Disney should be embarrassed by All Stars transportation

[kaytieeldr]

Have you ever been dropped off at the FARTHEST point possible at EPCOT? Do you know how far out this is? It's rediculous. And this was in Aug of 2003 and we were staying at the WL. We were so not happy. This happened every where then. We've given up on using the buses at this point now that we have a little one. It would be so nice if this was fixed.

I don't remember 2003 - I probably had a rental car and/or stayed on Hotel Plaza Boulevard - but instead of being one long line, the Epcot bus area is now a loop of sorts, and Pop Century is the furthest point from the park entrance.

 

[keishashadow]

IMO, the AS's have the BEST bus service in WDW.

You should see what you get @ the BW in June...people jammed in & skipping of Swan & YC entirely. Oh yeah, most of the folks are paying 3 times the price of a room @ the AS.

WL was somewhere in the middle for bus service.

BTW, the small, flat, $ store folding umbrellas are invaluable out in the blazing FL sun...as well as for the pesky pm afternoon showers.

 

[maxsmom]

I don't remember 2003 - I probably had a rental car and/or stayed on Hotel Plaza Boulevard - but instead of being one long line, the Epcot bus area is now a loop of sorts, and Pop Century is the furthest point from the park entrance.

Was Pop open then? If so that's where we were. We were in no mans land out there. There was no one around or other buses back there either. I'm glad we didn't have to walk that far to leave the park. That would be a killer.

 

[iteachlit]

Have you ever been dropped off at the FARTHEST point possible at EPCOT? Do you know how far out this is? It's rediculous. And this was in Aug of 2003 and we were staying at the WL. We were so not happy. This happened every where then. We've given up on using the buses at this point now that we have a little one. It would be so nice if this was fixed.

The way I looked at it, the stops at EPCOT are shaped like a T, with the crossbar of the T facing the park entrance.

The first few stops seemed like deluxes. The body of the T contained a lot of the moderates and POP, I believe. The other half of the crossbar (the greatest distance from the park) was used for the All Stars and charter busses. We were usually dropped off in the moderate area and picked up at bay 15 (I think), which was the next-to-the-last stop.

The EPCOT bus service was fairly good both nights we were there. I would like to add that the monorail from the TTC to EPCOT was by far the best way to get to EPCOT. We took that route twice from MK and it was much better than waiting for busses at other locations.

 

[mamacatnv]

I'm so sorry you had a lousy experience and I agree that letters to Disney are in order.

We stayed at ASMu this past Dec/Jan and with one exception had no issues with the busses. Yes, they were crowded, but everything was. Many times coming and going they were standing room only. If we didn't feel like standing we would wait for another bus that we could get seats on. Our ME was also a 1/2 hour late, we made it to the airport in time.

As for rude people, we experienced them everywhere. When it comes to large groups of teens neither myself or DH have an issue telling them to knock it off and behave themselves. My DH will stand guard and make sure that people don't cut in line, he hates that.

As for the uncovered ques, I too do not understand it and we have only been in the winter! I understand that it is a "Value" resort but that doesn't mean that guests should be put into situations that cause misery that could easily be avoided.

We have been to Disney during peak holiday times and tho the lines at the resort bus areas can be long, they are not so huge that a covering could not be put over the area.

ps - we waited the longest for a bus at Beach Club to return to MK one eve.

 

[Zippa D Doodah]

I understand that the new computer dispatching systen is causing some new (unfavorable) patterns in bus service. To be honest, this has me a bit concerned about our October trip/ We are currently planning to stay at AS Movies (our 5th stay at and AS resort). Our prior experience has been all positive -with one glaring exception.

WDW seems to have a hard time getting guests out of the queue at park closings -especially MK. Lemme just say, you haven't experienced pressure about getting back to your resort in a timely manner until you have stood in a value resort bus queue outside MK as your 8yo daughter tells you that she really has to use the bathroom RIGHT NOW. Somehow she made it, but I found myself in quite a dilemma -make the long trek back to the closed MK? head for CR? wait it out for the bus? We waited for the bus -and DD made it OK -but not vefore our bus actually wrecked into another triple-stacked bus. We actually had to get onto another bus! I felt so sorry for DD that night -and I think Disney's difficulty in getting us back to the resort contributed to her misery. I never did complain about this, but maybe I should have. Other than that one instance we have experienced consistently outstanding bus service to all value resorts.

 

[dzneelvr]

We've stayed at the ASMo several times over the years, the last being June 22-July 2 and were very pleased with the bus service during that time. The longest we had to wait was 10 minutes day or night either going to a park or coming home. As far as the "human factor" of smoking, line cutting, etc. those are things Disney can't control and yes, we've noticed the level of rudeness rising through the years, especially with the large student tour groups. Inappropriate behavior is not limited to certain resorts. It sounds like the All Stars are not the resort for you. That's ok, WDW offers alot of choices and you should look at another resort for your next trip; leave the Values to those of us who appreciate their VALUE.

 

[seashoreCM]

I as your 8yo daughter tells you that she really has to use the bathroom RIGHT NOW. .

Walk back to the turnstiles, there is at least one bathroom outside. There will be more buses so you won't be stranded.

'Shore" hate for her to have to go in the back door stepwell where in some cities bus drivers have been know to go.

 

[WillCAD]

Unfortunately, this is not a new phenommenon.

The last time I stayed at an All-Star without my own car was September 1997 - 9 years ago - and the bus situation was much the same. Over my 4-day trip, I started counting busses from other resorts that came by while I waited for ASMU buses, and found that the moderates were averaging 4 busses for each All-Star bus (CSR was new and was averaging 5), the deluxes were averaging 2-3, and the monorail resorts were averaging 2.

Some of my bus waits at Downtown Disney were 35 minutes, and waits at the parks were 20-30.

Waits for outgoing busses in the morning were not bad at 15-20 minutes.

In December 2004 I stayed at Pop without a car. Wait times for Pop busses were not terrible (about 20 mins at the parks, 25 at Downtown Disney, and about 15 for outgoing busses), but every bus I rode to or from Pop that week was crowded to the point of danger. They were all SRO, and the people were crammed into each bus shoulder to shoulder. They were so packed that nobody could even move their arms without bumping somebody else; it was like a bad TV commercial about the New York subway.

That's why I rent a car on every trip now.

 

[kkevcamsmom]

To the OP: Did you write Disney or complain while you were there? I hope this experience didn't ruin your whole trip.

IMHO:
I personally do not think it does much good to keep quite if something bothers you. No one complains about no shelter, how is WDW suppose to know the clients would want one?

Rude people: I think we have developed a "Not my problem" attitude in this country. We don't want to say anything may cause someone distress so we act like doormats. Until someone speaks up and calls attention to the rudeness it will only get worse.

We are staying at the ASMU in Jan and I am looking forward to it. I have been reading on this board enough to expect long waits and will plan accordingly. I am not going to assume the busses will run on time, get me where I want to go when I think I should be there. I am there for fun. I am not going to let riding the bus, monorail or water taxi's ruin my trip, I am not there for them. If I were worried about transportation I would rent a car.

I am sorry this experience seemed to dampen your trip.

Lori

 

[clkelley]

I never have trouble with Value Resort transportation.

But then again, at 7 in the morning, I'm usually seated on the first bus of the day. Very few crowds.

90 minutes after final fireworks there are very few crowds also.

Yes, if you wait till 9:30 - 10:00 to head to the parks, yes the buses will be crowded.

If you leave right at park closing, yes the buses will be crowded.

It is much more pleasant to find a park bench somewhere with a snack and a cool drink and listen to the park music, watch the castle change colors, watch the Epcot fountain dance, watch anything, but the smelly fume filled bus line. (Granted we don't have young children).

Going back to the resort in the middle of the day, yes the wait will be longer and you will be waiting in the heat.

We generally go to a deluxe or moderate resort for our mid-day break.

 

[Rachljo22]

Transportation to and from the All Stars is a joke!

I am going to have to agree. We stayed at the ASMo this past May. While I did see alot of mostly empty busses for all the other resorts we never really wait overly long for a bus. Our problem was that the busses were so full by the time they got to the ASMo that 905 of the time we had to wait for another buss. I was very dissapointed. We have 3 children, one is an infant, it was not easy keeping them entertained while we constantly waited for a buss (

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

So far we have only stayed at Pop, and the bus service has been great. Although they always seem to know which park we are headed for, and the bus to THAT park shows up after 2 or 3 buses to the other parks have come and gone. One of these days I am going to just GET ON whatever bus shows up and go to that park for the day. It never occurred to me that the queues aren't covered. I am thrilled, however, that they have ropes for the queues!

Our WORST bus experience was trying to go from TTC to MGM. THAT was a disaster if there ever was one. No queue lines, people just all mobbed together with complete disregard for people who were there FIRST, and we waited for a really, really long time. A gigantic party of like 20 people came up long after we got there, and there were several families ahead of us. When the bus finally DID arrive the huge family allowed one of their toddlers to jump on in front of everybody else, then the rest of them followed!! The correct behavior would have been to grab the toddler and MAKE HIM WAIT HIS TURN!

I'm a little worried about buses for AKL next month, but we'll see!

 

[welovedis]

We've only stayed at ASMo and didn't have the most terrific experiences with buses, but attributed it to the fact that my DMom was in an ECV and we heard the moans and groans about them having to load her on first.

We just returned (7/2) from SSR and I have already sent off some letters in regard to the good (CMs and chefs) the bad (rude CMs at SSR food area) and the ugly (horrendous SSR bus service).

My DS & I arrived at the SSR bus stop one morning at 9:45 (yeah we slept in that day) and asked those sitting if anyone had seen an AK bus, everyone said no, that they had been sitting for at least 10-15 minutes with no bus in sight. One older couple had been at the stop since exactly 9am waiting for an MK bus. They knew the time precisely because the gents watched beeped just as they sat on the bench.

The MK arrived at 9:57 according to his watch and we sat after everyone else left & waited, waited & waited. The AK bus arrived at 10:31, about 10 mins after I called down to the front desk to see what could be done, using the house phone at the stop. Even if you just take my time of 9:45, the bus took more than 45 mins to just get there.

We then proceeded to the next stop, where others got on and then headed for Blizzard Beach. I don't know why, but it took the driver until 10:59 to get there, there was no significant amount and traffic and he seemed to be taking a route that no one recognized at all, including me.

After dropping off the people from the bus at the furthest possible place to do so, he proceeds to stop at the the next three areas to let the people sitting there know that they might have to wait 10 mins or so to get back to their resorts because the normal bus routes don't start there until at least 11. He tells them to board our bus and then he'll drop them at AK where they can catch a bus to their resort. About 1/2 of them get on and then we finally leave for AK at 11:12.

Takes until 11:38 to get to AK, where the heck did this guy go? He was taking all kinds of back roads and turns that I did not even recognize in the least.

My DS & I just kept looking at each other and thinking, "When are we gonna get to AK?", it was the most bizarre waste of time I've ever spent on my vacation. I wrote down the drivers name (from his tag) and the bus number he was driving plus the date in my cell phone so that my letter would be complete when I got back. That is totally ridiculous and uncalled for.

 

[seashoreCM]

(copied from another post)
Perhaps the best thing to do is to go immediately to Guest Relations (if your destination is a park) and make out a report, especially if you have the bus number written down. And, to make heads upstairs roll, ask for extra fastpasses for the family. The trip to AK as described took an hour longer than it is supposed to so, figuring in the trip to Guest Relations too I think two rounds of fastpasses would be right.

Or --- Was there a marathon or major accident tying up the main roads forcing circuitous routes?

 

[YetanotherMouseFan]

We have stayed at pretty much all of the Values and Moderates, and have found that as far as bus service is concerned, it is usually the resort we stayed at last trip that has the better bus service! (Best was POP, worst WL). For DTD, all the bus service stinks, that's why we prefer the PO resorts' boat service.

We have learned to think "Where would we rather be: in this bus queue at WDW, or back home at work?" Works like a charm every time!

 

[ztbz]

Perhaps the best thing to do is to go immediately to Guest Relations (if your destination is a park) and make out a report, especially if you have the bus number written down

Just keep in Mind that its not always the Bus Drivers fault if the bus was late, many times its the Cast Member that's running Dispatch fault or Disney Management for not having enough personal on the job. I have encountered many un-happy guest waiting for my bus even though I only received the route assignment only minutes before picking up the guest in the load zone. Also the bus drivers are not told how long ago the last bus was dispatch so we have no way of knowing how long the wait was for the guest.

 

[H Traveler]

First, I haven't read all of the replys, so forgive me if I repeat information...

We stayed at All Star Movies in the middle of May. We had huge problems with the bus transportation 5 days out of 6. We wanted to eat dinner at another resort and it typically took 1.5 hours to get there. Also, we were waiting in lines for 20 to 30 minutes before a bus would arrive. I think we figured that we spent approximately 4 to 5 hours a day waiting for or traveling on the Disney transportation system.

Next time we will be staying off-site at a hotel that costs as much as the Disney Value resorts but has much better accommodations. Driving is not a big deal in off-peak season. Plus, there is so much more to see in Orlando than just WDW.