Busses...always this bad now?

[Super 27]

Just got here today, and let's just say this is by far the worst I've ever seen the busses. We always come this same week, and have never had any major complaints before. As I type this, though, we are currently an hour late for our reservation at Sanaa and still trying to get there from Disney Springs. Service at Old Key West has been an absolute joke too. I'm wondering - are others having similar experiences, or is my experience today just an anomaly?

If this keeps up the rest of the week, we will for sure go back to renting a car - something we haven't felt the need to do in 10 years of staying on property. For me it's not a cost factor either - I have more Hertz points than I know what to do with. I have just always been very happy with WDW transportation.

 

[georgina]

If you are an hour late for your dinner reservation, how long have you been waiting? Should have taken a cab (or Uber or Lyft) a long time ago.

I only use Disney transportation when I am on a solo trip, otheriwse we rent a car. The transportation the last few times I have stayed at Pop wasn't too bad, except at MK close.

 

[tjmw2727]

Just back yesterday from a split stay AoA and BWV and was commenting to my daughters that bus service was excellent at both locations, both going to and from the parks. Only longish wait was exiting Epcot after Illuminations but I felt it was to be expected and despite not making it on the first bus another was along in less than 10 minutes.

 

[ncc1701]

Buses to or from Disney Springs are usually the worst. As of our trip last year when going to /from another resort from/to POFQ we usually now take a taxi .Overall we had very good bus service on most our trips.

 

[bumbershoot]

We had an experience like that our first trip back in December 2010. That's why we rent cars. We despise onsite transportation. Having it work is an anomaly to us.

 

[Super 27]

If you are an hour late for your dinner reservation, how long have you been waiting? Should have taken a cab (or Uber or Lyft) a long time ago.

I only use Disney transportation when I am on a solo trip, otheriwse we rent a car. The transportation the last few times I have stayed at Pop wasn't too bad, except at MK close.

Waited about 30 minutes at OKW and 35-40 at Disney Springs. In hindsight you're 100% right - should've just given up and done Uber. I think our other mistake was using Springs as a transfer. In 40ish trips to WDW I can count on one hand the number of times I've gone to DTD/DS, so I'm embarrassed to admit I just blindly followed CM advice this time.

Oh well, still had an amazing dinner! Hopefully smoother sailing from here on out! And based on some of the comments on here might still save up some of those Hertz points for next trip lol

 

[adisneyaunt]

Glad u got it worked out n enjoyed dinner. I've had little issues with buses.. but perhaps busier times are more issues coupled with DS bus service not as quick??
Hope rest of ur visit runs smoothly. Enjoy!

 

[maxiesmom]

Waited about 30 minutes at OKW and 35-40 at Disney Springs. In hindsight you're 100% right - should've just given up and done Uber. I think our other mistake was using Springs as a transfer. In 40ish trips to WDW I can count on one hand the number of times I've gone to DTD/DS, so I'm embarrassed to admit I just blindly followed CM advice this time.

Oh well, still had an amazing dinner! Hopefully smoother sailing from here on out! And based on some of the comments on here might still save up some of those Hertz points for next trip lol

Using Disney Springs as a transfer point is a huge mistake! The CM who told you to do that needs to have 50 lashes with a not so limp noodle.

Make sure too if you are transferring you allow the whole 90 minutes Disney recommends.

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

Wow. That's horrible. Disney Springs is always bad though.

I'm renting a car (only 80.00 on Dollar) on my quick long weekend trip that is coming up in 2 weeks. I debated it but hearing these kinds of stories makes me glad I decided to do so. I just won't be able to drink around the world in Epcot but I'm sure I'll survive this time.

 

[sam_gordon]

OK, sorry, but I need to ask... how long did allow for transportation?

 

[BigAlsGal]

We had a particularly ridiculous couple of mornings at CS waiting for a bus.

One morning we stood at El Centro bus stop for 30 minutes and ZERO busses came. None! For 30 minutes. Well....a DS bus came but that doesn't count. No park busses. There were about 80 people standing around and a little CM guy trying to yell and cheer up the crowd. To try to get us in better order he started separating us into park groups telling the AK group to stand close because it was the one coming next. Told MK to stand towards the back. Guess which bus showed up first? So everyone had to change places. It was a mess. About a 40 minute wait for an AK bus. We decided to drive to the parks the rest of the time which also brought us to this conclusion.

NEVER..EVER drive to the MK. Never again. Always bus. Phooey on MK parking.

 

[Dis703]

For as long as I can remember there have always been occasional reports like this, but we've never experienced more than the once in a blue moon excessive wait. Like others said though DS seems to have the most issues.

 

[JimmyBean42]

We were just there in late September and I can only remember one time where we actually waited more than 20 minutes. And this was at all places (buses to and from MK, AK, HS, Epcot, DS and CBR). One morning going to Epcot was bad (35-40 min) but other than that bus service this time around was better than I've ever seen it. Hopefully it picks up for you the rest of your trip and this was just an anomaly.

 

[georgina]

We drive everywhere when we rent - even to the MK. If leaving at the end of the night, it works out better for us.

 

[AngiTN]

We went from 11/22 till 11/28.
We found some of the best service we've had in our 10 trips this year.
Stayed at FQ
Never waited more than 5 min for a bus. Most of the time we walked up as a bus arrived. Stood only 1 time. Never shared with Riverside a single time, so we were loaded and right to the parks.
I was actually amazed at how good it was. We never have major issues with the buses but there are always a time or two where we wait excessive times but we didn't have a single one this trip.
I thought they added more buses, based on our experience.
Though I realize 90% of the time it's pure luck. If we'd been 5 min later we'd found ourselves waiting 15 min each time, vs. walking right on a bus. Would have been a very different experience.

 

[joelkfla]

I thought they added more buses, based on our experience.

There definitely is an expansion of the fleet in progress: from around 330 a year ago to a target of about 500 buses. When I retired in May, I believe they were already over 400.

Now, how often all those buses are actually on the road depends on staffing and current budget, about which I have no current knowledge.

 

[Minnesota!]

I would say the issue was using DS. Ouch.

We always use a park as a transfer point. Even early AM for Boma, from Pop...never wait for long.

 

[10MoreMinutes]

I was there twice this year, once in January for two nights and once in May for three nights, and never experienced what I would consider excessive waits. I think the longest wait we encountered was in May, waiting on a bus from AK to POFQ, but even that wait was only about 15 minutes.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

Last month I had a bus take us to the wrong resort! And OP if you are and hour late you must not have allowed the hour and half they recommend to get to a dinner reservation. And why did you not say something to another bus that pulled up. If you tell them you have been waiting along time they will radio to dispatch.
We were just there this past weekend and the bus service was great. We walked up and the bus we needed was right there or we waited less than 5 minutes.

 

[puffkin]

Personally I would never allocate 90 minutes of my vacation time to bus riding for an ADR, and even find best case scenarios it is a waste of time riding a bus. We always rent a car. Resort to resort is literally 5-10 minutes tops. The resorts are so close together, most people don't realize that riding the busses.

Resort to park it really just depends, but I like always having a seat and being in control of my own destiny, so we usually drive to the parks as well.

Yes, I agree the big issue in this instance is using DS as a transfer point.