Transportation problems at SSR

[llmurphy17]

My friend just came back from her first DVC vacation and stayed at SSR. She told me that the wait for bus transportation at the hotel and parks was horrible. Once she waited 45 minutes from Downtown Disney (Pleasure Island side) then decided to just walk back at 12am.

She said that at all the parks the lines were tremendous to catch the bus.

Just wondering if anyone else had these issues. If so do you think SSR should be divided by east or west or something like that.

 

[bmalonef45]

I hate to say it but I think sometimes the transportation issues are just bad luck or more likely bad timing. I was just there last week and stayed at SSR. The longest wait we had was 15 minutes but we did walk to DTD when we went there. I did have a 30 min wait at AKL trying to get to DTD from AK. Tried to go to the closest resort and then to DTD. I figured I must have missed the DTD bus just as I arrived (there was one leaving) so there is my bad timing.

We did witness a family having issues with the busses and they were SO angry that they were asking every bus driver if he knew when the next bus to Epcot was coming. Thus delaying all the other busses as he explained the system. They even asked one if he could change his sign to epcot.

Overall I was very happy with the busses and this is from someone who usually rents a car.

 

[BlakeNJ]

I have to agree with the above post. I think most of it is luck. On our most recent trip, we waited 30 minutes, maybe more at DTD for a bus back to SSR. It was a horrible, long wait with 3 kids. This of course sticks out in my mind most. Not the other 5 minute waits or luck of getting to the stop as a bus is sitting there. Pure luck IMO. I am sure your friend didn't have all horrible waits. Also, Dec is a busy, busy month at WDW. I am sure that had something to do with it.

Blakely

 

[tomandrobin]

I will also agree that its was just luck of the draw. We have gone to WDW about 60-70 days in the past two years. We have always used the Disney transportatin system. I would say that 95% of the time we have had very happy with our wait times and travel times around WDW. Our worse two bus experiences was when we stayed at Port Orleans and the Swan Hotel.

When staying at SSR we have had fantastic bus service. There have been 20 minute waits, but we knew that we had just missed the last bus. No biggie.

 

[rocketriter]

Well, there's luck and there's inadequate planning. If riders are consistently having the bad luck of missing buses, seeing no buses after a long wait or failing to board buses that arrive full, then the transportation system bears some responsibility for this "luck."

 

[Doctor P]

There are a few things going on here. 1) In the evenings, service from DD is generally pretty poor no matter what resort one stays at. This is especially true for the PI bus stop and DDWE bus stops as often times the buses fill or nearly fill at the Marketplace stop. I would not blame that on SSR service per se. 2) Lines for buses often are a function of when you are trying to catch the bus. In addition, lines for buses are not necessarily indicative of either bad service or length of wait. Though there are occasionally issues, in general Disney does a pretty good job with floater buses and reallocation of buses to meet demand. In general, a bus wait of 15-20 minutes is within the parameters of the bus service in general. If you wait less, that is good. If you wait a lot more, then that is not so good. In general, our waits over the years have averaged probably 8-12 minutes with as many "walk on" buses as late buses.

Bottom line: I would not generally judge bus service on the basis of the DD stops going back to resorts, nor would I judge it from the theme parks at or near closing time. Are there problems? Sometimes. Is SSR worse than other resorts? In my experience, no; especially since SSR does not generally share a bus with other resorts.

 

[jakenjess]

I agree with Doctor P that it seems the evening DTD transportation is a problem. My SIL waited an hour for a bus at BWV to DTD, and we have waited over an hour at the Poly for a DTD bus, so it's not unique to SSR.

 

[cobbler]

Personally I don't think bus transportation should be given at SSR to DTD. You can walk or take the boat.

Works the same way at BC/BW to Epcot/MGM, walk or take the boat. No option for a bus. And since DTD is closer to SSR than some parts of the BW/BC/Epcot/MGM it isn't that big of a deal.

But as for bus service, it really is hit or miss at ANY resort. I have had good at Sports and terrible at the CR.

 

[Doctor P]

Personally I don't think bus transportation should be given at SSR to DTD. You can walk or take the boat.

Works the same way at BC/BW to Epcot/MGM, walk or take the boat. No option for a bus. And since DTD is closer to SSR than some parts of the BW/BC/Epcot/MGM it isn't that big of a deal.

But as for bus service, it really is hit or miss at ANY resort. I have had good at Sports and terrible at the CR.

I would generally agree with you, except that the boats stop running well before DD closes, and several hours before the PI section closes. So, they would need to adjust the boat schedule. Most of the walking paths close at dusk as well (with a couple exceptions). I would not want to walk back from PI or West End along the golf course paths at night.

 

[LIFERBABE]

I agree with Doctor P that it seems the evening DTD transportation is a problem. My SIL waited an hour for a bus at BWV to DTD, and we have waited over an hour at the Poly for a DTD bus, so it's not unique to SSR.

I agree also. One of the reasons we prefer staying at SSR is because we can walk to and from DTD. We spend alot of time there and the DTD bus service is long no matter where you stay. Add that to the fact that during the day it stops at a waterpark and at night they seem to run once an hour.

We (Girls trip) stayed at BCV in Oct and we waited over 40 minutes for a DTD bus around 9pm and the bus left us ( I mean saw us running and pulled off empty anyway left us) at 1am in the morning. We had to take a cab back to BCV.

I still enjoy having the transportation options that WDW offers and it really adds to the vacation. I dont expect a bus to be waiting on me every time I walk up and if I miss a bus, I understand that it may be 15-30 minutes before the next one shows up. There are very few vacation destinations that offer continous transportation included to its attractions so I really do appreciate it.

 

[Merylj]

We`ve just spent 8 days at SSR and had great luck with the busses. One day each time we went to the stop there was a bus waiting.
I`m sorry your friend had problems.

 

[M & M]

We just returned on 12/14 we where always lucky with the buses. We either took the boat or walked the West end by the golf course to get to and from DTD though. The path had more lights than I remember and the one night that it was late (after boats had stooped) 3 Security guards on bikes where riding the trial, don't know if that is the norm or not.

 

[kab407]

Personally I don't think bus transportation should be given at SSR to DTD. You can walk or take the boat.

Works the same way at BC/BW to Epcot/MGM, walk or take the boat. No option for a bus. And since DTD is closer to SSR than some parts of the BW/BC/Epcot/MGM it isn't that big of a deal.

But as for bus service, it really is hit or miss at ANY resort. I have had good at Sports and terrible at the CR.

We typically take the boat or will walk to DTD when were at SSR. But, as already pointed out, the boats stop running before DTD closes. Also, the boats will stop running if the weather/wind pose a threat. The bus service needs to be available in these cases

 

[Sully]

The bus problem at SSR seems to depend on the stop. It is a very large resort. By the time the bus gets to Congress Park and The Springs, the bus can be filled with no standing room available. At certain times, they need to run more buses to certain parks. We just walk to DTD. Usually AKV is a long wait to go anywhere. That will be an interesting situation when more villas are open.

 

[doconeill]

The bus problem at SSR seems to depend on the stop. It is a very large resort. By the time the bus gets to Congress Park and The Springs, the bus can be filled with no standing room available. At certain times, they need to run more buses to certain parks. We just walk to DTD. Usually AKV is a long wait to go anywhere. That will be an interesting situation when more villas are open.

I think that different drivers have different patterns through SSR. Coming back from DTD, to where we were staying in the Paddock, one time we went to Grandstand and Carousel first. Another time we went DTD, Springs, Grandstand and Carousel.

When coming back from MK after MCMCP, a VERY full bus went to Grandstand first - where not a single person got off...everyone laughed that after being packed in for the whole ride, the first stop was for nothing...fortunately no one wanted to get on either...

 

[bmalonef45]

We were at the Springs last week and we were always the last bus stop. We never had a full bus and supposedly things were busy. We didn't use them during the real busy times but I did use it to and from MK on a day with EMH. That was the most crowded I ever experienced on this trip. I thought that the crowd level was so so at best at the parks but I was on a waiting list before I got my room so the resorts should have been pretty full.

 

[BroganMc]

Personally I don't think bus transportation should be given at SSR to DTD. You can walk or take the boat.

I tend to agree but then I remind myself I have my own personal wheels with me all the time. I've come back from DTD many times after midnight or later. Never did I feel unsafe or spooked.

I've only taken the West Side route during the day, but it had enough light fixtures about that I'm not worried about taking it in a couple weeks. (Well unless it's bonechilling cold.)

The issue however is that the ferries stop running several hours before Pleasure Island closes. They even stop running before Marketplace closes. So if you have a late dinner or movie, you have to either walk or bus it.

As for luck and busses, absolutely that's true. Last October my sister was consistently catching busses within 5 minutes. I kept missing them as I ran her errands. I even waited for 30 minutes, left for 5 min as she walked up to wait, and returned as she rode away on the bus I'd been waiting for. It got to be a running gag with us.

 

[kdzgon]

Personally I don't think bus transportation should be given at SSR to DTD. You can walk or take the boat.

Works the same way at BC/BW to Epcot/MGM, walk or take the boat. No option for a bus. And since DTD is closer to SSR than some parts of the BW/BC/Epcot/MGM it isn't that big of a deal.

But as for bus service, it really is hit or miss at ANY resort. I have had good at Sports and terrible at the CR.

I second the "terrible bus service" at CR!

Do you think the slow bus service at DTD in the evenings is due in part to the fact that it operates as a hub of sorts, ie, the only way to travel "resort to resort" is via a connecting point (park or DTD)? Once the parks begin to close, DTD is the ONLY option, and it is also often the first suggested option given at the various resort desks.

 

[TDC Nala]

Personally I don't think bus transportation should be given at SSR to DTD. You can walk or take the boat.

I get why people say this. But I close out PI and if I am staying at SSR I don't really want to walk back there at 1:30 AM. And the boats stop running before PI closes.

I wouldn't be crazy about walking back there after dark at any time. I'm sure there are many other visitors to DTD who are not safely ensconced in their resort rooms before the sun goes down.

 

[Demosthenes]

I think many of the problems with transportation comes in perception. We were at SSR for two weeks around Thanksgiving. We had very reasonable waits, never waiting more than 20 minutes for a bus. One morning, we arrived to watch the MK bus pull off, and since we were headed to MK, we knew we had a bit of a wait. At first, we were the only people at the bus stop. Another family came up a short time later. Their kids were very anxious and rambunctious. After about five minutes, the wife started asking aloud, "when is the bus coming?" DW mentioned that they had just missed it. The lady responded, "well, we've been here for 20 minutes. They need to get this situation fixed!" Neither DW nor I said anything, but the family continued to get more and more agitated. As each new person would come in, the would complain that they had been there for ever increasing time. From 20 minutes, to 40 minutes! The next MK bus came almost exactly 20 minutes after the first one we had missed left. The family laid into the bus driver, saying they had been waiting for 45 minutes on the bus, and telling how they were "members" and should not have to put up with bad service. I felt bad for the guy, so I said, "It really has only been 20 minutes." To which the guest responded, "20 minutes for you, we've been out there for 45 minutes!" It was irritating for me, because I couldn't prove I had been there longer than anyone else, but I knew it to be true. I let it go, but I commented to my wife that now I understand why the comment is always on the boards about 45 minute waits. I wondered aloud how many other people imagined the same thing.