Disney bus wait times?

[TeaForTulips]

We have been to WDW many times, but we always did the long drive for cost and convenience. It was usually cheaper and it was so nice having the car. We are planning our trip for next year and seriously considering flying because lets face it... 18 hour drives are really no fun. We might also be able to get in more fun time and less drive time.

My biggest concern with this is all the horror stories I have heard and read over the years with the wait times for buses. Also having to take longer routes to go somewhere due to the limited routes from resorts.

After being spoiled for so many years do you think the buses would drive me crazy or are they really not bad? I picture myself standing in the heat after a long day at the park with children ready to get back to the resort and I get scared thinking I will be waiting 30 minutes+ for a bus.

Thanks for any help!

 

[skiingfast]

Disney says buses come within 20 minutes. Only when the parks are closing will you maybe not get the first bus. But disney knows this and run buses more often.

IME I have only been on a second bus once and only had a wait over 15 minutes one other time.

Once on the bus it doesn't take more time to get somewhere than in your car. But the bus may stop at a couple more resort stops. There are 3 stops at the POR resort so the bus stops at each. It also may stop at the sister resort POFQ but only mid day when it is slow. But it doesn't require you to park and use a tram at the parks. Also the bus access at the resorts and parks is really simple so this trims the driving time that a car can't.

DTD and the water parks are the drawback, since the buses make the more than usual stops. At least from POR there is a nice boat to DTD.

 

[Hidden Mickey]

The bus waits depend on the time of day. In Epcot I remember at closing and in the morning there would be a bus waiting there, but at noon you may have to wait longer for one to come.

 

[DOOM1001]

Many people enjoy Disney more by not even having to worry about driving to get around the resort.They're obviously not touring the parks commando style as buses aren't guaranteed to be sitting there waiting for you.For the most part you won't have to wait more than 15-20 minutes for the next bus.

 

[tzolkin]

We drive so we have a car available, but have never once used it once we are on Disney property. We love to get to the resort and then not drive for 10+ days. We have never had any issues with the busses.

To me, it would be more of a hassle to drive-- especially trying to not to get lost . We lived nearby when I was a kid and I remember waiting forever for the monorail and then waiting for the parking lot tram and then sitting in traffic. Waiting in one line for a bus that drops you off close to your room at the end of the night seems much nicer to me.


Every family is different, but we would never consider driving and are very detered from staying off site for that reason alone.

 

[debbiedana]

In our four stays at Pop, only once did I wait for more than 15 minutes. I waited 20 mins for a bus to DTD.

At park closing @ MK one night, there were FOUR buses for Pop.

We waited longer for busses when we stayed at the Poly.

 

[walkdmc]

We stayed at the Poly last year and never had one issue with transportation to parks. Our problems involved buses and trying to leave parks. I did notice we had about a 30 minute wait one night for a bus from DHS back to the Poly. I didn't think it was a big deal, until some jerks kept trying to get on the wheelchair ramp while the bus driver was getting it ready after loading an ECV. They were a group of obnoxious teens who just wouldn't take "no" for an answer. That seemed to happen a lot. At least every day, some dolt tried to cut in line with a gaggle of people, or behaved rudely in some way. I saw some of the worst behaviors on the buses. I didn't like how the buses were always packed on our way back to the Poly, or to another park. Standing on the bus, trying to balance on throbbing legs, for a 25 minute bus ride was painful.

The people riding the monorails were usually polite, did the "right" things and were generally pleasant. I think because they are spacious and fast with the end in sight.

Bottom line, if I had to rely on bus transportation solely, I'd think twice, or rent a car. However, it wasn't so bad having regular access to the monorails.

 

[CDNCA]

Busses are what you make of them. The above posters have summarized my experiences very well. If we stay on site we use the busses. The way I look at it is a 30 minute wait (usually less) or having to stand on a packed bus (maybe 25% of the time) is alot better than being at work or cleaning house or doing yard work or shoveling snow. So make the best of it, people watch, chat with strangers, enjoy the scenery, breath the fresh air, bask in the sun.....

 

[ml05ries]

The transportation time also makes a difference depending on what resort you are staying at. We stayed at CBR and they have their own buses. However I know the CR, GF, and Poly share buses so it can take a little longer to get to the parks or back to the resort. But as for actually waiting for a bus, I don't think I waited longer than 10-15 minutes to get on a bus in May. It does get busier at night, but unless you wait until the absolute minute the park closes, you'll get on the first bus. You may have to stand on a bus at closing.

 

[delaneyc52]

I'm totally a no bus person. We did do it for years....but after renting a car a couple of times and knowing where to park (not always at the parks), I am a bring your own/rent a car person. Buses take 4 times longer to get to the parks than driving yourself. And I hate the wait....when I want to go, I want to go.

Now...that being said and looking to fixed retirement income times ahead, it may be that I need to re-establish a happy relationship again with Disney buses.

 

[jcrisp26]

We stayed at CBR and the buses took forever! But it is one of the biggest resorts packed full of kids! One of the days we waited 45 min for the Animal Kingdom bus..the Disney Worker gave us a voucher for a free line jump because of it but really after having three tired kids that wasnt worth it.... I would say make sure you stay at a resort with either water transportation or the monorail so you wont be waiting forever!!! Some of the resorts that are less popular had shorter lines also...

 

[skiingfast]

Resort size does not effect the wait time for buses. The resorts have a proportional amount of buses to guests.

Some resorts share buses sometimes but not all the time. It depends on the time of day. Some resorts also have multiple stops this effects travel time.

 

[mrodgers]

Just left Pop Century this morning at 3 am and got home to PA about 2 hours ago.

At Pop, we didn't wait more than 15 minutes for a bus. The one time we didn't make the bus because of the amount of people waiting, there was a 2nd bus sitting waiting to pull in.

We drove from PA (18 hours straight home from north of Pittsburgh with 1 lunch stop and many many bathroom breaks. Ate dinner of fast food in the car while moving...) so we had our car. We drove to the parks a few times. There was absolutely no advantage over taking the bus. The amount of time spent waiting for a bus was taken up by the time parking, waiting for the tram, and travelling on the tram.

We drove the first 2 days to MK and that was a mistake. We lost a lot of time with the tram and the ferry.

We drove to Animal Kingdom only because we saw the bus leaving with everyone on it as we walked out the doors.

Our 2nd day, we drove to MK in the morning and went back to the resort after lunch. For dinner, we took the bus. It was much faster taking the bus.

My wife was very set on driving to the parks and not taking the busses. We mostly did take the bus, going to each park twice each day. Much less hassle, especially at MK, and we never had to wait long for Pop busses.

 

[Robin K]

We have only had one issue waiting for a bus. There was a person (in charge) with a walkie talkie telling the buses to get some more buses to our resort stop ASAP. We were waiting about 35-40 minutes but the guy in charge was like I am super sorry. What can I do for any of you? One couple had ADRs so he sent for a taxi and paid the fees to get them to the park for the ADR. I feel the worst waits are when the parks close. That's because 50000 plus people wanna get back at the same time. Just linger a bit longer then your wait won't seem as horrible.
I love the idea of getting to the parks without worrying about driving, getting lost, parking, remembering where I parked etc etc. We rarely are in a hurry so waiting 10-15 minutes doesn't bug us. We figured that complaining and getting upset only ruins our vacation. Plus it gives us a few more minutes to people watch.
I agree with the previous post, the buses are what you make of them.
Enjoy your trip.

 

[dizzydizzfreak_93]

I've only had one real problem with the buses. When we stayed at the Coronado we had to wait an extended period of time for a bus to EPCOT to show up. We had an ADR for my stepmom's birthday so she wasn't too happy Other then that one time though I've never had problems with the buses. You normally don't have to wait too long and you dont have to worry about getting lost if you read the wrong sign... LOL