Just back from SSR - not the best experience

[brianm27]

We were at VWL April 14-21. I am normally a big supporter of the bus system and a 20 minute wait will not upset me. This trip, transportation was the worst I have ever experienced.

We had a car and drove quite a bit so most of the issues were with MK boats and buses. There were 4 times where we waited longer than 30 minutes.

One morning I relented and told my 5 year old we could take the bus to AK, which was fine. On the return in the afternoon, we waited 35 minutes, saw 5 POP buses, and never one for our resort. I saw a dispatcher at the end of the platform. I went to talk to him just as someone from the Contemporary line was making the same complaint. They ended up starting up a parked bus for a WL-CR-POLY-GF run. The bus driver told us to talk to the managers at our resorts and let them know what happened. He said that after a year of operation, the GPS dispatch is just not working like it should.

 

[ChelleinNC]

OP, sorry to hear about your problems After reading your post I was glad to see that the problems weren't really SSR, but crowds at Disney causing the problems.

I think we only waited for a bus a "long" time once at SSR, and found it to be much worse at BWV.

As for AP, we love the food there (breakfast, lunch & dinner) the set up isn't the best but according to BroganMc (who's there now) they've set up a queue line that seems to be working well http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=24680672#post24680672 (description post # 84,pics in post #102)

I do wish Turf Club had breakfast, but lunch & dinner there are fantastic! A quick breakfast in the room or at AP works for us.

 

[BroganMc]

Uh oh.

You know I kept saying to my dad all last week that I'd be hearing lots of bad trip reports on the DIS, especially if this was the only week folks had to be in Disney.

I thought April 6-12 was bad, but when April 13th hit and the cold front came in it just got a lot worse. Everyone seemed to be in the parks Mon-Wed. We ditched EPCOT on Tuesday when the Soarin' wait reached 150 min at noon. We hopped to MGM instead. By Wednesday I was so fed up with the crowds, I left Animal Kingdom as soon as I could and spent a relaxing day back at my offsite resort instead. It didn't warm up again until Thursday and the crowds started returning to the pools.

FWIW, everyone was shocked by the crowds especially Disney. Castmembers kept telling me all week that it shouldn't have been that busy. But restaurants were booked solid (glad I had ADRs as most folks just got turned away). That kinda unexpected crowd is going to affect all systems including the busses.

This week is a LOT better. The weather is consistently in the 80's, although it does get chilly after dark dipping into the 60's-70's. I've used the busses 2 days here so far, once evening to MK and again morning to EPCOT. I've missed a few busses and been on a jam-packed one at the Springs, but it hasn't seemed all that bad. I did encounter a bus at MK that read "Caribbean Beach" yet pulled up to the SSR slot. The driver was having fits with the auto-signage and just flipped it off to neutral. I also noticed (while driving my own car) that the bus sign flips from SSR to whereever it's headed just as it enters the SSR gate. That was kinda cool.

As for Artist's Palette, I've been over there for breakfast twice so far. And they have altered the way they do the queue line. From what the staff tells me, it was a new idea implemented in the last week. It seems to be working very well for everyone. They're posting castmembers in the staging areas to help direct guests. You enter via the gift shop, the line snakes past the glass counters where you see the specials on display and they dish out breakfasts when you get to the window. You can then continue on to pick up your supplies, pastries, drinks or other marketplace stuff. Then you pay at the counters.

I haven't seen it for dinner yet but that rarely had a huge line anyway. I'm not seeing any beepers being handed out. (That may come for dinner still.)

There are pics of the new queue in the Live from Orlando thread Chellie linked. I'll be checking out dinner some time this week too. After heading to AK tonight and being here 2.5 weeks, we've decided to severely limit our park time. I think we'll try to catch the car stunt show at MGM one day and see Future World another, but we're done with the Kingdoms. It's too much fun to stay at SSR and do the activities.

Bus Service was a nightmare! We were late for a dinner reservation becasue we waited well over 45 minutes for a Magic Kingdom Bus. At one point I called DVC on the "hot line" phone in the bus shelter and was basically told (politely) - "not our problem." This was not an isolated incident. The "norm" was over an hour of waiting and riding to get between SSR and the MK "Monorail Loop". We were not alone in noticing this, as it became a standard topic of discussion (complaint) with other guests. And since we were hauling around a 2 and 5 year old, transport time was a big deal.

Food Service / Store - Artist's Pallet seemed to us to be a) limtied in menu items and b) a total nightmare of disorganization. Once again, maybe it was becasue of the small kids and the need to take care of them right away, but we never got to Artist Pallet, got our food, paid and were sitting down eating in under 20 minutes. On some days it took that long just to get to order! The staging was a disaster having to cris-cross back and forth for ordering, paying, pick-up, napkins, beverages, etc etc.

Not DVC related, but WDW related - the DDP is just plain a nightmare.

Even castmembers seem to hate the new DDP. When we say we're not on it but have DDE instead they have breathed a collective sigh of relief (and whispered to us that it was the much better deal).

I can honestly say that after all the places we did eat at our first two weeks, I'll never to the DDP. Way too much food and not worth the hassle.

 

[jpeka65844]

We talked to one couple who paid for the DDP but didn't know they would need to make the reservations well ahead of thier trip and they could not find any sit-down dining available. And since you cannot swap counter service for sit-down, and since it is none-refundable, they are just "out" the money for the DDP sit-down portion. !!! .

This wasn't my cousin and her husband, by any chance? They told us at Christmas that they were going to WDW in April and were going to do the DDP. I said great, but you should make reservations NOW! I said it again in Jan, Feb, March, and then I get an e-mail 2 days before they go saying they didn't make any. Yikes. Yikes. And more yikes. I just hope they don't come back bashing it. I tried to warn them!

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

I did encounter a bus at MK that read "Caribbean Beach" yet pulled up to the SSR slot. The driver was having fits with the auto-signage and just flipped it off to neutral.

I'm always amazed at some of the difficulties that Disney ends up having with new technologies. From what I'm hearing there's the new GPS system with the busses. In the late 90's I was at POR (well, that wasn't the name then!) and they brought a new food service ordering system on line. Didn't work at all for 3 days!!!! Talk about a mess at a food court with no back up manual systems and the CM's trying to figure out what items cost!

I'm just glad that so far they've kept the Pirates from eating the guests!!!!

Actually, there's so much they have going on that they do so well that it always seems so surprising when they have problems that they just can't seem to get fixed. Of course I'm not going to get into the mess of a website that they have - but as you see....I did have to bring it up.

 

[LSchrow]

OP, sorry to hear about your problems After reading your post I was glad to see that the problems weren't really SSR, but crowds at Disney causing the problems.

our last SSR vacation was in june 2007, before the new bus system. we found SSR bus transportation the best of any DVC, deluxe & moderate resort. (OKW had the worst, with no less than 40 minutes wait ~ the only resort we've ever wound up using our car (after the 3rd day & inordinate amounts of wasted time) instead of buses).
we really enjoyed AP (before that change also....maybe a trend here ): not overly busy, food was basic but very good, enjoyed talking with guests at adjoining tables in the relaxed atmosphere.

i heard of a lot of people going during that week, & reports back that everything was incredibly packed. just a suggestion, but perhaps give SSR a 2nd try, but during a less hectic time period when you can enjoy the relaxing beauty of the resort.

& btw, we still like the DDP lol ~ our ADRs are the only actual "plan" we have in any given day ~ no rope drops or early EMHs for us ~ so don't consider it an inconvenience, save quite a bit of money (more than with the DDE, i did the math ), book at our fave restaurants in advance, & enjoy strolling to the nearest park (EPCOT when at BWVs, DTD when at SSR) for dinner & illuminations or PI). i don't cook at home, certainly am not going to start on vacation .

hope the rest of your vacation was wonderful

 

[hakepb]

I'm always amazed at some of the difficulties that Disney ends up having with new technologies. From what I'm hearing there's the new GPS system with the busses. In the late 90's I was at POR (well, that wasn't the name then!) and they brought a new food service ordering system on line. Didn't work at all for 3 days!!!! Talk about a mess at a food court with no back up manual systems and the CM's trying to figure out what items cost!

I'm just glad that so far they've kept the Pirates from eating the guests!!!!

Actually, there's so much they have going on that they do so well that it always seems so surprising when they have problems that they just can't seem to get fixed. Of course I'm not going to get into the mess of a website that they have - but as you see....I did have to bring it up.

Did they ever fix the radio call in system (In this age of cellular)? I remember too many times arriving at the MK, only to have to wait several minutes before the bus driver could radio into dispatch, to get the next assignment, on the same frequency of every other Disney bus!

DDP does take more of your day to sit down and eat. I always loved it because you felt like a VIP, "order anything" I do not think I'll feel as well when I have to pay gratuity. Before, I'd glance at my dinner bill and say, there another 20+ dollar tip. (I never tipped anywhere near that high outside Disney)

Back in my value resort days, I made it a point to not stay at the farther away Pop Century. They always had longer bus lines than all-Star.

In my '06 SSR stay, I thought Bus transportation was decent, although the rides are of course longer. Although there are now more SSR buildings open, that cann't help. I overheard a couple mentioning on one ride to MK that they thought that they should drive, instead. I thought to myself that was crazy because the MK bus takes you straight to the MK. If you drive, you park at the TTT, take a tram, then take the ferry or monorail to MK. (That is a seriously grand entry sequence for a first time guest, but also a grand waste of time) 95%+ of the time the bus will be faster to the MK.

Overall for the way we experience WDW, the distance makes a mid-day break in the room more difficult, and for on-side dining, the AP restaurant, it was too sophisticated for my groups tastes. (When DS walks in and says "what's that smell?" to the Rosemary chicken.)

SSR should add a character buffet to give a better on-side Disney experience.

 

[JMLBrats]

OMG, completely agree about AP. Horrible set up! come on people-it's not that difficult to figure out now is it? I think one of the biggest problems w/the set up there is the fact that the "store" is attached to the AP-huge mistake. Let's build a wall & separate those areas for starters & get them each their own registers. Geeesh.
We also had problems w/the bus service & that was over a year ago. We were actually waiting for a bus to DTD (I know we should've just gone for the boat, but we were already standing at the bus stop & the boat seemed very far away) & it took over an hour before it finally showed up.
Other than that, we enjoyed out stay!
BTW, we are headed to the world at the end of June & I'm starting to wonder just how busy it will be...... might have to start pulling the kids out of school again instead.....

 

[FLYNZ4]

We arrived at a very full SSR (Congress Park) bus stop with lots of people complaining that it had been at least 40 mins since a MK bus had arrived... and that every other bus had come at least twice.

All of a sudden... 4 buses showed up... two in the bus stop area... and two waiting to get in. Of the 4 buses.... they were:
1) MK
2) MK
3) Epcot
4) MK

It was certainly a comedy of errors.

/Jim

 

[JustSayin]

I really think that bus service is a matter of luck. We really haven't had any huge bus issues at Disney ever, and we had GREAT bus service at our first DVC trip last October (I wish there was a finger-crossing smiley), but there seems to be consistent reports of at least intermittent issues. I hope that most inconvenienced people can put it behind them and not let it ruin their vacation.

DW and I really enjoy the food at AP, but we find the layout to be so bad as to be almost amusing. It seems that there was basically no thought put into traffic flow. When it gets really busy it seems to devolve into barely controlled pandemonium. I doubt it could be fixed at this point, and we therefore just take it as it is.

We love SSR. It is our favorite of all the DVC resorts, but it certainly does have its “idiosyncrasies”.

 

[Rock'n Robin]

I want to ask a question about the busses. We go to each park before opening time at least once. Were the busses good about being there early enough to get you to parks at opening? For me, being late for the opening would be the worst as we get a lot done right at the beginning, then we can relax.
Robin M.

 

[starbox]

I want to ask a question about the busses. We go to each park before opening time at least once. Were the busses good about being there early enough to get you to parks at opening? For me, being late for the opening would be the worst as we get a lot done right at the beginning, then we can relax.
Robin M.

I missed park opening once due to an extreme bus wait - it was at OKW not SSR. We were using the main bus stop - which was picking up last at the time. We got there early and I saw a MK bus come in and pass on the way to the other stops the that would have gotten us to the park w/20 minutes to spare - but it never came to our stop. I assume it filled up 100% at the other stops. I've been on busses at POR and CSR that filled and skipped the last stop(stops).

This is the main reason I would not request Springs at SSR- or, if I did, I'd walk to an earlier bus stop when I was trying to make it t rope drop. We also get there with a cushion of time - just in case we "just barely miss" a bus again.

We've had the best overall bus service and AKV and SSR - but I agree with all the PP that said it's luck of the draw. I also think the level of traffic plays in. The buses use the same main roads that cars use - and when the parks are packed (esp. at opening and closing) traffic is slow. During Spring Break, we had some bus drivers mention that the ride home was going to be longer because of the high level of traffic - and I had a driver once tell horror stories about the main entrance backing up during SWW.

 

[nzdisneymom]

We haven't eaten at A.P. because I just couldn't figure out how it worked. And there wasn't anything on the menu that appealed to the kids, so I hadn't bothered to try to figure it out. I've bought a few things in the gift shop which is so disappointingly limited - I guess because it is so close to DTD that there's not a need to carry much selection.

On our last trip in early April, we waited through two full MK buses one morning. I picked up the phone (at the Carousel bus stop) to call, but I couldn't even hear the dial tone or anything but some static. Fortunately another MK bus came along and we were on our way.

 

[BigEeyore]

I'm discouraged to hear all of these horror stories about the bus service! Is the bus service from DTD any better? I was thinking it might be worth it to head over there from SSR and catch a bus rather than wait an hour at the resort hoping something comes along.

 

[Starr W.]

We arrived at a very full SSR (Congress Park) bus stop with lots of people complaining that it had been at least 40 mins since a MK bus had arrived... and that every other bus had come at least twice.

All of a sudden... 4 buses showed up... two in the bus stop area... and two waiting to get in. Of the 4 buses.... they were:
1) MK
2) MK
3) Epcot
4) MK

It was certainly a comedy of errors.

/Jim

That seems about right, except I usually see the glut of Epcot buses. Especially at about 9am-9:30am. I saw that at SSR pre-GPS dispatch and it was really bad at VWL last May(right after the new system was implemented). Last May you had to ask the driver where he was going because it didn't always correspond to the front of the bus.

I rode a DTD bus once and never again. If I am not staying at SSR I don't book an ADR for any DTD rest.

I usually have the wait at a park(20-25 min) because we always seem to decide to leave right after a wave of buses depart. Finally got it right in January at AK. We were walking to a stop and here comes a line of buses in!

 

[Starr W.]

I'm discouraged to hear all of these horror stories about the bus service! Is the bus service from DTD any better? I was thinking it might be worth it to head over there from SSR and catch a bus rather than wait an hour at the resort hoping something comes along.

Actually more horror stories about DTD buses(they go to the resorts and I think TL). I got on one once .

 

[BroganMc]

I met a lady and two kids my first day here waiting for a DTD bus at the Springs stop. It was around 6pm and she wanted to go over there to eat and get some groceries. I tried to explain to her that groceries were at AP and the ferry dock was just outside the door. The ferries were running every 15 minutes and I had seen two show up in the last 10 minutes. I knew DTD busses are notoriously slow around here but she just insisted she had to wait for one. After all, the little notice on the sign said they run every 20 minutes. And it was way too far for her to get up and walk across the street.

I warned her AP closed at 11pm so she'd need to grab her groceries and be back from DTD before. She wanted to go to DTD and have a sit down dinner somewhere she could get seafood. It was Sunday night and one of the busiest times for DTD restaurants.

I never saw her again but when I got on my MK bus I just knew she'd come back from her trip hating SSR, Disney busses and DTD. She just would not be told anything.

 

[hakepb]

I do remember overall thinking that Disney must of given SSR a higher priority on bus service than the value resorts we used to stay at, on my '06 trip.

My only SSR bus issue was occasional Disney road construction near the
TTT parking pay entrance, but that slowed down all resort's MK bus transport.

 

[dixiefriend]

Love the food at AP, but the layout is a mess. I have no idea who designed it, but they were not thinking about how guests would use the area. It's one thing about SSR that I'm not fond of, it can be chaotic when it's crowded.

As far as the bus service, we've waited a few times but nothing that extensive. Having said that-we usually try to avoid the "stupid crowded" times of the year. We tend to go in the off season.

We were there last week(never ever again in April) And hubby had said that many of the CM's were complaining about how small the kitchen is as AP , how hard it is to get food out quickly for the guests...This is one of the things that I do miss about staying At POR , the food court I loved , it was huge and had quite the variety and although at times it could be crowed, depending on how you time it, they moved you in and out very quickly...AP can't really say that....The food is ok, I find don't get use to something because they change it that quick.....

 

[hakepb]

We were there last week(never ever again in April) And hubby had said that many of the CM's were complaining about how small the kitchen is as AP , how hard it is to get food out quickly for the guests...This is one of the things that I do miss about staying At POR , the food court I loved , it was huge and had quite the variety and although at times it could be crowed, depending on how you time it, they moved you in and out very quickly...AP can't really say that....The food is ok, I find don't get use to something because they change it that quick.....

At least I do not feel as wierd now, about kinda missing the value resort food courts before buying SSR. At times added convinience and variety of the value foodcourt makes up for lack of food quality.
My next stay will be at AKV, and after checking out their menus, I think it will be a better fit for the way we do WDW.