iteachlit
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 19, 2005
- Messages
- 1,134
We were at WDW last week (7/22 - 7/28). Transportation was great for the most part.
Some Observations:
- Of all of the buses we were on, only two did not use the automated spiels. One had been fitted with the technology, but the driver did things the old fashioned way. The second was an old bus that must have been pulled into service at the last minute; it did not have the computer or message board installed.
- The music played on the bus was subtle; it was only really loud on one bus. The only problem we had was on the way back to the WL. The music kept looping back to the beginning of the same song. It was a Native American chant, and we must have heard the vocalist chant over 50 times! Not pleasant.
- The boat from WL to MK was almost always a good choice. We did get stuck on the way back from the MK one night. We had to wait for the electrical water parade to clear the water bridge. It was a beautiful night, so we didn't really mind too much.
- Only took the monorail resort loop once. No problems or delays there.
- On Friday morning, we decided to play miniature golf at Winter Summerland. We took the BB bus from the WL. We decided to go to Epcot afterwards. We thought it would be nice to walk there from the Boardwalk, so we took that bus from BB. It's a really nice walk, plus we got a bus tour of all the Epcot area resorts.
- The worst bus experience? We left Epcot at 9PM, just as Illuminations was beginning. Naturally, a bus was pulling away from the WL bay just as we walked towards it. We stood there for about 30 minutes waiting for the next bus. All this time, we watched every other resort get at least two buses. Coronado Springs got one every 10 minutes! We almost took a cab, but I knew the bus would come as soon as we jumped in the cab. By the time the bus arrived, there were at least 80 people standing in the queue. The older woman in line behind me said "Disney must know we're standing here. I bet they're calling in a bus right now." I laughed and told her about my 50 minute wait last year at DD. I'm willing to wait until the new system is completely active before I pass judgment, but to wait 35 minutes at what was essentially park closing was ridiculous.
- Magical Express was just fine. It took about 70 minutes from the time we deplaned to the time we pulled up at WL. No problems at all.
Some Observations:
- Of all of the buses we were on, only two did not use the automated spiels. One had been fitted with the technology, but the driver did things the old fashioned way. The second was an old bus that must have been pulled into service at the last minute; it did not have the computer or message board installed.
- The music played on the bus was subtle; it was only really loud on one bus. The only problem we had was on the way back to the WL. The music kept looping back to the beginning of the same song. It was a Native American chant, and we must have heard the vocalist chant over 50 times! Not pleasant.
- The boat from WL to MK was almost always a good choice. We did get stuck on the way back from the MK one night. We had to wait for the electrical water parade to clear the water bridge. It was a beautiful night, so we didn't really mind too much.
- Only took the monorail resort loop once. No problems or delays there.
- On Friday morning, we decided to play miniature golf at Winter Summerland. We took the BB bus from the WL. We decided to go to Epcot afterwards. We thought it would be nice to walk there from the Boardwalk, so we took that bus from BB. It's a really nice walk, plus we got a bus tour of all the Epcot area resorts.
- The worst bus experience? We left Epcot at 9PM, just as Illuminations was beginning. Naturally, a bus was pulling away from the WL bay just as we walked towards it. We stood there for about 30 minutes waiting for the next bus. All this time, we watched every other resort get at least two buses. Coronado Springs got one every 10 minutes! We almost took a cab, but I knew the bus would come as soon as we jumped in the cab. By the time the bus arrived, there were at least 80 people standing in the queue. The older woman in line behind me said "Disney must know we're standing here. I bet they're calling in a bus right now." I laughed and told her about my 50 minute wait last year at DD. I'm willing to wait until the new system is completely active before I pass judgment, but to wait 35 minutes at what was essentially park closing was ridiculous.
- Magical Express was just fine. It took about 70 minutes from the time we deplaned to the time we pulled up at WL. No problems at all.
