OKW---right now

[goofydad99]

Hi everyone. I know I don't post much for that matter, Goofydad never posts.....anyway........

We are in the world right now. We are in OKW. We have had a very nice stay here so far. We checked in on May 31. We check out on Monday.

The staff here has been friendly and helpful. Our villas was clean and in great repair. Our only issues have been the BUSES!

Ok, that is my only rant. Any questions?

By the way, we apologize now to all the golfers out there. We enjoyed watching you.

 

[dianeschlicht]

Sorry to hear about bad buses. We have had great bus service the past several years, but I have heard talkes of bus problems all over WDW lately, and I am wondering if it is the result of the outsourcing of the bus drivers or if it's just cut backs due to gas prices. That's too bad, because OKW has been notorious for great bus service in the past.

Tell some specifics about what has been bad...what times of the day...how long waits....going to or coming back? Worse to certain parks?

 

[bobbiwoz]

Enjoy the rest of your stay!
Bobbi

 

[sbgb]

We will be having our first stay as dvcers in August at OKW. My family is very active, can you recommend a building near the main pool and where they can rent the equipment?

I'm so excited about going and I want to make it perfect for everyone.

 

[goofydad99]

Here are some balcony views for your enjoyment.

 

[goofydad99]

Tell some specifics about what has been bad...what times of the day...how long waits....going to or coming back? Worse to certain parks?

Today's waits were for 2 parks. Coming back from Epcot we waited for 45 minutes. A gentleman and his 2 daughters waited an additional 15 minutes on top of that. Two transportation supervisors came about 35 minutes into our wait. They were apprised of the situation and assured us that a bus would be in route immediately.

This evening we were leaving OKW for the Magic Kingdom. We arrived at the bus stop at 7:00 and were picked up around 7:40. It was a little after 8 when we arrived.

Wednesday we had issues waiting for the bus for the Magic Kingdom. We waited for the bus at least 35 minutes to go to the park.

One other time leaving the Magic Kingdom we waited for 35 minutes for the bus back to OKW. Once it arrived we waited an additional 10 minutes for..............?????

We have driven to the other parks when we arrive early. The Magic Kingdom is a hassle for me to drive to so I try to avoid driving there when I can. You think I would have learned after the horrible bus service we have received there.

We were consistantly seeing multiple buses arrive and depart for other resorts while we waited. The first night we waited we saw 3 buses for the Yacht and Beach Club come and go. Saratoga and Coronado had 3 buses come and go while we waited for the bus from Epcot today.

 

[oakmanner]

Did I understand correctly that Disney has outsourced the WDW bus drivers:? I knew the DCL and ME bus drivers were outsourced. Tell me it ain't true!!

Dennis-

 

[5 for WDW]

We were at OKW Monday-Weds this week. We didn't have a pleasant bus experience either. Our waits were at least 30 minutes each both to and from the parks. We were at the Studios on Tuesday night and there were many complaints we were told. There was a woman there that was having everyone on line write down what time we arrived on line and what time the bus pulled up on a form she gave us. She said it was due to complaints about the bus service at OKW. That night we waited 50 minutes for a bus to arrive and the people at the front of the line had been waiting 20 minutes before we walked up. One hour and 10 minutes waiting for a bus, in a really bad rain storm.

We were not thrilled with the busses at all!

 

[DebIreland]

Beautiful photos. thanks for posting them.

 

[Chuck S]

Did I understand correctly that Disney has outsourced the WDW bus drivers:? I knew the DCL and ME bus drivers were outsourced. Tell me it ain't true!!

Dennis-

As far as I know, the onsite bus drivers & busses are not outsourced. The ME and DCL busses are outsourced through Mears.

However, if Disney is short staffed, perhaps they will bring in some temp drivers.

 

[abeyst]

Is it possible Disney is trying to cut corners? Trying to keep only 1 bus running at 20-30 minute intervals and no extra? And perhaps that is what's causing the bus problems?

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

It is my understanding that the bus dispatch system has been changed, and that is resulting in very spotty service.

 

[mvc1997]

Great pics!! But now I feel Home-Sick!!

 

[Goofy DVC]

Hello,
We just returned from OKW today after spending 6 nights in a GV.
I know this is going to sound strange, but on the flight home my wife and I were talking about how GREAT the bus service was last week.I guess we just got lucky.We also did some driving. But to be honest we took the bus to MK 3 roundtrips and never waited more than 15 minutes for a bus. Most of the time it was under 5 minutes. We even used the bus twice to return from DD,
once again with no problem. I will say though that we always got on at Panisular Rd, the first stop. Twice the bus was too full to pick up at the HH, but both times the driver radioed dispatch.

 

[JimMIA]

It is my understanding that the bus dispatch system has been changed, and that is resulting in very spotty service.

Let me guess -- they switched to "bus ready"...right?

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

Let me guess -- they switched to "bus ready"...right?

I don't know. Apparently more (or all?) of the dispatch is done by computer now. The question I have asked (without a solid answer) is whether the buses run in a set loop or if they are dispatched to a new location each time they reach their destination.

For example, if a bus picks up at OKW and goes to MK, when it leaves MK does it go BACK to OKW or can it be sent off somewhere else? If they send it somewhere else then how do they make sure another bus is sent to OKW? I have read multiple posts where people have said the bus they took was NOT going back to the resort they came from after they got off. I don't know if that is supposed to be more efficient, but it sounds like a disaster so far!

 

[abeyst]

"Bus Ready"????? What does that mean? There's enough people at the stop to 'quantify' a stop ready for pick-up?

 

[tiffany123]

The buses are being computer dispatched. If a bus goes from OKW to MK, it can easily be sent to a totally different area once it unloads at MK. In fact, it is now very rare for a bus to leave one area and make a return trip directly back to that area. Drivers now have to know all the routes as they never know where they'll be sent on their next run.

 

[maciec]

Let me guess -- they switched to "bus ready"...right?

That one went over a few heads

 

[iluveeyore]

We were there June 1-6 - what building are you in? We were in building 35 on the first floor - loved feeding the ducks!
Also didn't have many issues with the buses - guess it's all about timing, because we'd walk out to the stop and our bus would show up within five minutes, while people might have been waiting for 15 minutes before us.
Loved our stay in our one bedroom, miss it already!