SSR made me feel like Cinderella - before the Prince arrived!

[anabelle]

That is strange. I was there from the 11-17 (same time as you) and we did not have any issue with the buses. The longest we ever waited was 20 minutes at the MK to bring us back. Other than that, it was like 5 minute waits. Not trying to call you a liar, but I have a hard time believing that you waited an hour for a bus that took 5 minutes for me.

Kristine

We were at SSR Nov 1-3. We got lucky and the longest wait was 30 minutes, but we did wait with people who had been there much longer. It does seem very hit or miss. But if we wait more that 20 minutes, we have the next bus driver that arrives to call dispatch to get another bus there ASAP.

 

[fishermouse]

If buses are full because of people parking at DTD this could be easily resolved by charging for parking at DTD. Merchants could provide vouchers/stamps for free parking with puchases. This system works well in many areas.
As for towels on pool chairs. When did you ever go to a pool with nothing but you bathing suit? If a chair is being used there should be something besides a white towel on or under it. A tee shirt or coverup, flip-flops, lotion, maybe a book or hat something. who goes that empty handed that every thing they bring goes in the pool with them.

 

[lpandorf]

I stayed at SSR for the first time recently, week before Thanksgiving. Loved the property, rooms great, pool nice. CM friendly. However, have to agree with you on the buses. We were in Congress Park and many times the buses would come and there would be standing room only. We are not early risers so it's not like it was opening time with everyone trying to get there. Plus it seems like there are less people there the week before Thanksgiving. I was thinking, I'd hate to see what this bus situation looks like during a busy time. Hoping they'd add more buses. Of the 4 resorts I've stayed at CSR has the best bus service!

 

[wdw4life]

It's funny how people can be there at the same time and have completely different experiences. I was at SSR from 11/13-11/23 and had no problems with the busses. Longest wait was maybe 15 minutes if that. I would actually say more like 10 and several times we didn't even have to wait. We would hit our bus coming perfectly. Also, coming back to SSR the busses were crowded but going to the parks we never had a full bus.

 

[Ariel8676]

We stayed in SSR for the 4th time in August..although we love SSR..it was the WORST experience in all of our WDW trips...the busses were horrible.
We missed one of our dinners and almost missed our Princess breakfast in Norway..we had a 8 am ressie and wanted to catch the 7am breakfast bus..got to the bus stop at 6:45 and waited until 7:45 (while calling the front desk twice) until the front sent a car to drive us to Epcot.

 

[Topo Bella]

It's funny how people can be there at the same time and have completely different experiences. I was at SSR from 11/13-11/23 and had no problems with the busses. Longest wait was maybe 15 minutes if that. I would actually say more like 10 and several times we didn't even have to wait. We would hit our bus coming perfectly. Also, coming back to SSR the busses were crowded but going to the parks we never had a full bus.

We were actually there 11/3 to 11/10, so it was not the same week you were there. Although there is a certain hit-or-miss factor to catching a bus, my frustration was that this bus problem was a consistent one all week and fellow guests confirmed that they were having similar problems.

It's great hearing that others had a good experience with the buses... maybe it was just a bad week.

 

[AuntieM03]

It's funny how people can be there at the same time and have completely different experiences. I was at SSR from 11/13-11/23 and had no problems with the busses. Longest wait was maybe 15 minutes if that. I would actually say more like 10 and several times we didn't even have to wait. We would hit our bus coming perfectly. Also, coming back to SSR the busses were crowded but going to the parks we never had a full bus.

I think it paid off for us to stay at Grandstand. It seems like being the first stop really helped us. The OP was at The Springs, so we might want to re-think staying there.

 

[dwelty]

If buses are full because of people parking at DTD this could be easily resolved by charging for parking at DTD. Merchants could provide vouchers/stamps for free parking with puchases. This system works well in many areas.

BINGO! This is what they do at DTD in Anaheim. You get 3 hours free parking and then need a validation. The validation will give you 4 additional hours. This was done to prevent people from parking there to avoid the $11.00 parking fee at the Disneyland Parking Garage. I cannot imagine most people spend more than 4 hours at DTD on either coast.

 

[connorlevismom]

This whole DTD parking thing kind of has me concerned from a safety standpoint. We always stay in CP and I frequently walk back and forth at night. It has always concerned me that anyone can just walk that pathway and not have to show anything proving they belong there. There are a couple parts of the walkway that are dark and I am always thinking someone is going to jump out of the bushes. There has to be a way to make that more secure!

 

[3DisneyKids]

Since you were at the springs (the last stop) it is very likely that non SSR guests filled up the bus at Congress Park. Non Disney guests are parking for free at Downtown Disney and then walking to Congress Park to take a bus to a park. They can save the rather steep parking fee this way. I talked to 2 different people on my last trip who admitted doing this. I think they need to make the bus drivers start checking for Disney Resort IDs.

I agree here. This is infuriating...those staying at the resort must be assured a seat over those not even staying on property.

 

[3DisneyKids]

I am heartened to hear that the main issue here is the bus service...most folks seem to be praising the rooms, grounds, CMs, etc. Remember that these are the things in DVCs control. The buses are not. Not an excuse, of course...a 90 minute wait is not acceptable under any circumstance. However, please realize that this is not a DVC issue.

It sounds like they were definitely using the new GPS system...like any new system, the bugs will have to be worked out and it will need to be tweaked, etc. Sorry that they bugs and tweaking had to happen during your vacation...bad timing!

We always rent a car. There are so many great deals and codes out there...I don't think we have ever paid more than $110 for an entire week...and when you calculate the total cost of a Disney vacation, the extra hundred bucks seems really minor. If you add up all of the time you spend waiting for buses (and in the OPs case, it was many hours over the course of the week), then the $100 really seems like a deal.