Disney makes a poor choice

[mrswortham]

I am writing from the area right now (we are staying offsite at the Nick hotel). I was displeased to learn last night, that the only real way to get to Downtown Disney if you are staying offsite without a car, is paying $28 for a taxi one way, which isn't going to happen.
I called and spoke with someone from the Disney transportation last night, because of an earlier conversation I had with the shuttle driver who informed me "Disney caters to those who stay on their property, and don't really care about anyone else". I could not believe my ears, so I was determined to find a way to Downtown Disney besides a taxi. I failed. When I spoke with this woman on the phone from Disney transportation, she confirmed they would take me on the monorail as far as the disney bus station, but that only those who stay on the property get to take those busses. At the end of the conversation, I asked if I could please leave a suggestion for those of us offsite, without a car, please "allow" us to come spend more money at their establishment, and I was told "most people find a way". Well, I guess I am not "most" people, because I will not pay that much for a taxi so that I can spend more money.
Does Disney's bullying ways guarantee that I will book my next trip on a Disney property? Most definitely not. If anything, it makes me determined to stay offsite once again.
Before I get flamed, I must add that 1)This was our first trip here, after several to Disneyland, and I had no idea everything was so spread out. 2) I didn't rent a car because I really don't feel comfortable driving in areas that I have never been to. 3)Downtown Disney was really supposed to be for my sons, the Lego fanatics, and if I can make something happen for my boys, I try my hardest to a point. 4) I do not regret my decision whatsoever to stay here at the Nick hotel, because it was a decision I made for my boys, and they love it here.
And yes, I know, I am only one person, so, who cares? But, after writing this, I really feel better now. Thanks for listening.

Amy

 

[jennymouse]

Amy, you can get on a bus and take it to any of the Disney resorts and catch a DTD bus from there. You don't have to stay onsite to use the buses. Go to DTD and have fun!

 

[MazdaUK]

We were never asked for any ID on the shuttle buses. Its a shame you were given wrong information, as you could have used them to get around a lot - in practice once they have some of your $$ Disney are quite happy to give you a chance to hand over more.

I'm surprised no-one mentioned to you how big WDW is. Several of my friends who had been all said its great - but REALLY big. I didn't really comprehend how big till I got a guidebook while we were planning which gave the dimensions of the parks and the whole area.

I understand about not driving - I drive at home but never on the "wrong" side of the road (luckily DH is quite happy to do so, so we were able to get offsite). But you will find your offsite choices limited if you don't want to drive as most are a considerable distance - my friends did stay on I'drive and use the complimentary hotel shuttle, but it was not ideal.

I hope you had a great holiday anyway

 

[CarolA]

I am writing from the area right now (we are staying offsite at the Nick hotel). I was displeased to learn last night, that the only real way to get to Downtown Disney if you are staying offsite without a car, is paying $28 for a taxi one way, which isn't going to happen.
I called and spoke with someone from the Disney transportation last night, because of an earlier conversation I had with the shuttle driver who informed me "Disney caters to those who stay on their property, and don't really care about anyone else". I could not believe my ears, so I was determined to find a way to Downtown Disney besides a taxi. I failed. When I spoke with this woman on the phone from Disney transportation, she confirmed they would take me on the monorail as far as the disney bus station, but that only those who stay on the property get to take those busses. At the end of the conversation, I asked if I could please leave a suggestion for those of us offsite, without a car, please "allow" us to come spend more money at their establishment, and I was told "most people find a way". Well, I guess I am not "most" people, because I will not pay that much for a taxi so that I can spend more money.
Does Disney's bullying ways guarantee that I will book my next trip on a Disney property? Most definitely not. If anything, it makes me determined to stay offsite once again.
Before I get flamed, I must add that 1)This was our first trip here, after several to Disneyland, and I had no idea everything was so spread out. 2) I didn't rent a car because I really don't feel comfortable driving in areas that I have never been to. 3)Downtown Disney was really supposed to be for my sons, the Lego fanatics, and if I can make something happen for my boys, I try my hardest to a point. 4) I do not regret my decision whatsoever to stay here at the Nick hotel, because it was a decision I made for my boys, and they love it here.
And yes, I know, I am only one person, so, who cares? But, after writing this, I really feel better now. Thanks for listening.

Amy

Blame you fellow off site guests for this! Disney USED to run buses directly from the parks to DTD. They had to stop and why? Because folks staying off site filled up the parking lot at DTD by parking there for free and taking the bus to the parks thereby not leaving any room for the guests who came to shop at the stores. It's a shame when the actions of a few screw things up for the majority.

 

[bicker]

I hadn't heard this, Carol. It sure does make sense. I believe we even speculated here on the DIS, quite a few years ago, about this loophold of generosity Disney had left open, and some asserted that they would have to close it one day.

For the OP: It is important, though, to keep this in context. I can argue with Disney Transportation drivers enough to get them to say that the Pope is Muslim. They don't speak for the Disney Company, and pushing them on matters of policy is opportunistic, at best. Disney does care about off-site guests, very much, and want them to pay for the services that they offer, just as Disney resort guests pay (through the premium applied to their room rates). It is a shame that big companies cannot make individual exceptions, but that's rarely practical.

 

[pepe of ohio]

I had the experience of trying Pop Century last trip because of hurricane Wilma. During our stay, 10 nights at the Poly, Wilma approaching shut down our way home, Amtrak. So we opted to ride out Wilma and stay until Amtrak was up again. Not knowing when that would be and after already paying for the Poly for 10 nights and not knowing what would happen during or after the storm, we asked to be moved to Pop until Amtrak was running.

The move went smooth, Poly conceirge gave us cab fare and away we went to Pop Century. Now the values aren't the deluxes but the stay was just as magical and nice. Area is well pointed and for $87.00 a night, bet you paid more for your off site hotel, we had access to all of Disney's transportation and sites. Its alittle far out, close to EPCOT and AK but when staying at the deluxes it works the opposite ways. We got stuck, if you want to call it that, for 3 nights, parks only closed for 1/2 a day after Wilma and Amtrak started running again. For those 3 nights I paid less then what I paid for one night at the Poly, so I guess my thoughts are; you can still have alot of fun and the values will save you tons of bucks, you can dine at the fine eateries, buy more souveniors with the saving. Think I'm out of the deluxes, way over-priced, and after 35 visits, and staying at only deluxes all those times I can say with authority that the values are not that bad for the money.

 

[mrswortham]

It really does help to know why it is this way. Should have figured some people had to ruin it by "cheating the system". Now that I understand, it doesn't make me feel so saddened by it. I appreciate your insight, and can move on to enjoy the rest of our vacation! Thanks again.

 

[wdwgoofeeee]

You were given bad info on the telephone. As others have already said, you can go to any Disney resort and catch a bus to anywhere else in WDW. Everyone with a WDW theme park admission is entitled to use all WDW transportation.....buses monorail, and boats.
From the MK you can walk to the Contemporary for buses or take the monorail there or to any of the MK resorts for buses.
From Epcot you can exit at the International Gateway (near United Kingdom) to the boardwalk area and catch a bus from any of the Epcot resorts (Boardwalk, Beach Club, Yacht Club, Swan and Dolphin).
From the Studios you can walk or boat over to the boardwalk area for buses.
Sorry you were given bad information. Better off asking over here.

 

[TwingleMum]

It really does help to know why it is this way. Should have figured some people had to ruin it by "cheating the system". Now that I understand, it doesn't make me feel so saddened by it. I appreciate your insight, and can move on to enjoy the rest of our vacation! Thanks again.

Good for You!!!! PD PD Hope the rest of your vacation is magical!!

 

[Schmeck]

I didn't catch the part in the OP's first post that stated where she wanted to take the bus from to get to DT - I was assuming she meant her hotel? Why would Disney give you transport from your non-Disney hotel to DTD?

If the person was talking about going from a WDW park to DTD, then the info about no buses at all directly from the park to DTD has already been given. That means guests of WDW that are staying onsite can't get there directly either, so what's the gripe?

Onsite guests pay to use those buses, (room costs are much higher on property, you pay for the perks!) and they get filled up quickly. Why not complain to the hotel that you are staying at that your hotel should have a shuttle to DTD from the parks? That's where you chose to stay...

 

[MareSINY]

I can't imagine staying off site and NOT renting a car. My last trip was the first time in my adult life that I stayed on site, all our other trips we stayed off site and rented cars to get us where we wanted to go. I never even thought to use Disney transportation until I stayed on site.

I think if you want to be annoyed at anyone you should be annoyed at your hotel for not having a shuttle to DTD. It's not Disney's responsibility to supply you with transportation. That would be like an on site guest being annoyed because Disney wont transport them to Universal or Sea World.

 

[dzneelvr]

There are definite perks to staying onsite and transportation is one of them. May I suggest you check out the value resorts next time. They are a wonderful value and you get Disney service 24/7. We personally would never try to experience the full measure of WDW with a room off-site; I realize lots do. Try to keep your experience in context. Sounds like you may have gone into the trip with some "assumptions" that were not reality-- so it really isn't all about what others did. A Birnbaum Guide would be a very helpful read before venturing to WDW again (or just get on these boards and ask away . )

 

[shannon1219]

You were given bad info on the telephone. As others have already said, you can go to any Disney resort and catch a bus to anywhere else in WDW. Everyone with a WDW theme park admission is entitled to use all WDW transportation.....buses monorail, and boats.
From the MK you can walk to the Contemporary for buses or take the monorail there or to any of the MK resorts for buses.
From Epcot you can exit at the International Gateway (near United Kingdom) to the boardwalk area and catch a bus from any of the Epcot resorts (Boardwalk, Beach Club, Yacht Club, Swan and Dolphin).
From the Studios you can walk or boat over to the boardwalk area for buses.
Sorry you were given bad information. Better off asking over here.

I was under the impression that WDW busses were for the use of wdw resort guest. That is one reason we pay so much to stay onsite.

 

[bicker]

This is a very frequent source of confusion.

Disney provides transportation between parks for all guests, not just Disney resort guests. This is in recognition of the fact that anyone can purchase park hopping passes. Also, of course, transportation between TTC and the parks are included in that.

Technically, transportation between resorts and parks, including busses, monorails, and boats, is promised to Disney resort guests, only. However, in recent years, they have only enforced such a restriction under the most dire circumstances. The only places where we can now have to really have even the most remote concern is the MK resort monorail.

So, I suppose that means everyone is correct: The transportation between resorts and parks is "for" Disney resort guests, but is generally open to all.

Another example of how there is no absolute truth.

 

[boomhauer]

I didn't catch the part in the OP's first post that stated where she wanted to take the bus from to get to DT - I was assuming she meant her hotel? Why would Disney give you transport from your non-Disney hotel to DTD?

If the person was talking about going from a WDW park to DTD, then the info about no buses at all directly from the park to DTD has already been given. That means guests of WDW that are staying onsite can't get there directly either, so what's the gripe?

Onsite guests pay to use those buses, (room costs are much higher on property, you pay for the perks!) and they get filled up quickly. Why not complain to the hotel that you are staying at that your hotel should have a shuttle to DTD from the parks? That's where you chose to stay...

I agree with this post 100%. If anything, the OP's gripe should be with her hotel, not Disney. Why would Disney send a bus over to a competing resort to pick you up?

Does Universal send complimentary transportation to Disney Resorts? Does Sea World?

Don't mean to sound rude, but this is simply one of the perks of staying on Disney Property. This is a main reason why I always stay on property. Disney isn't to blame for this.

 

[boomhauer]

There are definite perks to staying onsite and transportation is one of them. May I suggest you check out the value resorts next time. They are a wonderful value and you get Disney service 24/7. We personally would never try to experience the full measure of WDW with a room off-site; I realize lots do. Try to keep your experience in context. Sounds like you may have gone into the trip with some "assumptions" that were not reality-- so it really isn't all about what others did. A Birnbaum Guide would be a very helpful read before venturing to WDW again (or just get on these boards and ask away . )

Exactly.

 

[bicker]

Why would Disney send a bus over to a competing resort to pick you up? Does Universal send complimentary transportation to Disney Resorts? Does Sea World?

Bad example. Disney is the leader. It does make sense that the hangers-on would send free transportation to try to lure folks away from the leader. I'm not sure if they do or not, but it is something I believe they should be seriously considering.

Don't mean to sound rude, but this is simply one of the perks of staying on Disney Property. This is a main reason why I always stay on property.

Yes, this is key. The excellent transportation is one of the major reasons why people pay extra to stay on-site at Disney.

 

[boomhauer]

Bad example. Disney is the leader. It does make sense that the hangers-on would send free transportation to try to lure folks away from the leader. I'm not sure if they do or not, but it is something I believe they should be seriously considering.

Yes, this is key. The excellent transportation is one of the major reasons why people pay extra to stay on-site at Disney.

True. However, if Disney starts doing this, why would people chose to pay more money to stay on-site when they can get the transportation staying at a less expensive off site resort.

As of now, Universal and Sea World do not offer free transports from Disney Resorts. I agree - For them, it would make sense. For Disney, it wouldn't.

 

[disneymom2one]

1) You could have taken a resort bus to Saratoga from any theme park and then walked.

2) You could have taken a resort bus to any resort and then taken a Downtown Disney bus.

3) You could have stayed onsite.

Options 1 and 2 are technically only for resort guests but this is essentially never enforced since offsite guests often use resort transportation with good reason (resort restaurants being one).

And I'm glad you picked the Nick hotel "for your boys" but in doing so you did choose to give up the major perk of Disney transportation (although it's easy to get around as everyone has pointed out). And without a car I'm not sure how you're getting around Orlando. How are you getting to the parks? If your hotel has transportation to the theme parks then your gripe should be with them. Why don't they have transportation to Downtown Disney?

This is definitely one case where a little research goes a long way.

 

[Luv2Roam]

When staying off site without your transportation, you will run across difficulties getting most anywhere.
That is one reason why staying on site is popular.
There is Lynx, a public bus service that will take people direct to the TTC.
And there are literally hundreds, if not thousands of off site hotels in their area. I can't imagine busses going to all of them to pick up guests for DTD.
I think the OP understands the situation better now. But I can't say if I stayed off site I would expect a shuttle to DTD from any hotel. If there was one, great. But I agree I would would expect that to be a perk from the hotel, not Disney.