Gran Destino - possibly not sharing buses?

[Farro]

I just read that Gran Destino is currently testing having their own buses, separate from rest of CSR.

Can anyone there confirm?

That would be awesome.

 

[trishadono]

Yes, last trip 10/10-14 in the morning an empty bus would show up every day for each park.

However going back was LONGGGGG. First the ride to the resort then 15-20 more mins around to tower. I tried getting off and walking but that was not a short walk imo.

Also they were short buses so only one for midday. It would make a loop. SO if you missed a bus you waited 30-45 mins for it to come back. That was not fun!

 

[Farro]

Yes, last trip 10/10-14 in the morning an empty bus would show up every day for each park.

However going back was LONGGGGG. First the ride to the resort then 15-20 more mins around to tower. I tried getting off and walking but that was not a short walk imo.

Also they were short buses so only one for midday. It would make a loop. SO if you missed a bus you waited 30-45 mins for it to come back. That was not fun!

So Tower had own bus for the morning, but sounds like coming back from parks it was shared - thus having to do the loop around?

 

[trishadono]

So Tower had own bus for the morning, but sounds like coming back from parks it was shared - thus having to do the loop around?

Yes

Getting to parks easy,getting home took so long.

 

[Farro]

Thank you!

 

[chris4disney]

So Tower had own bus for the morning, but sounds like coming back from parks it was shared - thus having to do the loop around?

When coming back from parks, I thought the Tower was the first bus stop, then Casitas, Ranchos, and Cabanas last. Am I wrong?

 

[ah10is]

That would be awesome if that is the case! Mom is in an ECV! Very good at getting on the buses....bus drivers are constantly impressed! But it is easier to get on an empty bus. So I've been debating having us go to the 1st pick up instead of getting on at the tower. Getting off the bus with people isn't as much of an issue as long as no one is blocking the door for her! Will be following along as more info comes out! We are staying at Gran Destino CL in May 2020!

 

[Farro]

That would be awesome if that is the case! Mom is in an ECV! Very good at getting on the buses....bus drivers are constantly impressed! But it is easier to get on an empty bus. So I've been debating having us go to the 1st pick up instead of getting on at the tower. Getting off the bus with people isn't as much of an issue as long as no one is blocking the door for her! Will be following along as more info comes out! We are staying at Gran Destino CL in May 2020!

We are scheduled for May also! Tower water view, but not CL.

 

[trishadono]

When coming back from parks, I thought the Tower was the first bus stop, then Casitas, Ranchos, and Cabanas last. Am I wrong?

The tower is the last stop for returns except for disney springs bus.

 

[stinkpickle]

Nice!

 

[Scubadaddy32]

This would be a wonderful addition and put the resort on the top of our list of stays even over the deluxe resorts, if they add dedicated Tower return buses from the parks.
Using a little common sense, being that the Tower has it's own buses for pick up and not drop off is understandable. They have their own bus stop at the resort, but they don't have their own assigned bus pickups at the Parks. That will likely require signage and a bit of logistics at the parks which they obviously do no have yet.
Honestly, the only bus ride back to the parks we would take would be from MK. The rest of the parks, it's far too convenient just to grab an Uber on your phone as you are approaching the park exit. Typically they are sitting in the parking lot just waiting for their next ride. From Epcot, HS and AK you are back at the resort somewhere between 5 and 10 minutes.

Just booked a May trip a few minutes ago. We love AKL, but the difference in staying there even in a standard view room versus a Tower Water View at GDT was $1,400.00 on a 10 day.

 

[Devil13]

Good to see they are doing something. In August, we gave up on coming back with busses after a few nights and use Lyft for the remainder of the trip.

 

[kiford]

We decided to take a look at the Tower on our last visit so we took a bus from one of the parks (don't remember which one) in mid-afternoon. I know it was before 4 pm because we didn't realize that the Dahlia lounge wasn't open until then and we didn't feel like waiting until it opened but it was after 12 pm. We were definitely the first stop.