POLL: WL Transportation

[Cindy B]

We went from the 23 to the 30th of August, and like Sanchez have to agree.

We were even thinking of going back to the All Stars due to the accessible transportation there, or even trying a moderate/AKL!

I feel that the All Stars Transportation was much better. We stayed at the Sports for three years prior, and had no problems with the transportation there.

I feel that the Deluxes should have better transportation. I was disappointed about the transportation to MGM/ AK, and DTD. We wound up driving to MGM, AK and DTD after the first fiasco.

 

[patsal]

Wel, you really didn't have my experiences listed, but I have always found (and I have travelled at different times of the year) that the boat is fair and the busses are really awful. Honestly, I love the lodge, but can't stand the transportation! Though it is my DVC home resort, I will never stay there if I don't have my own transportation. For what Disney charges for deluxe hotels, all resorts should have their own busses at the busy times and maybe share only during the less busy times of the day. Besies, sharing withthe campground is just crazy--there are so many people there that they really must get ticked off when the busses leave the lodge and it is already standing room before anyone form the campground attempts to get on!

 

[Starz723]

Oh Boy! This is getting me worried.
Normally I always rent a car and by pass the WDW transportation. This next trip in October I was going to try the WDW transportation for the first time and NOT rent a car, as the rates have gotten really expensive ( I have to buy the liability each day, I dont have my own car anymore). The price is aprox $250 for the week, and thats for a compact and a base rate starting at $85/wk, add the taxes and surcharge/ins. YIKES
I was gonna use that money for dinners. That means I take the Mears..Never did that either.

Maybe its worth it just to not be aggravated. I do like getting places fast. I cant help it, Im such a New Yorker. Then again, it may be what I need to slow down. Im totally confused.

HELP..!!! what would you do Its just me and my DS age 11.

 

[Chip 'n Dale Express]

For those of you comparing transportation at WL to that at the All-Stars... let's put things in perspective here.

Wilderness Lodge has 728 rooms, and 181 DVC units.
The All-Stars has nearly 6,000 rooms.

Wilderness Lodge occupancy rate fluctuates up and down. All-Stars remains very high year round. Often times 97-99%.

So, of COURSE the All-Stars are going to get more buses, they have 6x the amount of people! Are the All-Star buses any less crowded than WL buses? Heck no. In fact, in my experience, WL buses are typically much, MUCH less crowded than the All-Stars. WL also has better transportation options. So, all things being equal, WL has better transportation than the All-Stars.

A few other things to keep in mind:

Wilderness Lodge does *NOT* have the demand to warrant it's own bus.

Contrary to popular belief, Fort Wilderness is on the way to Downtown Disney.

In response to WL being "out of the way, and not a priority" that statement is simply not true. Wilderness Lodge has the same priority as any other resort.

WL is on the far corner of property. So, yes, when travelling to an opposite corner of property (ie AK) yes, it's going to take 15 minutes to get there regardless of Bus or Car.

If you travel during peak times, to expect light crowds is unrealistic. After park closes, parades, fireworks, Fantasmic, or during the morning rush, it WILL get crowded. Everywhere. Our demand-based dispatching system works with the crowds. You may not see it, but it does.

There are literally HUNDREDS of buses that go in and out of the WL on a daily basis. As a guest (even a frequent one) you barely see the tip of the iceberg of what goes through WL. Just because your bus might have arrived later than you wished, or was crowded doesn't mean all the rest are like that.

I've had a bunch of Zone 2 shifts lately, and I haven't heard of any issues with the buses at WL. In fact, I can't even remember the last time I heard a bus go 72. (Full) Every time I went in there, I never even had anyone stand, even after I went to the 2nd stop.


In regards to complaints... it's really hard to base anything off of what other people say. Something that's fine to one, might be awful to another. For example, a common complaint I hear is that our bus service is awful because WL shares with one other resort. To someone else, it's no big deal, because WL is the first stop, and it only adds 5 minutes tops to the trip. Another common complaint is wait time. The majority (but admittedly not all) of these complaints are because the 15-20 minutes FELT like 30-40 minutes. There's a big difference between actual and what it felt like. Often times these get mixed up.



I'm not saying WL Transportation is perfect. Nothing is. You'll find glitches anywhere, that's life. However, WL transportation is not as bad as some people make it out to be.

 

[Cindy B]

I appreciate your perspective, Tyler, I truly do.

I do know on one evening we did wait over 45 minutes for a DTD bus. I know when you are anxious and waiting, 10 minutes feels like 30! My Husband and I are not novices to public transportation either... he and I both commute, and know when to wait for bus/train/subway schedules in our commutes.

We are also familiar with resonable wait times as well.

I do have to agree when the bus came, it wasn't ever full except for the one time coming from AK back to WL.. It was pretty close to capacity, (with GF and WL folks on it), then it was gone to capacity when we stopped at WL! (This was Sunday 8/24 in the afternoon). It also was an hour from waiting at the bus depot from AKL to the time we got to WL!

Considering I could get the tram to my car, get in the car, go the speed limit, and be at our room at WL in less than 20 minutes (being generous, usually is about 10-15 minutes) an hour was a bit much. I can tell you truthfully the GF people were absoleutely furioius. -- while we were waiting for the bus, I kept on telling them to take the Poly bus or the Contemporary bus so they can just go on the monorail...

Between that mess, and the DTD fiasco, we decided to drive to MGM, AK and DTD. The DTD was the crowning moment. We wanted to spend about an hour and a half /two hours at DTD.. and to wait 45 of those minutes just waiting for a bus.. disappointed ourselves and other guests. (try explaining to an upset 8 year old that we can't get to Disney Quest becasue the bus never showed up!)

In our three previous stays at All Stars, we never waited more than 25 minutes for one bus.. (that was a DTD bus). Yes, the busses seemed a bit crowded, but at least we were on one!

We think that (and this is just our opinion) a resort that only has bus transportation as its only means... (ie All Star) tries harder to transport guests since it is its only means of transport.

At WL, people can say, hey, you can use the boat and get to Contemporary, go to the Ticket Tran Center, and then take a bus.. who wants to do connections if they don't want to or need to? I'm used to public transport, but others can't grasp the concept of connecting transport.

I'm surprised that there is NOT a separate bus.

 

[Chip 'n Dale Express]

Originally posted by Cindy B
I do know on one evening we did wait over 45 minutes for a DTD bus. I know when you are anxious and waiting, 10 minutes feels like 30!

Unfortunetly, there are service issues like you experienced that pop up every now and again. I apologise for them, as I know how they can impact a vacation. However, these issues really aren't as common as some people might think. They just happen to be voiced louder and more frequently.

Originally posted by Cindy B
I'm surprised that there is NOT a separate bus.

Like I said earlier, the demand simply isn't there. *shrug*

 

[jel0511]

You don't have a boat excellent, bus good category, so I went with the both good category. I've personally never had any problems with the buses at WL, but I have read stories. Now, after staying at an Epcot Resort AND using the buses, I have new found respect for the WL buses. The buses from the Epcot resorts are AWFUL!!!! I've gotten better bus service at the All-Stars!!!!