If you stay off-site, can you use Disney buses?

[ExPirateShopGirl]

Mornin'

I have watched the Disboards for quite some time now. Hope you sort the transportation thing out maybe I'll come back and have a look. For now I'll hop on over to the Canadian Trip planning where it doesn't seem to matter if I'm new or Canadian.

If you've been reading for some time, you'd know your nationality had nothing to do with my comments. Enjoy your trip planning and keep learning!

 

[MiaSRN62]

BTW, since there is only WDW transport from the MK parking lot to MK, what are offsite guest supposed to do--SWIM?

Excellent point Marsha !
I think if the wdw transportation were just for onsite guests, disney would darn well check ID's. They don't, because it's offered to anyone (onsite/offsite), using a MYW or AP. If some choose to believe that offsite guests are breaking some policy, I just wish they'd pick up the phone and call disney themselves. So as far as I'm concerned, we don't need to "sort the transportation thing out" as jwood suggested......I think we're all pretty confident in disney's perspective on it. I could make the call for the doubters here, but then you'd only have to trust me on what I said disney's reply was. So I think the easiest thing is to just call yourselves and ask and you will see this debate is all for nothing. Offsite guests are allowed to use the busses. I've been both an on and offsite guest since '94 (making anywhere from 1-4 trips per year/every year). Never had any issue with using any form of wdw transportation.

 

[GoofyTraci]

Until you've spent as much as a tourist at WDW as I have as a LOCAL at WDW, get over it. Besides, you were told wrong.

Adding up annual passes, hotels (yes, we still stay on property sometimes even though we only live half an hour away) and meals since we moved to Florida 1 1/2 years ago, it's probably around $4000.

Anne

i have to say that your post as well as several others on this thread have gotten out of hand and some are just down right rude. before i get flammed agian. i didn't not say in anyway that i was better than anyone else nor did i imply that i was. i was just for a fact saying what i was told. i dont care who is on the bus system. i was just told it was for resort guest only. and i was not talking about the buses that take you to downtown disney or between the parks. i just thought the pick up to and from resorts were for those staying in a room. sorry if i upset anyone i did not mean to and nor do i expect to be treated that way as well. this boards are for us to talk about our experiences and learn from others. i have only been to disney once and will be there again this summer give me a break and just let it be, i dont know how this got so blowed out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Until you've spent as much as a tourist at WDW as I have as a LOCAL at WDW, get over it. Besides, you were told wrong.

Adding up annual passes, hotels (yes, we still stay on property sometimes even though we only live half an hour away) and meals since we moved to Florida 1 1/2 years ago, it's probably around $4000.

Anne

If it were not for the tourists WDW would not survie without them, because they need them more then the locals. That's just my opinion & if some of you agree with me fine, if you don't that is your choice.

 

[NEVERENOUGHWDW]

OP here....



Okay, this basically says that you will get free transport throughout Disney by being a resort guest, but it doesn't say that is an exclusive benefit. Making the most of your Disney dream vacation refers IMO to being on Disney property for your whole vacation





It IS a benefit to be able to come out of your resort and get into a bus or monorail to one of the parks or DTD. If you are staying offsite, you won't have that benefit. You will have to get in your car, drive to a park, or drive to the TTC to catch a bus from there. Although everyone is allowed to use the WDW transportation, it is definitely not as convenient for offsite guests. I have stayed onsite and off and I speak from experience.

As I have said numerous times, I now do not plan on parking at DTD now. We will either park at the TTC or at one of the parks and take the buses or monorail from there. And if I get my way, we will be at Pop(and I will be for the last few days anyway)

The two times I stayed at Pop, I never saw long lines for the buses, except at park closing. These were resort-direct buses, so I imagine there were none(or not many) offsite guests utilizing them. If there were a rule that buses were for resort guests only, then there would be signs or the drivers would check resort IDs.

BTW, since there is only WDW transport from the MK parking lot to MK, what are offsite guest supposed to do--SWIM?

Marsha

This conversation/debate is about the buses....the ferry is for day guests and off site guests. Just an FYI

 

[NEVERENOUGHWDW]

Until you've spent as much as a tourist at WDW as I have as a LOCAL at WDW, get over it. Besides, you were told wrong.

Adding up annual passes, hotels (yes, we still stay on property sometimes even though we only live half an hour away) and meals since we moved to Florida 1 1/2 years ago, it's probably around $4000.

Anne

That is amount of $$$ tourists spend EVERYTIME they go. This is not a money debate. I beleive it all started by the fact that years ago they would check your room key before you entered a deluxe hotel bus. They never did on the monorail system.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

That is amount of $$$ tourists spend EVERYTIME they go. This is not a money debate. I beleive it all started by the fact that years ago they would check your room key before you entered a deluxe hotel bus. They never did on the monorail system.

It was Anne who brought up that the locals spend more money at WDW, then the tourists.

 

[marciemi]

That is amount of $$$ tourists spend EVERYTIME they go.

That was my first thought as well. That we're easily spending $5-6000 for our trip next summer. But then I had to calculate how much of that is going to Disney. The $1200 for air, the $2000 we're spending for a rental house, the $500 for a rental car, the $600 for Universal tickets and a night at RPR, and all the money we'll spend on groceries to eat at the house all aren't going to Disney. However, if someone is doing what we're doing but staying onsite and eating all of their meals at Disney or their resort, then they probably are spending that much for a family of 4!

 

[TDC Nala]

This conversation/debate is about the buses....the ferry is for day guests and off site guests. Just an FYI

This is interesting...the express monorail is only for onsite guests and anybody who's staying offsite, or locals, have to take the ferry? Where does this policy come from? I haven't ever heard it.

 

[torinsmom]

Yes, and although the thread started out as being about buses, some have said that all WDW transportation is for onsite guests only. I believe it is all for anyone who is visiting WDW.

 

[2Princes2Princesses]

Being an SSR owner, I did get the value of the question about the proximity of DTD to SSR.

Personally, if you are offsite/local and have a PH ticket or AP, ride the bus if you need to. I do not think that offsite guests take up SOOO much space on the bus if they park at TTC and ride the bus to AK or a resort for dinner. And from the way the ticket spiels on Disney's website is worded, they can use the transportation.

As far as the SSR situation, for onsite guests going from a park to DTD or offsite guests doing the same, I have no issues. Sometimes it is just faster. If you have a dinner ADR at DTD and are at a park, usually the quickest route is to bus to SSR, get off at Congress Park, and hoof it over to DTD.

The ONLY issue I have is that Disney specifically stopped running park buses to DTD to avoid people parking at DTD for free and then taking WDW transport to the parks. Then they created a big old honkin' resort close enough that people could do that with only an added short walk! DOH.

I am not sure how they could correct that though, without someone who SHOULD be able to use the transportation getting shafted.

I would like to see a resort ID required to go down the path to SSR and the one to OKW, but that is more for security than the buses, since we have never had a problem with large crowds of people riding the bus from CP and we stay in that section every time we go to SSR.

I mean, they check your ID at the guard shack when you drive in, and don't allow non resort guests in after a certain time at night, but then you could drive over to DTD and walk in??? Bizarre.

 

[ducklite]

That is amount of $$$ tourists spend EVERYTIME they go. This is not a money debate. I beleive it all started by the fact that years ago they would check your room key before you entered a deluxe hotel bus. They never did on the monorail system.

I wasn't the one that started the "money debate." The poster I replied to made the comment that "WELL IT SHOULD BE WITH the money that we are spending to stay on property." My point is that the locals spend as much as the tourists do, and without the use of the transportation to the resort hotels, we wouldn't be able to, which would impact the bottom line.

The reason they don't check keys anymore is that they used to sell a transportation pass to those who were local or staying offsite, I think it was $3 a week. They eliminated that about ten years ago when they decided that if they just let people come to the resorts, they would spend more than $3. People weren't spending the $3 to go spend more money, and WDW finally figured it out.

Anne

 

[ducklite]

If it were not for the tourists WDW would not survie without them, because they need them more then the locals. That's just my opinion & if some of you agree with me fine, if you don't that is your choice.

Actually the business model is three-pronged. Tourists, locals, and meeting/convention. In the slow seasons, the locals are what keep the doors open. In the busier seasons the locals tend to stay away and the tourists spend the money. And in the slower and moderate seasons, they get the convention/conference business. All three are an important piece of the pie.

Anne

 

[ducklite]

It was Anne who brought up that the locals spend more money at WDW, then the tourists.

I actually never said that. I was responding to another poster who said "WELL IT SHOULD BE WITH the money that we are spending to stay on property," as if locals don't spend anything so shouldn't be able to use the resort transportation. Please don't take my words out of context.

Anne

 

[Disneyjosh229]

Until you've spent as much as a tourist at WDW as I have as a LOCAL at WDW, get over it. Besides, you were told wrong.

Adding up annual passes, hotels (yes, we still stay on property sometimes even though we only live half an hour away) and meals since we moved to Florida 1 1/2 years ago, it's probably around $4000.

Anne

This is simply downright rude. Get over yourself.

 

[NEVERENOUGHWDW]

This is simply downright rude. Get over yourself.

Facts are facts......

 

[Disneyjosh229]

Facts are facts......

Im not debating the fact that transportation is for onsite guests only, as it is clearly not.

 

[ducklite]

This is simply downright rude. Get over yourself.

Actually it's not rude at all if you take it in the context it was written in response to the poster it was in reponse to. THEY were the one who started with how much money they spent on their vacation, and how they therefore should be entitled to exclusive use of WDW transportation.

Anne

 

[Von Drake]

This thread has answered a very important question that I've had for some time:

Would WDW frown upon me hijacking a bus to drive to each resort so I can pool hop for the day?

Would they be madder about the hijacking or the pool hopping?

And imagine this: If resort guests resent off site guests using the buses, what would happen if the off site guest got caught at a pool?

Tar and feathers?

 

[WillCAD]

This thread has answered a very important question that I've had for some time:

Would WDW frown upon me hijacking a bus to drive to each resort so I can pool hop for the day?

Would they be madder about the hijacking or the pool hopping?

And imagine this: If resort guests resent off site guests using the buses, what would happen if the off site guest got caught at a pool?

Tar and feathers?

Maybe, or they might simply be ridden out of WDW on a monorail rail.