I have a few bus questions.... *updated in original post:)

[spacemountainmom]

2. How often do you see a bus for each park in the mornings? For example will a DHS bus come every hour or less or more then that?

You do seem to contradict yourself a bit - you did ask if the buses come on the hour in your original post and then later claim you will have a problem if they don't show up within three minutes. I must agree with the pp poster that explained that it's very unlikely you will get a bus within three minutes of your arrival at the stop.

If you're going to spend the money to take a cab every morning, you would likely be much better off spending that money on a rental car.

I personally use the buses. My husband drives for a living and does not want to touch a steering wheel on vacation. Some people can't stand them. I think every guest needs to evaluate what they want out of their vacation and make the choice that is best for them. However, your posts make it sound like you will be unhappy with the Disney bus service.

 

[imthatgirl]

You do seem to contradict yourself a bit - you did ask if the buses come on the hour in your original post and then later claim you will have a problem if they don't show up within three minutes. I must agree with the pp poster that explained that it's very unlikely you will get a bus within three minutes of your arrival at the stop.

I asked how often they come. I asked if it was every hour...or less or more. How is that contradicting myself? I asked the question because I don't know the answer. If they did come every hour on the hour then yes it would make it much easier for me to use the buses. But no where did I say I knew how the buses ran. Which is why I asked. I kind of thought that was the purpose of boards like this...to ask questions.

If you're going to spend the money to take a cab every morning, you would likely be much better off spending that money on a rental car.

It would cost a whole lot more to rent a car. The cost, however, is not the reason we will not be renting a car. A rental car does not fit into our plans. Which is why I came to the boards to ask about the bus timing.

I personally use the buses. My husband drives for a living and does not want to touch a steering wheel on vacation. Some people can't stand them. I think every guest needs to evaluate what they want out of their vacation and make the choice that is best for them. However, your posts make it sound like you will be unhappy with the Disney bus service.

Thank you for your input.

 

[DisneyWorldbuff]

In June of 2010 we shared a morning bus with Fort Wilderness.

We were there at the same time, and often shared buses with Ft. Wilderness too. One morning we had a direct route to MK- it was super quick!

 

[TDC Nala]

The truth is that nobody can tell you for sure whether or not your WL bus will share a route with other buses to any particular park (except MK), or which resort it will share with. Disney dispatches buses to where they believe they are needed. Maybe they will not share buses in the morning at park opening if the ridership is projected to be larger, but they will if you leave the park in the afternoon. No way to tell. There aren't any schedules.

As to how often the buses come, Disney says "up to" 20 minutes between buses, but that's not set in stone either. Could be sooner if they dispatch more buses because there are lots of people at the particular resort. Could be later.

Cleve Rocks is correct in that there is no one you can call at Disney that can answer this question with any accuracy.

It is most likely that at some point you may have to wait 20 minutes or more. Disney always suggests that you give yourself plenty of time to get from place to place on the buses. From WL, to any park except MK I would give it 30 to 45 minutes if you must be anywhere at a certain time. Between resorts by bus, about an hour. Those of us who are familiar with Disney transportation understand that those who are not prepared to do at least some waiting are often disappointed with the service. That's what's behind the reaction to the OP's post where she indicated that 3 minutes may be too long to wait (unless that was tongue in cheek).

 

[jbuey22]

is your goal to get to the park the fastest, or is your goal to minimize the time waiting for transportation. If your goal is the fastest trip to the parks I feel that the buses are your best bet. Yes there are cabs that "hang out" at resorts, but in my experience they are around more in the later morning when people are checking out and need a ride to the airport. First thing in the morning 7am 8 am there may not be a cab around. Even if there is, cabs are in the business to make money, not to get you to your destination the quickest. I have never been overly dissapointed by the Disney transportation system. But I am a patient man and I give myself enough time (for ADRs) to allow for the worst. The bus stops are monitored, if a driver sees a long line for a certain park he will call it in. Plus there are cameras at alot of stops for the very same reason. They do their best and first thing in the morning is pretty consistent. Give yourself plenty of time, and relax and enjoy yourself. And if you find yourself waiting longer than you think you should, dont over-react. Definetly dont take it out on any drivers they have no control over it, other than to help you. And they will. If you have been waiting for an epcot bus and 2 MK buses come in a row, politely inform the driver that you have been waiting and he will report it. But dont lie to him and tell him you have been waiting 20 minutes if you havent. They know exactly when the last bus left. I would say you will wait 15 minutes or less MORE than you will be waiting 20 minutes and over. Does that make sense? Also I have not stayed at the resort in question and cannot answer the sharing issue, but if you avoid high traffic times you should never need to stand. 1 more suggestion is when traveling at the high traffic times, like at parks closing after fireworks, choose those times to grab a cab. Be smart about it. There is nothing wrong with using cabs I have done it under those circumstances, but it is really foolish not to take advantage of the free transportation. Just use your head and plan ahead!

 

[si-am]

Wow! I always take WDW transportation and have had hardly any issues. The buses come frequently. I personally don't consider it an inconvenience to sit at a bus stop for 15 minutes or less waiting on a bus. The scenery at WL is pretty.

Obviously if you are the impatient type, a cab sounds like the best bet, but I personally find that a tremendous waste of money.

 

[spacemountainmom]

Thank you for your input.

wow.....really?

You basically state up front that your assumption is that the buses only run once an hour.....then you turn around and say that you couldn't possibly wait more than three minutes for a bus.

Don't shoot the messengers who are trying to politely tell you that you're not going to be happy with Disney bus service. I am sure we'd all love it if the bus for the park we wanted to go showed up immediately upon our arrival at the resort bus stop. In reality, this is not going to happen. I honestly would imagine that a rental car would be more cost effective than taking a cab each and every day.

I'm terribly sorry you're so angry that people are trying to be honest with you about the Disney bus service.

If your mind was made up ahead of time, why ask the question?

 

[CleveRocks]

is your goal to get to the park the fastest, or is your goal to minimize the time waiting for transportation.

In Post #5 she stated that she doesn't want to wait for buses in the morning.

 

[maxiesmom]

OP please realize that there are not always cabs waiting at the resorts. We use them to get to our early morning breakfasts at the parks and other resorts, and we always have to have one called. So unless you schedule one the night before, you may have to wait a while for one. We even have had the experience of calling for a cab, and then having it not show up.

Truth is, the only way to guarantee you can walk out your resort room door, and hop in a vehical, is to rent a car. You seem dead set against that, which is your choice. I don't like to rent a car either. However know that if you choose to not rent a car you will most certainlly have to wait for a bus or taxi at some point. So you do need to relax on the time frame a bit, and try to not stress if you have to wait for a taxi or bus to show up.

 

[imthatgirl]

wow.....really?

You basically state up front that your assumption is that the buses only run once an hour.....then you turn around and say that you couldn't possibly wait more than three minutes for a bus.

Don't shoot the messengers who are trying to politely tell you that you're not going to be happy with Disney bus service. I am sure we'd all love it if the bus for the park we wanted to go showed up immediately upon our arrival at the resort bus stop. In reality, this is not going to happen. I honestly would imagine that a rental car would be more cost effective than taking a cab each and every day.

I'm terribly sorry you're so angry that people are trying to be honest with you about the Disney bus service.

If your mind was made up ahead of time, why ask the question?

Wow, someone thanks you for replying to their post and you get all huffy. Really? Boy, some of you people are completely ridiculous. I came here to ask about bus timing, thats it. I honestly don't know what everyone's problem is. Not enough drama in your lives?

 

[imthatgirl]

And here you go this is exactly what I wrote "How often do you see a bus for each park in the mornings? For example will a DHS bus come every hour or less or more then that?"

Now that you have accused me twice of "assuming" the bus schedule, maybe you can actually read what I wrote. It was a question. I came here to ask a question.

Lesson learned.

 

[topmonkeygirl]

Personally I love the bus system. I live about 2 hours away so when we're in the world we always have our car, but we never use it. I've never really had to wait very long for a bus except for 1 time leaving HS, I think I had to wait about 20-30 minutes. I don't know what the deal was that night. I love the buses, you don't have to drive to the park, find a spot, get on the tram, remember where your car is, fight traffic at the end of the day, and since I get lost easy I don't have to worry about where I'm going.

You should give it a try for 1 day to see if you like it or not then if it doesn't work out for you, you can always get a cab the next day.

Have a great trip, and don't let the people who are trying to start trouble get to you.

I almost forgot to mention, when we were there I think we did share a bus the Fort Wilderness.

 

[imthatgirl]

Personally I love the bus system. I live about 2 hours away so when we're in the world we always have our car, but we never use it. I've never really had to wait very long for a bus except for 1 time leaving HS, I think I had to wait about 20-30 minutes. I don't know what the deal was that night. I love the buses, you don't have to drive to the park, find a spot, get on the tram, remember where your car is, fight traffic at the end of the day, and since I get lost easy I don't have to worry about where I'm going.

You should give it a try for 1 day to see if you like it or not then if it doesn't work out for you, you can always get a cab the next day.

Have a great trip, and don't let the people who are trying to start trouble get to you.

I almost forgot to mention, when we were there I think we did share a bus the Fort Wilderness.

Thanks. From what I gather we will most likely share a bus and there is no actual schedule. We have always rented a car before this trip, but use a AAA parking pass, so we've also never dealt with having to tram or find the car(I can see why that wouldn't appeal to you).

I think it's the unknown bus schedule that would get to me. If I could say "the DHS bus comes at xx:xx and then every xx minutes later" it would be much easier for me.

My husband had suggested we just plan on a cab every morning and then use the buses in the evening. But I figured I should understand the buses as well. Who knew a simple question didn't have a simple answer, lol.

 

[duffy]

I stayed at the Wilderness Lodge a few years ago, and I don't recall:

Are there lots of cabs lined up at the entrance, waiting for customers? We always took the bus, so I didn't notice.

I know there's always lots of cabs at the parks, ready to take tourists back to their hotels.

 

[spacemountainmom]

And here you go this is exactly what I wrote "How often do you see a bus for each park in the mornings? For example will a DHS bus come every hour or less or more then that?"

Now that you have accused me twice of "assuming" the bus schedule, maybe you can actually read what I wrote. It was a question. I came here to ask a question.

Lesson learned.

Yeah, and in your first reply to me (the one with all the red comments) you were a tad snarky and you were snarky to the other posters who were commenting that your question sounded like your assumption was that buses ran on the hour, but then you claimed in a later post that you couldn't wait longer than three minutes.

Guess it's hard to read tone....your "Thanks for the input" also came off as snarky.

I was trying to be honest about the fact that the buses come when they come and if you don't like to wait, you will be unhappy. Many people don't like the waits or the crowds and choose to use alternate forms of transportation. To me and many others, you sound like the bus system will leave you disappointed.

Pot, this is kettle calling.............

 

[imthatgirl]

Yeah, and in your first reply to me (the one with all the red comments) you were a tad snarky and you were snarky to the other posters who were commenting that your question sounded like your assumption was that buses ran on the hour, but then you claimed in a later post that you couldn't wait longer than three minutes.

Guess it's hard to read tone....your "Thanks for the input" also came off as snarky.

I was trying to be honest about the fact that the buses come when they come and if you don't like to wait, you will be unhappy. Many people don't like the waits or the crowds and choose to use alternate forms of transportation. To me and many others, you sound like the bus system will leave you disappointed.

Pot, this is kettle calling.............

No where was I snarky, all I did was explain my question...but here is snarky for you.....you obviously lack reading comprehension skills if you can't tell the difference between a question and an assumption. I apologize for your misunderstanding. Obviously what you've been looking for.

 

[imthatgirl]

I stayed at the Wilderness Lodge a few years ago, and I don't recall:

Are there lots of cabs lined up at the entrance, waiting for customers? We always took the bus, so I didn't notice.

I know there's always lots of cabs at the parks, ready to take tourists back to their hotels.

They are not lined up near all the resorts, no. But every time we have ever called upon a cab it's been there within 2 minutes. I've never had an issue, especially near the MK.

 

[duffy]

They are not lined up near all the resorts, no. But every time we have ever called upon a cab it's been there within 2 minutes. I've never had an issue, especially near the MK.

What if it took more than 3 minutes?? Ooh, and while waiting for the cab, a bus pulled up? Would you ditch the cab for the bus?

 

[buffettgirl]

I totally understand your question about the schedules. When we stay at shades of green their buses do run on a set schedule - every 20 min to TTC, so prompt that you can set your watch, and every hour to DHS/AK and others. So you never really have to wait, you just judge your timing on when you'll arrive to get the bus.

Disney buses are not scheduled like that, unfortunately.

 

[TLinden16]

I'm going to move this to our transportation board in case the folks over there have additional input