Downtown Disney Transportation

[kcarp]

First, I would like to thank everyone that helped me with my vacation this year. I have read alot of negative stuff about DTD Transportation, putting it second class to Disney Transportation.
Well, I will tell you we had no problem with the transportation. Buses ran on time, the longest we waited was about 20 Min. I had to wait longer going from park to park using Disney Trasportation. I have stayed in FW 17 days and CBR 6 days on other trips and the transportation was really bad. I will say DTD Transportation does drop you off in space #26 in the parking lot.
But it's not really as bad as some people make it out to be. One more thing I liked, a DTD Bus is more like a Greyhound Bus nice padded seats, plus they have compartments on the outside where they put the strollers not like Disney's hard plastic seats and people have strollers in the way. Correct me if i'm wrong if Disney Transportation uses the Greyhound Buses too. I sure didn't see or ride on any the 6 days I was there. It really saves some time when your trying to get somewhere. Anyway, I just wanted to share with everyone. I'm not saying one is better than the other, I just felt mislead on some of the comments on this board.


Good Day

 

[Chip 'n Dale Express]

Originally posted by kcarp
One more thing I liked, a DTD Bus is more like a Greyhound Bus nice padded seats, plus they have compartments on the outside where they put the strollers not like Disney's hard plastic seats and people have strollers in the way. Correct me if i'm wrong if Disney Transportation uses the Greyhound Buses too.

Most of the shuttle operators operate older model motor coaches. The benefits to these types of buses is that they have the padded seats, and understorage compartments. The downside is that these buses are designed for long distance travel, and not for shuttle operations. As such they usually are not equipped to take the beating they get. They also require more time at each stop to park, get out, open the compartments, and load/unload. Because they are "High-Floor" they typically have 5-7 steps for entry. They have a capacity of 45-55 passengers. Legally speaking, standees are not permitted on these types of coaches. Lastly, very few coaches are wheelchair accessible.

Here at Disney, we use heavy duty grade transit buses. These buses are specifically designed for the quick stop 'n go that we do. They're rugged, and can stand the test of time. They're smaller, handle better, more fuel efficient, half the price, and last twice as long. Low-floor transit buses have zero steps in the bus, whereas the standard floor RTS has 2 steps. And because standees are allowed, capacity of these smaller buses is 72 passengers. In addition, our buses are 100% wheelchair accessible via lift or ramp.

 

[Stacy's a freak]

... that I was wondering about this very issue?

We are going in October and it is our first time staying in a Non-Disney resort hotel. We are staying at the Courtyard in DTD and I'm slightly nervous about the DTD transportation. Thank you for aswering the gereral wait time question, but I have more...

1. What do you mean by parking space 26? They don't drop you near the gates? I assume they take you to the transportation center for MK and EPCOT(?).

2. If we are unhappy with the buses, can we just hoof it to the Marketplace and hop one of the actual Disney buses? If so, what time do Disney buses start running in the morning to/from the Marketplace?

3. How late do the DTD buses operate? I'm less concerned about this since we can just hop a Disney bus to Pleasure Island and walk back to the hotel if necessary. But I would hate to get stuck in a Florida monsoon a la murphy's law.

I would love to hear any other real life experiences to help answer these questions. But, good or bad, I'm sure we will still have an awesome time!

Thanks!

 

[CarolMN]

Originally posted by Stacy's a freak
... (snip)....

1. What do you mean by parking space 26? They don't drop you near the gates? I assume they take you to the transportation center for MK and EPCOT(?).

Parking space #26 is at the TTC (Ticket & Transportation Center). From there you have to take either the ferry or the monorail to get to the MK. (Only the Disney Resort buses drop guests near the MK gates). While I do not know for sure, I thought that the DTD Hotel shuttles take guests going to EPCOT to the same place as the Disney buses drop off guests going to EPCOT. Of course, the DTD shuttles have a different "parking place" than the Disney buses, but I'm pretty sure it's in the same general vicinity. I really doubt that the DTD Hotel shuttles drop EPCOT-bound guests at the TTC and thus make them take the 15-20 minute monorail ride to get to EPCOT.

2. If we are unhappy with the buses, can we just hoof it to the Marketplace and hop one of the actual Disney buses? If so, what time do Disney buses start running in the morning to/from the Marketplace?

There are no Disney buses from the MarketPlace to the parks. You'd have to take a bus to one of the resorts and then transfer to a park-bound bus. IMHO, this would waste a lot of time. You'd be much better off taking the DTD Hotel shuttle. Also, the Disney buses don't start running to the MarketPlace until just before it opens for the day. You couldn't get to a park until well after opening time.

3. How late do the DTD buses operate? I'm less concerned about this since we can just hop a Disney bus to Pleasure Island and walk back to the hotel if necessary. But I would hate to get stuck in a Florida monsoon a la murphy's law.

Until the MarketPlace closes for the evening, the same bus that stops there goes on to PI and stops there. I'm pretty sure the buses continue to stop at the MarketPlace until 30-60 minutes after it closes, which is usually around 11 p.m., IIRC.

FWIW, if I were caught/stuck "in a Florida monsoon", I'd look for a cab. They're usually easy to get from a park or PI.

Enjoy your trip!

 

[kcarp]

Space # 26 is the parking space for the bus that picks up and drops off at the parks, and it is close to the gate or the other bus stops. The only park they bring you to the TTC is MK. The last bus ran from PI was 3:00am. Don't be nervous about the DTD transportation it works fine. People on this board will try and tell you it's second class. That's bull, it's just as good are better in certain cases.

Good Day

 

[Stacy's a freak]

Thank you both for your helpful responses. I must admit that I'm sweating the small stuff when it comes to planning ahead for this vacation, but I know once we get there everything will fall in line.

Thanks for the tip about the lack of buses from the Marketplace to the parks. Even though it makes perfect sense, I never thought that those buses wouldn't go to the parks.

...Just another great reason to be on these boards - lots of helpful, informed people. Thanks again!