"I LOATHE the BUS..."

[TLinden16]

I'm going to move this to our transportation board.

 

[leahjade]

Im just hopin that as im goin 31st aug to 14th sep it should be quiet due to being off peak which means less queues for busses.

Won't be quiet with free dining!!!

 

[adamandkate]

Won't be quiet with free dining!!!

groan. gets worse and worse

 

[dizneedoll]

OP: I cracked up at your subject line. That quote from 16 Candles is exactly the same one I use to describe the Disney bus system.

It's the waiting for the darn bus to show up that kills me. On our last trip we waited so long each time we went to a bus stop whether at the resort or at the parks. And it doesn't matter which resort you stay at. I don't believe that some resorts have better bus service then others. It's all scheduled and coordinated by a central office.

I've been shoved and cut in front of and one man pushed me aside after my 3 year old got on and this man got on after him and I said something to him and he ignored me but his wife tried to tell me that I cut in front of them. It was so obnoxious. And that's not just one bad trip, that's several years of accumulated bad bus service. Next trip I'm doing a rental car.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Molly Ringwald in 16 Candles had it right

Dialogue for a sixteen year old movie character vs. real life. Interesting.

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

More likely unrealistic expectations than ruined experiences.

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

Frankly, even when I have a car on property, I know that not driving makes it more of a vacation for me. Not a guess, but fact. Last visit, nine days, I used the car three times: twice to shop, once for lunch at the GF - because I needed to go right to the airport and wouldn't have made the DME bus. NEVER to get to a park, to any other meal, or between resorts. It was

 

[joelkfla]

grief. your starting to worry me. am hoping to use just the busses for my honeymoon from buena vista palace and taxis offsite. Your givin me 2nd thoughts now.

BV Palace is not a Disney resort. Bus service is by a separate system operated by Mears (using transit buses like Disney buses, not motor coaches like DME.) I haven't seen much comment here about those buses; don't know whether people consider them better, worse, or about the same as Disney buses. I know that service is less frequent and runs on a schedule, and that their buses go to TTC, not direct to MK.

 

[kaytieeldr]

What I am objecting to here is not that people with scooters use the buses, and I am glad we can all acknowledge that there are some who abuse the system. What I am objecting to is having to stand in line for more than 1 hour for a bus but then when it is my turn to get on the bus having a scooter with a large family contingent show up and be put on the bus and I am left standing there for another 20 mins with my children. It happened twice this most recent trip.

Okay, this happened to you twice. How many times did it NOT happen? How many times did you wait in line for buses that you were able to board the 'correct' bus because no guests on scooters (or no guests on scooters with large family contingents) showed up and were allowed to board ahead of the guests standing in line?

It's been explained in other recent threads: each wheelchair/ECV Guest is allowed to be accompanied by up to five members of their party. More people than this DO need to get in the regular line. If you see this being violated, speak to the bus driver or make note of the bus number, route, location, driver's name - and report it to your resort's management.

There is no earthly reason that all patrons cannot wait in the line. They can still wait in the designated waiting area so they are not expected to make the turns around the gates etc. Once the line moves enough that their family gets to the front of the line they can be boarded on the next bus - no one has to move to have their scooter loaded, and those who have been waiting are on their way in the order that they arrived in line.

There are several reasons, the most notable being simple logistics. When their family gets to the front of the line, if the bus is almost full, the person in the wheelchair/ecv CAN'T get on the bus. Their family can - but the seats where the medical device would be tied down are in use, and most of the floor space is taken as well.

In addition, the wheelchair line gets longer and longer; meanwhile, spaces that COULD have accommodated wheelchairs now CAN'T because your suggestion is forcing them to wait 'their turn'. Finally, one chair user's family gets to the head of the line AND the bus is empty! Yippee!!! That person and their family board. All the other wheelchairs wait. And wait. And wait. Eventually, depending on the size of the resort, you can end up needing fifteen or twenty EXTRA buses JUST for the wheelchair/ecv Guests and their families because they weren't "allowed" to board buses as the buses arrived. Remember, there are only two tie-down spots per bus.

Does that REALLY make sense to you?

 

[MistressMerryweather]

I like the bus. I like that we don't have an option to go out and "grab" something we "think" we need. It's not so bad if you don't over think it. The only thing I could do without is having to wake up the stroller riders to get on the bus. They never appreciate that too much.

 

[goofy4tink]

I hate to break it to you, but I do use Mass Transit to get to and from work each day - I live just outside Toronto and use Vaughn Buses to get to TTC Subway, and then finally a bus to get to my office. I reverse the ritual at the end of everyday.

What I am objecting to here is not that people with scooters use the buses, and I am glad we can all acknowledge that there are some who abuse the system. What I am objecting to is having to stand in line for more than 1 hour for a bus but then when it is my turn to get on the bus having a scooter with a large family contingent show up and be put on the bus and I am left standing there for another 20 mins with my children. It happened twice this most recent trip.

There is no earthly reason that all patrons cannot wait in the line. They can still wait in the designated waiting area so they are not expected to make the turns around the gates etc. Once the line moves enough that their family gets to the front of the line they can be boarded on the next bus - no one has to move to have their scooter loaded, and those who have been waiting are on their way in the order that they arrived in line.

Okay....let's look at this logically. If you have been waiting an hour for the bus (which just doesn't happen all that often other than at park closing and even then it's out of the ordinary..and yes, I know whereof I speak. I've stood there, in the POP line for 40 mins, waiting through 4 buses before being able to board), and as you get close to boarding, you say an ECV comes along and gets on board? I doubt it. Those ECVs can ONLY be loaded when the bus is empty. The only time that would not be the case is if the bus had stopped someplace first, picked up passengers, and the next stop there was an ECV to board. IF there were open seats on that bus, the driver would ask those sitting on the ECV foldup seats to move to other seats and he would board the ECV at that time. Otherwise, that ECV is going to have to sit and wait.
I have been bumped in line, due to ECV boarding, maybe once a trip. I can't tell you how many times I've ridden on a bus without an ECV on it...probably about 90% of the time.

There is no other more equitable way to board ECVs. If they were to 'wait in line like everyone else', then they would end up waiting even longer since they wouldn't be able to be boarded properly. What if they were waiting behind you in line, for that hour, and then when the bus came along, they were unable to board because it was SRO now?? They have waited their hour as well as you. But..now they are denied boarding due to their disability. And that is against the law.

Can things change? Sure. It may be time to allow just the ECV person and one other person to board first. All other members of their party must wait in the line..even if it means they have to take a later bus. An ECV takes up three or four seats. It shouldn't be a deal breaker if they did it that way. And, it just might stop some of that abuse...if people are only going to be able to board one person with the ECV rider, then it may just not be worth it anymore to try to 'get away' with something.

I'm going to move this to our transportation board.

I hate you!!!

 

[kaytieeldr]

I'm going to move this to our transportation board.

I hate you!!!

But you mean that in the NICEST possible way... don't you?

 

[emmabelle]

We're getting a rental this trip because when staying at the Boardwalk, sometimes we're running late and then we may get stuck picking up at the Swolfin, and YC and then BC. The time adds up when you're trying to get to an early opening. We definitely use the car for the water parks and DTD. I'm not sure why for DTD, but we've never rode a bus there?

I also have to admit, I like to go out to one of the cheesey gift shops on 192 and a vacation is never complete without a stop at Walgreens or Walmart, sometimes both!

 

[Tara]

I'm going to move this to our transportation board.

I hate you!!!

BEST. RESPONSE. EVER.

Seriously, Diane!

 

[goofy4tink]

But you mean that in the NICEST possible way... don't you?

BEST. RESPONSE. EVER.

Seriously, Diane!

I saw this thread over on her board...just knew it was only a matter of time before she moved it. I think I need different friends. Friends don't give friends headaches!!!

 

[maxiesmom]

I saw this thread over on her board...just knew it was only a matter of time before she moved it. I think I need different friends. Friends don't give friends headaches!!!

It is because she knows you are one tough cookie!Must be we need to be smacked into submission a little.

Who thought this thread would turn out to be so darn funny?

 

[Figmificent]

I love the buses at WDW. I don't want to drive back after a long exhausting day at the parks. We have had very few issues with the busses in all our trips. As for the ECV issues, one this isn't just a Disney thing, it's the law for safety reasons and two, I have watched people on ECVs have to wait much longer than the rest of us waiting bc there are only 2 spots on the bus, so where as we can pack people in, if those two spots are already taken, they have to wait for another bus not matter what. This is very common at busy times with resorts with multiple stops.

 

[debbiedana]

DH drops us off at the airport.
Mickey Mouse picks me up at MCO to go to Pop.
Mickey Mouse drives me around for a week.
Mickey Mouse picks me up at Pop to go to MCO.
DH picks us up at the airport.

Sounds good to me! I spend my whole life in the car, so I get a week vacation from that too!!! No fighting traffic, no trams, no forgetting where I parked. Plus I save $150-200 on a rental car, plus all the time it takes to get one and return it.

That being said, I often stand on busses. I give up my seat for others that look like they need it, with the exception of a couple times that my feet were so agonizingly sore I couldn't stand anymore.DD10 willingly gives up her seat quite often as well. I'm often wall to wall with 239857 of my closest friends on a bus at closing, but I have never really had a problem with that.

Also, I always choose to stay at Pop Century, where the bus service has not ever, ever, ever let us down. Four buses at once for a park closing at MK last year! Never a wait of more than 15 minutes (and typically much less) except for DTD (and even that was only one time, a 20 minute wait.) The bus system has been nothing but quick and efficient for me.

 

[SnackyStacky]

Count me in on the side with those that prefer to drive.

Driving has its own pros and cons, as does using the busses. Those pro/con lists will depend on your own needs, experiences, and preferences.

Some people will prefer to stand on a crowded bus not to have to deal with traffic flow at park closing as you leave the parking lot. I'm exactly the opposite. I would much rather have personal space and sit in traffic than stand on a bus with a bunch of people I don't know.

Those preferences don't make others wrong and me right - and vice versa. They're just that; preferences.

 

[goofy4tink]

Count me in on the side with those that prefer to drive.

Driving has its own pros and cons, as does using the busses. Those pro/con lists will depend on your own needs, experiences, and preferences.

Some people will prefer to stand on a crowded bus not to have to deal with traffic flow at park closing as you leave the parking lot. I'm exactly the opposite. I would much rather have personal space and sit in traffic than stand on a bus with a bunch of people I don't know.

Those preferences don't make others wrong and me right - and vice versa. They're just that; preferences.

Ah come on now....people you don't know??? A crowded bus is a great place to meet new people, to make some new friends, to hand out some info. I have met some of the nicest people on the buses. Granted, those times were NOT when standing, behind to behind, at the end of the day. But, at less crowded times I have had some absolutely wonderful conversations with complete strangers.

 

[TheWog]

Ah come on now....people you don't know??? A crowded bus is a great place to meet new people, to make some new friends, to hand out some info. I have met some of the nicest people on the buses. Granted, those times were NOT when standing, behind to behind, at the end of the day. But, at less crowded times I have had some absolutely wonderful conversations with complete strangers.

Don't go making the busses seem like a good transportation option.

 

[TheWog]

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.

You didn't do anything wrong. The busses are offered to all park guests to get around (as well as boats and monorail), not just resort guests staying onsite.