quote:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by poohkinandpiglet
I was worried there might be hundreds of people all trying to squeeze into ONE bus.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
But that IS, in-fact, the case.
But that ONE bus is followed shortly by another. (Which, I assume, is what you MEANT.)
As most folks know, AKL is not one of the largest (or lowest-cost) resorts at WDW so it does not house the vast number of guests that, say, any of the All Star Resorts can contain.
Likewise, there will not be as many busses designated to the short loop between AK and AKL. Hence the comment that it is only a 5 minute trip "once you get on the bus".
Savvy guests know to exit parks earlier than "closing time" to avoid the greatest crowds.
Since BOMA is a popular restaurant destination, extra guests, other than just those staying overnight at AKL, will be riding the busses between AK and AKL.
-Rule of Thumb: It makes sense to allow up to TWICE the time you THINK will get you there.-
If logically, you think, "Surely, with the monorail, we can get from MK to EPCOT to The Land Grille at 5pm in an hour."
Under "normal conditions" you probably CAN, but if you encounter a "slowdown" at any point... there go the PS arrangements. Better to leave early (say allow 1:45 total, in this example) and enjoy the trip (and maybe an easier stroll on the OTHER end) than to "sweat and run" to make the connection (and/or "ruin your plans".)
So in YOUR case, if you think you can get from AK to AKL in 20 minutes... I'd stroll out of AK about 45 minutes before the "next event" at AKL.
Having used WDW buses for many years we have watched HOW they are dispatched.
During the MIDDLE of the day, expect a bus to arrive for pick-up about every 20 to 25 minutes (many drivers will "hold" at the stop for about 10 minutes before departing... probably to "keep the schedule" and allow for fuller busses at lower-travel times.)
At park-closings the buses are (usually) quite rapidly deployed... filled with tired guests, sent out, and, within a few minutes, the cycle is repeated.
There are active CM "bus-wranglers" (my description) who keep watch of how many guests are queued for each resort's bus-stop and who signal extra busses to the more crowded stop(s).
And, of course, ANY bus can become "YOUR" bus by the driver just changing the mechanical banners that display its destination.
We have been in "impossibly-long" lines queuing to exit a very full park and had
the lines quickly-reduced by the "bus-wrangler" calling in "stand-by" busses double-deep at our loading-lane and allowing guests to fill up both busses at same time. (Much Cheering from the crowd.)
Shelly
