Problem with buses?

[Gary M]

This happened to us one night during our trip 5/19-5/24. We had left the MK after Wishes and the lines waiting for the buses were huge. We were staying at the CBR and our queue line was full and the line was down the walkway that runs by the lagoon. Several charter buses came to our area, not just for the CBR but a few other resorts as well. The nice thing was that the buses were large there were alot of seats (comfy seats too) the bad thing was that instead of going to each of the villages at the CBR we were dropped off at the Custom House and then had to use the internal buses to get back to the resorts.
I really do wish the the Disney buses could fit more people, the seating arrangements really do not make a lot of sense to me.

It appears that WDW buses are designed to handle handicapped passengers and their scooters. On my trip last winter, just about every bus that I took had two scooters on it. The scooters take, I believe, three seats each. The riders in most cases got off the scooters and sat in regular seats, plus the family and friends of the handicapped boarded first. In some cases there were several pre boarders and almost half the seats were taken by the time general boarding was allowed. I have been going to WDW since 1992 and it seems the number of scooters have increased by a large number each year. This means more using the bus system and fewer seats.

 

[solfan68]

We just returned from a week on property. We rode one non-Disney bus from CSR that was designated Magic Kingdom via a sign taped in the front windshield. It ended up depositing us at the TTC. In the end, we took the monorail over to MK, but it was a bit peculiar, I'll admit.

 

[Chip 'n Dale Express]

The nice thing was that the buses were large there were alot of seats (comfy seats too) the bad thing was that instead of going to each of the villages at the CBR we were dropped off at the Custom House and then had to use the internal buses to get back to the resorts.

The charter bus driver should have dropped you off at each island. Not sure why they dropped you off at the Custom House.

I really do wish the the Disney buses could fit more people, the seating arrangements really do not make a lot of sense to me.

The seating arrangement on Disney buses is actually well thought out, and makes a lot of sense.

The old RTS buses seat 41, with mostly forward facing seats, and with two spaces for wheelchairs, as required by law.

The low-floor buses seat 34/35, with perimiter seating, and two spaces required for wheelchairs as required by law.

At first, you think, AHA, if we had forward facing seats on the low-floors, we could seat more people. Well... true. You could seat about 2-4 more people. Maybe. And that would require a front-door ramp, which would make things 10x harder on those who use scooters. That equals longer boarding times.


With the perimiter seating, they can actually hold MORE people. Plus, the wide aisles accomodate those bulky folded strollers a lot better than the narrow aisles.

So the low-floors with the perimiter seating really makes things easier, quicker, and holds 80-85 people versus 65-70 with the forward facing seats.

 

[HelenePA]

I wish the buses had upper bins or something.. I think that would be great for strollers... it was such a pain to bring our small single stroller on the bus!

 

[miss missy]

In periods where the demand for buses exceed the buses in the Disney fleet, charter buses are contracted. This will be most prevalent at closing times. This was done at MK last week as MK's close was at 11pm and AK had EMH until 11pm with EPCOT and MGM having 9pm and 10pm closings we needed more buses for the demand. It is a normal practice and you should not worry. Most times the bus has a sign in the windshield indicating what park it is servicing.

The black Hybrid is on loan for testing. It is operated by a Disney bus driver.


MK is a major training hub, you will see a lot of training buses go through there. A training bus will not pick up guests until the trainor is satisfied the learner is ready.


BTW: Complaining to a driver will get you nowhere. All we do is drive the bus and go where our supervisor sends us. We do our best to accomodate you, and complaining about an extended delay to the driver who is there to take you now is pointless. Complain to someone who can actually do something. Go to Guest Services or to a manager to register complaints. They have the power to request that another bus be dispatched, not the driver.

Thanks for the info on that!

I live one town over from your old town I so wish I could make that move someday and be working there too

 

[cranbiz]

At first, you think, AHA, if we had forward facing seats on the low-floors, we could seat more people. Well... true. You could seat about 2-4 more people. Maybe. And that would require a front-door ramp, which would make things 10x harder on those who use scooters. That equals longer boarding times.

Indeed, Tyler is correct. The Hybrid bus on loan has forward facing seats and a narrower asile than the standard Disney low floor bus. It can only load wheelchairs and scooters thru the front door. It does significantly add to the load time.

With the perimiter seating, they can actually hold MORE people. Plus, the wide aisles accomodate those bulky folded strollers a lot better than the narrow aisles.

So the low-floors with the perimiter seating really makes things easier, quicker, and holds 80-85 people versus 65-70 with the forward facing seats.

And yet again my knowlageable former purple panted friend is correct. You can get 85 guests on a low floor Disney bus if necessary. You do need to be friendly but it can be done. An RTS will never hold that many unless they are all cheerleaders.

If there were overhead racks for strollers, it would be unsafe as there would be no way to secure the stroller. Unlike a piece of luggage, a stroller is a bulky odd shaped item prone to movement.

 

[rebelinfl]

My family just got back from our 21st trip to Disney. We usually stay on property and are very familiar with the Disney buses. We encountered something that was unusual for us. On June 4 we were at Epcot. After Illuminations, we took our time walking around the World Showcase before getting to our Pop Century Resort bus stop. The area for Pop Century took up two of the resort numbered stops. The lines were spilling even out of these two areas. That wasn't the thing that really was unusual. We realize that after the end of the park day - long lines for buses are to be expected. However, the thing that was unusual was that non Disney marked buses with bus drivers not wearing the expected Disney purple uniforms pulled up to the Pop Century stop to pick up guests. Many of the guests did not want to board these buses as a security issue. In the post 9-11 world, we feel that this practice is not necessarily a safe one. How does the guest know when a bus is legitimate or not? We were wondering if this is something that Disney is now doing routinely - or was there some kind of labor dispute with bus drivers on this day. The reason we wonder if it could be a labor dispute was because of the presence of empty Disney buses sitting across the parking lot. Many of these buses would circle around and pick up no one. They did not designate any resort on their front sign. Thanks - just wondered if any one else had these questions or experienced something similar.

Just saw this post. So........... On buses the name of the company operating them is required by law to be posted on the side of the bus. Usually on motor coaches it is found near or on the door at the very bottom on each side of the bus. You also stated that you couldn't find a Disney employee to ask, ??????? You're a the bus terminal, no other buses were there except for that one? I am quite certain that if a "strange" bus was on Disney property it wouldn't be long before the Sheriffs had it pulled over. There are camera's all over the property.

This is going to sound very rude, but if you are that nervous about things since we are living in a post "9-11" world, perhaps you just need to stay home. Being someone from up north I take great offense to people using 9-11 to justify everything. If you so choose to live in fear that is your business to do so, but please do it quietly and not drag 9-11 into everything you find "scary", "fearful" or a "security issue". It is not!! Here is a suggestion, stop listening to everything the government or I should say the politicians and the press tell you. Look around, think for yourself and live your life. What actually went on in NY, PA and DC is not what the rest of the country saw. We don't buy into the fear mongering nor live our lives in fear. It is very offensive when I see or hear people talking making everything and anything about " safety and security" and using 9-11 to justify those fears. Others may not find it offensive and that's fine, but I do and know many others who do as well.