Have had great bus service this week, except...

[dburg30]

There are certain people that shouldnt be allowed to drive the bus if they cant communicate with the guest to at least understand what is being asked and say "I'm sorry I dont know" as opposed to "LAST STOP, LAST STOP" as the answer.

Also, if you say take a DTD bus to get from Jambo house to kidani, that bus better damn sure head to kidani, as opposed to heading right to DTD as it did with my niece's mother, her mom and 2 year old twins. They were NOT happy, and yes, trust me, my brother very firmly let a couple of people know he didnt appreciate his wife, 2 grandkids and son in law getting stuck from AKL to DTD and BACK, when all they were trying to do was get from Jambo to Kidani..


Other then that f up, as IMO that was WAY beyond a normal screw up, the bus service was really good. Yes, that extra 5 minutes or so does really seem farther, but still have no problems with it.

Big shout out to Lee as he is a great, fun bus driver. Just what WDW needs more of!!!

 

[Magicbus]

There are certain people that shouldnt be allowed to drive the bus if they cant communicate with the guest to at least understand what is being asked.
Big shout out to Lee as he is a great, fun bus driver. Just what WDW needs more of!!!

Tell me about it. Don't get me started on drivers not speaking english well. There shouldn't be any. I don't understand how they got thru training and got their CDL license. More than once, has a driver spoken to me and I couldn't understand what he was saying. I'm thinking, how does he deal with guests asking questions?

The Kadani foul up, it had to be a new driver. There are tons of them right now, however we all make mistakes. If someone knows that they're going to the wrong place, speak up right away so that the driver can turn around ASAP.

I'll have to look for Lee and relay your kind words.

 

[joelkfla]

It's always a good idea to check with the driver when you're going somewhere other than the destination on the marquee. Buses can deviate from normal routes for a number of reasons, but mostly due to crowding.

For example, buses from AKL to AK normally stop at KV then Jambo. But if a bus fills up at KV, it may not stop at Jambo. Then the coordinator may send an extra bus to pick up at Jambo only, or pick up at Jambo first and KV second. Or a bus may not have room to load wheelchairs at Jambo, so the next bus may run the route in reverse.

I agree that the driver was at fault here, as he should have asked whether any one was going to KV. But sometimes too many things are happening at once, and it's easy to just forget. So guard your own interests.

 

[DisneyFan32WI]

I honestly don't complain about much, but the bus transportation at DISNEY is one topic I could actually write a book on.
They should invest some money into this area. At the very least, the management should RIDE the busses for a day!

 

[Magicbus]

They should invest some money into this area.

I agree, drivers should get a raise.

At the very least, the management should RIDE the busses for a day!

Don't wish that on the drivers.

 

[seashoreCM]

Is the DTD bus the designated Jambo to Kidani intra-resort bus or a suggested Jambo to Kidani bus?

If it is the designated Jambo to Kidani bus it should unconditionally make those stops in that order. This means a bus going to Kidani first because of people left behind when the previous bus filled up should run express to the park or stop again at Kidani after Jambo.

Or how about changing the policy to require correcting the trip en-route? For example leaving Animal Kingdom Lodge, turning around at Buena Vista Drive (outside the All Stars) and going back to make the Kidani stop?

Tell me about it. Don't get me started on drivers not speaking english well. There shouldn't be any. I don't understand how they got thru training and got their CDL license. More than once, has a driver spoken to me and I couldn't understand what he was saying. I'm thinking, how does he deal with guests asking questions?

Would it be fair to start a fad: When a business (its employee) does not give an answer that is clear to you the customer, you repeat your question as-is. Instead of the customer's rewording the question to make it easier for the business to understand, let the business (perhaps via a supervisor requested by the employee and not by the customer) reword the answer to make it easier for the customer to understand.

 

[dburg30]

Is the DTD bus the designated Jambo to Kidani intra-resort bus or a suggested Jambo to Kidani bus?

If it is the designated Jambo to Kidani bus it should unconditionally make those stops in that order. This means a bus going to Kidani first because of people left behind when the previous bus filled up should run express to the park or stop again at Kidani after Jambo.

Yes, clearly stated on ALL the bus stop signs. for kidani to jambo ANY park bus, from jambo to kidani ANY DTD bus. Period, end of story, if there is someone ON one of those buses, it makes those stops.

And to magicbus, this was someone new to WDW, dealing with twins, and by the time he said something as he knew it had taken too long and they were leaving, well, the bus driver didnt really seem to care at that point. Also, when they finally got to DTD my party asked if he was going back to AKL, which I guess he wasnt, so the person in my party asked if they should get off here, the driver I guess said yes and he went back to get the rest of the party off the bus, the driver started to pull away, he went back up and very loudly told him to STOP WE HAVE TO GET OFF.. The driver did stop and they got off.

 

[dburg30]

I honestly don't complain about much, but the bus transportation at DISNEY is one topic I could actually write a book on.
They should invest some money into this area. At the very least, the management should RIDE the busses for a day!

No, overall, it works VERY well, and this is the first time I've personally known anyone that had an issue, well I did one time have a bus from hell from I think SSR to AK, I think that driver was literally having something physically wrong happening to him. I quickly reported that driver and bus to someone as I was worried about that ride as it seems like the whole bus was as it was QUIET... I mean, freakishly quiet..

Also to magicbus, does the GPS system work inside resorts also? Shouldnt it have told him he was off route or does the computer / gps only care about once you leave the resort??

 

[Magicbus]

if there is someone ON one of those buses, it makes those stops.

The DTD bus is supposed to stop at Jambo first and Kadani second, no matter what. Drivers are not supposed to decide on their own what they want to do or don't want to do. Even if the bus completey fills up at Jambo with people going to DTD, the driver can't assume that none of those people are going to Kadani. I would find it odd if that were the case. It can, and probably does happen from time to time, but I would find it odd never the less.

does the GPS system work inside resorts also? Shouldnt it have told him he was off route or does the computer / gps only care about once you leave the resort??

Based on what you've discribed, it doesn't sound like anything would have made a difference in this case. Geez, I hope it wasn't me?

 

[joelkfla]

It's SOP for buses to skip remaining stops when they fill up. BUT -- driver's do need to make sure nobody on the bus wants to get off at any of those stops.

If that's NOT SOP for DTD buses at AKL (and OKW, SSR, & POR, where DTD buses also serve as internal shuttles), it has not been adequately commmunicated to drivers who are not regularly based at DTD.

Yes, there are signs at Jambo telling guests to take the DTD bus to KV. And yes, the driver should not have skipped KV without making sure everyone on the bus was OK with that. And no, I don't fault the guests for not telling the driver they were going to KV.

I'm just suggesting to those who do read this board to be proactive and never assume a bus is going somewhere you expect it to unless that somewhere is on the marquee. Always check with the driver in that situation.

 

[cranbiz]

As my other colleagues have stated, the DTD bus should stop at Jambo first and then Kidani . If and only if there are no guests going to Kidani from Jambo AND the bus is full, then is it ok to skip Kidani. It's not an option for a bus that has guests going to Kidani and its not an option for a bus that can still load guests.

 

[dburg30]

It wasnt full at all.

 

[disney david]

Mybe the bus driver was having a bad day forgot he had to stop at Kidani or mybe he never did that route before and didn't relize he made a mistake.

 

[dburg30]

Doesnt matter what caused it, it was reported so they could look into it. Everyone made it back safe and sound, just took a while. And with the exception of some communication issues (there could have been more if you actually needed to talk to the drivers, and I see that becoming a big problem) and the brain fart or whatever happened on the jambo - kidani thing, the bus service was great as always.