DTD transp. question

[BobbiKK]

Can someone help me with this question? If we take a disney bus from our hotel to the west side (for dinner at Wolfgang Puck's)--how far a walk is it over to the other side to the World of Disney Store? Is there transportation over to the other side? Can I get back on the bus after dinner and take it to the other side, or would I need to go back through the loop of all the hotels before the bus winded back? Do taxis go by the west side at all we could get into? Any help would be appreciated. This is our first trip WITHOUT a rental car and we are lost! Thanks.

 

[NurseKim]

It really isn't a long walk from Wolfgang Puck's to World of Disney. The buses go from the MarketPlace to Pleasure Island to West Side so yes, you would have to go through the loop of hotels.
Here is where you can download a map of DTD.

 

[DebbieB]

Did they close the West Side bus stops? I thought I heard somewhere that they did. Anyone used them recently? The Pleasure Island stop is on the end of the West Side.

 

[cassie]

I just got back yesterday and the busses stop at Market Place first and then the west side. It is not too far a walk to the disney store and there's plenty to see along the way. Also the disney store is near the bus back to the resort.

 

[DebbieB]

Cassie,

Did they stop near Planet Hollywood? That is the Pleasure Island stop. The West Side stop was down past the Cirque tent.

 

[cassie]

Debbie, you are right, the bus stops at PI. In my mixed-up mind, west side and PI are one and the same

 

[DebbieB]

The Pleasure Island stop is between PI and West Side, which is probably why they stopped the West Side Stop on the other end of the West Side near Cirque. Never seemed to be many people waiting there (except maybe after Cirque let out). I remember one time a couple of years ago we took a bus one evening from the Marketplace to GF. It stopped and waited at PI, WestSide, Typhoon Lagoon (which was already closed and no one was there), WL, Poly then finally GF. It took about an hour!

 

[BobbiKK]

My son says there might be a boat from the west side to the marketplace. Does anyone know about this? Thanks for all your help!

 

[Kermit]

I think that a boat does all 3 stops (PI, WS, and DD) during some peak hours, but I'm not sure what they are. It seems like it's late afternoon and evening.

 

[ztbz]

The Westside Bus stops is still Closed and there are no plans to open it at this time. Its been Closed since Nov 1st, 2001.

 

[drusba]

Basically if you start at the end of DD West side where Cirque is and walk all the way to the end of the marketplace (which is thus the very other end of Downtown Disney) the trip takes about 20 minutes if you don't stop along the way.

 

[ztbz]

West-Side Bus Station is still Close since Nov 1st that included
X-mas last year and Easter this year which was during a peak time. At this time there are No-Plans to Re-Open it. But it may reopen in the future as the Central Hub for Downtown Disney.

 

[Nickymouse]

I would walk it. By the time you wait for those busses, you could be there already. My problem has always been GETTING to DTD. We have waited at resorts for nearly an hour for the bus before getting a cab to take us. On one occasion when we did catch a bus from BW, it was so crowded that we all had to stand and my kids had nothing to hold on to except me. From then on, we have just taken a cab. It's an added expense, but it saves us alot of time and aggravation.

 

[Luv2Roam]

Just returned yesterday from WDW.
We were told the boats from West Side to Marketplace only operate on weekends. They didn't say if this was temporary or not and we didn't ask.
There are two bus stops Disney buses stop at. West Side is not used.
One time we arrived by bus at Marketplace. We wanted to get to the HoB. We tried asking the driver if he stopped at the next stop, but he didn't understand or speak English!
Why did they hire a bus driver who can't speak English to drive tourists? Make sense?

 

[BobbiKK]

In case any one is interested, I just returned from my trip to WDW (WONDERFUL TIME BTW), and the bus to DTD stopped at the market place, and then went to the west side, but only as far as Pleasure Island/Planet Hollywood. From there though its only a short walk to the Virgin Records/AMC theater/Cirque du Soleil area. However you need to take the bus FROM the market place TO the west side and not the other way around, or else you will have to go the whole route of the hotels before you end up back at the market place. We had no trouble catching the bus at our hotel (Polynesian)--only had to wait about 10 minutes. Our timing was good for all our bus connections.
Thanks everyone for answering.

 

[Andrew_Lubow]

The DTD stops first at the Market Place then Pleasure Island (near Planet Hollywood). From there the busses return to your hotel only before starting the DTD service again. The West Side stop is closed at the present time. Also there no boat from the the Marketplace dock to the West Side anymore. It's a 10 to 15 minute walk from the Marketplace to the West Side.