"I LOATHE the BUS..."

[Funky Chicken]

Molly Ringwald in 16 Candles had it right.

We usually drive to WDW so our car is on property. If we stay at a value we drive to the parks. It is FREE to park for resort guests.

During the day we sometimes leave our car in the resort lot and use bus service to get around the World but in the morning and at closing time I refuse to subject myself to the torture of the bus. The bus to DTD is the biggest mistake of all-you might as well fly home for the time it takes to get across the property.

So many threads about the bus ruining people's experiences.

If you have a car on property and think that not drivingmakes it more of a vacation for you, think again.

 

[si-am]

Molly Ringwald in 16 Candles had it right.

We usually drive to WDW so our car is on property. If we stay at a value we drive to the parks. It is FREE to park for resort guests.

During the day we sometimes leave our car in the resort lot and use bus service to get around the World but in the morning and at closing time I refuse to subject myself to the torture of the bus. The bus to DTD is the biggest mistake of all-you might as well fly home for the time it takes to get across the property.

So many threads about the bus ruining people's experiences.

If you have a car on property and think that not drivingmakes it more of a vacation for you, think again.

Maybe for you.

For me, part of the appeal of WDW is that I can park my car and not look at it again for a week. So yeah, it does make it more of a vacation for me.

 

[rgf207]

We never rent a car and always take the bus. We rarely have had any issues.

 

[CookieDiva]

While I am in complete agreement with you - only a handful of our bus/boat experiences have been less than irritating AND time consuming - there are many people out there who would rather spend the time on a bus or boat rather than drive themselves.

Thank goodness we have the choice to make and everyone can be happy with their chosen transportation.

 

[kymom99]

Funny you should bring this up. We just got back and we drove down this time. We only took the car out twice, once to walgreens and oince to Boma. The buses were great this year. The one exception was the hour it took us to get back to CBR from HS! Not the fault of the bus, just a bad traffic jam. This was also one of trhe few times we had to stand!

BTW, I am a woman and my son is 10. We stood the whole time. No problem!

 

[happybratpack]

Sure, at times the WDW transportation might be slow, crowded or whatever. That said, it's worth the trade off for me to have the entire week of not having to drive us anywhere. No worries, just get on the bus/boat/monorail and let someone else take care of us.

 

[Planogirl]

I'm glad that so many people still prefer the buses. I can't imagine the traffic if everyone decided to drive!

 

[Scurvy]

I'm with you, OP. I much prefer to drive. We occasionally use the bus, but more and more often lately we just don't fool with it. Lately we really only use it for morning extra magic hours at Magic Kingdom or Animal Kingdom or really late extra magic hours at the Magic Kingdom. We can walk to our car in the parking lot, drive to wherever we're going, park and walk to the turnstyles and be there faster than we used to be when we were waiting in line for the bus. Plus, we don't have to worry about having to balance if we're standing on the bus or getting dirty looks from people who think they are entitled to our seats if we choose not to stand.

 

[Manda]

While not perfect, the Disney buses still are much nicer than the public transportation I take on a daily basis, LOL. And I'll somewhat happily at least tolerate the occasional long wait, etc., in exchange for not having to bother with a rental car or paying for a rental car and not having to argue about who gets to be the adult that gets to drink a few cocktails.

I agree, however, that the DTD buses are a nightmare. I don't even bother with it anymore because it always ends up being the most frustrating part of my vacation if I try to go over there. Fortunately, we don't really have much interest in it anyway.

 

[PAcpl]

I never understood people knocking the WDW buses. Maybe growing up in Queens on the public transportation system I am numb to it?

 

[sPaRkLeSpAz]

I really want to watch that movie now. Anthony Michael Hall

But I loveeee the bus! It's so much easier to me then driving.

 

[Robo]

I used to drive at WDW.

I don't anymore.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

I have ridden the city bus almost every work day for about 5 years.

I have no problem with the Disney bus system.

 

[Squidgyness]

Molly Ringwald in 16 Candles had it right.

We usually drive to WDW so our car is on property. If we stay at a value we drive to the parks. It is FREE to park for resort guests.

During the day we sometimes leave our car in the resort lot and use bus service to get around the World but in the morning and at closing time I refuse to subject myself to the torture of the bus. The bus to DTD is the biggest mistake of all-you might as well fly home for the time it takes to get across the property.

So many threads about the bus ruining people's experiences.

If you have a car on property and think that not drivingmakes it more of a vacation for you, think again.

You plainly have never used the I-Ride trolley on the I Drive.

I LOVE I drive, LOVE it. The ONLY negative thing is the I Ride trolley.

45 MINUTES for ONE to come past, and that was full. Another 20 minutes for one that was Almost Full to arrive, a quick squeeze on and we were off... slowly.

I use a taxi to go shopping on holiday now.

Having said that, I do use WDW buses to go from MK to HS and AK. Even though I dont stay on property. And yes, its free. Yes I dont have to show ID. Yes, plenty of people do it.

 

[Alabama Minnie]

Most of our bus experience has not been good. Almost always stand, ESPECIALLY at the value resorts. Love the boats to Epcot/DHS. One of the major reasons we like staying at the Dolphin.

 

[TDC Nala]

Everyone's outlook is different. I like not having to pay for a car. And if I drive to dinner, no wine. If I'm going to be on vacation, I want wine. I am used to public transportation and do not object to standing.

 

[CookieDiva]

I never understood people knocking the WDW buses. Maybe growing up in Queens on the public transportation system I am numb to it?

I think that may be part of it. I believe that it is all what you are accustomed to or to what is important to you.

We come from an area where public transportation is not the norm. And we are very used to driving from point A to point B to get ANYWHERE (we live in the suburbs.) So being in a car to get from hotel to park to wherever at Disney is just what we are used to every day - numerous times each day.

Other people may live the kind of lives that we do - and find that it is a vacation NOT to drive from place to place.

Different strokes for different folks. Our stroke is to drive ourselves.

 

[mom2val]

My only gripe with busses is when men - or for that matter women--will not give up their seats to: Pregnant women, old people, small kids ( ever had your kid practically pull your pants off as they struggle to hold onto your legs) or a parent with a kid in their arms. I also think when the bus is crowded if you kid can fit on your lap they should and let someone else take a seat.

 

[PatrickandLukesmom]

The buses are a great option, but there are some problems too. Plus, I think the kids enjoy the tram ride far more than the bus ride - although we like the bus at off peak times. I am concerned though about the buses, and have actually written an old-fashioned letter after returning from our most recent trip in May, the first with our 2 children boys aged 8 and 6.

Who counts the people getting on the bus? There has to be a safe capacity and I am certain that most nights, the buses are leaving too packed. My boys are more than capable of standing, however they cannot reach the overhead bars and for the most part were holding onto me. This was fine except...

The drivers - I am not conviced I could or would want their job, but seriously to go from 40 miles an hour to a DEAD STOP is going to jostle EVERYONE on a bus and it seems that is the way that most drive. On our 2nd night, this happened and several people on the bus fell to the floor like dominoes. The person on the bottom of the pile hit their shoulder and their head on the way down.

Scooters/wheelchairs - I am probably going to get jumped for this but here goes. After EMH at MK, we found our way to our bus line, and waited our turn. 2 buses came and went, and we were the third family in line to get on the next one. There was no one in the wheelchair line until about 2 minutes before the bus arrived. Once it did, the driver and CM member loaded not only the people in the scooters, but ALL the family members that were with them, which took up more than half the seats on the bus.

I think Disney needs to ask the family members to stand in line with all the other patrons, and when the family arrives at the door to the bus, then the person in the wheel chair can get loaded. Another option is allow one person to board the bus with the person in the scooter/wheelchair. I am not sure I understand why being in a scooter jumps you to the front of the line.

We even started taking the bus from our resort to another park and then catching the bus to the park we wanted. At night, we did the reverse (ie travelled to HS from MK and then caught our resort bus there) and this seemed to get us back to our resort quickly and with fewer people.

We have however, decided that we will be renting a car for next time.

 

[catne]

I can see the argument for parking your car & letting Disney do the driving - we've tried it many times. When it works well, it is great. Problem is, hasn't worked well for the last couple of years, IMHO. For us, it's all about how we want to spend our time, and personal comfort. The last few times we tried Disney transportation it was not good at all...the "every 20 minutes" for a bus worked out to more like every "40-60 minutes" that a bus would come - and we'd be standing in the heat or the cold - not good when all you want to do is sit down after the long walks in the parks. In 10 rides, we got a seat once. And though the busses are air conditioned, when you fill every available square inch with people, that A/C doesn't do much good, lol.

In our own car, everywhere we want to go is 20 minutes or less...with no wait time, and the heat or a/c is exactly where we want it, when we want it.