Faster walking

[John VN]

Walking was faster than the busses yesterday.
We were in the 1000 loop and I was to meet family members at DTD. Walked to bus stop and sat down and waited 12 minutes and nothing. Started walking to Outpost and figured the Orange would pass me by. Nope. About 200 yards from Outpost bus stop I look back and see Orange heading my way. Look towards Outpost and see DTD bus coming round the bend so I break into a jog. Get to bus stop just as DTD bus is off loading and I get on and he pulls out before Orange even gets there (Orange bus was tied up in traffic leaving FW).

Now on way back with 3yo GS, we get to first stop (Market Place). Sit down and wait 20 minutes for bus to show up. Hop on bus and we head back to FW. Get to Outpost and sit down again at bus stop and wait. Ten minutes and no bus so decide to walk. GS is asleep in arms as I walk back to 1000 loop. Make it back to loop and still no Orange.
Total time for trip home, 1 HR.

 

[rapriebe]

We just got back from FW and found the bus system to be HORRIBLE!!!!! On our first day, it took us 2 hours to ride the bus to EPCOT and another 2 hours to get home. We were waiting for the EPCOT bus for 45 minutes and that was after a long wait for our Yellow bus. During the first 30 minutes of that wait, we never saw another bus come into the depot that were going to any of the parks/locations. The only buses that were coming in were the Yellow/Orange/Purple buses. People were really getting mad about the wait and several spoke to the driver when he arrived but he could have cared less.

It is unrealistic to expect people to wait for these buses that long. What's funny is that when you ask someone about the schedule, they tell you the external buses run every 15-20 minutes and the internal buses are every 10-15 minutes. One night after dinner at the Trails End we had to wait for 25 minutes for a Yellow bus and when one finally did arrive, there was another right behind it. The second bus followed us all the way back to the 1700 loop. You would think when they get bunched up together that the second bus driver would have the good sense to stay at the bus stop and let there be an interval between them. We say this happening several times - doesn't anybody monitor the bus schedules.

We also had a reservation for an early tour at 8:15 at Magic Kingdom and when I called the transportation number on the house phone, I was told I needed to call a cab inorder to get over to Magic Kingdom at that hour. How ridiculous is that? You can't even get correct information when you call the transportation office. We figured out our own way over to Magic Kingdom - without a cab!!!

After these long waits, we started to driving to all the parks - after all the parking is free.

 

[VAN]

Again - I assume by "Disney" you mean the Magic Kingdom.

We were there for two weeks (March 27-April 9) and didn't have any problems. Our timing for the ferries was great and we drove to all locations except for the Magic Kingdom (ferry from Marina). Staying at the 1500 loop, it was only a 10 minute walk to either the marina or the Outpost.

No angst on this trip!!!

 

[rapriebe]

Van, I guess you didn't have a problem if you drove everywhere except to Magic Kingdom. That was the point of my posting - the buses are terrible!!!

 

[dgaston]

I was dreading the internal bus service for our trip, but was pleasantly surprised with swift transportation. Here is what I posted earlier.

We were pleasantly surprised by frequent buses during our stay 4/18 to 4/23. We were in the 1500 loop and easily got to Pioneer Hall and the Outpost. We went to PI one evening and a WL-GF bus came by. Four of us were waiting for the campground, and the driver said "no problem, I'll take you there."

We did run into a long wait for a ferry after Wishes at the MK with a 9:30 park closing (4/20). We were on the fourth ferry, and didn't get back to our site until 11:00 pm. CM said he needed Disney to authorize more boats! All were in operation. Even that night bus transportation from Pioneer Hall was very quick.

I'm not sure if it would have been better to get to the TTC and wait for a bus.

We do tend to drive to AK and MGM. I like to take the ferry to the CR and use monorails to get to Epcot.

I wonder if there are fewer buses now that it's supposed to be a slower season.

 

[VAN]

We drove to all the parks but MK, not because of the bus service but because our many years of experience and our park-hopping habits make it a bit simplier. Many times we go back to the campsite for lunch and it does cut into our time if we have to make numerous connections to get back.

We have found the internal buses are fine ... only occasionally do they seem to get bunched up.

I'm not really a fan of the way the external buses have been set up to run this past couple of years ... I thought things were easier when we used to go to the TTC for external connections.

Anyway, we only go into the parks about 3 days during our stay and we maximize our time so driving on those days really helps. If I'm not in a hurry, I enjoy people watching on the buses -- part of the fun.

 

[Rhonda]

I'm with you Van - I liked the old way of going to the TTC better too. Things seemed much easier, and faster then.