BWV buses suck

[crisi]

well on another thread someone recommended if you arent happy sell your ownership. Imagine that nonesense.

I can't imagine hanging onto your DVC if you aren't happy. You don't need to be 100% euphoric and delighted by ownership - but the day room condition/ dues / not getting free dining / buses / availability / et. al. outweighs the benefits of the ownership is probably the day you should consider selling. Why pay $1000+ in dues every year for something that isn't a plus on your happiness scale?

Especially when there are so many other options for vacations - at Disney and outside it.

 

[Deb & Bill]

...Oh and I love DVC you took it as a general I hate DVC but it is not without its problems and some things would be a nice perk to fix and bus service is a perk. You jumped the gun to day I do not like DVC at all. I just have high expectations for my vacations so what.

Bus service is not a perk. We pay for transportation with our dues. It's a service paid by our fees.

A private driver for each family would be a perk.

 

[twooley2]

Bus service is not a perk. We pay for transportation with our dues. It's a service paid by our fees.

A private driver for each family would be a perk.

So you are in agreeance that the DVC membership fees and such guarantees more than just a place to stay?

 

[twooley2]

I can't imagine hanging onto your DVC if you aren't happy. You don't need to be 100% euphoric and delighted by ownership - but the day room condition/ dues / not getting free dining / buses / availability / et. al. outweighs the benefits of the ownership is probably the day you should consider selling. Why pay $1000+ in dues every year for something that isn't a plus on your happiness scale?

Especially when there are so many other options for vacations - at Disney and outside it.

I agree you have to weigh the pros and cons like anything but just selling it for one or two reasons may not be the best advice either.

 

[twooley2]

Let me put a spin on this maybe people let me preface not all people but many come here to deter people from staying where they want so that rooms open up so they can stay there? Maybe the complaints arent all valid ones imagine that conundrum?

 

[DougEMG]

Well I did just that. That beloved boardwalk view was not enough to justify keeping our contract. The noise from the late night hours on the boardwalk, the terrible parking, the sloooowwww busses and the lack of counter service all pushed us to the point of selling. We are now very happy owners at VWL.

I love the point cost for the standard view. While we only have a standard view, it is absolutely perfect for watching the Epcot fireworks. We've been sitting on the balcony just about every night watching the fireworks.

 

[Deb & Bill]

So you are in agreeance that the DVC membership fees and such guarantees more than just a place to stay?

No. They could eliminate transportation to the theme parks. They could close the theme parks.

 

[DougEMG]

So even though I think the bus service could be better, my next two trips are booked for BWV. Being so close to both Epcot and DHS more than makes up for the bus to MK and AK.

 

[CarolMN]

The quality of the bus service for BWV comes up here every now and then. There are always lots of complaints and comparisons made to other resorts, so I'm sure there is room for improvement.

That said, I've also witnessed a guest berate a bus driver for a long wait at the BWV bus stop. His group waited less than 10 minutes. I know because we waited just under 15 and we were at the stop several minutes before his group arrived. Sometimes, expectations are just not realistic.


As a few others have posted, I really ave no complaints. Yes, there is an occasional problem, but overall, I think we've experienced good service. Usually, we travel in April/May, October & November/December. I will admit that most of our time is spent at EPCOT & DHS, but we do visit AK, MK & DTD at least once every trip. DTD is where I occasionally wish for better service.

But as Harry would say, "I'm not all that fussed about it". BWV can still be a tough place to get a reservation and if the bus service drives some to book elsewhere, then it will be easier for me. . And like Doug, I think the standard view villas are the very best DVC bargain available (well, except for the DVC $399 PAP).

 

[jekjones1558]

The quality of the bus service for BWV comes up here every now and then. There are always lots of complaints and comparisons made to other resorts, so I'm sure there is room for improvement.

That said, I've also witnessed a guest berate a bus driver for a long wait at the BWV bus stop. His group waited less than 10 minutes. I know because we waited just under 15 and we were at the stop several minutes before his group arrived. Sometimes, expectations are just not realistic.


As a few others have posted, I really ave no complaints. Yes, there is an occasional problem, but overall, I think we've experienced good service. Usually, we travel in April/May, October & November/December. I will admit that most of our time is spent at EPCOT & DHS, but we do visit AK, MK & DTD at least once every trip. DTD is where I occasionally wish for better service.

But as Harry would say, "I'm not all that fussed about it". BWV can still be a tough place to get a reservation and if the bus service drives some to book elsewhere, then it will be easier for me. . And like Doug, I think the standard view villas are the very best DVC bargain available (well, except for the DVC $399 PAP).

So well stated, Carol!

 

[DougEMG]

I'm impressed, I just got a call this morning from customer support about the email I sent them complaining about the bus service and they said they have contacted transportation service and are going to monitor the buses at BWV.

 

[goofy4tink]

The quality of the bus service for BWV comes up here every now and then. There are always lots of complaints and comparisons made to other resorts, so I'm sure there is room for improvement.

That said, I've also witnessed a guest berate a bus driver for a long wait at the BWV bus stop. His group waited less than 10 minutes. I know because we waited just under 15 and we were at the stop several minutes before his group arrived. Sometimes, expectations are just not realistic.


As a few others have posted, I really ave no complaints. Yes, there is an occasional problem, but overall, I think we've experienced good service. Usually, we travel in April/May, October & November/December. I will admit that most of our time is spent at EPCOT & DHS, but we do visit AK, MK & DTD at least once every trip. DTD is where I occasionally wish for better service.

But as Harry would say, "I'm not all that fussed about it". BWV can still be a tough place to get a reservation and if the bus service drives some to book elsewhere, then it will be easier for me. . And like Doug, I think the standard view villas are the very best DVC bargain available (well, except for the DVC $399 PAP).

A few years ago, my friend and I were at AKL-Kidani. We got to the bus stop just as the DHS bus was pulling away. There were about 5 people left standing there. About 3 mins later, the MK bus pulled up, and those 5 people go on the bus. About the same time, a bunch of people arrived. Now, a bus to Epcot comes along. Some get on this bus. And more people arrive. At this point, I have been waiting for about 10 mins. No big deal. Another group walks up and moves toward the front of the group. My friend and I have been standing, waiting, along the side by the bus area. Okay, we now have a very large group of people waiting.....and most were waiting for the DHS bus!!! It did finally come, about 25 mins after the previous one had left...I know, because I timed it (being the good little Transportation mod that I am!!). Well, as it pulled up, my friend and I moved to the loading area...about 3' from where we were standing. There was one woman who loudly proclaimed that they (she and her group) had been standing there for over 30 mins and who did we think we were, cutting in front of them??!!! I ignored her and boarded the bus...as this woman boarded behind us, I overheard her (hard not to!!) yelling at the driver, telling him that they had been there well over 30 mins and she was reporting him to Disney and they wouldn't be staying onsite ever again, etc, etc, etc.
Now, I know for a fact that she had been waiting about 15 mins, a perfectly reasonable time. She got there about 10 mins after we did.....we had the bus stop to ourselves for that brief amount of time so it was easy to see who came along. I made sure I told the driver that no one had been waiting over 30 mins...it had just been close to 25 mins.

Every single resort, especially the deluxes, has their share of bus woes. Being a deluxe resort does NOT mean you have better bus service. It does mean that you have better access to some parks...meaning that you don't have to take those buses to every park. That's what makes it a deluxe.
Each resort pays for transportation out of their budget. It is up to each resort to decide how much they want to spend on these costs. And this is why both the Swan and Dolphin are included in the BW routes...they pay a hefty fee to get those buses.
If the BW buses didn't stop at the S/D, they would probably then make stops at the YC and then BC...for all destinations!!! All the time!!! Then, the Swan and Dolphin would have their own buses, and we would see BW guests walking over there to take their buses since they wouldn't make as many resort stops.

 

[tjkraz]

I have to agree with CarolMN & goofy4tink--mental calculations seem to be fraught with error when people are anxious to get to the parks.

I also wonder about the impact motorized scooters have on the bus schedules. As I said in my earlier post, we had one occasion where a driver had to load two scooters on the Magic Kingdom bus. After about 10 minutes he was just finishing up when a second MK bus arrived at the Boardwalk.

Now consider how this looked to guests waiting at the Dolphin and Swan. Since the first bus was delayed at BW by 10 minutes or so, I'm sure there were people waiting at the D/S who had gone 20-30 minutes since the last Magic Kingdom bus.

I'm not sure what actions Disney could take to address this problem. They can't predict when scooters will be waiting for a pick-up.

Same thing happens on the return trips. When a bus arrives at MK it receives its dispatch instructions. A bus is sent to the BW/D/S stop only to find scooters waiting to be loaded. Instead of arriving and departing within 2 minutes, it could take 8-10 min...or more.

And a variety of other factors could also come into play. A few years back we had a stop at the Dolphin or Swan (can't remember which) delayed 10-15 minutes because a truck had parked in the bus lane. Bus driver got out and sent people scurrying to get the truck moved but he could not allow any passengers to enter or depart the bus until he was at the stop.

That said, I agree that the BW buses have received their share of criticism over the years and we've had some less-than-impressive trips / waits ourselves. But it's hard to draw any conclusions based upon a handful of personal encounters. Doug had poor service during the same week we experienced flawless bus service at BW. Which is a better representation of the current norm?

 

[OurDogCisco]

I also think that people really want to be in "control" of when and how they are getting somewhere. So, when they have to wait for the bus, they lose control. Normally, if I have to take the bus I usually plan for the travel time to take about 1 hour from my room. Sometimes depending on the timing of when the bus arrives we don't have to wait too long. Have I've waited 30 minutes for bus (yes but not too often). I've stayed onsite and driving to MK takes just as long as taking the bus. The only other places that didn't take as long were the other parks but some of that had to do with when you arrived at the park. I found later in the day it took much longer to park your car and because you arrived later you had to take the tram to gates. All of that takes time. Maybe a car is 5 to 10 minutes faster in some cases but not enough for me to stress about. Relax... you are on vacation!

 

[crisi]

So you are in agreeance that the DVC membership fees and such guarantees more than just a place to stay?

Have you read your contract? It doesn't even guarantee that. It gives you a place to stay "subject to availability." And if your home resort were to be destroyed, Disney doesn't need to rebuild it - and if its destroyed, they don't need to let you use your points at other DVC/Disney properties.

As was said above, if Disney decides to stop bus service, they stop it. Our dues go down because we don't pay for it. We don't have any "right" to bus service. In theory, they could make bus service only available to cash guests and you'd have to swipe your wristband - again, our dues would go down, but we aren't entitled to bus service. (The possibility of either of these things is very small, but that doesn't mean that they couldn't legally do it).

 

[hakepb]

Hopes are that Disney's NextGen project will improve the bus system. The dispatch system that was installed a few years ago never had a good way of tracking guests. Now with the NextGen RFID implementation, guests can wave their wrist band or room key past a reader in the bus queue area and as they get on the bus. Disney can then use the info to dispatch additional buses to congested stops.

Bill

I think they already have enough information...they should already know Driver A will take 45 mind to run a BW loop on a MK AM EMh, and driver B can do it in 38 minutes.. they have enough KTTW's to know when each BW resort guest rnters a park..
but at most they only choose that information to operate a system as cheaply as possible instead of wih the best service.

 

[Dancind]

We were at BWV for five nights in late Oct/ early Nov. The bus service was pretty miserable, to the point that after a couple of attempts, we gave up on going anywhere but Epcot and DS.

I need to sit, had surgery this year and can't risk getting bumped around by standing. We would wait for the next bus if there were no seats, but by the time another came there were so many people at the bus stop it happened again. People did not care if you were there before them, when the bus showed up everyone crowded to get on.

 

[bighoo93]

No. They could eliminate transportation to the theme parks. They could close the theme parks.

I heard they might eliminate bus service for resale DVC members.

 

[myxdvz]

This thread is making me want to change my BCV/BWV split stay and switch it to a BCV/VWL stay. Rooms are available but I've hesitated to give up 94 points and replace it with115 points!

 

[jade1]

Didn't read all this but BWV has been the best for "park accessibility" for us. We are very mobile though, so walking when we want to 2 parks alone makes staying there worth it (but boats on occasion is nice as well). We do one 1/2 day at AK each trip and that bus always left from BWV and went direct to AK-but did stop at BB. On return we get off at S&D as the walk is the same to BWV as the BWV bus stop, so why ride around. As for MK-same thing, direct to MK-then jump off at S&D first stop on return. We usually split stays at BLT so MK visits are even fewer from BWV/BCV as we walk from BLT.

BWV crushes every resort for us (BCV close 2nd) for getting to the parks when we want. We do not visit DTD however-so no idea how the bus is for that.