So what do you think the "waiting for bus" etiquette is?

[Jillpie]

I would let those sitting go first since they got there before I did. What are the chances that they are just sitting there passing the day away?

I guess I don't see the need to jump off the bench because now someone is standing.

I think common courtesy would be to let the ones on the bench go first. Am I wrong?

Interesting. Now you have provided my very dilemma. So if I come up to the bus stop, the bus is not there yet, but I decide to stand at the curb, and the bus shows up...I then get out of the way and allow those people on the benches to go first, yes? I am honestly asking in the most kindest of ways, is that what you think should happen? hmmmm, food for thought. And that is exactly what I'm trying to figure out.

 

[grimley1968]

I would let those sitting go first since they got there before I did. What are the chances that they are just sitting there passing the day away?

I guess I don't see the need to jump off the bench because now someone is standing.

I think common courtesy would be to let the ones on the bench go first. Am I wrong?

But as Spiceycat pointed out, it is nearly impossible to tell who is waiting for what buses when they're sitting on benches. Yes, the bench locations are "somewhat" labeled for certain buses at the resorts, but people never really seem to follow that. They just sit at the first open bench they see. I've seen people board buses on completely the opposite end of the bus waiting area from where they were sitting.

 

[peachgirl]

The only time this has been an issue was our stay at OKW when nearly every bus was filled to capacity by the time it reached us. Btw, won't stay there again because of the bus issues...BUT...

No one there stood at the curb waiting for the busses to pull up. It seemed to be understood that if you were there first, you got on the bus first. You have no idea where a bus is going until it pulls up and then you have to keep stepping aside if it's the wrong one. Seems like a pain to me.

We're a bit more laid back on vacation. If there's a bench open, we sit. If not, we stand but not at the curb because for me, I'd feel a little little pushy and obnoxious doing that when others are already sitting there. If I there is someone who was there before me getting on the same bus as me, I let them on first no matter where they were when the bus pulled up.

If the bus gets full, we don't worry about it. There will be another one before long....unless you're at OKW of course.

 

[sandybobandy]

Interesting. Now you have provided my very dilemma. So if I come up to the bus stop, the bus is not there yet, but I decide to stand at the curb, and the bus shows up...I then get out of the way and allow those people on the benches to go first, yes? I am honestly asking in the most kindest of ways, is that what you think should happen? hmmmm, food for thought. And that is exactly what I'm trying to figure out.

lol-I find it kinda cute you're so concerned about other people. Folks like you (and others here that are posting) are kinda rare!

Anyway, I see the confusion. I guess what I'd do if I was at the curb and saw others sitting is ask if they wanted to go ahead first (unless of course there was a huge line behind me and they're still just sitting there).

You seem pleasant enough to me though, I doubt anyone could get mad at you for "jumping" in line!

 

[Jillpie]

oh thanks Sandy, thats sweet. Love your screenname, I have this urge to say fee fy fo fanny now !

 

[safetymom]

I just think it is a common courtesy but if they are lagging getting up once the bus is there then you could go ahead.

 

[Cool-Beans]

I don't ride the bus at Disney, but took the bus IRL a lot when I was young. If you stand by the curb, you can get on the bus first. Nobody will even care.

But there really isn't any reason to be first on the bus unless you're worried it will be crowded and you want first shot at sitting down. And if people are that eager to sit on the bus, they can wait at the curb, too!

If you get bored and want to talk, good starters are how hot or cold it is, when will the bus ever get there. Another good topic is how you don't want to have to deal with the drunk/crackhead ten feet away, but my guess is that this is less common at WDW.

It is also common for someone who is arriving to ask if the person sitting there happened to see the bus for X go by. The person who has been there usually won't remember, but sometimes they do and then you have an idea how long a wait you're in for.

Have fun!

 

[lesley.a.murray@talk]

Can I just say, I've SO enjoyed the discussion on this thread!!
This question has occurred to me many times when waiting for the Disney buses. You know how the British love to queue and my polite manners get the better of me but I tend to agree, sitting on the bench is not in the queue.

Can I just add that I am off to Disneyland Paris in a few weeks where it is bascially everyone for themselves at the bus stops! People are quite ill-mannered and love to crush on.

I'm sharpening my elbows in preparation!

 

[Jillpie]

I don't ride the bus at Disney, but took the bus IRL a lot when I was young. If you stand by the curb, you can get on the bus first. Nobody will even care.

But there really isn't any reason to be first on the bus unless you're worried it will be crowded and you want first shot at sitting down. And if people are that eager to sit on the bus, they can wait at the curb, too!

If you get bored and want to talk, good starters are how hot or cold it is, when will the bus ever get there. Another good topic is how you don't want to have to deal with the drunk/crackhead ten feet away, but my guess is that this is less common at WDW.

It is also common for someone who is arriving to ask if the person sitting there happened to see the bus for X go by. The person who has been there usually won't remember, but sometimes they do and then you have an idea how long a wait you're in for.

Have fun!

Oh definitely, one of the best things I love about Disney buses is starting up conversations with people (not crackheads thank God )
I guess in my experience (POR and BC) that if you want a seat, you've gotta wait in line. If you lag and sit on the benches, you don't get a seat. So thats why I go right up to the curb.

btw, thanks for the info on the blankets , I think i'll grab one in April! Hey, what forum should we meet at next?

 

[bytheblood]

IMHO if you are sitting on a bench, you are not waiting in line. It is anybody's guess what bus you are waiting for, or if you are waiting for another member of your party to show up. If I am sitting and a large line starts to form, I will get off of my hiney and join them.

Agreed!

 

[bytheblood]

Well we never rush the 2nd it stops so we can be the 1st ones to board. Sometimes we are the 1st ones on the bus and other times people have got on before. Besides if you read my 1st comment I said how we always sit on the benches and don't wait by the curb, so please don't try to twist my comments around.

That was rude.

Sounds like she was just trying to understand.

 

[skipperkim]

That's the good thing about staying at POFQ, you always get a seat. The one day our bus filled up to go to MK we didn't stop at POR. I never worried about who got on first. I prefer to sit near the back anyway, giving the front to those with young kids. I will give up my seat to a little kid or someone who is elderly even though I have trouble walking sometimes especially at night. I hate seeing a parent with a sleeping kid in their arms standing. When I took my boys I always made them give up their seats for women.

 

[branv]

Ok, I admit I don't think there is such thing as a line for buses at the resorts that don't have officially drawn queue lines. First, as stated, you don't know what bus is going to pull up, so what is the point of standing in a line when you don't know for certain what it will be for? So you make a line and if it's yours and the person in front of you isn't going on that bus, you'd have to get out of line to get on? Doesn't that defeat the purpose of a line? Second, buses seldom stop in the same place every time. Therefore, my experience has been that when a bus pulls up, whoever wins the luck of the draw i.e. whoever is closest to where the door pulls up, gets on first.

It's strange, I honestly don't know what you guys are talking about with lines. It's just always been everyone clustering towards the bus they want, and generally people "merge" into the bus steadily. It's surprisingly organized in most cases.

That being said, no the people sitting down aren't in line. Look at it this way: let's say you walk up to the entrance of a ride and see a family sitting on a bench in the shade. You get in line, and when you get up to the front, suddenly here comes this family expecting to get in front of you...b/c they were here first! Of course that would be wrong. And I think it's the same.

 

[Andyjo0930]

Ok, I admit I don't think there is such thing as a line for buses at the resorts that don't have officially drawn queue lines. First, as stated, you don't know what bus is going to pull up, so what is the point of standing in a line when you don't know for certain what it will be for? So you make a line and if it's yours and the person in front of you isn't going on that bus, you'd have to get out of line to get on? Doesn't that defeat the purpose of a line? Second, buses seldom stop in the same place every time. Therefore, my experience has been that when a bus pulls up, whoever wins the luck of the draw i.e. whoever is closest to where the door pulls up, gets on first.

It's strange, I honestly don't know what you guys are talking about with lines. It's just always been everyone clustering towards the bus they want, and generally people "merge" into the bus steadily. It's surprisingly organized in most cases.

That being said, no the people sitting down aren't in line. Look at it this way: let's say you walk up to the entrance of a ride and see a family sitting on a bench in the shade. You get in line, and when you get up to the front, suddenly here comes this family expecting to get in front of you...b/c they were here first!

At the value resorts such as pop and all stars, there is only one bus stop at the front of the building. Each park has its own line with ropes. At certain times during the day, especially in the morning, or at night when there is a special party going on, you need to be in that line or worry about not getting on a bus (especially for the parks that share a bus.) If there is a line, we get in it. If there are people waiting on the benches and choose to get up when the bus gets there, that's their problem if they don't get a seat. Look at it this way, when you get to the park do you get in line for splash mountain??? or do you wait until the log reaches the top and then just run up and get into it?

 

[tarheelmjfan]

We've become very laidback tourists, since my health has declined. We (at least, I do) sit on the benches most of the time. I do have an unseen illness that requires me to walk with a cane at times. If I need a wheelchair, I go back to the room. I'm 39, & people give me funny looks like I couldn't possibly need that wheelchair. Anyway, if a bus arrives & it looks like I won't be able to sit, we wait for the next bus. My DH & DS will give up their seats for people who need them. I, on the other hand, am one of those people. Although, you couldn't always tell it by looking at me. It's not a big deal for us to wait for another bus, but at times it is a big deal for me to do a lot of standing. FWIW, when I'm sitting on a bench, I don't consider myself in line just because I got there 1st.

 

[safetymom]

Just a reminder that if you have a problem with a post please use the report a post feature. No need to chastise other posters in the thread.

 

[bellebud]

I've often wondered the same thing when we approach the bus stops. I always felt kind of rude standing between the people who were there first sitting on the benches, and where the bus would stop. But that's the way the bus stops are set up. So if i'm standing there (not even particularly at the curb), and my bus pulls up in front of me, even while feeling kind of rude just getting on in front of everyone, I also can't see how i'd ask each person in the bus stop "you were here before me, is this your bus?" I do just get on, but always feel weird about it. Thanks for this discussion!

 

[mgilmer]

yes, but do you allow all the people on the benches to get up first and get on that bus, as you showed up after them and walked up to the curb? Picture that a bus has not shown up yet, and you decide to just stand at the curb, instead of sitting on the bench. Is the correct thing to do is allowing all those people on the bench the first seat on the bus, because you showed up after them?

I would think you would be ok to board first. I agree with the others that sitting on a bench is not being in line. That being said, if someone jumped off the bench and wanted to make an issue of it, I probably would let them go ahead.

 

[Kiddeokee]

Sometimes, if no one, or very few people are in line, I will take a seat on the bench. If people start getting in line, and I want a seat, or to make certain I get on the next bus, I will get up and get in line myself. I don't expect anyone to let me get in front, nor would I offer to let someone who had been sitting to go in front of me. If I am standing, waiting in the line, I am not going to be to thrilled if someone has been relaxing on the bench wants to get in front of me. I get tired too.

 

[shellybaxter]

This is an interesting issue. I have mobility issues. I used to rent an ECV at the parks and deal with the buses and bus lines without an ECV. I would try to sit at the bus stop if possible, but I knew that I needed a seat because I can't stand on a moving bus. If there weren't a lot of people I would just sit and get on at the end. If there were a lot of people I would usually send my DH to line up and join him as the bus pulled up. This whole process got harder on me and the waits for buses at the end of the day from the park to the resort were really hard on me. I would be in pain for the rest of the night and I would have to take Darvecet (pain killer).

I never thought I should get to board the bus first from the bench even if I got there first, but the standing wasn't working for me any more so I now rent an ECV. I feel bad when it takes a few extra minutes to load me but it is the only way for me to be okay so thats what I do.