Shared buses at Deluxe resorts

[ColoradoMom12]

WL has direct access to MK via boat.

That's right, I forgot about the boat! It's still not walkable to any parks, though.

 

[pens4821]

This was something that shocked me when we stayed at CR a few years ago. I read a lot of how the all stars share, but very rarely read how the deluxe's do. We shared more at CR for the 3 nights we were there than our full week at the all stars.

 

[dreamer17555]

For deluxes that share which pick up is first? Poly or GF? CR or WL? Shared busses at POFQ with POR but being first pick up and drop off helped a lot.

 

[Maggie'sMom]

For deluxes that share which pick up is first? Poly or GF? CR or WL? Shared busses at POFQ with POR but being first pick up and drop off helped a lot.

During our trip, the buses picked up at CR first, then WL.

It's been several years since I last stayed at the Poly, but as I remember, when buses were shared, they picked up at the Poly first and then GF.

 

[Wood Nymph]

That's right, I forgot about the boat! It's still not walkable to any parks, though.

You can't walk to a park from the Poly or GF, either.

For deluxes that share which pick up is first? Poly or GF? CR or WL? Shared busses at POFQ with POR but being first pick up and drop off helped a lot.

Poly/GF - Poly is first
WL/CR - WL is first
YC/BC - YC is first
BW would be first when it shares with S/D, but most often BW has its own bus service

 

[unwritten01]

Every time we have stayed at WL they would pick us up and then go to GF. I always thought the same thing about how it would not be cool to stay at GF and then have to get on a full or close to full bus. Then we stayed at GF, and I really did not think it was cool .

 

[Wood Nymph]

Every time we have stayed at WL they would pick us up and then go to GF. I always thought the same thing about how it would not be cool to stay at GF and then have to get on a full or close to full bus. Then we stayed at GF, and I really did not think it was cool .

I was really glad that the WL stopped sharing buses with GF. That was a long bus ride.

 

[JerseyJanice]

During my recent stay at the Swan, we shared every bus with the Dolphin, but no other resorts. BW seemed to have all its own buses. BC/YC shared their buses same as Swan/Dolphin.

I noticed because we would take one when leaving the parks if we saw it coming before ours was around. Easy enough to walk to the Swan from any of those resorts.

 

[goofy4tink]

That's true for most of the deluxe resorts. Not for WL or AKL.

Those two resorts aren't considered 'full deluxe' and are priced accordingly. I found these rates for weekday nights, value season, standard room...
WL....$345
AKL...$359
CR...$425
BW...$459
Poly....$508
GF...$646
They are priced this way because they don't have true direct access to parks. Yes, WL has a boat, but that's it. And buses. AKL has only buses. That's what I was told, years ago.

 

[AdamEfimoff]

To the best of my knowledge, each resort decides it's budget for transportation. If each deluxe resort had dedicated bus service, the room rates would go up, appreciably. These are 'deluxe' resorts because they have nicer theming, nicer pools, on-site restaurants, and direct access to at least one park, without having to use a bus. To compare them to non-Disney deluxe resorts is never a good thing. There is no comparison.
The only time the deluxe buses are truly full is at park closing.

I disagree money is money . There a 100 of places to visit in the world. I am looking for the best. Otherwise people will not be saying Four Seasons vs Aulani?
I guess I am not the most obsessed Disney Fan out there. Neither I am the biggest fOUR sEASONS fAN I do research to see what is the best.

 

[NJMomto2]

To respond to the questions I picked up:

- the bus was completely full when it arrived at the WL to go to AKL

- it is possible that another bus filled at CR and BLT and did not come to WL because we waited 25-30min for the bus to arrive. I kept contemplating going to get the rental car and the arrival time kept delaying. It was a full hour by the time we arrived at AKL. I could have driven much faster.

- three holywood studios buses came in the same time frame

- this experience was at approx 3-4pm

It was just surprising to me that paying all that money for a deluxe room yields a shared bus.

It is what it is. I thought it was unusual but now I see that it is the norm.

 

[goofy4tink]

To respond to the questions I picked up:

- the bus was completely full when it arrived at the WL to go to AKL

- it is possible that another bus filled at CR and BLT and did not come to WL because we waited 25-30min for the bus to arrive. I kept contemplating going to get the rental car and the arrival time kept delaying. It was a full hour by the time we arrived at AKL. I could have driven much faster.

- three holywood studios buses came in the same time frame

- this experience was at approx 3-4pm

It was just surprising to me that paying all that money for a deluxe room yields a shared bus.

It is what it is. I thought it was unusual but now I see that it is the norm.

Did you mean DAK vs AKL? I can't imagine a bus from WL stopping at AKL unless there was a serious issue.
The bus transportation system does have it's glitches, that's for sure. I've stood there, waiting for my bus, watching as a second, then a third bus to another park drives up!! It's maddening! Especially when you've left plenty of time to get to your destination. No wonder Disney recommends leaving 90 mins to get from point A to point B...especially if you're going to have to transfer along the way!!
Buses later in the afternoon tend to be less frequent, but they also tend to be less crowded as well, so a full bus at that time is crazy.

 

[Wood Nymph]

The afternoon buses tend to have the longest wait times. We have waited over a half hour for a park bus at a moderate resort, POR, as well as a deluxe resort. I think Disney has less buses running to and from the resorts in the afternoons than at park open and park close.

 

[Kimberle]

We are here now and the Wilderness Lodge is sharing buses with BLT and CR. Led to a 45 min delay to get to AK.

How on earth could a stop at CR add 45 minutes to the trip??? CR is right around the corner from WL.

 

[Kimberle]

Those two resorts aren't considered 'full deluxe' and are priced accordingly. I found these rates for weekday nights, value season, standard room...
WL....$345
AKL...$359
CR...$425
BW...$459
Poly....$508
GF...$646
They are priced this way because they don't have true direct access to parks. Yes, WL has a boat, but that's it. And buses. AKL has only buses. That's what I was told, years ago.

WL and AKL are FULL deluxe resorts by Disney's criteria. They have signature restaurants, etc. They are priced lower because they sleep only 4, not 5 as the other deluxe resorts.

 

[preemiemama]

To respond to the questions I picked up:

- the bus was completely full when it arrived at the WL to go to AKL

- it is possible that another bus filled at CR and BLT and did not come to WL because we waited 25-30min for the bus to arrive. I kept contemplating going to get the rental car and the arrival time kept delaying. It was a full hour by the time we arrived at AKL. I could have driven much faster.

- three holywood studios buses came in the same time frame

- this experience was at approx 3-4pm

It was just surprising to me that paying all that money for a deluxe room yields a shared bus.

It is what it is. I thought it was unusual but now I see that it is the norm.

Not unusual. We had this 4th of July week at about 8:30 am. The DHS bus was even more delayed the day we had this happen, but 3 of the Epcot and MK buses came during our wait. Also had afternoon bus waits to go from the parks back to WL- 45 minute minimum from Epcot and AK.

 

[Kimberle]

To respond to the questions I picked up:

- the bus was completely full when it arrived at the WL to go to AKL

- it is possible that another bus filled at CR and BLT and did not come to WL because we waited 25-30min for the bus to arrive. I kept contemplating going to get the rental car and the arrival time kept delaying. It was a full hour by the time we arrived at AKL. I could have driven much faster.

- three holywood studios buses came in the same time frame

- this experience was at approx 3-4pm

It was just surprising to me that paying all that money for a deluxe room yields a shared bus.

It is what it is. I thought it was unusual but now I see that it is the norm.

This happens at all deluxe resorts on occasion. Last summer, during our stay at the Poly, we waited for over an HOUR for a bus. There were a lot of people waiting and were getting upset because they had ADR's, FP's, etc. Many ended up taking taxi's or going to another park. The bus hostess kept calling dispatch and they kept telling her "just a few more minutes". It wasn't because we were the 2nd stop, it came empty and we then went to the GF.

 

[Shanti]

I was surprised and did not expect that. AKL is my home resort, I guess that is why.

I much preferred AKL's bus service to the shared bus service at WL.

I've read so many comments on these boards about AKL's bus service being slow & the resort being far away, but we had no issues with either.

Going to & from parks via WL buses was like reliving our Magical Express drop-off. Stopping at another resort, stopping at another resort...

For the prices they currently charge for deluxes, each deluxe resort should have its own bus.

 

[Shanti]

If each deluxe resort had dedicated bus service, the room rates would go up, appreciably.

The room rates already have gone up, appreciably. Check the difference between deluxe resort rates this year and just 3 years ago. Deluxe rates are already skyrocketing, and that increase is not linked to any increase in service or benefits for guests.

Some resorts already have dedicated bus service. It is not at all out of reach for Disney to give it to all of the Deluxe resorts. I'm not giving Disney a free pass on this one. They could do better than this if they chose to.

 

[goofy4tink]

For deluxes that share which pick up is first? Poly or GF? CR or WL? Shared busses at POFQ with POR but being first pick up and drop off helped a lot.

GF is always last due to traffic patterns. There is a really hard turn for the bus to make if it had to go back to the Polynesian or other MK resort.

WL and AKL are FULL deluxe resorts by Disney's criteria. They have signature restaurants, etc. They are priced lower because they sleep only 4, not 5 as the other deluxe resorts.

Not how it was explained to me back in the day. But, I'm beginning to think it depends on who you talk to. There are a ton of people that refuse to go along with FtW being considered a moderate resort.

The room rates already have gone up, appreciably. Check the difference between deluxe resort rates this year and just 3 years ago. Deluxe rates are already skyrocketing, and that increase is not linked to any increase in service or benefits for guests.

Some resorts already have dedicated bus service. It is not at all out of reach for Disney to give it to all of the Deluxe resorts. I'm not giving Disney a free pass on this one. They could do better than this if they chose to.

Prices for everything have gone up. The rates at the values are up as well. They're all out of control. They've gone up because they can go up.....guests will pay the price! Supply, demand. The values have dedicated bus routes but that's it. BW usually has it's own routes, but it does sometimes share with the S/D. From what I understand, even if Disney wanted to add buses, and allow deluxe resorts to have dedicated buses, they can't at the moment. Not nearly enough drivers. They've been looking for drivers for months!
As you say, they could do better if they chose to. But, it's pretty obvious they don't choose to..they don't feel a need.
SSR and OKW have hugely long rides around the resort before heading to the parks. It's crazy.