Can two diff family @ same resort @ same time..

[*Fantasia*]

Would it be possible when two different group stays at the same Disney resort at the same time, and their experience as far as the bus transportation be totally different? I have read two people just coming back from the same resort and here I am confused.. One said the bus service was wonderful and didn't share the bus but a few times or maybe once.. While the other one said it has shared the bus with the other resort the whole time that they were there. They both came back about the same time. So how is that?

 

[dzorn]

One family was using it during more crowded times than the other. Another thing is two people rearly percieve a situation the same. While one may feel the bus was packed another may think it was just a typically full bus.

Denise in MI

 

[minnie mum]

If they were coming and going at park opening and closing times, then I could see this happening. With shared buses, if a bus fills before making its complete round of stops they will call for a second bus which will come directly to the stop where the first bus filled to capacity. So any given bus may make more stops or fewer stops. Does that make sense?

We've stayed at POR occasionally. A few times our bus shared with POFQ and other times it didn't. Perhaps it was a matter of resort occupancy and demand for buses to/from certain parks at different times of the day. I think the transpo coordinators do a great job 99% of the time.

 

[dansdad]

Would it be possible when two different group stays at the same Disney resort at the same time, and their experience as far as the bus transportation be totally different?

Yes, for 2 reasons.

1. They weren't on the same exact bus.
2. Different perceptions of good/bad bus service.

 

[Missytara]

Yes, for 2 reasons.

1. They weren't on the same exact bus.
2. Different perceptions of good/bad bus service.

Ditto; and different perception of time.

I have had nothing but great experiences on the bus. I travel off times and have little expectations and am never disappointed. Here are some things I have noted, with the perception of time.

1. I arrive at bus stop; two younger people arrive two minutes after me. About five minutes after them, a family arrives and asks the two younger people how long they have been standing waiting. Their answer - "Like twenty minutes already." I was stunned.

2. Last year, waiting for the water taxi at POR. I arrived and two older gentlemen arrive about two minutes after me. Looking at their watch; after about a minute and a half, they start complaining about how long they have been waiting. An entire minute and a half. I mean they run every twenty minutes until 4 pm.

One tells the other, told you, we shouldn't have taken the bus to DTD, we would have been there by now. Really?

About three minutes later, the water taxi arrives and they rush to get under the rope. I stop them; because you have to wait for the water taxi to safely dock and the other people to disembark first. They balk about it, but finally agree to wait.

We get on the water taxi and the first thing the Captain says is "I may be prejudice, but we run a lot quicker than the buses, especially afte 4 pm, when we run every 10 minutes.

They never said another word.

It amazes me how people cannot wait two minutes, especially on vacation!

 

[saskdw]

Ditto; and different perception of time.

I have had nothing but great experiences on the bus. I travel off times and have little expectations and am never disappointed. Here are some things I have noted, with the perception of time.

1. I arrive at bus stop; two younger people arrive two minutes after me. About five minutes after them, a family arrives and asks the two younger people how long they have been standing waiting. Their answer - "Like twenty minutes already." I was stunned.

2. Last year, waiting for the water taxi at POR. I arrived and two older gentlemen arrive about two minutes after me. Looking at their watch; after about a minute and a half, they start complaining about how long they have been waiting. An entire minute and a half. I mean they run every twenty minutes until 4 pm.

One tells the other, told you, we shouldn't have taken the bus to DTD, we would have been there by now. Really?

About three minutes later, the water taxi arrives and they rush to get under the rope. I stop them; because you have to wait for the water taxi to safely dock and the other people to disembark first. They balk about it, but finally agree to wait.

We get on the water taxi and the first thing the Captain says is "I may be prejudice, but we run a lot quicker than the buses, especially afte 4 pm, when we run every 10 minutes.

They never said another word.

It amazes me how people cannot wait two minutes, especially on vacation!

This is very accurate. I have noted similar experiences in other bus related threads.

There is a little luck involved in whether you wait 5mins for a bus or 20mins. We have been to WDW 3 times in 4 years for 14 nights at a time, so 42 days at Disney means a lot of buses for us. 2 of the 3 trips we had outstanding luck average wait of 5-10mins. The other trip the avergage wait was probably 15mins. So I would rate the bus service outstanding on the 2 trips and good on the other. The reality is that it was probably the same all 3 trips, but we didn't luck out time wise.

There is a lot of people on here who would rate that 15min wait as terrible bus service and tell you they waited 45mins everytime. Its all in perception. I to have experienced numerous times people saying they have benn waiting for 1/2 hour and its actually only been 8mins...lol

 

[Missymouse18]

Never yet have I had a bad bus experience. But I have been on the buses with people who were less than happy because they had to sit in cramped quarters. Some people are going to complain, regardless - and this is my rebuttal - crowded buses beats having to drive.

 

[DisneyMom5]

My dh always says that his day to day job is so stressful, that waiting for a bus at disney hardly seems something to complain about. A positive attitude does help.
We have had maybe three bad bus incidents in 4 visits (of 5-10 days).
And one bad experience was at a Deluxe resort, so resort level doesn't seem to matter.

 

[Missytara]

Never yet have I had a bad bus experience. But I have been on the buses with people who were less than happy because they had to sit in cramped quarters. Some people are going to complain, regardless - and this is my rebuttal - crowded buses beats having to drive.

I have to agree; there are always going to be people who seem to get this perception of Disney being "perfect" and one little thing will ruin their entire vacation. They complain the entire week.

The other thing is the time of year you go; don't go between Christmas and New Year's; Spring Break, etc. and expect to not wait for a bus, especially at park closing.

The whole thing about the Disney vacation is no driving; figuring out where to park; figuring how to get to the parks, where to get gas, etc. Leave the driving to someone else and it will always feel more like a vacation.

 

[Yellosno]

Perspective. This is shown in my family my Mom and Dad would tell you we didn't have the greatest transportation service last year at POFQ but I would tell you it was just fine. I really don't mind waiting for buses if I have my Ipod and I lose track of time so I would tell you it would be a lot better than someone who is just waiting like they are in prison for time to pass.

 

[Mousemommy1]

To me, it's absolutely a matter of perception. For us, we have always been happy with Disney Transportation (buses). We feel like it truly allows us to be on "vacation", not having to drive all over the place. We let Disney do the driving. And, if we have to wait 20 minutes for a bus, no biggie...there are places to sit down while waiting. However, we are of the mindset that we are on vacation and don't really see a reason to be rushing around everywhere. When we go do Disney, we know we'll be waiting...waiting for buses, waiting for monorails, waiting to get on rides, waiting for shows, meals, etc...but that's our expectation from experience going into it, so we've accepted that and just have a good time.

 

[dansdad]

The whole thing about the Disney vacation is no driving; figuring out where to park; figuring how to get to the parks, where to get gas, etc. Leave the driving to someone else and it will always feel more like a vacation.

This.

 

[Tigger's ally]

This.

I agree too. Funny thing is I was sitting next to a couple at near the exit to epcot one evening waiting on Illuminations to start and the man told me they always drove to the parks to avoid the long waiting of the busses. I told him that I always figured by the time you ride out to the lot, find your car, get everybody situated and then have drive back through the maze that is WDW it just makes more sense to me to ride the bus. Well, we were staying at POFQ and we left the park the same time...we took the bus...he took the tram to the lot. We got on the second bus for POFQ and we got back just in time for me to catch Elliots last set is ScatCats. I sat down with a cold one to watch. Next day, I saw the same guy at the pool bar. He mentioned to me that he was disappointed not to get to see Elliot the night before because by the time they got back the doors were closed. I laughed and told him I made it back for his last set and the guy didn't believe me. He said there was no way as they rode the tram found their car after a minor seach and came straight back. I just shrugged.

But the main reason I don't like driving while I am there is getting into that hot old vehicle!!! Put me in an A/C bus now!

 

[Phatoomch]

Yes, they travelled at different times.

Or, most likely, perspective. My grandmother was a great one for this ... if she had stopped at just one other resort and the bus was full, when she retold the story she would have said "and we had to stop at ALL the other resorts and the bus was so crowded I had trouble breathing ..." bless her

 

[erinscreen]

Never yet have I had a bad bus experience. But I have been on the buses with people who were less than happy because they had to sit in cramped quarters. Some people are going to complain, regardless - and this is my rebuttal - crowded buses beats having to drive.

I totally agree with this. I was just there a couple weeks ago with my friend at AKL. We had rented a car and used it the first couple days, but after walking for what seemed like forever back to our car in the lot at the end of the day, trying to find parking at the hotel, then walking again for what seemed like forever back to our room, we gave up and went all bus for the rest of the trip.

I will never ever ever ever try to take a car to DTD again!

Add me to the list of I love Disney transport! (then again, I am not too impatient)

 

[clanmcculloch]

Time of day can definitely also make a difference regarding sharing of busses between resorts. When we stayed at POFQ, we didn't once stop at POR heading to the parks in time for rope drop. If we left closer to lunch then we generally did go to POR before heading to the parks. Also, when heading to parks in time for RD they tended to run more busses so even if a bus filled up there would be another one in a rather timely manner but if we went closer to lunch then the busses were more spaced out. So, based on this I'd say that even guests at the same resort on the very same day can have very different bus experiences.

Note that even more spread out, I don't think we ever waited more than 20 minutes for a bus heading to a park. We did in all of our trips have a few longer waits heading back at very off peak times (as in between 11am and 2pm) but those are more the exceptions rather than the rules. Perceptions can definitely make it seem longer at time especially if the weather is difficult (too hot, too wet, too cold, etc) or kids or even adults are getting cranky. I make sure to keep a good eye on my watch so that I can keep my perception in check if I start getting impatient.

 

[Sammie]

Also I think they those that are not happy about Disney buses, base their comments 90% on what happens when they leave a park at closing.

If they are lucky and get on a bus quickly then they are pleased with the entire process, if not their experience is tainted by this one situation.

 

[jamuth]

We stayed there in October 2009 and I hated the buses!! On average we waited 20 mins for the buses and travel time was over 20 mins. This was difficult for me because I had a 4 and 2 year old and was 6 months pregnant. So waiting and sitting with them for that time was hard. Often at night the bus was so full there were no where to sit. I would stand holding a child and a stroller. Not to mention it was in the high 90's. We visited again in May 2011 and we drove so we had our own car. I prefered this because I could put everyone in there seats and just go. Yes, the walk to the car was long but at least I didn't have to carry everything.
However, I can see how great the buses are if I didn't have so many small kids and stuff in tow. Just sit and enjoy.
Boats were always good.

 

[aubriee]

I agree that it has alot to do with the time of day you use the buses. As an AP holder, I go to WDW several times a year, so am never in a rush down there and always take the time to stop and see all the little details. I am also a RN who has worked the night shift (11pm-7am) for many years, so that is the pattern my body is used to. Even at WDW I have a hard time adjusting my sleep patterns. I am wide awake very, very early and anxious to get out of the room, but want a nap in the early afternoon and also want to go to bed early. I always make every rope drop early, so usually catch one of those almost empty early morning character buses to the parks, so I'll be one of the very first in the turnstyles. As soon as the parks get crowded, I grab lunch, then am ready to go back to the resort to either read or nap, so usually catch another almost empty bus in the early afternoon back to the resort. Alot of people are park commandos, so think a mid day break is a waste of time, but I love those mid day breaks and always take them even if I'm solo. Around 5pm I may go to another park or to DTD and again buses are not usually crowded at that time of day. I then either leave the park before the fireworks or if I do happen to stay for fireworks, I love to just take a seat and people watch as the park completely empties, then catch one of the very last buses back. I seldom ever use the buses during the times they are busy, so never have a problem with them. There have been many times in the early morning or in the early afternoons that I may be the only person on the bus. Someone who is at the same resort may arrive at the bus stop around 8:30 am when everyone else is trying to get to the park, then be leaving the parks right at park closing, again when the big mob is trying to force their way out. Even though we were down there at the exact same time and stayed at the same resort, their perception of the buses (very crowded) would be totally different than mine (almost empty and never stood).

 

[fla4fun]

Yes, that is why it is important when praising or criticising to give details as to WHY you feel that way. Whether your experience is good or bad, tell us why.

If someone just says the bus service is lousy, you don't know why they felt that way. If they say the bus service was lousy because they timed the buses and they only came every 45 minutes instead of 20 which caused larger crowds on the buses, then you have something concrete on which to make a decision whether you want to take a chance on the buses or not. There are some people here who rent cars specifically to avoid the buses. I always drive to WDW so I have my car, and I almost always (with the exception of DTD) use Disney transport. Why should I use my gas and put miles on my car if they will do the driving for me? Since we know it's all rolled into the costs of our hotel rooms and tickets, it's like leaving money on the table if you don't utilize it.

It also helps if you can kind of get on the same timing as the bus schedules. On my trip last month, I got in sync with the transportation at the resort, and at least 90% of the time the bus was either already at the stop or just pulling in as I walked up. The other 10% I waited maybe five minutes.

It also helps if you allow plenty of time to get where you are going. They say to allow 90 minutes for a resort to resort trip. So if you have an ADR and you only allow an hour to get from your resort to the restaurant at another, you are going to have issues. But it's not the fault of the transport system - it's the fault of the guest for not allowing enough time. But we all see the posts "I was late because the monorail got stuck" "I was late because the bus had just pulled out and wouldn't come back to get me", etc., etc., etc. I have always allowed the appropriate amount of time, and I have never been late (knocking on wood).

Is Disney transportation perfect? No, of course not. But there are many ways to make it work FOR you instead of against you.

It's not just transportation where there are differing opinions - resorts, restaurants, recreation and parks all have the same issues. One person will say the park was packed and they had to wait forever even in the FP lines, and another will come on with a long list of attractions they did in the same park on the same day, with no waits at all. Unless we all travel en masse (wouldn't that make for some lovely photo opportunities) then our experiences will all differ in some way.