MK: if you're not first, you're last

[maxiesmom]

Even if I faithfully climbed on the first bus that showed up, merrily assuming Disney knew where I wanted to go better than I did, I would have never experienced anything like that. But I have seen 3 buses that no one wanted to get on headed to the same park before even one bus going somewhere anyone at the stop wanted to go.

After my second trip with my dad I told him I was going to rent him out on Craig's List, as guaranteed fast bus service. I'm never as lucky with the buses as I am with him along.

 

[Wendybird55]

This was a long time ago, but the first and only time I stayed at Port Orleans the busses were terrible...it seemed that no matter what park we went to, it was always the Port Orleans stop that had the most people waiting at it at the end of the day and no buses coming...buses for all the other resorts would come and go and we'd still be standing there waiting. One night the line was so long that they sent this gigantic bus that looked like a converted semi to pick us up - and mind you this was not during a busy holiday week..it was a fairly low crowd time -it's just that for whatever reason the Port Orleans buses were scarce.

From my experience, I find since they are so big and have so many buildings and often multiple stops, the buses for the moderates to be the least timely. Again, that's from my experience. I think the buses at POP are better and I like POP better as t's not as spread out as the moderates.

Our favorite resort area where we usually stay is BW, YC, BC...it's so convenient to get to DHS and Epcot from there and you have the 3 resorts to stroll around and I think a wide variety of dining within the resort areas. Plus Swan and Dolphin and Fantasia Mini Golf are also near by.

With Disney resorts my adage is Location, Location, Location!

 

[jcemom]

Our favorite resort area where we usually stay is BW, YC, BC...it's so convenient to get to DHS and Epcot from there and you have the 3 resorts to stroll around and I think a wide variety of dining within the resort areas. Plus Swan and Dolphin and Fantasia Mini Golf are also near by.

While those things are all true, our worst bus service has been from the BW and BC. Granted, you don't need buses to two of the four parks, but the buses to those other two have been horrible when we've been there. They made a crazy number of stops, pulling in and out of all the other BW area resorts, and the waits were long both going and coming back. Still, we like staying in that area. I just know in advance to allow extra time. Being able to walk back to the resort from Epcot is a huge plus.

I haven't had too much trouble at POR and POFQ, maybe one or two buses per trip that we waited longer for, but that's the same pretty much everywhere. Overall, our Disney bus experience has been mostly positive. I'd rather deal with the occasional snafu than rent a car and drive.

Our best bus service has consistently been from AKL/AKV. CBR was pretty good, as was WL. Our worst was BW, BC and Pop.

 

[JeremyGNJ]

Second, Disney suggests you budget 90 minutes to make it to an ADR elsewhere on property. Usually is is over-kill, but going to DTD you do want to budget those 90 minutes. Transportation to/from DTD is always bad, no matter where you are staying.

90 minutes?!?!?! This makes me extra glad I stay off-site. I generally figure 30 minutes from hotel to ADR (unless it's deep in the park at a busy time of day)

I couldn't imagine spending that much time just commuting to meals.

 

[999DoomBuggies]

My experience is to avoid disney transportation unless you absolutely require disney transportation due to flying in or whatever reason. Renting a car at the orlando airport is super cheap, perhaps cheapest in the U.S. Rent if you can, then drive if possible to all parks but Magic Kingdom...MK is the one park where it is a toss up whether to drive or ride. I prefer to drive here to MK. Big time saver, and you're not treated like cheap cattle.

 

[maxiesmom]

My experience is to avoid disney transportation unless you absolutely require disney transportation due to flying in or whatever reason. Renting a car at the orlando airport is super cheap, perhaps cheapest in the U.S. Rent if you can, then drive if possible to all parks but Magic Kingdom...MK is the one park where it is a toss up whether to drive or ride. I prefer to drive here to MK. Big time saver, and you're not treated like cheap cattle.

Rental cars are cheap. But once you need a mini van forget it. Those are not cheap at all!

 

[PinkBudgie]

I just looked up rental car prices from the AAA car care at WDW. Alamo and National were $464-$479 for a compact for our two week stay. Seems kind of expensive when I think of what else we could do with that money. Just seems to cheaper to use a taxi the few times we need it (maybe $80 tops) than have a car sitting that we may or may not use. Plus the hassle of picking up and dropping it off. I like the idea of not having to use the bus though. I don't like depending on it.

 

[999DoomBuggies]

I just looked up rental car prices from the AAA car care at WDW. Alamo and National were $464-$479 for a compact for our two week stay. Seems kind of expensive when I think of what else we could do with that money. Just seems to cheaper to use a taxi the few times we need it (maybe $80 tops) than have a car sitting that we may or may not use. Plus the hassle of picking up and dropping it off. I like the idea of not having to use the bus though. I don't like depending on it.

Rent from the airport, although in January we needed a car on the fly and I got one from the onsite rental company for 25 bucks a day. Awesome deal.

 

[999DoomBuggies]

Whenever I read here about how wonderful the bus system is and the waits for buses are short I become convinced that I must be going somewhere different on vacation. In the last ten years we've made four on site trips, staying at POR twice, POFQ once and CBR once. I've always found 20 minutes to be the minimum that I wait for my bus to show up, with 45 minute waits not out of the question. The most frustrating wait had to be a morning of EMH at MK, when we were at the stop over 30 minutes early and watched bus after bus headed for the parks that would be closed for another hour and a half go by before a bus finally showed up and got us there about 15 minutes after rope drop.

This

We do a disservice to others by claiming the transportation system is great. I remember my first onsite stay and the terrible experience I had with wdw transportation. I guess it is all relative.

 

[jcemom]

This

We do a disservice to others by claiming the transportation system is great. I remember my first onsite stay and the terrible experience I had with wdw transportation. I guess it is all relative.

I suppose a lot depends on an individual's priorities. I absolutely hate to drive. I also hate finding a parking spot, and then finding my car again in the parking lot. I hate getting into a broiling hot car. I like being dropped off near the park entrance. I like stepping right into air conditioning at the end of the day and not having to negotiate unfamiliar roads.

I also like that Disney retrieves my luggage and I don't have to go to baggage claim to get it myself. I like that it's free.

I'm willing to spend ten or fifteen minutes on average waiting for a bus to come. I'm willing to stand on the bus occasionally, and put up with the occasional long wait, just so I don't have to drive. For me, the pros by far outweigh the cons.

 

[momof1princess]

OP, this is why we NEVER use Disney buses. We had a very similar experience at POP years ago, and vowed never again. We drive to WDW anyway, so we drive our car to the parks. It saved us tons of time and frustration.

 

[momof1princess]

OP, this is why we NEVER use Disney buses. We had a very similar experience at POP years ago, and vowed never again. We drive to WDW anyway, so we drive our car to the parks. It saved us tons of time and frustration.

 

[lugnut33]

LOL at the people who think FP+ made getting to the parks early unimportant. It's even more important now than it has ever been. If I was going at a holiday period I'd probably be arriving a minimum 1.5 hours early at the gate. It's pretty much vital to be there super early to get good position.

 

[MamaMeggie]

The taxi will drop you of at the ticket & transportation centre if you ask to be taken to the MK... You would then need to take the monorail or ferry over to the MK.

Ask to be taken to the CR and then walk over to the MK.

Thanks! This board is so helpful.

 

[ariane37]

We stayed in February at POFQ and the MK buses were the worst. We've stayed here 2 other times and never had any problems with any bus. This time, the MK stop seemed packed every time we were at a bus stop. Each time we were waiting on an MK bus, we saw 2 or 3 of each other bus. It was crazy. We also wanted to get there for the opening show so our DD(2) could see it. It took us 50 minutes from the time we got to the bus stop to MK. We were at the bag check when it was going on and couldn't see.

We experienced the same thing at POFQ this past Feb. MK busses were absolutely terrible, and the other park busses weren't much better. All our past on-site stays, including a May stay at FQ, included very good to excellent bus service. However I'm trying to talk DH into renting a car for our August trip. The promise of convenience if you use the Disney bus service is very enticing, but our last trip just really turned me off.