Hoop de doo transportation nightmare!!

[happypooh]

Just got back to our room in AKL at 125am after the 930pm show of Hoop de doo. Absolutely shattered after having to transfer 3 buses even though we were told we could just get on a bus directly from HDD to our resort. Well, we went to the bus stop that we were told to and all the buses were full and doors closed and there were several other families there too who had no clue what to do. And so when the orange settlement bus came along we asked if we should go on that bus or stay put and he said to get on that bus and go to the outpost were we could get our resort buses there. So quite a few families went on that bus and went to the outpost and waited and waited. But the only buses we saw were internal buses for Fort Wilderness and the occasional downtown disney bus. So we asked several more bus drivers if we should stay put and if resort buses come and were told to stay put! Buy no other buses came! In the end we decided to better get a bus to downtown disney and get a bus from there to our resort. All in all a real nightmare journey. Never again. Never. Not worth the hoop de doo at all and I'm upset that so many bus drivers at fort wilderness did not have the correct information or even the same information regarding post hoop de doo attendees! Plus there were no Disney people around at the bus stop or even a sign to say what to do and where to go. Talk about feeling left behind and forgotten! Flame away. I'm too tired to care right now. But it's sad that with two small kids we were stuck on pleasure island way past midnight and with not a security camera in sight...it felt really unsafe.

 

[Pixie Princess]

What a nightmare! I'm glad you all made it back to AKL safely. HDDR is our first day tradition, but we've never used bus transportation at FW as we go to the 5:00 show. Hopefully tomorrow (err...today), is a MUCH better day.

 

[goofy4tink]

First of all...you were safe at PI/DTD. There are cameras there, but you can't see 'em. Not that that is going to make you feel any better now though.
I'm a bit disappointed that you were told to take internal transportation. That's just wrong. You should have just stayed where you were and another bus would have come along. Shame on the driver for telling you that.
I'm really sorry this happened to you. It sure doesn't help us give out good info here if Disney CMs are going to do something completely different.

 

[clkelley]

I am so sorry to hear of your troubles. Unfortunately, you were just caught in a web of the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing.

The ONLY direct buses from HDD to the resorts is at the Settlement depot where you first went. Unfortunately, it seems they understimated the need for buses to other resorts on that night.

When the Orange Outpost bus showed up, that driver was just on his regular run and probably knows nothing about the special HDD buses and their schedule.

(The internal Fort drivers have been at WDW for years, and that is the only route they drive.) They rarely have to drive anywhere else.

I know it won't help in your case, but first you should have INSISTED that the drivers taking folks back to resorts from HDD radioed for another bus.

Once you took that Orange bus to Outpost, you were in the regular Disney transportation cycle and your only choice was bus to DTD, then bus to your resort.

Although, your other option would have been to walk over to the front desk from the Outpost stop and explain the situation to them. They would have found some type of transportation for you.

 

[n2mm]

OP, how horrible. I know first hand this can happen. It almost happened to us a couple of years ago. We were told we "missed" our bus to the CR and we would have to take several buses and transfer via DTD (after the 9:30PM show too). I refused! I told the bus coordinator I would sit at the bus stop until they could find our party of 12 a way home. So the coordinator told me "do what you want, I'm going home" and left via another bus. A WL bus driver came up to us and apologized for the way we were being treated and offered us a ride back to CR via his stop at WL first. There was no way we could've missed the CR bus as there were several other parties also waiting. I know I was being stubborne but it was my 50 birthday celebration and to deal with this was a bummer. Also it ticks you off when you arrive and there are a ton of buses for almost every resort except ours! OP, I hope you write and leave feedback.

 

[joelkfla]

I know nothing about the HDD transportation; I'm not even sure which hub runs it now. But IMO, that is totally unacceptable guest service.

I hope you brought it to the attention of the resort management, and plan to follow up with a letter to Guest Relations.

 

[DebbieB]

Was there a phone at the bus stop? We had dinner at Trails End last month and took a bus from the parking lot and I thought there was a phone at the bus stop.

 

[clkelley]

Was there a phone at the bus stop? We had dinner at Trails End last month and took a bus from the parking lot and I thought there was a phone at the bus stop.

There probably is a house phone at the Outpost bus stop, but once the guests took a bus from the Settlement Depot, in Disney's mind, they conceded that they were joining the "regular" routing and would need to take a bus to DTD, then to their resort.

(I'm not trying to be a troll or harsh, but DH has a scooter, and we also are not your typical WDW transportation guests, as we just tend to hop around a bunch, and go resort to resort quite often, so we have learned a bit about the routings and about how the system works.)

 

[cm8]

I know nothing about the HDD transportation; I'm not even sure which hub runs it now. But IMO, that is totally unacceptable guest service.

I hope you brought it to the attention of the resort management, and plan to follow up with a letter to Guest Relations.

 

[Alexander]

We always take the boat back to Magic Kingdom and get the bus from there. Actually, we usually park at the WL and take the boat there, but same idea!

 

[seashoreCM]

I know nothing about the HDD transportation; I'm not even sure which hub runs it now. But IMO, that is totally unacceptable guest service.

I hope you brought it to the attention of the resort management, and plan to follow up with a letter to Guest Relations.

It is un-Disneylike for the last bus to any given destination to leave full with other guests still outside on the platform.

Together with all the misinformation given, this looks like a situation where the OP should bring it tot he atttention of Guest Relations in person right away, and some extra fast passes to make up for the time spent traveling looks like the right thing to do.

 

[clkelley]

We always take the boat back to Magic Kingdom and get the bus from there. Actually, we usually park at the WL and take the boat there, but same idea!

That late, the boat has quit running.

 

[divehard]

Sorry to hear about that. Our experience was completely the opposite for that show. We just returned from our stay at WDW and went to Hoop de doo 9:30 show on 11/17. We were actually surprised to find four WDW busses marked with zone one thru zone four. Not knowing where they were headed, we asked one of the drivers and were pleasantly surprised to find they were waiting to take us back to our resort. We just hopped on the zone three bus and after a stop at Coronado Springs and All Star Sports, we ended at our "home away from home" All Star Music.
We were all surprised as we had taken a bus to DTD and then Fort Wilderness and then a Campground internal bus to the settlement depot to get there which took us about an hour. The late night return to our resort probably was only 15 minutes.

 

[VLee]

That late, the boat has quit running.

Wouldn't that depend on the time that MK closes? Wouldn't the boats still be running if MK was open for extra hours, say midnight?

I was hoping to catch the boat back to MK later this week after our carriage ride at the Fort ends about 9:30 pm. MK is open until midnight for resort guests.

Anyone know?

 

[Magicbus]

Wouldn't that depend on the time that MK closes?

According to the official published info, the MK Tell-A-Cast, the MK to FW boat (Green) will operate for 1-1/2 hours after the MK closes this week. What I don't know is if they only take guests out of the MK and not back to the park like the buses do after closing time.

 

[clkelley]

Wouldn't that depend on the time that MK closes? Wouldn't the boats still be running if MK was open for extra hours, say midnight?

I was hoping to catch the boat back to MK later this week after our carriage ride at the Fort ends about 9:30 pm. MK is open until midnight for resort guests.

Anyone know?

Sorry, I was thinking about the launch that goes WL, Cont, FW. That launch stops at 11:30.

Yep, if MK is open late, then you could catch the boat to MK. I don't think they have a problem with taking passengers "upstream" after hours.

 

[Tiggernut_jadie]

Why didn't you just go to the front desk at the Outpost and ask them to call you a cab?