Bus Sharing?

[ClaraOswald]

Can anyone tell me which DVC resorts don't share buses? Are there any?

We were at BRV this past week and I was surprised to see that we shared a bus with the Contemporary or Fort Wilderness each time. (Or maybe not when we went to AK? I can't remember now.)

Besides OKW and SSR, are there other DVC resorts that have multiple bus stops?

 

[Mommb]

Animal Kingdom Lodge doesn’t typically share with other resorts, though buses do stop at both Kidani and Jambo house.

 

[ClaraOswald]

Animal Kingdom Lodge doesn’t typically share with other resorts, though buses do stop at both Kidani and Jambo house.

So just the 2 stops that I assume are somewhat near each other? During the day (non rope drop/closing times), do the buses ever fill up with standing room only?

 

[grahf1234]

I really like Riviera in this regard where if you have to take the bus there is no sharing or multiple stops of any sort.

I know, it's not really that big of a deal to have an extra stop between Kidani and Jambo, or VGF/Poly, or BC/YC/BWV, etc., but it does feel great to know whatever bus shows up at resort you won't have possibility of people already in there, and when coming back it's only a single stop which is your destination.

 

[crvetter]

Riviera in addition to AKL, SSR, OKW. Shares are GF/PVB, WL/FW/CR, BC/YC occasionally BW. The fact Riviera doesn’t share and is smaller is why it’s one of my favorites

 

[CarolynFH]

So just the 2 stops that I assume are somewhat near each other? During the day (non rope drop/closing times), do the buses ever fill up with standing room only?

The AKL bus stops are about a 10 minute walk apart, one at Kidani and one at Jambo. I believe I’ve read that at very busy times like park opening, Kidani and Jambo have separate buses, but I’m not certain of that. I doubt that it’s standing room only during the non-busy times of day.

Many years ago BW (Villas and Inn) shared with Yacht, Beach, Swan, and Dolphin and was the last stop, and I can’t tell you how many times we watched very full buses to MK pass us by in the morning! Then Yacht & Beach got their own route, and BW just shared with Swan/Dolphin and was the first stop. Finally BW got its own route, so at busy times (park opening or closing) the bus doesn’t share, just goes directly to MK or AK. During the day, though, BW might share with Swan/Dolphin/Reserve, but it isn’t crowded then.

 

[grahf1234]

Riviera in addition to AKL, SSR, OKW. Shares are GF/PVB, WL/FW/CR, BC/YC occasionally BW. The fact Riviera doesn’t share and is smaller is why it’s one of my favorites

I feel Riviera's is superior to those since there's no second stop/internal loop. I really like how compact Riviera is as well, felt like a 5 minutes walk max from anywhere in the resort to anywhere in the resort

Many years ago BW (Villas and Inn) shared with Yacht, Beach, Swan, and Dolphin and was the last stop, and I can’t tell you how many times we watched very full buses to MK pass us by in the morning! Then Yacht & Beach got their own route, and BW just shared with Swan/Dolphin and was the first stop. Finally BW got its own route, so at busy times (park opening or closing) the bus doesn’t share, just goes directly to MK or AK. During the day, though, BW might share with Swan/Dolphin/Reserve, but it isn’t crowded then.

Isn't this still the case for boardwalk? Last summer trip we stayed there and definitely shared on many nights with BC/YC even at park close. Can't remember bus stopping at Swolphins

 

[CarolynFH]

Isn't this still the case for boardwalk? Last summer trip we stayed there and definitely shared on many nights with BC/YC even at park close. Can't remember bus stopping at Swolphins

Sometimes BW shares with Yacht & Beach, sometimes it doesn’t, and I haven’t stayed there enough recently to know the pattern. Last time I was there was a year ago, and it didn’t share at closing (we don’t go at opening anymore!).

Swan/Dolphin/Reserve have their own bus service now and don’t share with the Disney resorts at all anymore.

 

[crvetter]

Sometimes BW shares with Yacht & Beach, sometimes it doesn’t, and I haven’t stayed there enough recently to know the pattern. Last time I was there was a year ago, and it didn’t share at closing (we don’t go at opening anymore!).

Swan/Dolphin/Reserve have their own bus service now and don’t share with the Disney resorts at all anymore.

Almost always shares for Disney Springs and water parks. For AK and MK it’s rare and usually mid day. The DS share is incredibly bad because when it’s busy it arrives full and the wait for the next bus is long and will almost arrive full again (at whichever resort is last).

 

[gmi3804]

Animal Kingdom Lodge doesn’t typically share with other resorts, though buses do stop at both Kidani and Jambo house.

And sometimes Blizzard Beach, I believe.

 

[ClaraOswald]

I really like Riviera in this regard where if you have to take the bus there is no sharing or multiple stops of any sort.

I know, it's not really that big of a deal to have an extra stop between Kidani and Jambo, or VGF/Poly, or BC/YC/BWV, etc., but it does feel great to know whatever bus shows up at resort you won't have possibility of people already in there, and when coming back it's only a single stop which is your destination.

Is skyliner the only option to HS and Epcot from Riviera or is there also a bus?

 

[grahf1234]

Is skyliner the only option to HS and Epcot from Riviera or is there also a bus?

Yeah only option unless it's down for one reason or the other. It's much better though than the buses.

 

[davidhr]

People always say how bad AKV buses are and that you should look for a MK area resort, but they never mention how bad bus transportation is for those. I adore The Wilderness Lodge but those buses are bad with the contemporary.

Riviera is great, but if the skyliner closes they might share buses with Caribbean Beach sometimes. Very specific scenario, so normally not a problem.

 

[psc85]

Can anyone tell me which DVC resorts don't share buses? Are there any?

We were at BRV this past week and I was surprised to see that we shared a bus with the Contemporary or Fort Wilderness each time. (Or maybe not when we went to AK? I can't remember now.)

Besides OKW and SSR, are there other DVC resorts that have multiple bus stops?

We just got home from BRV yesterday, small world! First time staying at Wilderness Lodge (at least not as locals with a car) and we found this to be by far the biggest drawback to the place, we pretty much decided we won't stay here again despite loving the ambiance.

One of the few times they weren't sharing a route with the Contemporary or Fort Wilderness, was the one morning we had breakfast reservations at Steakhouse 71 and figured we'd just jump on a bus to the Contemporary, WRONG. After finding out there was no contemporary bus this early, we figured we'd catch the Bay Lake Resort boat, only to find out it doesn't start running until 3pm, had just missed the magic kingdom boat so we hoofed it back to wait for an MK bus, had to go through MK security to walk to Contemporary (I have a camera with multiple lenses yay), it was a 45-50 minute affair by the time we sat down for breakfast from the time we originally got to the Wilderness Lodge bus stop. If they were still renting Water Mice we would have rented one and drove it over ourselves at that point.

This is why we find the Riviera to be superior when it comes to bus transportation, it has a small number of rooms, yet has dedicated bus service everywhere.

The fact that Bay Lake Tower, Contemporary, Wilderness Lodge, Copper Creek and Boulder Ridge share a bus line to several destinations at any point of the day is frankly unacceptable in my opinion.

Don't get me started on sharing with the Fort, it's so far out of the way given the route the buses have to take to the Fort. The one night we stopped at the Fort before the Lodge, the only guests on the bus for the Fort forgot to get off when the bus stopped (or were confused?) so the bus driver had to turn around in the Fort parking lot to take them back to the bus station.

 

[kes601]

The AKL bus stops are about a 10 minute walk apart, one at Kidani and one at Jambo. I believe I’ve read that at very busy times like park opening, Kidani and Jambo have separate buses, but I’m not certain of that. I doubt that it’s standing room only during the non-busy times of day.

Unfortunately it is only at park opening that they don't share. Park closing is ridiculously busy because they do share.

 

[kes601]

People always say how bad AKV buses are and that you should look for a MK area resort, but they never mention how bad bus transportation is for those. I adore The Wilderness Lodge but those buses are bad with the contemporary.

Riviera is great, but if the skyliner closes they might share buses with Caribbean Beach sometimes. Very specific scenario, so normally not a problem.

When the Skyliner is closed unexpectedly they will often share w/Pop, Art, and CBR.

 

[psc85]

When the Skyliner is closed unexpectedly they will often share w/Pop, Art, and CBR.

Fortunately haven't experienced this yet, CBR makes sense at least, surprised about the Pop/Art sharing though.

 

[kes601]

Fortunately haven't experienced this yet, CBR makes sense at least, surprised about the Pop/Art sharing though.

Ya, it's sort of an "emergency" bus that they run from BCV. It's possible it doesn't happen anymore, but we've had the unlucky experience of having to take it on several occasions.

 

[🍀TwinsMom]

Is skyliner the only option to HS and Epcot from Riviera or is there also a bus?

There’s only buses from Riviera to HS/EP when the Skyliner is out of service.

 

[ClaraOswald]

Yeah, we would avoid Riviera because the Skyliner freaks me out, honestly. So if buses aren't an option that would be a definite not from me.

Sounds like buses, in general, are just a pain all over WDW. We didn't have too many problems during our stay. But we also don't typically head to the parks until 9:30, 10, or even later. We took a break each afternoon. And then hopped to a different park maybe around 5ish. Then we'd leave anywhere from 8 to 10 depending upon the park/day. There were a couple times that the bus was pretty packed and we almost had to stand, which honestly, I can't do at this point. So we would have had to wait for another bus, I guess. One time our driver couldn't get the gate to open at Fort Wilderness so that was kind of frustrating. And then one other night, the buses were all backed up at Ft so we had to wait a long time just sitting there. It was our last night there and we were just ready to be done at that point.