POP bus transportation slow??

[Going Broke]

Last year we spent a week at POP, in late June. We are now considering going back next August however, the bus transportation to and from the parks was some of the worst we've ever experienced. Has anyone else had this problem or should I chalk it up to bad timing? We always travel during the summer, usually in July and August, so I know crowd levels are high but the buses have never been an issue at any of the other resorts we have stayed at.

 

[cobbler]

Bus service can be hit or miss at any resort. It isn't isolated to any specific resorts.

I have had good service at Pop and terrible at Sports. I have waited for a bus for the Contemporary at DTD and seen tons of moderates go by, then I have also had no wait for SSR busses.

 

[Avalanche]

We stayed at POP over Easter this year and must have timed it perfect every time. Never waited more then 5-10 minutes either going or returning. But never left a park at closing (that would have been a different story I'm sure)

 

[nowellsl]

The bus service at POP is the best I've experienced. We don't go during peak times though....

 

[ktink]

We stayed at pop in Sept 04 and the transportation was great. But I do realize this was at a slower time of the year but all the same there were no problems.

 

[raven69david]

The key here is not going from June through August/September. As long as school's out you should be prepared to be in a descent sized line and pray for the best. Now for those who have kids in school (most of us although DD is only 19 months ) it's hard to go at other times, although i see a pretty fair amount of kids that skip school to go on vacation i guess, so picking a time in the summer with short lines and low crowd levels will be near non-existent.

This is the reason i avoid those months like the plague and only visit the parks on a school week; never on a weekend. I've had 100% success rate in the past 10 years. Dunno what i'm gonna do when the DD is finally old enough to go to school.

 

[jnjusoioa]

I just returned from my first stay at Pop on June 5th and I must say that I never waited that long for a bus, would go early and some of the lines were long leaving Pop but bus service was great, and as soon as one pulled away, another one showed up, now I never left the parks at park close, I always left earlier so I don't know what that would be like. I thought everything about Pop was great. It was excellant and I would stay there again.

 

[going2disney]

We stayed at POP last October, during the free dining promo and our bus service was horrible. Unsure if we were just spoiled by other resorts but our waits were long for every park coming and going.

 

[Kimber1963]

We stayed at POP during the free dining last September and the bus service was EXCELLENT!! Even after Fantasmic! there were three buses waiting to take us to POP. The bus driver told us that as soon as they see a line of people they're on the radio ordering another bus. Can't wait to go back!

 

[DisneyDork712]

We were there in July and found the bus service to be very efficient. We never waited very long for a bus going to or coming from a park or DTD. DH loved not having to drive everywhere!

 

[dyna]

We was there last Aug/ Sept for free dining excellent bus service never ever waited more than 10 mins for bus and yes we did go to parks at opening and left at closing, Same with mid day when we took our break as well.

Just left Pop Yesterday mornin and same with this visit.

 

[4theloveofdisney]

On our last trip, the service at POP was *excellent*. CSR was the worst that I can remember and then there was that one night at SSR in which we were trying to get to MNSSHP. {{{Insert fog and fuzzy memory here}}} Anyway, Disney bus service is usually great but you just never know what you're gonna get..."It's like a box of chocolates". Ya know???

 

[eeyoreiscool]

We haven't had any problems with the transportation when we have stayed at Pop. We have noticed when we stay at resorts that the bus schedule seems to vary each day so one day may be great while the next one stinks. Overall we haven't had many problems with them so we tend to overlook the bad times.

 

[Kahana-ri]

We stayed at the POP for Christmas and found the transportation to be excellent. Despite being such a busy season, POP always had a bus going to and from everywhere. Even with a stroller we found the service to be very easy and quick.

 

[DisneyFan06]

Okay. So I am hearing all these mixed reports about the bus system. I actually don't mind taking the bus because that I what I do the majority of the time in town. So - does anyone know the schedule for the bus routes?

Example: I would like to know what time I should be outside waiting on the bus in order to get to the gates well before opening.

Thanks!

 

[cobbler]

There aren't any specific times that the bus comes. They are dispatched as needed to certain areas. I know I just didn't explain that too well but it's the general idea.

You could be on the bus that says MK and staying at POP and while you are on the bus the driver is will change his sign to say CBR so their route varies quite a bit during the day.

 

[goofy4tink]

The buses tend to arrive every 20 minutes or so, especially for the morning routes. If you want to be at the park before opening time.....say MK opens at 9:00....there will be quite a few people there already by 8:15 or so. So, if you want to be up front for gate opening, you might want to be at your MK bus stop around 7:15 or so. That will get you to MK plenty early but you'll be standing there, waiting for over an hour. I tend to get to the bus at 8:00 for a 9:00 opening, but I don't care about being among the first into the park.

 

[DisneyFan06]

I dont want to be the first, I just want to be there at opening. Thanks. So I am guessing I might leave at 7:45 to 8:00 on the days I want to be at a park at 9:00 am thanks!

 

[Andrew_Lubow]

I've generally found the busses start running to a park 45 minutes before it's opening. At peak times I try to be at the busses 25 minutes before I want to leave. Sometimes this lets me take a bus immediately but I plan to miss one in case there's a large group of people to load.

 

[kmjmom]

I was very disappointed with the bus service at the BC last year. We had no problems when we stayed at POFQ. Hopefully the same will happen in August at POP. It was nice to be able to walk into Epcot, but to go to any of the other parks took forever. Then we had to stop at the Swan and Dolphin.