CSR Transportation Very Disappointing

[goofyintoronto]

The way you phrased your serious question seems sarcastic, at least to me. If I misinterpreted that I apologize, but your final statement about my knickers in a knot over the mismanaged Epcot buses at the TTC on an EMH night really ticked me off. It had nothing to do with it being after Wishes. I was at the TTC while Wishes was still going on. It appears you assume I did not plan correctly, therefore it is my fault and I am expecting too much. So I got annoyed. Not interested in starting trouble. I'm back at work and I want to be back at Disney. Maybe I'm extra cranky and sensitive today. I am glad to hear that not many people experienced the same. Though I wonder if the two families at Bus Stop 4 on Saturday the 19th at 8:30am who screamed at the bus driver for not letting people on the MK bus when there was plenty of standing room are on the disboards. I'm sure they would corroborate my experience.

sorry. the knickers comment wasnt directed at you at all. The comment about buses after wishes should have given it away. sorry if you thought that. but i totally agree with you about the epcot/TTC experience, thats completely unacceptable. I wouldnt be too pleased about that either.

Late buses etc happens all the time. One time i was at the bus stop at 7am, i had an 805am ADR at AK. the darn bus didnt come until 735am!!! I was livid!!!!! But after that one incident i sure as heck learned my lesson. everytime i have an early morning adr, i take a cab. LOL! its much easier and less stressful for me. i get stressed if there's a slight possibility that i could be late. im not the most patient person in situations like that. Lol. which is why i resort to cabs from now on for early ADRs. something to think about.

All in all, i hope i have a better experience at CSR than you did. I will let you know!

 

[stickerstyler]

My last ever post but I am not sure why saskdw thinks it was funny about my bus issues. Maybe it was bad luck for us that the service was bad but I do have POP to compare to which we never waited more then 10 minutes. I think on a Saturday morning they should have at least one MK bus coming through the bus stations. Again we waited from 7:55 until just after 8:30 for the first bus to come. Do people at CSR not want to get to Disney for the opening of the park. Again I have nothing against the resort which is nice but as a family that was using the buses it was very frustrating.

Laugh away SASK dude, which is surprising because most people on these sites are very helpful and respectful. I have used this site to prepare for our first time at Disney as a family and couldn't have done it without it but I will no longer post but just use it for info. My wife is laughing at me right now for even commenting about your post.

 

[Ktharee]

Luck does actually play a part in this. Like i said we have spent 3 of he last 4 Christmas at WDW. The first at CBR and we had darn near perfect bus service. The 2nd at CSR and we had what i would describe as good and acceptable bus service. Of course we left thinking that CBR must have better bus service because our experience was better there. Then our 3rd trip at CSR again we had darn near perfect service again matching the 1st trip at CBR.

The reality is that the service was the same all 3 trips, but our luck/timing wasn't as good the 2nd trip. Last trip it seemed like our bus was always arriving at the stop at the same time we were, our timing was amazing. The 2nd trip we had alot of 10, 15, and 20 min waits. This is well within the acceptable parameters, but obviously not as good as 1,2, and 5 min waits. The 2nd trip we obviously just missed our bus alot of times which resulted in waiting for the next one. So luck does play a part.

The main reason I post in threads like these is I don't want inexperienced WDW vacationers to come here and only get the negative side of he story and become discouraged.

If I can pick at you one more time though you are the only "experienced" WDW goer in this thread that didn't know the monorail closes at that time, so that does go back to planning.

Ha! You Canadians stick together! I thought I knew it. Didn't realize it was 1 hour after REGULAR park close. My bad. Epcot CM's didn't know it either when the man in front of me asked/complained to them why it wasn't operating. Guess it's not common enough knowledge yet. We did not stay at a monorail resort and I never intended on staying at MK that late. My darn daughter and her pleading for one more ride! Nothing good happens when you venture off the itinerary.

 

[Ktharee]

sorry. the knickers comment wasnt directed at you at all. The comment about buses after wishes should have given it away. sorry if you thought that. but i totally agree with you about the epcot/TTC experience, thats completely unacceptable. I wouldnt be too pleased about that either.

Late buses etc happens all the time. One time i was at the bus stop at 7am, i had an 805am ADR at AK. the darn bus didnt come until 735am!!! I was livid!!!!! But after that one incident i sure as heck learned my lesson. everytime i have an early morning adr, i take a cab. LOL! its much easier and less stressful for me. i get stressed if there's a slight possibility that i could be late. im not the most patient person in situations like that. Lol. which is why i resort to cabs from now on for early ADRs. something to think about.

All in all, i hope i have a better experience at CSR than you did. I will let you know!

You will LOVE CSR, I did and still do! You are smart to utilize the cabs for the ADR's and I would suggest that to anyone at any resort that is not within walking distance to where they need to be. Glad we cleared the air, have a great trip! Hoping the transportation Gods are working in your favor.

 

[saskdw]

My last ever post but I am not sure why saskdw thinks it was funny about my bus issues. Maybe it was bad luck for us that the service was bad but I do have POP to compare to which we never waited more then 10 minutes. I think on a Saturday morning they should have at least one MK bus coming through the bus stations. Again we waited from 7:55 until just after 8:30 for the first bus to come. Do people at CSR not want to get to Disney for the opening of the park. Again I have nothing against the resort which is nice but as a family that was using the buses it was very frustrating.

Laugh away SASK dude, which is surprising because most people on these sites are very helpful and respectful. I have used this site to prepare for our first time at Disney as a family and couldn't have done it without it but I will no longer post but just use it for info. My wife is laughing at me right now for even commenting about your post.

No, seriously. I was laughing at the way you posted not at your experience. The way the post came across was that CSR has crappy service and that's that! I was imagining you stomping your feet at the end...lol. But I really don't find it funny that anyone had a negative experience on their vacation.

I have tried to help 100's of people plan their vacation on here, but I do like to have a few laughs, unfortunately sometimes a persons sense of humor does not come across as intended on the Internet. If I do have one flaw it's a need to pick at negativity, sometimes I can't help myself.

But it would be silly to stop posting on here because of me.

 

[Ktharee]

We've been several times to CSR and always had great bus service - the best of any resort at any time of year (including two trips in mid-May, coincidentally). Doesn't mean the OP didn't have bad luck. We had awful service at AKL for an entire week - doesn't make it any less accurate that someone else had great bus service. I don't think it is indicative of a general decline in service when people before and after you had great bus service at the same resort. Sometimes you just have bad luck or unreasonable expectations. Allowing 40 minutes to get to an ADR is not reasonable. Disney says to allow 1 1/2 hours when using Disney transportation to reach an ADR. That's not new advice. We are fortunate that it has never taken us nearly that long.

It has been posted all over the boards for a while that the monorail would not be running during evening EMH, so a little planning would have helped in that case. Not the fault of Disney, although they should have had buses. But lining up for the monorail is just poor planning.

And the poster who wanted to "explode" because they waited 35 minutes for a bus? I'm sure they are fun folks to travel with.

Maybe the bus drivers were grouchy because impatient people were screaming at them for something that was most likely out of their control (not the bus capacity, but the timing). Not a very pleasant working environment to be yelled at first thing in the morning.






Considering you have gotten "attitude" from more than one poster, maybe there is something in your own phrasing that can be improved? Typically, calling other posters confused, arrogant, and insane doesn't win a lot of support, whether or not your initial post has merit.

The monorail being closed wasn't even a big deal. We got on the MK monorail before Wishes started with no problem/line at all. At the TTC is where we saw the chain and sign that said it was not operational. No, monorail is now closed for the evening or any hours posted. So, we didn't know what to make of that at the time. We were not staying at a monorail resort and I never intended to be on a monorail ever this trip that late so I didn't pay attention to the monorail chatter. It was the fact that there were no buses from the TTC on an EMH night that was the problem.

I realize my initial post should have been longer with more explanation. In the end it appears I had some unfortunate luck and timing and so have some others. I wouldn't have said anything about one or two incidents, but it was culmination of many. I was also traveling with 15 family members, who also experienced problems at separate times. We aren't the screamers, we love Disney and don't want there to be any glitches ever. We've been very lucky with lots of pixie dust over the years, this time, was not so magical as others. I wanted to know if it was just me or what. Thanks to everyone for their comments, much appreciated! For those who I was cranky with...apologies...not only did I just get back from Disney (didn't want to leave), but I turned 40 too. Old and cranky!

 

[StitchandPooh'sMom]

I realize my initial post should have been longer with more explanation. In the end it appears I had some unfortunate luck and timing and so have some others. I wouldn't have said anything about one or two incidents, but it was culmination of many. I was also traveling with 15 family members, who also experienced problems at separate times. We aren't the screamers, we love Disney and don't want there to be any glitches ever. We've been very lucky with lots of pixie dust over the years, this time, was not so magical as others. I wanted to know if it was just me or what. Thanks to everyone for their comments, much appreciated! For those who I was cranky with...apologies...not only did I just get back from Disney (didn't want to leave), but I turned 40 too. Old and cranky!

As much as I loved AKL, I would never stay there without a car after our bus experience. I know our experience probably wasn't the norm, but it was OUR experience. So I get it, even though we have always had great bus service at CSR. Sometimes it just doesn't work out beautifully, and other times you get lots of pixie dust.

 

[Twizzles]

We were at bus stop #1 during different times in the morning and evening. My husband made the comment about all the buses stating "TRAINING" as well.

As it was our first time at WDW, of course we didn't know a lot of the ins and outs that the experienced goers have on their side. The bus transportation is the one that we had a problem with the whole time we were there. Again, we have nothing to base our "luck" on except being newbies. No biggie, it is what it is. It definately didn't damper our trip, we all 3 had a fantastic time and my son keeps asking to go back to our temporary home . Now that we know the buses drop / pick up at 2 3 4 then 1 could be where some of the over crowding was on our end, who really knows, but it does help us plan for our next vacation a lil better. It may not be at CSR, but at least we can pass on the information to our friends!!

Other than the monorail issue, I still think it was a matter of bad timing. dtstampz, Twizzles, and myself were all down there the exact same dates (May 5th-12th). I'm not sure what bus stop Twizzles used, but dtstampz and I both used bus stop #4 and have both said the bus service was great that week, whereas Twizzles was there the exact same dates and had horrible bus service.

Now granted, due to my friend having a rental car, I only used the buses to MK and didn't have a problem either time. In fact, if I was doing a review on them I would have said they were the best I had ever seen this trip. Both times we used used them, our bus was coming just as we walked up to the bus stop at the resort (once we left for MK in the evening and the second time we left very early in the morning and caught one of those early morning character buses). We also didn't wait more than maybe five minutes leaving the park (but once we left the park midafternoon and the second time we were there for evening EMH and waited until after all the crowds had left to just walk out of empty park). The bus was again pulling up as we got to the stop and had very few people waiting. There were still empty seats when we pulled out. I did not even come close to standing on a bus at all this trip. dtstampz has said her family used the buses all that week and also had great service. Does that mean Twizzles was wrong or that me and dtstampz are wrong? Neither! It just means dtstampz and I for some reason had better timing and just happened to catch the buses just right. It's just the way it happens sometimes.

 

[goofyintoronto]

You will LOVE CSR, I did and still do! You are smart to utilize the cabs for the ADR's and I would suggest that to anyone at any resort that is not within walking distance to where they need to be. Glad we cleared the air, have a great trip! Hoping the transportation Gods are working in your favor.

Thanks!!!! I hope so too! Although how much you wanna bet i'll have the worst luck EVER with buses while at CSR? cause im lucky that way. then i'll come back and start a thread just like yours! LMAO.

 

[DizDaD7]

Never once did we experience this while staying 9 nights there...I'm sorry you had a bad experience...I wonder if it were at all the resorts as well, because it was sooo packed... Don't give it up just yet...You've always had great experiences b-4 it seems, so give em another shot....Also maybe a letter to someone in Disney Transportation, may get you some resolve...

 

[aubriee]

My last ever post but I am not sure why saskdw thinks it was funny about my bus issues. Maybe it was bad luck for us that the service was bad but I do have POP to compare to which we never waited more then 10 minutes.

As an AP holder, I go to WDW 4-6 times a year. I have stayed at all three levels. But I normally stay at the moderates and sometimes do split stays too. Consistently CSR has always had by far the best bus service. Now, have I ever had to wait what I considered too long there? Of course. But I still say, consistently CSR has the best bus service. May 2010 I did a split stay at AKL and CSR and could not believe the difference in bus service. AKL seemed to be horrible that trip, but the buses at CSr that same trip were fanastic. Dec 2010 I did a split at CSR and YC and again CSR by far seemed to have better bus service. I have also done split stays that involved Pop and BW and Pop and POFQ. Pop had better bus service than BW, but POFQ had much better bus service than Pop. It wasn't even close. I've also done a split stay at POFQ and CSR and CSR had such better bus service. I still think it's a matter of timing though. I have stayed at CBR twice in the last couple of years and had absolutely horrible bus service both trips, yet I read here on the DIS where people got good bus service there. The absolute worst bus service we've ever had was a couple of years ago at AKL. We had bad luck with the buses there all week and I have never waited as long or stood as much on buses as we did that week.

 

[Ktharee]

Thanks!!!! I hope so too! Although how much you wanna bet i'll have the worst luck EVER with buses while at CSR? cause im lucky that way. then i'll come back and start a thread just like yours! LMAO.

LMAO! I hope not!

 

[Ktharee]

Never once did we experience this while staying 9 nights there...I'm sorry you had a bad experience...I wonder if it were at all the resorts as well, because it was sooo packed... Don't give it up just yet...You've always had great experiences b-4 it seems, so give em another shot....Also maybe a letter to someone in Disney Transportation, may get you some resolve...

I'm glad you didn't have a similar experience. I love CSR and would stay again, it's the transportation that I left leery of. But I'm sure it's the same anywhere you go. It's timing/luck and I should not have gone in with the expectation that it would be just as perfect as it had been before. May have been the pressure of planning a trip for 15 people and feeling personally responsible for their good time that made me even more upset about it. I'm very glad to hear that it's NOT the norm. Thanks for your comments!

 

[tarak]

I've had good luck with the busses, with the exception of travel to DTD, but that seems to be a common theme regardless of the resort. My last two trips to AKL have been great. Only one time we were waiting for what seemed like eons for a bus to arrive (we were at the resort - I think headed to MK).

I'm sorry you had an off week for bus transportation. I can understand venting about it. I've considered driving to WDW for our next trip, but I suspect the drive back might be too much for me to handle (four kids in a car for 18 hours versus two and a half on a plane). And the kids never seem to mind the bus rides, no matter how long they take.