I'm baaaaaaaaack. What is up with OKW Buses???

[Figaro30]

Either you are extremely lucky or we are very big losers!!!

Not ONE time we waited less than 30 minutes. You would think in 8 days that at least once we'd catch the bus just arriving or just about the take off. So when this didn't happen not even 1x I got suspicious.

Well at least one of us had good luck with the buses.

 

[SleepyatDVC]

Figaro30,

I would have gladly split the wait time with you so that each of us would have 15 minute waits. DH will bop me on the head for even entaining such a thought!

Wow, 30+ minute waits EVERY time? I probably would have broken down and driven.

Glad the rest of your trip was good though.

 

[Regina]

We stayed at OKW from 11/30 till 12/3. We used the buses for travel to MGM and MK. We never had a single problem.

For the most part, the bus arrived within 10 minutes. The longest wait was about 20 minutes at the MK. (It was one of those times where we saw the bus pulling away and we were just a little too far away to make a run for it. )

Our most pleasant surprise was when we left MVMCP at midnight. OKW was one of the few buses waiting for passengers.

Sorry that you had a bad experience, but it was all good for us.

 

[BobH]

I think the points made by Pam and Firefighter Mickey are well stated. There will probably always be a few DVC employees who feel they know more than they actually do. Probably need a litle re-training. If DVC Members encounter a cast member who stretches the truth we should all note their names and ask if they would be willing to hold to their statements in front of a hgher authority. I suspect a few of the employees have less knowledge about the annual meetings and voting matters than the average DVC Member - but all this being said there are plenty of fanatastic people working for DVC.

 

[Richyams]

I got a survey a while back and it had a question about bus service. I don't remember if it was to increase the service, keep it the same or decrease it, I voted for less busses or not to increase them.

There are many people who never use them. I have never set foot on a bus and I have been coming since '92. I would prefer not to have them screaming around the resort and disturbing the peace. OKW is set up for having a car. The ability to park in front of your unit makes taking the bus seem sily to me. I know, there are those that don't want to drive on vacation, but I couldn't imagine giving up the ability to stop on the way to or from the parks, I wouldn't dream of giving up the ability to change plans on the way to a park.

The original post asked why anyone would vote against busses, this is why I did. BWV is set up for busses, OKW is set up for cars.

 

[Regina]

This is one vacationer who doesn't want to drive when I'm down there.

As our kids got older, it's been great to be able to split up. Disney transportation has always been a key factor for us.

During last week's trip, I was at DIS CON, and it required getting to and from the Yacht Club. For that, we used the rental car. For park visits, we used the buses and left the car at the resort.

 

[TrudyZ]

The problem isn't whether or not OKW is set up for cars; the problem is that MK isn't.

We rent a car and try and drive to AK, MGM, and Epcot; but haven't found a convenient way to drive and park at MK. Which makes us Mk bus-dependent.

Trudy

 

[Figaro30]

I have to agree with Trudy on this one. Regardless of whether the setup of the resort is geared towards cars, the rest of WDW isn't set up like that. I drove once to MK and will never never never do it again. I still rely deeply on using the bus transportation. I have stayed at numerous other resorts on WDW property and have come across an occasional late bus with a wait of 40 minutes. But have never had such shotty service as I had this entire trip. They definitely need to change something with the transportation here.

One more thing...if OKW is set up to be used with cars, why on earth do they have an internal bus route that just goes from one OKW stop to the next and never goes outside the resort. We saw this bus about 15x while vacationing. This bus stopped more than anyother bus I saw. I think that bus is totally useless. This is one more bus that could be used for another route easily.

 

[PamOKW]

they have an internal bus route that just goes from one OKW stop to the next and never goes outside the resort

I've never seen such a bus. Certain buses run Internal once they get to the resort (meaning they stop at HH both on entering and leaving) but I've never heard of a bus that only runs only around the resort. Maybe they had the wrong signs up on the buses. Sometimes I've asked a driver where he/she is going and it doesn't match their posted sign. This could also be why you had such long waits....maybe a bus you thought was Internal only was actually the bus you were waiting for.

OKW is a WDW resort and should always have WDW transportation. More so than early entry or any other on-site perk, the reason I agreed to purchase OKW was because I would have the transportation provided by staying on-site. I always have a rental car but I do not like to use it for the parks, especially at night and especially at busy times like Christmas.

 

[slc224]

Been to OKW several times since joining in 94. The bus service is hit or miss, mostly to MK. Some trips the service is excellent, others not. What is aggravating is waiting on a MK bus for 35-40 minutes only to have another show up right behind it. It is unfortunate there is no longer a bus schedule posted and maintained by the transportation system. Knowing when a bus would be there would take away considerable wait time.

 

[disneykins]

We solved the MK bus problem by driving to Contemporary Resort and parking at the lot near the tennis courts. From there its a short walk to the MK entrance. Just tell security your there for a meal.
Tony

 

[spiceycat]

Figgaro30 I am so sorry that you had such bad problems - what unit were you staying in? Sleepyat DVC what unit were you staying in?

Disneykins - sometimes the security guards at Cont and Polyn will only let people who are on their list in the parking lot - it has happen to me twice - so don't always count on getting in saying you are going to the restuarant unless you have a reservation at that restuarant.

a few years ago, there was a policy if the bus is full then it goes to the park. the problem was the next bus went over the same route - did not pick up where the other stopped. if they are during this again I will find out I am going this weekend. I had also suggested that the bus vary the route that they take - but they don't seem to be able to do this.

 

[mikek]

for those who posted about parking at the contemp- get ready for the flames.... (someone's bound to start 'em. you might as well have said you were putting 7 in a one bed room..)

***

Next, i see some people's view that the MK is set up for busses, but i frankly disagree. I HATE that the bus bypasses the ferry or monorail. Shees the monorail is only second in my book behind the wedway people mover (er TTA), the ferry is close by that list too. Hec when we stay at BW, I go to the MK through epcot so i can get in a total of 3 monorail or boat rides on the way. I think the ferry or monorail is just one more attraction! Sometimes we sit on the epcot loop back and forth in the middle of the day for a break and a nap for the little ones.

****

For Rich, every time you hop on the bus soap box i'm amazed. I tend to agree with most of your sermons and even pretty much see your point of view on the few that i dont agree with. But man do your thoughts on the buses smell a little selfish.

"Ya know I never have used a grand villa- in my estimation i never will, i'd probably use that amount of points for several smaller accomadations to get more bang for my buck and keep some of the family at bay. So i think i'm going to start a letter writing campaign to convert those units into smaller accomodations. I think probably only a small percentage of the membership every uses (or gets to use) those accomodations and they would be of better use to us as smaller units. Sorry that you seem to like them so much and maybe you even need them for your situation but it just doesnt do well for the majority of us."

Sarcasm aside- do you see my point?

(for the record, I always get my rental car and use it for everywhere)

*****

Internal bus-> one of them specifically stops up front both on the way in and out. Disney promotes it as a way to get around inside the resort. (like i said we rent a car, but its obiquitous (sp?) enough that I've heard of it. Granted its not a special bus, but i would call that an internal route.

 

[RobDoc]

Just tell security your there for a meal.

Last weekend we stayed at the Contemp and they have a sign at the guard gate about NO MK Parking. They are checking diners with a PS list and turning away those without a PS. We watched several get turned around and escorted from the lot.

I don't know if this policy wil be continued, but was certainly in force last week at the Contemporary.

 

[Figaro30]

We were staying in Unit 1614 and 1615.

Pam...I know what you are talking about. Alot of times buses weren't displaying where they were going. These buses usually said OKW on them or special. So we would ask frequently where they were going. One bus driver had a written sign to AK because his display was broken. He would just hold it up when he opened up the door. Believe me we were asking everybody because we were waiting so long. Some times I even told some bus drivers to tell somebody to summon the bus we were waiting for because it was getting so frustrating.

However, there were other buses that were marked "internal". The buses would stop and the driver would tell everybody that they were internal. They told us they weren't going to any parks. We assumed internal meant around OKW. So maybe this is a new thing. This was a frequent occurence.

 

[spiceycat]

Figaro30 yes you are right I am sorry I didn't say it the first time - OKW has always had internal buses - they are very popular with people who don't have a car and want to get to the hospitality house for swimming in the main pool, the general store, to eat at Olivia, and to use community hall. they were very popular when Olivia's had the character meal.

Figaro30 - did you use the bus stop on miller road or the one at the hospitality house? if you used the one on miller road shoot me - this use to be the first stop, the last time we were there it is the last stop.

 

[Figaro30]

We should have gotten on and off at the Hospitality house....it was the closet to our room. It was very convenient when we were on our way out...but very inconvenient on our way back from the parks. It's the last stop. So halfway through our trip my father suggested getting off at the first stop which is
P e n i s u l a r Road...(it's funny the moderators won't allow me to type this word), then we would just walk to our unit. I had said in another post that the route inside OKW is so long that once we exited at Pen. Road and went into the general store looked around some then casually walked back to our unit in bldg. 16, by the time we got there about 10-15 minutes later, we JUST saw our bus getting ready to stop at Hospitality house. We couldnt' believe how long it took for it to loop around. So for the rest of the trip we would leave by Hospitality house and reenter by Pen. Road.

It worked out much better this way!!


PS....as far as the internal buses.....all people have to do to move about the resort complex is get on ANY bus because the last stop is always hosp. house. They certainly don't need a seperate bus to do this. It's ridiculous.

 

[SleepyatDVC]

UNLESS, they had to get back to their unit from Hospitality House without going to one of the parks first!

 

[Dizzy4Dizney]

We had an awful experience with the buses at OKW too. Waiting 35 minutes is unexceptable. We usually stay at the BWV and only waited about 10 at the most. Maybe it's just luck, but I don't think so, I'm not that lucky.

 

[RobDoc]

P e n i s u l a r Road...(it's funny the moderators won't allow me to type this word),

LOL! It's NOT the moderators, it's the language filter which is not allowing the word you are trying to type.

The word you are looking for is Peninsular Road, which is the first bus stop after entering OKW.