Questions about the bus service

[KoolBreeze]

My wife, 3 yo daughter and I have reservations for a cabin in May but we're beginning to have second thoughts because of some things we've read about the bus service (expect long waits, it's confusing, etc.). We figure we'll have to make a trip back from the parks for an afternoon nap and are trying to determine how big a deal this is... a worn out three year old can be a handful and we want convenience! For you FW veterans out there - how do you rate the bus service? Would we be better off staying at a different resort?
Also, I've read about the golf carts, which sound like a potential way around the buses. Could we drive it to the ferry landing and leave it parked there for several hours?

 

[debster812]

Howdy Koolbreeze. Welcome to the DIS.

I am by no means an expert, but here's my take.

DH, DS and I stayed in cabin 2502 in January of 2004. It was a slow time of year, and I don't think we EVER waited for a bus longer than 10 minutes. I have read similar reports as you, and honestly, we experienced NO problems. I also did not find it confusing at all. The busses run from one outpost to the other (Checkin area, and Marina area) if I am not mistaken they are color coded, and I think you will have it down after only a few rides.

We enjoyed the FW bus drivers as well. One of them was especially nice to my DS, played some trivia with him, and gave him a card proclaiming him as an honorary WDW bus driver.

Good Luck and if you have any more questions, fire away. There are lots of super knowledgable folks here.

 

[blestmom]

I agree with Debster. We stayed in the cabins in February and December 2004. We also stayed in cabin 2502 in December! Funny! I took 5 kids to Disney by myself, and we had no problems with the buses at all either. I think this was due in part to it being a quieter time of year, but I really enjoyed not having the hassle of driving. I drive my kids around so much that it was a joy to leave it to somebody else. One added benefit was that I really enjoyed the walking. It gave me a chance to really get to know the campground, and I found it very relaxing. Part of it was that we were there for 2 weeks, so we were never in a hurry. Waiting didn't bother us, but we never waited more than 10 minutes. Most of the time, the bus showed up within minutes of our getting to the bus stop. I also thought they were coded very well, and they were easy to get around. We are hoping to get back in September, and since it will be hotter then, we are planning on taking a mid-afternoon break. We haven't used the golf carts, because we are always trying to keep within a budget, but from what I've heard, if you can afford it, they are a lot of fun. Deb

 

[rajak73]

We stayed in the campground, (loop 800), June 2004. No problem whatsoever with the transportation. I had heard the same thing about the buses so whenever we got to a bus stop, I would check my watch to see how long it took for a bus. I don't think we ever waited for more than 15 min. but, if you are tired and just sitting there, seems alot longer. As far as confusing, ask the drivers, they are the best information around. We had a character breakfast at 8:10 at MK, bus comes to stop, I ask driver if I can catch bus to MK from this one, she says, Yes, get in. We get to next stop, I ask again, she says stay on. One more stop and we are getting off in front of MK gate. We come back one other night from Downtown Disney, got off at Outpost to wait for bus. Gal was sitting on benches with her head down like she had been there forever, bus shows up and DW was ready to get on, I said, "Bus says YEL-LOW we want OR-ANGE, remember OR-ANGE, not YEL-LOW. Next bus shows up, says orange, this gal goes up to driver says, "I've been waiting for half an hour for a yellow bus. What? Yellow bus just left. We get on and I tell the driver that she missed the yellow bus. So pay attention to what bus is coming and going and if you are in doubt, Ask someone in Purple Pants! Have a good trip!

 

[Carrie Ellis]

HI!
We went last October with twin 3 year olds and twin 8 year olds. The busses are not complicated. They run from one end to the other all day and are color coded. You really have to have no patience to let it bother you. We never waited more than 10 minutes for the internal busses in FW. Now the bus from the Outpost to go to AK or Epcot, etc...might take a little longer.
My husband and I (I am very part time) commute from DC and it was so nice not to even think about our vehicle! yippee!
If you have ever used a metro system it is the same concept but easier, clean and fun!

oh yes....we had strollers for the 3 year olds. all they had to do is sit back and chill! ha!

 

[campingcorgi]

The nice thing with little kids and the buses is that they think it is another Disney ride!! Our little one likes to ride the buses just for fun--we'll park the golf cart at the Outpost and ride to the Settlement and do the petting zoo and ride back to the golf cart--haha!

Yes, the golf carts are great and they are a good way to get the little ones to sleep at night. You can park at the Outpost and Settlement areas, the trading posts, the marina, and it makes it really easy to do playground runs looking for kids the right size to play with--that's how we spend every evening at FW!!

 

[clkelley]

The only disadvantage I can think of on the bus service from the cabins is the following:

The cabins are on the purple route which does not go anywhere near the Meadows Trading Post, Bike Barn, Campfire/Movie area.

If you plan on going to the campfire on multiple evenings, then you would need to take a purple bus to Settlement, then transfer to an orange or yellow bus to get to the Meadows area.

Although, depending on which Cabin Loop you have, the Meadows area may be within walking distance.

That might be something you need to consider.

Yes, once you rent a golf cart, it is yours to drive around Ft. Wilderness anywhere till the end of your rental period. They have Golf Cart parking areas near the marina, near Trails End Buffet, near the Meadows Trading Post, and recreation area, near the campfire/movie, and near the Outpost Bus stop for that specific purpose. There are also a limited number of electrical outlets in the parking areas to charge up the golf cart while you are away at the parks. There will also be an electrical outlet on the outside of your cabin to charge the golf cart at night.


Carol

 

[elastigirlfan]

We stayed at Fort Wilderness for the first time last year and we had heard that the buses were confusing and slow. We found the opposite to be true. We were there in June and never waited more than 10-15min. for a bus. We were in the 300 loop so we were able to walk to the marina, etc...I thought the buses were very efficient. Fort Wilderness is definetly the nicest campground around. We also stayed at the Animal Kingdom Lodge before and our wait there for buses was by far the longest we have ever waited both at the lodge and the bus waiting areas at the parks waiting to go back to the lodge. Hope that helps!

 

[jehma]

We were in the 300 loop so we were able to walk to the marina, etc...I thought the buses were very efficient.

How long a walk did you have to the marina? How about to the bus depot (the one on the marina side)?

 

[elastigirlfan]

Jehma:

Our walk to the marina was only 5-10 minutes. We walked along the beach to get there. We were at the back half of the loop but it only took a few minutes to get to the bus depot and from there we would go to another bus depot (if we needed). Hope that helps. It worked out great for us, in fact, we have requested loop 300 again this year.

 

[auntie]

I think if you are camping in the camping loops you have less problems in regard to bus service..and being near to the amenities of the campground. When you are in the Cabin loops..I feel they are more isolated. When we stayed in them..you needed to take a bus to get to the meadow trading post area where the main pool and arcade are located. As our kids were young at the time, we found it a real hassle to get two strollers on and off busses just to go to the pool...especially in the August heat. There is a pool located in one of the cabin loops..but it's nothing special and no lifeguard. If the golf cart rental is in your budget, I would recommend it. We had actually switched over to the Poly while we were there. As much as we love the campground, and hope to stay there with our own travel trailer..I just didn't care for the location of the cabins. They are at the rear of campground furtherst from most of the amenities that are so enjoyable there. I'm sure there are folks who don't mind that..but as I said, at the time, we had two in strollers and an 11 year old..so we rented the golf cart and it made a huge difference...but ultimately the older one wanted to be able to get to the game room..without taking a bus..and we switched to another resort.
If you happend to be driving a good option is to bring your bikes..that's a great way to get around the campground...they also have a bike rental there. When we were at the "cabins"..were called "trailers" when we stayed in them..we used our car to get to the parks. This was sometime ago...and I'm sure the bus options have changed since then.
We now stay at the Wilderness Lodge and visit the camground by bikes that they rent there.
However, we do plan a Fort Wilderness trip in the near future(hopefully!) with our own trailer...and can't wait. It is the best campground ever!

 

[Weegie]

We've never had a problem with the buses at FW and we always go in June. When we took our three year old grand daughter the bus was one of her favorite "rides". She had no idea that the bus was just transportation. I'd say the wait was 10 or 15 minutes tops.

 

[VAN]

We just got back yesterday from 2 weeks at Ft. Wilderness. I thought the bus/ferry service was better than it has ever been!! I couldn't believe how short of a wait we had for the ferries to the other MK resorts and to the MK.

I'd say the current level of bus service was great!!