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

[imthatgirl]

In all my trips I have still never taken Disney transportation. and to be honest it's kind of scaring me. So I have a few question...
1. I'm staying at the wilderness, can anyone tell me in the AM where Wilderness is on it's pick up route? Will there be pick ups before us and/or will there be pick ups after us? Or ideally, are these direct buses?
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?

I'm thinking we will want to take cabs in the morning, but I'm still curious about this bus thing.

A few people asked for an update, well we are back and survived our rental car free vacation.

We did use the bus system, which I very much disliked. I 'm not surprised...but, to my surprise there very much is a bus schedule. which was pretty much what I was looking for in this thread. It was very easy for us to go to the concierge every morning and find out when the next bus comes for any particular area. there was a CM at the bus stops with a schedule. After all the replies from this thread, I was quite shocked to find this out.

We did love the other modes of transportation, boats and monorail, which we used more often then the buses.

We had a wonderful trip and thank you all for your help before we left.

 

[Robo]

In all my trips I have still never taken Disney transportation. and to be honest it's kind of scaring me. So I have a few question...
1. I'm staying at the wilderness, can anyone tell me in the AM where Wilderness is on it's pick up route? Will there be pick ups before us and/or will there be pick ups after us? Or ideally, are these direct buses?
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?

3- I'm thinking we will want to take cabs in the morning, but I'm still curious about this bus thing.

1. Wilderness Lodge should be on it's own route (only stops are Lodge, then the park) to the parks in the mornings.

2. In the mornings, figure about every 10-20 minutes, on average.

3- I've never taken a cab at WDW.

 

[MrsLS]

I've never stayed at Wilderness but the buses usually come every 15-20 minutes, at least in the morning they do. They share a bus with the Grand Floridian, I can't remember if it was first or if there were people on it or not when it got there. I know the pp said that it doesn't share but at least last April 2010, we shared the buses with WL.
are you worried about not getting a seat? I don't know what else you would be worried about. I wouldn't take a cab unless you have to make a really early ADR

 

[mommystieg]

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

 

[imthatgirl]

I've never stayed at Wilderness but the buses usually come every 15-20 minutes, at least in the morning they do. They share a bus with the Grand Floridian, I can't remember if it was first or if there were people on it or not when it got there. I know the pp said that it doesn't share but at least last April 2010, we shared the buses with WL.
are you worried about not getting a seat? I don't know what else you would be worried about. I wouldn't take a cab unless you have to make a really early ADR

Maybe I should call to see if they share a bus? I seem to be getting conflicting reports.

I'm not much for waiting in the AMs. I honestly think that if I am out there and there isn't a bus in 3 minutes I'll be looking for a cab, lol.

 

[Maggie'sMom]

When I stayed at the Wilderness Lodge in 2008, we sometimes shared buses with either the Grand Floridian or Fort Wilderness. Other times, we didn't share with any other resorts. I'd say we didn't share more often than we did.

I never had to wait long for a bus at all. Buses generally come every 15-20 minutes. To go to the MK, I always took the boat which was really nice. It comes about every 20 minutes as well.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

1. Wilderness Lodge should be on it's own route (only stops are Lodge, then the park) to the parks in the mornings.

In my experience sometimes during the mornings only the Wilderness Lodge will share bus service with the Contemporary. Now after getting on bus at the Contemporary for Hollywood Studios or the Animal Kingdom it then stopped at the Wilderness Lodge, then we went off to that specifc park. So while the bus won't stop anywhere else after leaving the Wilderness Lodge, there will be other guests already on there and that will mean some seats will already be taken.

 

[dzorn]

Maybe I should call to see if they share a bus? I seem to be getting conflicting reports.

I'm not much for waiting in the AMs. I honestly think that if I am out there and there isn't a bus in 3 minutes I'll be looking for a cab, lol.

If you are not willing to wait 3 minutes for a bus you should rent a car.

We only waited about 5-10 minutes at most.

Denise in MI

 

[TDC Nala]

Wilderness Lodge will probably share buses except to the Magic Kingdom. (Yes, they do have a bus to/from Magic Kingdom). Either with Fort Wilderness or with one of the monorail resorts. I do not remember the lodge having its own bus at all (except MK).

I definitely agree with the above. If 3 minutes is too long to wait, you need to have your own car or taxi fare available.

Don't take a cab to MK. Take the bus, or the boat. Cabs cannot drop you off at MK, you'd have to go to the Ticket and Transportation Center and monorail or ferry over to the park, or to the Contemporary and walk. It's a bit easier to walk from the bus stop.

 

[imthatgirl]

If you are not willing to wait 3 minutes for a bus you should rent a car.

We only waited about 5-10 minutes at most.

Denise in MI

We won't be renting a car. We will be using cabs and buses...which is why I made this post.

 

[scoolover]

I would try the bus system before I'd go forking out $ for a cab.

 

[mommystieg]

When I stayed at the Wilderness Lodge in 2008, we sometimes shared buses with either the Grand Floridian or Fort Wilderness. Other times, we didn't share with any other resorts. I'd say we didn't share more often than we did.

This was our experience, too.

 

[glammadiva]

You will be lucky if you have to wait 3 min or less for a bus. If that is your limit be prepared to take cabs. I do not recall seeing cabs lined up at resorts and parks waiting for fares, so you need to research that issue.

 

[imthatgirl]

You will be lucky if you have to wait 3 min or less for a bus. If that is your limit be prepared to take cabs. I do not recall seeing cabs lined up at resorts and parks waiting for fares, so you need to research that issue.

The cabs are lined up very close by. We've seen them many times. It's quite easy to beckon a cab.

 

[CleveRocks]

Maybe I should call to see if they share a bus? I seem to be getting conflicting reports.

I'm not much for waiting in the AMs. I honestly think that if I am out there and there isn't a bus in 3 minutes I'll be looking for a cab, lol.

You can't call anywhere to get a good answer to your question. There's just no way to do it. If you call the so-called "direct" number for Wilderness Lodge, you'll be calling a call center, and they'll answer as if they're at Wilderness Lodge. The person answering the call may never have been inside Wilderness Lodge, and may never have even stepped foot in Florida!

The people answering these calls are NOT experts in all aspects of Walt Disney World. In fact, people calling these "direct" numbers as well as the main Disney number very frequently get bad information. So there's no place to call. And if you do call, the answers you get are not guaranteed to be correct.

The answers you'll get here on The DIS will be much more accurate.

The fact is, sometimes Wilderness Lodge shares buses with Fort Wilderness, and sometimes it doesn't.

Don't let the idea of "sharing buses" bother you or scare you. It sounds bad on paper, but in reality it's really nothing.

I know you jokingly wrote that you'll get antsy if you wait more than 3 minutes for a bus ... but if there's any grain of truth to that joke, then PLEASE follow my advice to rent a car. You'll have a very unhappy trip if you get unhappy waiting more than 3 minutes for a bus, because it WILL happen, and it will happen many times. As noted above, buses can run about every 20 minutes. So even if everything is going exactly as planned, you could wait 20 minutes for a bus. You could also wait 15 seconds for a bus if you happen to get lucky. But you can and will wait more than 3 minutes most of the time. If we say that it's random how long you'll have to wait, then the odds of waiting between 4 and 20 minutes for a bus are 85%. You can expect to wait more than 3 minutes for a bus 85% of the time.

Taxis aren't cheap. You might pay $10 to get to Magic Kingdom, and even then you'll only get to the Transportation & Ticket Center and then have to wait for a monorail or ferry to get across Seven Seas Lagoon (versus the buses that take you much nearer to the entrance, without the need to catch a ferry or monorail). And you might pay $20-$25 to get to Animal Kingdom or Disney's Hollywood Studios. These are ONE-WAY prices.

I think the bus service is just fine everywhere. But if you're impatient, you'll be dissatisfied with the Disney Transport bus system, and renting a car will be the best money you've ever spent. It would be a waste of money for me, but for you it might be best thing you ever did for your vacation.

 

[Robo]

You can't call anywhere to get a good answer to your question. There's just no way to do it. If you call the so-called "direct" number for Wilderness Lodge, you'll be calling a call center, and they'll answer as if they're at Wilderness Lodge. The person answering the call may never have been inside Wilderness Lodge, and may never have even stepped foot in Florida!

The people answering these calls are NOT experts in all aspects of Walt Disney World. In fact, people calling these "direct" numbers as well as the main Disney number very frequently get bad information. So there's no place to call. And if you do call, the answers you get are not guaranteed to be correct.

The answers you'll get here on The DIS will be much more accurate.

The fact is, sometimes Wilderness Lodge shares buses with Fort Wilderness, and sometimes it doesn't.

Don't let the idea of "sharing buses" bother you or scare you. It sounds bad on paper, but in reality it's really nothing.

I know you jokingly wrote that you'll get antsy if you wait more than 3 minutes for a bus ... but if there's any grain of truth to that joke, then PLEASE follow my advice to rent a car. You'll have a very unhappy trip if you get unhappy waiting more than 3 minutes for a bus, because it WILL happen, and it will happen many times. As noted above, buses can run about every 20 minutes. So even if everything is going exactly as planned, you could wait 20 minutes for a bus. You could also wait 15 seconds for a bus if you happen to get lucky. But you can and will wait more than 3 minutes most of the time. If we say that it's random how long you'll have to wait, then the odds of waiting between 4 and 20 minutes for a bus are 85%. You can expect to wait more than 3 minutes for a bus 85% of the time.

Taxis aren't cheap. You might pay $10 to get to Magic Kingdom, and even then you'll only get to the Transportation & Ticket Center and then have to wait for a monorail or ferry to get across Seven Seas Lagoon (versus the buses that take you much nearer to the entrance, without the need to catch a ferry or monorail). And you might pay $20-$25 to get to Animal Kingdom or Disney's Hollywood Studios. These are ONE-WAY prices.

I think the bus service is just fine everywhere. But if you're impatient, you'll be dissatisfied with the Disney Transport bus system, and renting a car will be the best money you've ever spent. It would be a waste of money for me, but for you it might be best thing you ever did for your vacation.

Ditto to the whole post.
Just ditto.

 

[imthatgirl]

I know you jokingly wrote that you'll get antsy if you wait more than 3 minutes for a bus ... but if there's any grain of truth to that joke, then PLEASE follow my advice to rent a car. You'll have a very unhappy trip if you get unhappy waiting more than 3 minutes for a bus, because it WILL happen, and it will happen many times. As noted above, buses can run about every 20 minutes. So even if everything is going exactly as planned, you could wait 20 minutes for a bus. You could also wait 15 seconds for a bus if you happen to get lucky. But you can and will wait more than 3 minutes most of the time. If we say that it's random how long you'll have to wait, then the odds of waiting between 4 and 20 minutes for a bus are 85%. You can expect to wait more than 3 minutes for a bus 85% of the time.

Taxis aren't cheap. You might pay $10 to get to Magic Kingdom, and even then you'll only get to the Transportation & Ticket Center and then have to wait for a monorail or ferry to get across Seven Seas Lagoon (versus the buses that take you much nearer to the entrance, without the need to catch a ferry or monorail). And you might pay $20-$25 to get to Animal Kingdom or Disney's Hollywood Studios. These are ONE-WAY prices.

I think the bus service is just fine everywhere. But if you're impatient, you'll be dissatisfied with the Disney Transport bus system, and renting a car will be the best money you've ever spent. It would be a waste of money for me, but for you it might be best thing you ever did for your vacation.

I won't be renting a car. This isn't my first trip to WDW and I know at this point that for this trip a rental car will not something that will come in handy. I have used the cabs, and have no problem paying for them. Not to mention, it would cost me far more to rent a car then to take a taxi every morning.

After reading this thread I think it will probably be easiest if I plan to take a cab every AM.

Thanks for your input.

 

[disnut8]

I won't be renting a car. This isn't my first trip to WDW and I know at this point that for this trip a rental car will not something that will come in handy. I have used the cabs, and have no problem paying for them. Not to mention, it would cost me far more to rent a car then to take a taxi every morning.

After reading this thread I think it will probably be easiest if I plan to take a cab every AM.

Thanks for your input.

Quite honestly, it sounds like you will not be satisfied with Disney transportation at all so it'll be better that you spend your money with the cab companies since you will not rent a car. So I'm not sure why you asked your question since you thought the buses only operated on an hourly schedule and you don't want to wait more than three minutes. Were you just going to plan your morning start on an hourly basis?

 

[imthatgirl]

Quite honestly, it sounds like you will not be satisfied with Disney transportation at all so it'll be better that you spend your money with the cab companies since you will not rent a car. So I'm not sure why you asked your question since you thought the buses only operated on an hourly schedule and you don't want to wait more than three minutes. Were you just going to plan your morning start on an hourly basis?

The questions I asked were 1.if the wilderness buses were shared in the AM and 2. How often they come. What don't you understand?

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

My son and I stayed there in Feb. 2011. The buses shared with Ft. Wilderness all day even in the mornings.

We were usually first picked up and first dropped off. We waited for just a few minutes for a bus up to 20 minutes. It was all in the timing - several times we just missed our bus.

WL is having some work done on the bus stops so the bus stop is temporarily moved to the parking lot. The CM's will direct you. It's easier to leave by the front door instead of following the signs to bus transportation right now. Hang to the right and walk a tiny bit and you'll see the cross walk to use to reach the buses.

I never rent a car and think riding the buses is very relaxing. The bus is much faster than a cab to MK. Because a bus goes direct to MK but the cabs have to let you out at the Ticket and Transportation Center. If you decide to cab it to MK, have them take you to CR and then walk to MK from there.

A cab was quite a bit of money to AK so I'd recommend a bus there. I was staying at POR and it was 23.75 without tip to AKL and that was in 2009 before the cost of gas went up so I'm sure it will cost more now.

I've taken a cab a couple of times to get to ADR's at other resorts than the one I'm staying at to save time and it was fine.