Change of bus service

[Mickey_UK]

I have just retured from OKW and was not very happy with the bus service after the parks close....it would seem that the bus service from T/T to downtown disney no longer operates, therefore the bus drivers activly encourage people who want to go to D/D to get on any resort hotel bus and then catch a bus to D/D.....what this means is the bus for OKW from MK was full to the brim, the driver stopped at hospitality house first where all but 4 of us got off..now some of those guests were OKW members but 90% of them waited for the downtown disney bus and a lot of OKW members were left waiting at MK. This happened a number of times and I spoke to other members who were annoyed that the bus provided for the resort hotels were being used in this way....has anyone else experienced this?

 

[Doug7856]

Originally posted by Mickey_UK
I have just retured from OKW and was not very happy with the bus service after the parks close....it would seem that the bus service from T/T to downtown disney no longer operates, therefore the bus drivers activly encourage people who want to go to D/D to get on any resort hotel bus and then catch a bus to D/D.....what this means is the bus for OKW from MK was full to the brim, the driver stopped at hospitality house first where all but 4 of us got off..now some of those guests were OKW members but 90% of them waited for the downtown disney bus and a lot of OKW members were left waiting at MK. This happened a number of times and I spoke to other members who were annoyed that the bus provided for the resort hotels were being used in this way....has anyone else experienced this?

This hasn't happened to us yet, but I would let member services know about your observation. Hope you had a great trip!

 

[CarolA]

This happenes because people abused DTD. They parked there to go to the parks and avoid the parking fee.

Personally I don't see why it would impact OKW more then anyplace else. Unless these poeple wanted to try to take the boat, but if that is the case they will learn. They are now all waiting on that boat. (Which I know a lot of you love, but I think is way too slow!)

 

[Chuck S]

I think they should go back to checking resort ID for at least one person in your party.

 

[JudithM]

Next time you are not happy with transportation, feel free to pick up the phone in your room, call the operator & ask for a transportation supervisor. I know from first hand experience that those supervisers work well into the night .

 

[cruise-o-matic]

Maybe you should post this to Tyler in the Transportation forum.

 

[Pa@okw95]

Our dues are paying for those buses. This is not right.

 

[Pootle]

Personally I don't see why it would impact OKW more then anyplace else.

I haven't been aware of it happening myself, but it would impact OKW (and Saratoga Springs too probably) because they could be seen as stops on the way to DD - no doubling back or extra travelling time - most DD buses go via Vacation Club Way from all the resorts don't they?

 

[wtpclc]

I know this was the case in February. But, as non-DVC'ers at the time, we knew nothing about OKW. As such, we hopped on a bus to the other resorts or took the monorail to one of those resorts. Just guessing, but wouldn't it mainly be DVC'ers who would know that OKW is the closest wat to DD? Please don't flame me, it's just a guess.

 

[MarkRG]

Even worse, if they take a bus to SSR they can easily walk to DTD. You'd have to know the resort for where to get off to walk from OKW.

 

[Chuck S]

Originally posted by wtpclc
I know this was the case in February. But, as non-DVC'ers at the time, we knew nothing about OKW. As such, we hopped on a bus to the other resorts or took the monorail to one of those resorts. Just guessing, but wouldn't it mainly be DVC'ers who would know that OKW is the closest wat to DD? Please don't flame me, it's just a guess.

Carrie, no flames here...but I think the problem is probably more locals and off-site guests than DVCers. OKW and SSR are the resorts "on the way" to DtD/PI. I would guess that most guests staying onsite at WDW would return to their respective resorts to freshen up a little after a day in the parks before heading out for the evening, so they'd probably be on their own resorts busses to DtD.

A lot of locals still like to park at DtD to avoid paying parking and transfer at a resort. I guess a lot of locals don't get annual passes that include free parking, but opt for other local pass options. If Disney would raise the prices slightly on local special passes and include parking, it may help the situation.

 

[EmptyNester]

Originally posted by Chuck S
I think they should go back to checking resort ID for at least one person in your party.

While I understand the OP's frustration, staying at a WDW resort is not a prerequisite for using the WDW transportation sytem. Anyone holding any valid ticket that allows park hopping has full access to all modes of transportation.

 

[wtpclc]

Good point Chuck, I tend to forget about locals.

I do still think that you'd have to be a pretty savvy off-siter to know the OKW trick. But then, I've never had a car in WDW, so my sense of what's where is non-existant.

Quite frankly, I don't want to know, I like to get on the bus and just magically show up at my destination. Naive, perhaps, but I think enough the rest of my life!

I also agree that the changes in the bus system, which I think were intended to do away with needing the little chart, have made things a little more difficult all of the way around.

 

[EmptyNester]

It's too bad that some people "work" the system to avoid parking costs. However, Disney does encourage guests to use WDW transportation to reach all areas of the WDW Resort (after all, easy access encourages more spending in their shops and restaurants). Maps available in the parks tell you how to get anywhere within WDW via the transportation system; and the following is from the transportation FAQ's on Disney's own website. (Note that ferry service from OKW to DTD is specifically mentioned)

Q: What is the best way to get around within the Walt Disney World® Resort?
A: There are many modes of transportation within the Walt Disney World Resort, including Bus, Boat and Monorail. A rundown of transportation within the resort:

By Bus:
Most areas of the Walt Disney World Resort are accessible by bus from other areas within the Resort, including Theme Parks*, Water Parks, the Disney Resorts and the Downtown Disney® area. Buses travel on routes throughout the Resort and do not provide direct service between all destinations.
*Magic Kingdom® Park is not accessible by bus from Disney's Contemporary Resort, Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa and Disney's Polynesian Resort. These Resorts provide monorail transportation to the park.

By Boat:
The Magic Kingdom® Park is accessible by water launch from Disney's Contemporary Resort, Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, Disney's Polynesian Resort, Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground and Disney's Wilderness Lodge. The Disney ferryboats connect the Magic Kingdom Park to the Transportation and Ticket Center (adjacent to Magic Kingdom parking).

Epcot® and Disney-MGM Studios are accessible by boat from Disney's BoardWalk Inn and Villas Resort, Disney's Yacht Club and Disney's Beach Club Resorts and the Walt Disney World Swan and Walt Disney World Dolphin Hotels.

Downtown Disney® is accessible by ferryboat from Disney's Port Orleans Resort and Disney's Old Key West Resort.

By Monorail:
Disney's monorail runs between the Magic Kingdom Park, Disney's Contemporary Resort, Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, Disney's Polynesian Resort and the Transportation and Ticket Center (adjacent to the Magic Kingdom parking lot). A connecting monorail takes Guests from the Transportation and Ticket Center to Epcot.

 

[pumpkinboy]

When I forst saw the title on this site, I thought it would be about the Epcot resort bus routes, and what they've done to improve bus service there. When at BWV last week, I was pleased that our buses now "only" stop at the Swan and Dolphin, while YC/BC/BCV have their own buses now. Works much better now.

The OKW buses I saw leaving MK were about half full at times when we were travelling, about the same as the BWV/S/D loop buses. The SSR buses looked near empty. Perhaps things got more pressed as peak bus travel times approached?

 

[Mickey_UK]

I understand all the replies.....but my point was... disney always provided a bus service from DTD to T/T where guest would then take the ferryboat or monorail to MK or Epcot, this service seems to have stopped, so now guest...be it locals or just people staying offsite now use the resort buses. I understand if you have bought a ticket for the park this entitles them to use the bus service but surely not the buses to DVC resorts. I have to show a parking pass on my car or my membership card at the gate of OKW to get in yet it would appear as the parks close a lot of non members are using the OKW bus to gat back to DTD and leaving a lot of members waiting in line. We waited 40 mins and 4 buses at Mk before we were able to get back home........it just seems a long wait and I have never seen that many people waiting for an OKW bus

 

[B'rer Karen]

I understand all the replies.....but my point was... disney always provided a bus service from DTD to T/T where guest would then take the ferryboat or monorail to MK or Epcot, this service seems to have stopped,

For what it's worth, this service stopped somewhere between March of 2001 and October of 2001. I know because when I went at the end of October 2001 I caught the monorail to the TTC from MK and went to get on a DTD bus and they no longer had them. I knew I had just done this in my trip in March. So it has been this way for 3 years.

 

[DrTomorrow]

[...] I understand if you have bought a ticket for the park this entitles them to use the bus service but surely not the buses to DVC resorts. [...]

Of course they can; Disney wants day guests to visit the resorts to spend money on food, souvenirs - and in the case of DVC, getting interested in purchasing some points.

 

[Mickey_UK]

The buses were still running from DTD to T/T in march 2004 as my parents used them so they could catch the link bus to I drive

 

[TDC Nala]

The TTC now has buses only to theme or water parks. It currently has no bus service to DTD or any of the WDW resorts. It's been that way since at least July 2002 when I was unable to get to DTD from the TTC. The Wilderness Lodge/FW had a bus stop there, but that route has been discontinued as of November 14, 2004. WL now has direct bus service to the Magic Kingdom.

DTD only has bus service to resorts. You cannot get a bus to or from any theme park there.

I believe the 5 Epcot resorts' bus route is only split at certain times of the day and on certain routes. The DTD bus at night goes to all Epcot resorts.

I don't remember ever seeing anything that says only DVC members can use the buses to DVC resorts. If there was some such rule it could only apply to OKW and SSR, since all the others are attached to hotels.

Edit: A search on RADP indicates the TTC/DTD bus route was apparently discontinued in March 2002. There are some reports of the TTC/DTD bus running as late as December 2001.