How long do buses run to resorts after park closing

[Eno]

Staying at POFQ and want to spend the day at DHS then plan on taking bus from DHS to Grand Floridian for dinner. After dinner will take monorail back to MK to catch bus back to POFQ- anyone know if the MK closes at 9 when will the last bus to POFQ leave MK

 

[stitchlovestink]

Well, they (WDW) say that the busses will run for 1 hour past park closing. But I have heard that they run until the park is empty. I do know that once when DD and I closed down the MK at 2 am and we were leaving the park slowly so it was after 2:30 am, a CM near the exit asked if we were using the busses and I said yes. they asked which resort and then radioed to someone to tell them that there were more guests coming out and that they were staying at POP. The bus only had a handful of people on it, so I guess they kept it waiting instead of making another run. Had a similar situation at Hollywood Studios (only it was MGM then ) where busses ran for more than an hour past park closing. It wasn't as late as MK. but a CM radioing busses in, stated that they will keep them going until the last guest is out of the park and on their way to their hotel. I guess if they see you headed towards the busses, they figure you're staying on property.
Worst case, if you have to, take the bus from the GF to DTD, shop, and then take the bus back to your resort. Kill two birds w/ one stone.
which makes me think of a funny story. Years ago, we had eaten a late dinner at Ohana. IT was the only ADR time I could get. Well we figured that we'd have to do the DTD switcharoo due to the lateness of the hour. Well, when we left the Poly, the driver was looking at us like you want to go to DTD when it's closing in less than 1/2 hour?! Well, we were the only 4 on the bus and he asked politely why would we want to go to DTD at this late hour? Well, we looked at each other and DH said "Oh my! We must've gotten on the wrong bus! We thought that this was the express bus to POP Century Resort. That's where we are staying." At first the driver thought we were serious, but then realized what we were planning on doing. Being the nice guy that he was, he shut his light thingy off and radioed in that he was taking some guests back to their hotel. what a nice guy and what a great treat at that late hour with such full bellies. We did give him a nice tip though for being so kind. I love when the CMs do magical things.

 

[Eno]

Wow - great info.
We are planning on eating at the california grill on Sept 18th - no problem there as MNSSHP is on so figure that buses will be running very late.
On the 19th want to eat at Citricos - figure 7:00 dinner, MK open till 9:00 so if buses run till 10:00 that would work out great.
If not, do you know what time the buses run to DTD till and back?

 

[stitchlovestink]

Wow - great info.
We are planning on eating at the california grill on Sept 18th - no problem there as MNSSHP is on so figure that buses will be running very late.
On the 19th want to eat at Citricos - figure 7:00 dinner, MK open till 9:00 so if buses run till 10:00 that would work out great.
If not, do you know what time the buses run to DTD till and back?

to the best of my knowledge, they run for exactly 1 hour past the closing time of the stores. So if the stores close at 11pm that night, the bus service would end at 12am. They pretty much stick to that schedule down there, as more people at DTD are there by other transportation mode. We also made sure we were there at the bus stop at least 15 min prior to that hour cut off as I really didn't want the cost of a cab. But hey, if that's the worst thing to happen on a trip, you're doing good.
Unless it's changed, DTD stores are open until 11 pm on weeknights and 11:30 or 12am on Fri and Sat. But that very well could've changed due to the economy. Your hotel front desk should be able to tell you DTD's hours when you check in.

 

[Traveliz]

I thought the DTD buses still ran til after 2am - - even though PI is basically closed -- there are still the dining establishments open late and AMC.

Characters in Flight is open til midnight, Raglan Road til 2 am.

Liz

 

[stitchlovestink]

I thought the DTD buses still ran til after 2am - - even though PI is basically closed -- there are still the dining establishments open late and AMC.

Characters in Flight is open til midnight, Raglan Road til 2 am.

Liz

as I previously stated, that this could have changed. But a few years ago, I know the bus driver told us that they stopped p/u at Marketplace 1 hr after the stores closed. and if the bus came 5 min early, that's just the way it was. So you might want to get there a little earlier than the one hour mark. That same driver told us that they stopped running the busses on the West side and at P.I. at 1 am period. And for us to keep that in mind if we were closing the place down. It very well could be different now, but that was our experience. One time we missed the last bus at Marketplace and had to walk over to the West side stop. We waited another 1/2 hr after arriving for any bus to show. the driver said that he was pretty certain he'd be doing no more than 1 more run for west side and p.i. after this run. Not really sure how the P.I. partyers got back to their hotel. Maybe someone else can give a more recent experience?
BTW, I do believe that at some point they combined the west side stop and P.I. stop into one. but I could be wrong on that one too.

 

[Traveliz]

as I previously stated, that this could have changed. But a few years ago, I know the bus driver told us that they stopped p/u at Marketplace 1 hr after the stores closed. and if the bus came 5 min early, that's just the way it was. So you might want to get there a little earlier than the one hour mark. That same driver told us that they stopped running the busses on the West side and at P.I. at 1 am period. And for us to keep that in mind if we were closing the place down. It very well could be different now, but that was our experience. One time we missed the last bus at Marketplace and had to walk over to the West side stop. We waited another 1/2 hr after arriving for any bus to show. the driver said that he was pretty certain he'd be doing no more than 1 more run for west side and p.i. after this run. Not really sure how the P.I. partyers got back to their hotel. Maybe someone else can give a more recent experience?
BTW, I do believe that at some point they combined the west side stop and P.I. stop into one. but I could be wrong on that one too.

West Side (near Cirque) bus stop closed several years ago.

The PI stops definitey ran past 2 am while PI was in full swing and according to the Downtown Disney transportation page on Disney's website,
"Complimentary transportation is available one hour prior to Disney Theme Park opening time and up to 3 hours after Disney Theme Park closing time. Additionally, buses operate until 3 a.m. from the Downtown Disney Area."

Liz

 

[Mindy5767]

a bit late to the conversation, but we had a similar experience at Downtown Disney. My sister and I were shopping away at the World of Disney. We waited at the jewelry counter for the salesman to finish with the guest ahead of us, and then he patiently waited on us. Nobody announced that the store was closed. We sauntered back to the buses only to find out that at just passed midnight we had missed the last bus to Pop Century. There was a cast member with a walkie talkie nearby and we asked him what we should do... he radioed someone and they brought a bus to us to return us to Pop Century. I suppose he could have told us to walk to West Side, to catch the bus..but we had small children with us asleep in the stroller, so he must have made an executive decision that was more magical and happy for us!!

 

[cranbiz]

Park busses have always run until the park is clear. You cannot return from a resort to a closed park.