BWV transportation review (last week)

[DebbieB]

Originally posted by Chip 'n Dale Express
So you would rather have less stops, but lengthier ride?

I'd rather have a more pleasant ride. The boats do get crowded at park closing but they don't seem to be bad to ride. I guess because you don't have to hang onto a pole for dear life, the boat doesn't whip around corners. Slow and steady can be better....

 

[jordanyosh]

My cousins and I have stayed at the BWV 3x. We rent a car, but also make use of the busses. We consistently have had good service. However, we have a different expectation of bus service. We see it as public transportation and public transportation that is very fluid with no two trips exactly the same. Some people expect to have better bus transportation because of their deluxe status. The great thing about Disney....once you choose to stay onsite, you are treated equally--same Early Entry, same package service, same bus service. Disney gives no preference in treatment because of where you stay. Real life already gives us too many reminders of the haves and have nots.

So we may be sitting right next to you while you are having a horrible bus experience and be feeling exactly the opposite about our bus experience. I am not negating your experience; it is yours.

We love the BWV for the restaurants, the proximity to two theme parks and its ambience.

 

[Chip 'n Dale Express]

Just thought I'd throw this out... I worked at the MK today, and for our afternoon Flex (11am-park close) the Epcot Resorts were split. S/D on one bus, and Y/B/BW on another.

One more MK shift left! lol

 

[kpgclark]

Wow, that's so nice to hear from a real Disney person! I'm one of those people who yak it up with the busdrivers! Are you retiring? I wasn't sure what you meant in your post about 1 more shift at MK.

 

[Chip 'n Dale Express]

I have one more week left in Bus Operations. 1 DTD shifts, 2 Epcot shifts, and one MK shift. After that, I'm headed off to Guest Services/Front Desk at Disney's new Pop Century Resort. Woo hoo!

 

[kpgclark]

Congratulations, but I'm sad that we will miss meeting you! We'll be staying at the Beach Club villas in exactly two weeks. Have you heard anything about the crowds they're expecting over Thanksgiving? Also, can I ask what is the best way to get from The Beach Club to AKL?

 

[MinnieGi]

We came back 11/01 from a week stay at BWV. We only used the buses for AK but felt we had good service. We quickly learned though that it was easier to get off at the Swan bus stop and walk to BWV than to ride all around the loop since BW is the last bus stop. It seems many BW guests know this as on two occasions all the people that got off at the Swan then headed to BW! Our waits for AK were only 5 to 10 minutes at the longest.

Now we did always drive to MK only because we had special circumstances that I did not want to depend on the bus for such as early ps before park opening and for MNSSHP. 3 yo DD really loves to ride the monorail anyway. We made it to MK front gate from BWV in 15 minutes and that included a tram and monorail ride on a very crowded Saturday evening.

 

[Robert P]

reply to jordanyosh's quotes:

"Some people expect to have better bus transportation because of their deluxe status."......."Disney gives no preference in treatment because of where you stay. Real life already gives us too many reminders of the haves and have nots."

I suspected that if this thread continued, someone would come along and not read the entire thread, and jump to the same presumption you did.

The 5 EPCOT area resorts have a combined room count of over 4,300. To put 'one bus' to service that many rooms anywhere is not going provide a high level of guest satisfaction. Even the highest room count moderate resort (PO) does not exceed 3,100 rooms.
This thread started with my review of BWV transportatin during our stay. The facts I stated are the facts we experienced, and there was no split of the routes while we were there, on the busses we waited for. Thus, we had some full busses we could not board, and at times resorted to taking taxis.
At no time do we ask for special treatment based on where we stayed. The point is that the combination of 5 resorts being seviced in 1 loop does not work, as we (and many others here) have experienced. If you are happy waiting at a bus stop 15-20 minutes, only to find that bus SRO packed before it pulls up, and you have to wait another 15 -20 minutes for the next one, and can only squeeze on to that one for the 'standing grab bar ride', and that meets your expectations (for any WDW resort, deluxe or otherwise), then more power to you.

As to your quote "The great thing about Disney....once you choose to stay onsite, you are treated equally--same Early Entry, same package service, same bus service."

That is not true. No other resort's transportation attempts to service over 4,300 potential rooms with 'one bus' (not to mention the added BW nightlife guests). That is why BW bus service is mentioned negatively so often on these boards.

Please take the time to read ALL of a thread, and have your facts correct, before you post a reply. Especially those comments with the 'elitist you' undertones, like you have written.

 

[Chip 'n Dale Express]

Originally posted by Robert P
That is not true. No other resort's transportation attempts to service over 4,300 potential rooms with 'one bus'

Actually... you're forgetting about the All-Stars. 3 resorts, and nearly 6,000 rooms. For Flex runs, the All-Stars is almost always combined, with the exception of after 3pm at the Magic Kingdom.

 

[Robert P]

I have to take your word on that.

As I am not up to date with the AS bus pick ups, I did not venture to speak on them.
(And as I am sure you are aware, Pop Century, when fully open, will also approximate that count.)

Glad to hear from you that they did split the EPCOT resorts recently. Wish someone had done that during our visit. Again, have to take your word on that.

 

[Robert P]

Question for Chip 'n Dale Express:

For non flex runs, are the All Stars split or together?

If after 3:00 p.m. at MK is separate for each All Star, then that means the total rooms at AS are at some time serviced by more than one bus (lets say 3, 1 for each). So, all 6,000 rooms are not on the same run all of the time?

That is why I did not mention the AS resorts inititially. I didn't know if they were separate or together, all of the time.

 

[Chip 'n Dale Express]

Originally posted by Robert P
For non flex runs, are the All Stars split or together?

MOD runs are dynamic, and influenced by demand. Some runs are all 3. Other runs are just two. And indeed, some runs are just one resort. It's all based on demand. You have to also remember that the All-Stars have a much greater demand than any other resort. They typically have the highest occupancy rates. Even when deluxe resorts are down to the 30-50% occupancy, All-Stars are typically still at least 80%

Originally posted by Robert P
If after 3:00 p.m. at MK is separate for each All Star, then that means the total rooms at AS are at some time serviced by more than one bus (lets say 3, 1 for each). So, all 6,000 rooms are not on the same run all of the time?

After 3pm is when outbound traffic picks up. (More specifically, 3:30, when the parade gets out) At this time, it becomes necessary to split the All-Stars at the MK. Each resort will then get its own bus every 15 minutes. (MK is by far the busiest park, and has a much greater demand than any other park)

 

[freediverdude]

Well, like I've said before, I did stay at the Beach Club Villas recently, and during certain times of the day, like late morning and afternoon, the service was fine going to all 5 resorts. But I think it has to do with timing. I think the one thing that would really improve the bus service over the whole system is more information for dispatching. The dispatchers need more information more quickly about what bus stops have a whole bunch of people waiting, especially ones with more than one bus worth of people waiting. And right now, it seems like the only way they find out is when a bus comes up and a driver radios it in, unless it's during those few hours a person with a clipboard is out there. The dispatchers need more immediate information than that, because those people could have been waiting 15-20 minutes already by the time the bus pulls up and the driver radios that another one is needed. I think what's needed is something like either a camera system at the bus stops so the dispatchers can see what's going on, or a cast member at each resort's set of bus stops with a radio, constantly relaying information. I guess what I'm saying is, that for example, if two buses of people are waiting at the Boardwalk, and one bus worth is waiting at the Swan and Dolphin, and another bus worth is waiting at the Yacht and Beach Clubs, then instead of 1 bus going around and having to radio for more buses at each of the Yacht Club and Beach Club and Boardwalk, the dispatcher would immediately see the situation before the first bus even took off for that route and dispatch separate buses for that trip and a double one for the Boardwalk.

 

[jordanyosh]

Originally posted by Robert P
BW consistently gets bad comments on these boards for bus transport. My point is that it is not acceptable for a deluxe resort to have transportation this poor. None of this is directed to the drivers, as they are dispatched and scheduled from some kind of transport HQ. But with the consistent problems and numerous complaints, obviuosly someone in charge of scheduling this route has 'missed the bus' (yes, pun intended).
We aren't picky, we just would like for the resorts charging rack rates of $300+ per night to be able to get us where we want to go, with some type of efficiency rating better than 50%. Instead, we have what appears on the boards to be an ongoing problem, still unresolved, due to what amounts to a cost saving measure involving the number of busses servicing a group of 5 deluxe resorts.
____________________________________________________

FYI, I did read the entire thread. When I was writing my "elitist you" undertoned statements, I was referencing your comments above. If a guest experiences poor service of any kind, should it matter if they are staying at a deluxe or a value resort? Should it matter if they are paying 100 or 300+ a night? No guest deserves what they feel to be poor service no matter where they stay or how much they pay. As for your comment "....at no time did we ask for special treatment because of where we stayed." I maybe wrongly used the converse of what you stated above to reach my conclusions-- that it would be okay at a value/moderate resort to have transportation that poor or if I only paid 100 a night that it would be okay to have an efficiency rating less than 50%.

I certainly don't discount what you experienced and the disappointment and frustration you felt. I just wanted you to see that there are folks who have good experiences with BWV busses. In addition, in my opinion only, I believe problems should be addressed without having to throw in "deluxe" or how much you are paying.

 

[Robert P]

Yes, problems should be addressed no matter where you are staying. Unacceptable service should be corrected at any resort. The point to emphasize, is that no other resort (or resort groups) is serviced by such a low ratio of busses to rooms. I would prefer to see that corrected at any resort level. But with the constant complaints on these boards (and to WDW management), it seems as is WDW is not taking this problem seriously for the EPCOT resorts.
Sorry if I took offense to the 'elitist' tone I perceived. Too many guests these days want something free, or feel they are enitled to extra services beyond what they are willing to pay for. All I want is adequate bus service from a resort that lists itself, and cost, as a deluxe.
This was our first visit to BWV that we experienced such poor bus service. We have in the past had adequate service. This was the first viit, however, where the EPCOT resorts were not split at any time (that we saw). That, I think, contributed to the poor transportion situation we experienced.

 

[Figaro]

When we took my parents down to WDW and stayed at the Boardwalk, we did have problems (this was at the end of January) being able to get on the buses. They were always full when they arrived at the Boardwalk and there was usually no way to load the wheelchair. After sitting through two rounds of full buses, we just decided to drive to the parks.

This is the reason that we prefer to stay at the Swan. Because it is usually the first resort the buses stop at, loading the wheelchair was very easy because no one was on the bus yet. When we stayed at the Dolphin, we learned very quickly to go over to the Swan for the buses. We don't go during the busier times of year because it is enough of a pain for everyone to deal with the wheelchair(smile), so I have no idea at all how the bus system works when WDW is busy.

 

[Alison Wonderland]

I was lucky enough to receive a survey via email following one of my recent Disney trips and sent a complaint about the bus service at my Yacht Club stay. I received a followup call from the Disney World executive offices. That actually was one of several problems I had while at the YC so the bus problem was not discussed in detail but they are most definitely aware of it. Doesn't look like they're in a rush to do anything about it.

 

[Nanajo1]

Because of problems I've had with not being able to board because there is no room for my ECV I now go to the first stop when I have a PS early in the morning. At BWV this is Swan and at OKW it is Peninsular Dr. It very frustrating to watch able bodied folks be boarded and I had to wait for two busses.

 

[LvsTnk]

I rented a car for my last trip to BWI and will do so from now on. I loved it, I only had to worry about my MK transportation and I did alot more having that car than I would have otherwise. I didn't realize how much time I was wasting trying to get from one spot to another

And for the record all package delivery is not the same, concierge has package delivery directly to your room.

 

[beattyfamily]

Originally posted by LvsTnk
I rented a car for my last trip to BWI and will do so from now on. I loved it, I only had to worry about my MK transportation and I did alot more having that car than I would have otherwise. I didn't realize how much time I was wasting trying to get from one spot to another

And for the record all package delivery is not the same, concierge has package delivery directly to your room.

Can I ask how you handled MK? I need to get there for MVMCP and for EE morning and I'm so stressed about what will be best for us. We are so used to staying on the monorail so I'm really worried.

We'll have a car. Thanks!