Resort-Bus Transportation Questions

[chitwnnole]

We are thinking about staying on site so to make it more convenient to get back to our place during the day and night. Any info on the questions below would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for the help

#1 The bus system from the Resorts to the Parks. How does this work? Does it pick you up from the Caribbean Beach resort and take you to The Magic Kingdom, or Epcot, etc… Or does it take you to a central location where you then take another bus to the Magic Kingdom or Epcot?

#2 At the end of the day where do you catch the busses while at the parks (especially the Magic Kingdom). Does the bus pick you up right from the Magic Kingdom or do you have to take the monorail or ferry to the tickets and transportation center and then get the bus? Also does the bus take you from the parks to your resort or to a central location where you get another bus to your resort.

#3 Do the busses run regularly or is the schedule during the day stretched out? Is it possible to get from the Park back to the Resort and back to a Park later in the day, or does this take so long that it is not worth it.

 

[spacemountainmom]

The bus will pick you up at your resort and take you directly to each park. There are also buses for the water parks and downtown Disney. The return trip is the same, you will be picked up at the park and go back to your resort. The only time we have ever go to the TTC is if we are going from park to park and I have heard that since we've been there you can now hop a bus from park to park. Someone who has been there more recently could probably answer that better.

The buses do not really seem to run on a schedule, but you certainly can take a bus back to your resort during the day and get back in a fairly timely manner. We don't go back during the day too often, but will sometimes and it's not a big problem.

The parks all have a person who monitors the buses and will radio for more buses if needed. I have seen this at our resort as well. I think it depends on when you go. Obviously, there are more buses dispatched during busier times.

Hope this answers some questions for you and that you have a great trip!

 

[Claire&TheBoys]

Welcome to the DIS!

The bus stop is right in front of the MK - you don't have to go through the TTC (monorail or ferry). It's so much easier to take the bus to MK!

The buses run roughly every 20 minutes to every location. In the mornings you'll typically see them more often, as well as at park close. All throughout the day, however, you can walk up to the bus-stop outside the park and get a bus back to your resort. Very easy! Each resort has its own bus-stop and they are clearly marked.

The trip between a park and your resort usually takes about 15 minutes, plus whatever wait time you have. We often take a mid-afternoon break, leaving the parks after lunch (maybe 2:00) and go back to our resort for a rest or a swim, then return to a park for dinner around 4:30-5:00.

Hope this helps and have a great trip!

 

[maxiesmom]

There is not a set schedule for the buses. They don't post that the Magic Kingdom bus will arrive at 8:15 or anything like that. All of the buses have electronic signs on the top of and sides that will tell you what park or resort that bus is serving. So you show up to the bus stop, and wait for the bus that you want to come. They try to have one at least every 20 minutes for each park/resort, but sometimes they come more often, and sometimes they are a bit farther apart.

Keep in mind too that they do pack the buses full, and most of the space is standing room. And if you have a little one and use a stroller your child cannot stay in the stroller on the bus, they have to come out and the stroller be folded up.

Hope this helps!

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

At some of the parks like Hollywood Studios during the mornings the buses might drop you off at the closest spot to the main entrance, however it wouldn't be the location where you would wait for your bus when going back to the WDW Resort you are staying at. When I have stayed at the Contemporary and took the bus to Hollywood Studios in the morning it always did that.

 

[P00H1010]

First off....Welcome to DIS !

I do recommend that you stay on site, the perks are worth it IMO. I noticed that you have mentioned Caribbean Beach, is that where you are thinking of staying or did you just use that as an example? I have stayed at CBR the past 2 years and loved it!

About Question #1. Yes the buses for parks pick you up directly from your resort. Each park will have it's own bus, the only buses that go to multiple locations are the Animal Kingdom/Blizzard Beach bus and the Downtown Disney/Typhoon Lagoon bus. When you arrive at the park you will be dropped of at the bus stops and you walk a (generally) short distance to the gate.

* Just a bit of info about CBR if you are thinking of staying there. The bus system at CBR is a tad bit different from other resorts just because the resort is so large. Most resorts have a general bus stop to pick up park buses that everyone in the resort would report to regaurdless of where your room is located. CBR is large and spread out so each set of buildings or "villages" has its own bus stop. The buses circle once around the resort stopping at all villages before heading to the park, so you would just go to the nearest bus stop and pick up a bus there. Same thing when coming back to your room, just get off at the bus stop for your village. Also, CBR has it's own internal bus system as well. There is a bus that circles the resort all day which is convenient in getting around the resort if you don't want to walk.

About Question #2: When you would want to leave the park and go back to your resort you will go to the bus stops (around where you were dropped off) There are signs that tell you which bus stop number is assigned to which resort (it might not be the same number you were dropped off at). A bus will pick you up and take you directly back to your resort. There are also buses at each park that will take you to other parks if you have Park Hoppers...you do not have to go back to your resort to pick up a bus for another park.

About Question #3: The buses run approx. every 20 minutes. They try to stick to this the best they can but as with all things unforseen events sometimes make the buses later. I think the most I ever waited for a bus was 40-45 minutes. But that wasn't Disney's fault...the bus driver told us some guy had gotten on the bus for CBR and meant to get on a bus for the Poly. And because it was after an EMH night it was the last buses running back to the resorts, he was kind of stranded...long story short, they had to call him a cab. So yes, things do happen...but generally I think I have waited between 10-30 minutes. It is completely possible to go back to your resort for a while and go back to the parks later in the day using the Disney Buses.

 

[ccgirl]

We are thinking about staying on site so to make it more convenient to get back to our place during the day and night. Any info on the questions below would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for the help

#1 The bus system from the Resorts to the Parks. How does this work? Does it pick you up from the Caribbean Beach resort and take you to The Magic Kingdom, or Epcot, etc… Or does it take you to a central location where you then take another bus to the Magic Kingdom or Epcot?

#2 At the end of the day where do you catch the busses while at the parks (especially the Magic Kingdom). Does the bus pick you up right from the Magic Kingdom or do you have to take the monorail or ferry to the tickets and transportation center and then get the bus? Also does the bus take you from the parks to your resort or to a central location where you get another bus to your resort.

#3 Do the busses run regularly or is the schedule during the day stretched out? Is it possible to get from the Park back to the Resort and back to a Park later in the day, or does this take so long that it is not worth it.

As someone who was very surprised at how the transportation worked, I wanted to chime in here. It depends on how you define convenient. Often times, the busses are shared amongst the resorts. We were staying at POFQ and this is how it worked for us.

Go down to the bus stop (where busses for all parks go). Wait for a bus that has the park you want to go to. Usually 20 - 30 minutes. Then, get on the bus and stop at other resorts until they pack people in with standing room only. Then get to the park 45 minutes - 1 hour after you began waiting. If you are there until park close, I found that even worse. I waited 45 minutes for a bus to come. The bus was full of hot, tired, cranky people all pressed up against each other. The bus stopped at multiple resorts with people jockeying for position (and a seat) if someone that had a seat got up. After that, we began renting cars even when staying on site. The parking at the theme parks is free. We are on our own time schedule and are guaranteed a seat. If you need to go to another resort for a meal that is even more difficult as the buses do not run between resorts. So, you need to take a taxi or take a bus to a theme park and then get on the bus to the resort you want to go to. Others have had great luck, and don't mind waiting. Others do. I just wanted to let you know what happened in our case so you weren't as surprised as I was. I had these grand ideas of going to the bus stop, waiting 5 minutes, and going directly to the theme park and being there in 15 minutes.

 

[nkereina]

Go down to the bus stop (where busses for all parks go). Wait for a bus that has the park you want to go to. Usually 20 - 30 minutes. Then, get on the bus and stop at other resorts until they pack people in with standing room only. Then get to the park 45 minutes - 1 hour after you began waiting. If you are there until park close, I found that even worse. I waited 45 minutes for a bus to come. The bus was full of hot, tired, cranky people all pressed up against each other. The bus stopped at multiple resorts with people jockeying for position (and a seat) if someone that had a seat got up. After that, we began renting cars even when staying on site. The parking at the theme parks is free. We are on our own time schedule and are guaranteed a seat. If you need to go to another resort for a meal that is even more difficult as the buses do not run between resorts. So, you need to take a taxi or take a bus to a theme park and then get on the bus to the resort you want to go to. Others have had great luck, and don't mind waiting. Others do. I just wanted to let you know what happened in our case so you weren't as surprised as I was. I had these grand ideas of going to the bus stop, waiting 5 minutes, and going directly to the theme park and being there in 15 minutes.

Some people have bad bus experience but it's not typical that it's that bad. POFQ only shares with POR some of the time, so there aren't multiple resort stops. POR does have multiple bus depots, however. Depending on the time of year you go and the time you are at the bus stop will determine how crowded your bus will be. We stayed at POR last week of September and the hour of 8-9am was pretty crowded at the bus stop when the parks opened at 9am, but even then there were only a few instances where the bus got full. And usually during this time and at park closings, POFQ and POR do not share buses. A few days we went to the parks a little later or in the afternoon, and we always were able to sit on the bus. But if you're there during a busy time of year, you may have to stand.

 

[chitwnnole]

Thanks everyone for the replies. It has been really helpful.

The CBR reference was just as an example, but is one of our top choices.


Again thanks for all the info.

 

[Tori 2001]

The buses are really amazing, they move a lot of people very quickly and safely.
The buses will take you from a stop at your hotel to any park or downtown disney, from well before the park opens until well after closing. There will be no worries getting anywhere. You do not need to use a tram, ferry or monorail, buses take you directly to the ticketing/front entry of each attraction.
The only time it gets dicey is if you want to visit a resort you are not staying at... for example if you want to eat at Chef Mickey's in Contemporary. You would need to take your bus to the nearest park and board a return bus headed to that hotel, then go on to your park of choice or back to your hotel via a park to get back to your room. No big deal, but may require a half hour or so of time.
The schedule depends on how far away the bus has to go to reach the particular attraction - for example, from Coronado Springs you may wait 20 minutes for a bus to get to downtown, on the opposite side of property, while it may only take 5 for buses to return from Blizzard Beach and Animal Kingdom. Other factors impacting time are how many stops the resort has, whether it shares buses with other resorts (as the All-Stars do), and of course time needed if disabled visitors need loading.

Bottom line, I've used the buses exclusively for many visits and many resorts. I would guess the average wait to be 10 minutes, which is nice little time to take a look around the foliage, take a seat, see what the newspaper headlines are... and before you know it, your bus is right there. When you leave the park, the bus stop is just steps away and each hotel's stop clearly marked and covered... very nice for when you are tired. I would recommend them over a rental car or taxi every time.

Of course, if you can't wait to get moving, you can always play park roulette and jump on the bus for whichever park pulls up first ; ]

 

[Bonniec]

The benefit of the buses is that you don't have to drive. (And my son loves them.)

The downside is the can get really packed with crabby guests. If I were planning on getting there at rope drop or leaving at close, I'd probably drive. Since we usually come later and leave earlier, crowds are never bad for us so love the bus!

ETA: If you are in a hurry, I would also suggest driving. But I kinda like to stroll along so for us, the buses are interesting

 

[goofy4tink]

We are thinking about staying on site so to make it more convenient to get back to our place during the day and night. Any info on the questions below would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for the help

#1 The bus system from the Resorts to the Parks. How does this work? Does it pick you up from the Caribbean Beach resort and take you to The Magic Kingdom, or Epcot, etc… Or does it take you to a central location where you then take another bus to the Magic Kingdom or Epcot?

#2 At the end of the day where do you catch the busses while at the parks (especially the Magic Kingdom). Does the bus pick you up right from the Magic Kingdom or do you have to take the monorail or ferry to the tickets and transportation center and then get the bus? Also does the bus take you from the parks to your resort or to a central location where you get another bus to your resort.

#3 Do the busses run regularly or is the schedule during the day stretched out? Is it possible to get from the Park back to the Resort and back to a Park later in the day, or does this take so long that it is not worth it.

1. Yes, the buses pick you up at your resort and take you to the appropriate park. One bus goes to MK, another goes to Epcot and so on. Whether or not you go directly to that park depends on your resort. The vast majority of resorts have either multiple bus stops within the resort, or they share a bus route with another resort.
The bus to MK takes you directly to MK...no going to TTC first. You get off the bus, and then walk to the entrance to MK...takes about 3 mins.

2. Each bus, at each park, takes you from the park to your resort. No need to go to the TTC.

3. The buses don't have a schedule per se. They do tend to run about every 20 mins, more frequently around park opening/closing. When the parks are either opening or closing there are going to be large numbers of guests all wanting to get on the buses, so be prepared.


Is the bus system perfect? Of course it isn't. But generally speaking it works very well. We see reports of people that had to wait for an hour before a bus came to their resort. This is unusual. I have over 30 stays at WDW to date...only twice have I had longer than acceptable wait times. Once at BC and once at AKL-Kidani. Not sure what the issues were but those were the only two times I have waited for a bus for longer than 20 mins. And only a few times at park closing have my waits been more than 20 mins....once at Jambo House and once at Pop...both times right at park closing, and and early closing at that...around 8pm.

Once you get there, and start using the transportation system, you will see how easy it is. At each park there is a specific bus stop for each resort. They are very well marked. Each bus that arrives at the resorts has it's park destination listed on both the front and side of the bus. You will have no issues at all.

Leaving the parks midday and heading back to your resort is one of the nice things about staying onsite. It is very doable. I wouldn't do it for an hour's rest, but for a few hours?? Absolutely doable.