Important Disney Transportation Lesson Learned

[ehrn]

Crazy that when you pay deluxe prices you have to share bus service w/other resorts.
I hear ya, OP, we are so NOT bus people. Hurry up and wait is just not how we roll, lol. But I can totally see how part of the vacation for some people is parking the car at the airport and not having to drive again until you return home, so it's a great option for them!
We are staying on property w/o a car for 2d before moving to a time share and renting a car, it will be interesting and I'm sure more than enough time to soak in the joys of Disney Transportation!

 

[goofy4tink]

Crazy that when you pay deluxe prices you have to share bus service w/other resorts.
I hear ya, OP, we are so NOT bus people. Hurry up and wait is just not how we roll, lol. But I can totally see how part of the vacation for some people is parking the car at the airport and not having to drive again until you return home, so it's a great option for them!
We are staying on property w/o a car for 2d before moving to a time share and renting a car, it will be interesting and I'm sure more than enough time to soak in the joys of Disney Transportation!

The deluxes are considered deluxes due to their location primarily, followed by their theming/amenities. Because you do not have to take a bus to all parks, it's a deluxe. IF you want to pay more in room rates, then fine....allow Disney to provide resort specific buses. But I highly doubt Disney is going to put a bus into service for the CR/BLT, than another bus for just the Polynesian, and then a bus just for the GF. Same for the Epcot resorts.
Sharing buses is such a non-issue for most. But, it seems that once people get to WDW, they lose that vacation mentality and go into hyperdrive...got to get to the park as quickly as possible, don't want to waste that 20 mins on a bus...losing money here, we spent thousands to be here, not wasting time on a bus.

The only time I have an issue with buses is at park closing. And then?? Well, there are only so many buses that can be at a bus stop at the same time...and when you have to service thousands of people, at the exact same time??? Yep, someone is going to have to wait. Disney transportation is not a personal transportation service. Those that don't want to wait the addtl time are more than welcome to drive to and from the parks.
Me? I've met some wonderful people while waiting in those bus lines, and on the buses themselves. Made some truly wonderful memories due to buses. BUT....after 30+ stays at WDW, I'm just not in a huge rush to get anywhere.

In all actuality??? You know what resort has the hands down, best bus service??? Pop!! Issue is that Pop is large, so they need to have more frequent buses running.....then, the buses make no further stops since they are usually close to full already. But, the GF??? Just not that many people there..comparitively speaking.

 

[ehrn]

In all actuality??? You know what resort has the hands down, best bus service??? Pop!! Issue is that Pop is large, so they need to have more frequent buses running.....then, the buses make no further stops since they are usually close to full already. But, the GF??? Just not that many people there..comparitively speaking.[/QUOTE]

I wonder if Pop and Art of Animation will share a bus now.
Precisely why I rent a car, because it's not my personal transportation system! I do think though, that having to wait extended periods for a bus that has filled up at other resorts during the busier times of day is not something I would be happy about when paying those deluxe prices, whether or not it is considered an amenity of the resort itself. Just my opinion.

 

[ehrn]

But Goofy4Tink--I so agree about meeting interesting people on the bus. I like that. And for the most part the drivers are knowledgeable, entertaining and helpful! I even enjoy the spiel they play enroute. Just overall, my idea of vacation doesn't include depending on a bus. Total personal preference;-)

 

[Mickeyfan333]

So glad to find this thread, but has not helped my decision process! Have flown to Disney twice, driven 3 times. With new security delays we are home to resort in about 2 hours longer with driving and heck of a lot cheaper with family of 4. Have always used Disney transportation, took cab once for early am ressie. Have driven to Universal twice without any problems. We have always gone to Disney in the off season, no real reason for breaks. Next trip June 2013, know we will need to rest and swim. We will drive down again and have our own car. Am debating on driving to and from resorts to park to save time. Last couple of visits have noticed fewer buses and monorail has had issues both trips. Seems like AK bus wait time always takes longer. We have stayed at CBR, WL, Contemporary, and POP. Hope to try Beach Club next visit since we will swim often. Biggest issues with bus were at Contemporary visiting non-monorail parks. Will probably not stay on Monorail again

 

[Tara]

So glad to find this thread, but has not helped my decision process! Have flown to Disney twice, driven 3 times. With new security delays we are home to resort in about 2 hours longer with driving and heck of a lot cheaper with family of 4. Have always used Disney transportation, took cab once for early am ressie. Have driven to Universal twice without any problems. We have always gone to Disney in the off season, no real reason for breaks. Next trip June 2013, know we will need to rest and swim. We will drive down again and have our own car. Am debating on driving to and from resorts to park to save time. Last couple of visits have noticed fewer buses and monorail has had issues both trips. Seems like AK bus wait time always takes longer. We have stayed at CBR, WL, Contemporary, and POP. Hope to try Beach Club next visit since we will swim often. Biggest issues with bus were at Contemporary visiting non-monorail parks. Will probably not stay on Monorail again

With a car at your disposal, this really isn't a problem IMO. You can take the buses if you like, and if you aren't satisfied, you can use your car. Or vice versa. I almost always drive everywhere, even to MK.

 

[siskaren]

I wonder if Pop and Art of Animation will share a bus now.

They're not sharing now with AoA not completely open, so I can't imagine that will change once all the sections are open.

 

[lylone]

never have had an issue with time on the buses. The only issues we have had was the other folks riding the buses.
I will never forget having a sick child throw up on me on the bus as we made our way to Epcot for dinner.
No apologies or anything.. it was fun rinsing my top out in the bathroom at Epcot before our dinner. I guess we should have left earlier in case I needed to go back to the hotel to change clothes.
Or the time people held up the bus for 30 minutes while they argued with the bus driver about taking more than two ECVs on the bus. I don't know how the bus driver was going to change the bus to fit another one, but people had to argue with him about it...

 

[goofy4tink]

But Goofy4Tink--I so agree about meeting interesting people on the bus. I like that. And for the most part the drivers are knowledgeable, entertaining and helpful! I even enjoy the spiel they play enroute. Just overall, my idea of vacation doesn't include depending on a bus. Total personal preference;-)

Yep, it's all about personal preference.....and since this is the USA, you can do whichever you want...you can even combine the two!!!! It's all about choices.

So glad to find this thread, but has not helped my decision process! Have flown to Disney twice, driven 3 times. With new security delays we are home to resort in about 2 hours longer with driving and heck of a lot cheaper with family of 4. Have always used Disney transportation, took cab once for early am ressie. Have driven to Universal twice without any problems. We have always gone to Disney in the off season, no real reason for breaks. Next trip June 2013, know we will need to rest and swim. We will drive down again and have our own car. Am debating on driving to and from resorts to park to save time. Last couple of visits have noticed fewer buses and monorail has had issues both trips. Seems like AK bus wait time always takes longer. We have stayed at CBR, WL, Contemporary, and POP. Hope to try Beach Club next visit since we will swim often. Biggest issues with bus were at Contemporary visiting non-monorail parks. Will probably not stay on Monorail again

This is certainly something you need to consider. For us, it's leaving the house to make the 45 min ride to the airport, then wait the two hours for our three hour flight. Then, about an hr to get to WDW...so a total of about 7 hrs travel time. If it took me 12 hrs or less to drive??? You bet I would be packing up the car!!! But, it's a 24 hr drive for us. So, we fly. But I have rented a car in Orlando on occasion....kind of nice to have a car there.

My worst bus experience??? At the Polynesian. Man, the buses were miserable. The CR wasn't as bad, but it wasn't terrific either. A lot of people think the buses at the Epcot resorts are awful too!! I don't find them to be nearly as bad as the MK resort buses.

 

[Mickeyfan333]

Yep, it's all about personal preference.....and since this is the USA, you can do whichever you want...you can even combine the two!!!! It's all about choices.


This is certainly something you need to consider. For us, it's leaving the house to make the 45 min ride to the airport, then wait the two hours for our three hour flight. Then, about an hr to get to WDW...so a total of about 7 hrs travel time. If it took me 12 hrs or less to drive??? You bet I would be packing up the car!!! But, it's a 24 hr drive for us. So, we fly. But I have rented a car in Orlando on occasion....kind of nice to have a car there.

My worst bus experience??? At the Polynesian. Man, the buses were miserable. The CR wasn't as bad, but it wasn't terrific either. A lot of people think the buses at the Epcot resorts are awful too!! I don't find them to be nearly as bad as the MK resort buses.

So good to know because we are considering Beach Club for next trip and I was wondering about transport to MK and AK. Maybe we will drive to those 2 parks since Epcot and HS do not require a bus ride. Only thing about driving to MK is parking at TTC. Do not know if that would save us any time. At CR we waited 30min for an AK bus, then took a taxi and ended up 30min late
for our breakfast ressie! Had issues past 2 trips with resort monorail and MK/EPCOT monorail with 15-30 min delays while on the monorail!

 

[disneychick62]

I prefer Disney Trans, I would never rent a car. Ive been to plenty of rope drops and never had to leave at 6 am......Different strokes for different folks.