Just be prepared to stop at all the Epcot resorts.

So, you never encountered any full buses (i.e., packed to the point that no one else could safely board) during your stay(s) at those resorts?

 

[NMAmy]

So, you never encountered any full buses (i.e., packed to the point that no one else could safely board) during your stay(s) at those resorts?

I've only encountered that a couple of times--at Christmas and during Spring Break. And not every bus ride--just occasionally, usually at night as the MK was closing. We had a worst time with the boat for the WL.

One thing to remember is that you'll only be taking the bus to the MK, AK, and DTD. The DTD bus does seem like it takes forever--the others had short waits and usually had seats available.

We've had no problems with the buses at all.

 

[Pakey]

Yes, we have encountered packed buses for DTD only. The bus to MK and the bus to AK have been fine on our visits but the evening buses to and from DTD have been pretty bad. Even on this last trip, in January when it was slow, the bus to DTD was packed before it could make its last stop at the Boardwalk.

Also, I should add that we are not rope drop people and can't say how the bus rides to the parks are that early each morning.

 

[jimmiej]

So, you never encountered any full buses (i.e., packed to the point that no one else could safely board) during your stay(s) at those resorts?

No, don't remember any such problems.

ETA: I'm speaking of buses FROM the resorts to a park. If you leave a park at closing (no matter what resort), you're libel to encounter full buses.

 

[Tiffany]

Is the bus service for the Swan/Dolphin, BWI, and YC/BC as horrendous as TGM makes it out to be? I ask because we're currently planning a second trip to the World for later in the year, and SO and I have always wanted to stay at an Epcot resort (I especially have, since Epcot is my favorite theme park).

Opinions of the bus service at these resorts, good or bad, would be very appreciated! Thanks!

Hi,
We have stayed at the S/D, YC and BWI multiple times over the years. The most recent being just a couple of weeks ago at the Swan and the bus service was fine. You only take the bus to MK or the AK as far as the big four parks are concerned. We had no issues.

 

[lulu2]

We were lucky enough to stay at BWV in August 06, the end of August. When I compared the bus rides to our recent trip to OKW, I felt the bus rides were quicker at OKW. At BWV you stopped at other resorts, lots of loading and unloading, not a complaint, just an observation.

 

[maxiesmom]

We stayed at the Beach Club in October 2006, and we found the bus service to be horrible! Forty minutes each way to MK or AK after boarding the bus. The bus service was so slow that we all agreed we would never again stay any boardwalk area resort without our own car. It is kind of ridiculous that they charge so much for the boardwalk area resorts, and yet they all have to share busses. My family loves Epcot too, so we were very disappointed that the bus service from this resort area seemed so bad.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

We've stayed at the Swan a number of times. I can't say it's really all that different from any other resort. If you go during peak times, you'll encounter full resorts, but this is true of all the resorts on Disney property. If you come/go during the slowest part of the day, then you may have to wait longer for a bus to show up.

If you are really eager to NOT stay ona bus- and you end up coming in the middle of the day, you do have the option of hopping off at the first resort (YC, as I recall) and walking back to the Swan. It willsave a little time if you are a reasonably quick walker. Otherwise, no mode of transportation can make the reosrts physically closer together. There is a bit of distance between Epcot and MK, period. Taking a taxi will not make them closer.

The big plus of the Epcot resorts is that you can hop into any one of the MANY dining choices that lie between Epcot's WS/BC/YC/Swan/Dolphin/BDWK and MGM studios in a jiffy. This works especially well during the cooler months when you might want to stop into your room to change into long pants for the evening before heading to dinner and an evening fireworks show.

I really think the Boardwalk area is very nice both in the morning - as it's bright a pretty and pristinely clean -and in the evening when it is all lit up. Add to that the lovely twilight sky against the Swan! There's not really a bad time to be in that area!

 

[Linus Van Pelt]

I'm speaking of buses FROM the resorts to a park. If you leave a park at closing (no matter what resort), you're libel to encounter full buses.

I understand. I was concerned about the bus rides to AK and MK from one of the Epcot resorts. I should have specified. Sorry.

We stayed at the Beach Club in October 2006, and we found the bus service to be horrible! Forty minutes each way to MK or AK after boarding the bus. The bus service was so slow that we all agreed we would never again stay any boardwalk area resort without our own car. It is kind of ridiculous that they charge so much for the boardwalk area resorts, and yet they all have to share busses. My family loves Epcot too, so we were very disappointed that the bus service from this resort area seemed so bad.

I'm not as concerned about the length of the travel times on the buses (I have stayed, and am planning to stay again, at AKL, after all, and the bus rides from AKL to MK and DTD can be rather lengthy) as I am about encountering a bus to the park that is so packed that we can't board, and have to wait for the next one to come along. And TGM makes the same point that you do about the high cost of staying at an Epcot resort and only having one bus traveling among them all (as in, seven stops for every one bus).

The big plus of the Epcot resorts is that you can hop into any one of the MANY dining choices that lie between Epcot's WS/BC/YC/Swan/Dolphin/BDWK and MGM studios in a jiffy. This works especially well during the cooler months when you might want to stop into your room to change into long pants for the evening before heading to dinner and an evening fireworks show.

I really think the Boardwalk area is very nice both in the morning - as it's bright a pretty and pristinely clean -and in the evening when it is all lit up. Add to that the lovely twilight sky against the Swan! There's not really a bad time to be in that area!

And those are two big reasons why we're very interested in staying at an Epcot resort!

Thanks, all for the replies! Keep 'em coming!

 

[maxiesmom]

I'm not as concerned about the length of the travel times on the buses (I have stayed, and am planning to stay again, at AKL, after all, and the bus rides from AKL to MK and DTD can be rather lengthy) as I am about encountering a bus to the park that is so packed that we can't board, and have to wait for the next one to come along. And TGM makes the same point that you do about the high cost of staying at an Epcot resort and only having one bus traveling among them all (as in, seven stops for every one bus).

That, we did not have a problem with. Me, I'm impatient and didn't like being on the bus that long. Neither did my nephew or nieces. Must be in the blood, hmm?

 

[Linus Van Pelt]

That, we did not have a problem with. Me, I'm impatient and didn't like being on the bus that long. Neither did my nephew or nieces. Must be in the blood, hmm?

Oh, don't get me wrong, I wouldn't exactly be overjoyed about a forty minute bus ride, especially if it happened fairly regularly. But in weighing that against all of the dining choices and my absolute favorite resort being mere walking distance from where I was staying, well, I could overlook it. I think. But if there was a decent chance that I might not be able to board the next bus to AK, say, due to it being too packed because of all of the stops it had to make before it got to my resort... that might actually make me reconsider staying there in the first place (because, much as I love Epcot, we do spend a lot of time at both MK and AK, as well).

 

[duffy]

We just got back from the Dolphin, and I feel obligated to mention: there was no bus service to the front entrance to Epcot. We walked to the bus stop, the sign mentioned just about every Disney venue but Epcot. There was a house phone at the stop so I used it to ask the front desk. The clerk told me the only option was to go by boat. We walked because the boats are so slow, then had to wait until 8:45 to go thru the turnstiles-this was for a 9:00 am opening.

Once we got through the turnstiles, we could only walk to the point where the bridge is over to France in the World Showcase, and another rope. We had to wait there until 9:00 for that rope drop and then get through the UK pavilion, Canada and then met the vast hordes who had come through the main entrance. My husband luckily knew about this from my research here and he ran to get our Soarin' fastpasses.

So those who came through the main entrance had a big advantage over us: that entrance is closer to the Land than the International Gateway.

 

[OKW Lover]

The bus service there is no worse than any of the other WDW resorts. No better either.

 

[TyGuy]

DTD buses were the only ones we had trouble with when we stayed at the YC last December. At a certian time at night, 10 pm I think, all 5 Epcot resorts begin sharing buses to and from DTD. We spent a long time waiting on a bus to get back and it was really really packed. but out side of that transprotation was fine

 

[PKWallaby]

Although I'm sure it varies with the time of year one stays, I can only comment on our stay at BWV last March and BCV last week: the fact that the Epcot resorts share busses was our only complaint.

During our most recent stay we encountered full or nearly full busses everytime we went to MK(for rope drop on 2/1, EMH on 2/3 and P&P Party on 2/5) In fact, even though my husband and I went at different times on 2/3, each time our family had to stand due to the bus being at capacity. Now we are able bodied and our children are 7 and 10 so we could manage it fine, but anyone staying at these resorts needs to be aware of the sharing, and how it could impact your ability to find a seat.

If we were to stay at BC or BCV again, I would seriously consider renting a car...especially when going to DTD. Case in point: a trip to DTD at 1:20 in the afternoon of 2/3 took 20 minutes. The return trip at 5pm took nearly an hour since we stopped to pick up guests at Typhoon Lagoon and stopped at Swan, Dolphin and Yacht Clubs before BC. Thank goodness we were not like the other family with us getting off at BC that needed to make a dinner reservation...I guess my point is that you need to be aware of the fact that trips can be a lot longer than you might expect depending on the time of day and the number of other guests returning to other resorts and figure the possibility of needing a lot more time into your plans.

During our 2007 stay at BWV, we only stopped to pick up Swan/Dolphin guests when going to MK, making the trip fairly quick. We had a car that time, so we drove to AK and of course, walked to Epcot and MGM.

My only other on-site bus experience prior to BWV and BCV was at POR Riverside(March '05, '06 and '07)...despite all the complaints I read on-line about their bus sharing, we did not have a problem at all. Since we were in Bldg 14 and caught the bus at the 1st stop, many times it was already full so it continued on to the park directly. There were times it went to the other stops, but I honestly felt we made better time(except to AK) riding busses from POR than BCV.

Now, given how close you are to 2 parks while staying at an Epcot resort, I would probably pick a resort there over POR next time, but I will have to factor in my bus experiences in my decision.

Sorry for the length of this post...guess I had 2 $'s instead of 2 cents!

 

[Mickey'sApprentice]

We stayed at BWV in April '07 and January '08.

For our most recent trip, we did not have to wait very long for any bus, and did not have to stand. It seems like we may have had 1 MK close that somebody had to stand, but I think it was only 2 people.

I did get a little steamed at an EPCOT boat driver. It was about 9:40 and for some reason they didn't want people to ride the boat. He told everybody it was quicker to just walk to Boardwalk. He was discouraging everybody from riding the boat. I know that its technically quicker to walk, but I'd been in the parks for 5 days straight, and walking around EPCOT all day that day. My feet were killing me. Anyway, I caved to peer pressure, and walked. I didn't want to be the fat slob that made the man move his precious boat. Maybe he was trying to save people time, but it REALLY came off as...Don't you dare get on this boat! He would ask where are you headed? A couple with kids said, Beach Club, and he said its a 5 minute walk. We said Boardwalk, its a 10 minute walk. You'll get there quicker if you walk. Exactly where was this guy willing to take anybody? It was just one incident in a great week for transportation.

I don't recall any big transportation SNAFUs in April other than my sisters kept wanting to go off property, and my BIL kept deciding the group needed to walk to EPCOT. It seems like I did have to stand once on the bus during that trip.

We are very pleased with BW transportation.

WL in '05 had some real transportation problems!

 

[MickeyNicki]

We stayed at the YC in Oct and the buses were great, usually we were the only ones waiting for them lol