SSR Buses - what was your experience??

[mickeyfan0805]

Didn't know if this should be here or in the general tranp forum, so if the Mod needs ot move it, I apologize, but I thought I'd start here with the DVC vets.

We're headed to SSR next month and are still going back and forth about whether or not to rent a car. I've read so many reports that discuss problems with the bus system, while others say that it is supposed to be getting better. For those of you who have travelled to SSR in recent weeks, what was your experience? I'd appreciate some real feedback on how things are going right now. We hate to spend the money and deal with the hassle of a rental, but it would be much worse to have our 2 and 3 years olds missing character breakfasts or spending an hour waiting for a bus. What have you found? TIA!

 

[pinnocchiosdad]

Didn't know if this should be here or in the general tranp forum, so if the Mod needs ot move it, I apologize, but I thought I'd start here with the DVC vets.

We're headed to SSR next month and are still going back and forth about whether or not to rent a car. I've read so many reports that discuss problems with the bus system, while others say that it is supposed to be getting better. For those of you who have travelled to SSR in recent weeks, what was your experience? I'd appreciate some real feedback on how things are going right now. We hate to spend the money and deal with the hassle of a rental, but it would be much worse to have our 2 and 3 years olds missing character breakfasts or spending an hour waiting for a bus. What have you found? TIA!

I checked out of OKW today. I saw many buses to SSR throughout my stay. I did travel there one day and my gripe was how long it takes to make all the stops at that resort. In general the entire transportation bus system needs an overhaul. They need to discharge extra buses to pick up stops where riders are backing up. Remember if you are ever realy pressed for time you can always just hop in a cab. It is a small price to pay not to miss a reservation and alot cheaper and convenient than renting a car. You can take 3 cabs a day for around the same cost as renting a car for a day. JMHO.

 

[cherylp3]

I was at the DTD bus station, this week there was a Sign which instructed people going to the parks to use the Port Orleans bus to get to the parks.

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

Check out this thread. I posted our exact wait times earlier this month.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1908509

We just had that one 43 minute wait that really made me angry. The rest of the time the buses were just fine.

 

[kikiq]

We just returned Aug 10 from a Grand Gathering of 10 people. The only long wait was by my DH and Dad at Epcot coming back to SSR. They waited 35 minutes. All the rest of the time, the buses to the parks and from the parks pulled up within 10 - 15 minutes. Several times, we literally arrived at the bus stop the same time as the bus. No complaints from us. We come from the west coast and the only time we have rented a car has been when the guys took a day trip to Cape Kennedy. Our neighbor had a car the first weekend and to be honest, I think it took just as long to park and catch the tram to the parks as taking the buses.

I would agree with PP, use a cab for your character breakfasts. Ask the SSR belldesk, we found them to be very helpful. They picked my brother's family up at 3:30 am to take them to the Carriage House for the Magic Express.

 

[Lisa Poppins]

Founs ssr buses to be very slow and wait times way toooooooo long!

 

[OKW Lover]

We found the SSR busses to be no worse than any of the other resorts.

 

[Disney_Villain]

Here's our bus service report for our SSR 8-nighter in May of 2008:

5 of our SSR bus waits (leaving SSR) were 15 minutes on average, while 2 bus waits were 30 minutes for one and almost 60 minutes for the other (the 60-minute wait was in the early evening, and we expected it).

Leaving the parks (usually just past park closing) and returning to SSR, we waited an average of 20 minutes on every trip.

Overall, that's pretty good service. Note that we don't vacation during spring break, summer, Christmas week. I've heard awful things about ALL the WDW busses during these times.

Our last stay at OKW had similar wait times for busses too.

 

[dvcfanatic]

I have stayed at SSR twice now and both times never really had an issue with the buses. Both times we used the Carousal bus stop, which is the 2nd stop (grangstand is now first) for all parks except DTD. We never really waited more than 20 minutes for a bus. When leaving the parks if you leave at closing or just after fireworks your wait may be long and buses are crowded.

Remember that buses don't go from resort to resort. You will either have to transfer at a park or DTD

 

[rynosmom]

Didn't know if this should be here or in the general tranp forum, so if the Mod needs ot move it, I apologize, but I thought I'd start here with the DVC vets.

We're headed to SSR next month and are still going back and forth about whether or not to rent a car. I've read so many reports that discuss problems with the bus system, while others say that it is supposed to be getting better. For those of you who have travelled to SSR in recent weeks, what was your experience? I'd appreciate some real feedback on how things are going right now. We hate to spend the money and deal with the hassle of a rental, but it would be much worse to have our 2 and 3 years olds missing character breakfasts or spending an hour waiting for a bus. What have you found? TIA!

We just returned on 8/22/08 from our third stay at SSR. We stayed in the Grandstand Section and loved it. The first morning of our vacation there was a bus employee at the Grandstand stop asking people where they were going and keeping track of how long each wait was. He had a bus on standby should any wait be greater and 15 mintues. When we asked why he was there he mentioned that there have been alot of complaints about long waits for the buses leaving SSR and returning to SSR to they are keeping a close watch. We used the buses daily and did not have much more than a 15 minute wait. Several times we walked up to the bus stop and our bus was just pulling in. All in all a great trip.

 

[madelyn]

Visited SSR July 20-30.We rented a van so we only used the bus service to MK on our first day. The wait was not long and we have no complaints. We were staying in the Grand Stands area (first stop on/off). With a large party (3 adults and 3 kids ages 10, 6 and 1) and 2 strollers, we just found it easier to take our own vehicle. We were usually going to more than one park a day. On our previous trips we usually rode the buses so I am not sure why we decided to drive more this time. We were meeting 2 other families at the parks who were staying off-site so it was nicer to be better able to predict what time we would be at a park, rather than have to wait for a bus. We also had a breakfast reservation at O Hanas one morning and were planning to go to HS after that, so it was easier to drive from place to place. We also went to Blizzard Beach one day and found it easier to drive.

 

[vandy]

We were at SSR and OKW the last couple of weeks in July. For the most part the busses were fine with waits usually 15 minutes or less. There were only a couple of times they ran later. We expect this time frame so it felt fine. There was an employee at the Grandstand stop when we were there also, checking times on the busses as well. One side note though, when we stayed at OKW, it seemed like we saw more SSR busses at the parks, and then vice-versa when we stayed at SSR, there seemed to be more OKW busses!

 

[Yankee fan]

We were at SSR from 8/20-8/28 this month. Had no issues at all with the busses. Most of the time the bus pulled up within 5 minutes. A few times we had to run to the bus stop. Our longest wait was 15 minutes. I kept track all week because of all the bad bashings SSR gets on the boards here and I have to say we were all pleasantly surprised and happy with the resort and the busses. Didn't wait for the busses coming home from the parks either. They were running great. I had a friend staying at Port Orleans the same week and they had terrible bus waits. They ended up using their car to get to the parks, it was that bad there.

Our stay at SSR was wonderful. I do not know why people bash it so much, it is a lovely resort.

 

[HayGan]

We were at SSR from 8/16 - 8/22. We only used the buses one day to and from MK (2x) In the morning it was fine - no problems either coming and going (less than 10 minute waits each time.) Going back to the MK we had to wait over 35 minutes. I actually called the front desk from the courtesy phone. They patched me through to transportation who informed me that a MK bus would be there in less than 1 minute - which it was. Our wait for a bus leaving the park was less than 5 minutes (but we did just manage to get out just ahead of the Wishes crowd!)

 

[Sojas3]

We just got back last night from a 6 day trip to SSR. Our first visit there. I only had two long wait experiences with buses...but overall was pleased with my bus wait times.
The resort is HUGE though. Something to keep in mind. There are a lot of stops that need to be made.