Transportation problems at YC/BC, BWI,S/D ??

[TwingleMum]

I am really surprised at the transportation (or lack thereof) at these resorts. They are all upper scale and yet they share bus service. This doesn't seem right to me. You pay more at these resorts for the amenities which should include transportation ( yes I know about the boats and walking to Epcot and MGM). But what about MK, DAK, Waterparks and DTD ??? I mean sharing a bus with 5 other hotels seems very excessive. And transportation times from what I've read of up to 1 hour to go to MK seems terrible. Why? Any hope this will improve?? Maybe spliting the route??

 

[~Sparkly~Zoe]

I couldn't agree more.

 

[LvsTnk]

It's pretty bad. I usually stay at the BWI so on a return trip we are the last stop. I was at MK 2 times this last trip and once I took a cab from CR after deciding to eat at Chef Mickeys and the second we got off at the Swan and walked back.

When I went to AK I just drove. BB then 5 resort stops is just crazy.

 

[pandora174]

I've heard about the bus issues & couldn't agree more. For the $ I'm paying for the BWI I would wish there weren't 5 stops ! What we're doing is going 12/6 - 12/10 & visiting only MGM & Epcot. Then we're splitting our stay to the Poly 12/10 - 12/14 & will go to AK & MK & DTD. & there's always the car if worse comes to worse.

 

[Mouseteacher]

We were at the Swan the last week of July and the stops did not include the Y and B Club. Trips to MK and AK were quite efficient. We did not go to DTD or the Water parks so I can't comment on these.

Just a comment on our experience.

 

[photobob]

When we stayed at YC we did make all those stops but honestly I didn't find it to be all that bad. we had two stops after we were picked up and two stops before we were dropped off. Maybe five minutes extra each way at the most..

 

[Chip 'n Dale Express]

The transportation problems of this resort area are greatly exaggerated. People who've experienced a glitch or two are more likely to be more vocal than someone who experienced decent service. So, naturally, you hear about it more. Then you add in the domino effect...

I'm not saying the occassional glitch doesn't happen. But what I am saying is the occassional glitch has been blown out of proportion.


They do *NOT* always share.

During peak times, it's only natural to expect crowds.

When a bus fills up and doesn't make the next stop, it doesn't mean those people were skipped. There IS another bus that will take care of the skipped resort, as well as folks that were left behind at the prior stop.

HUNDREDS of buses go through each resort on a daily basis. Just because someone experienced a certain situation with one bus does not mean it applies to all of the other buses.

They do *NOT* always share. (I cannot stress this enough... They do not always share. Routing is very dynamic, and is adjusted by the anticipated demand. Yes... there are times when it is all 5... It's not as big of a deal as some make it out to be)

 

[LvsTnk]

How do you know when they share? I have been during Christmas week and the week after Labor Day for the past 3 years (to BWI) and I have never been on a bus when we didn't make all the stops.

I haven't experienced anything out of the ordinary as far as the long waits people have had, I just don't want to spend my vacation time riding on a bus. Except for that time we had the awesome driver who had us singing Christmas songs.....was that you Tyler??

 

[Chip 'n Dale Express]

Originally posted by LvsTnk
How do you know when they share? I have been during Christmas week and the week after Labor Day for the past 3 years (to BWI) and I have never been on a bus when we didn't make all the stops.

I haven't experienced anything out of the ordinary as far as the long waits people have had, I just don't want to spend my vacation time riding on a bus. Except for that time we had the awesome driver who had us singing Christmas songs.....was that you Tyler??

Well, on your way into the park, there really is no way for you to know the routing of the bus. Some buses go Swan -> Dolphin -> Boardwalk, so even if you have Swan people, that doesnt mean they made all the stops.

As for the return journey... it depends on things going on. I can tell you, Christmas week they DO separate them for return journys. The only time they will condense them at night is after the big park exit, when people are just trickling out.

As for spending your vacation on the bus... even when it makes all five stops, it takes 10 minutes to do so. By comparison, it can take 9 minutes to go all the way around Caribbean Beach.

And sadly, that wasn't me. I don't sing... (that's a good thing... lol!) But I do perform a Jungle Cruise style comedy routine.

 

[Disney Dee]

I have never had an exceptionally long bus ride while staying at Epcot resorts. Keep in mind some of the parks are pretty far away from alot of the resorts, so it will take some travel time. I think being able to walk to BW, MGM, and Epcot makes the few bus rides I have to take, easier to deal with.

 

[>>^..^<<]

Bus transportation from BC was a big concern for me but happily I found it no problem at all.

Consider that you don't have to take buses to EPCOT or MGM... so we are really only talking about MK, DAK, DD the waterparks.

It is such a short drive from Swan to Dolphin to YC, to BC... it is just a couple of minutes between each one.. not a long drawn out ordeal.

I did not have any problems at all with the bus service at BC.

I believe only AKL has non-shared bus service.... even the GF shares with Poly & CR and maybe even WL too.

>>^..^<<

 

[julfre]

Sorry to disagree, but transportation at BC is very poor. I was there during the off season. The bus did share every day. It did take more than 5 extra minutes to go to all the other hotels. Sometimes it was 20-30 minutes extra. I can't say I spent the whole day on the bus, but I was extremely disappointed in the transportation at this otherwise nice resort. This was my first deluxe after CB and CSR and I kept thinking every time I got on a bus how poor the transportation was compared to the moderates I stayed in. After 3 days, I started driving to every where except MK-even a slow bus beats a car there with the TTC stop. Maybe they've changed routes since, but last year while I was staying at AKL and visiting MK, I decided to go to the BC for lunch at Beaches and Cream. The service was still very very slow and they went to multiple stops and I was glad that I didn't have to take that route every day.

As a plug for the AKL, that bus service is deluxe. Never waited and only one stop. Best service ever. I never drove my car to any park and rarely had to wait. That is what the bus serivce should be like at a deluxe resort.

 

[erikthewise]

There have been a number of posts on this topic on the Transportation board.

I think Tyler is right that the problems are exaggerated, but for very natural reasons:
-- like all topics, negative experiences are much more likely to be posted than positive ones (as he pointed out)
-- when one has a negative experience, one is likely to avoid buses as much as possible after that, which is OK but doesn't result in a random sampling of bus situations.

Nevertheless, from the number of posts it seems that there must be some sort of ongoing problem at the Epcot resorts, especially during the morning rush to the parks. People (sigh.. myself included) are far less tolerant of delays at this time.

I believe Tyler has said in the past that the level of bus service is paid for by the resorts. If so, apparently YC, BC/BCV, and BWI/BWV (each with roughly the same number of rooms) could each have their own dedicated first run bus to MK (for example) if they were willing to pay for it.

It may not seem to make strict economic sense to send 1/2 a busload from YC/BC and 1/2 a busload from BW on separate buses, but it does make sense in terms of customer satisfaction. (Remember that?)

Where the real problem comes in is when YC/BC has 3/4 of a load, and BW has 3/4 of a load, AND...

the YC/BC bus continues on to BW because "it isn't full" (even though people are already standing in the aisles and the bus is already behind schedule), and when it pulls into BW there isn't nearly enough room for all of the people waiting, and a lot of time is spent squeezing as many on as possible, with parents holding their children (up to age 10 or 12!) on their laps to help make more room for the poor BW people, most of whom have to wait for another bus to come, and as a result nobody gets to the parks in comfort and on time.

In that case it is clearly best for each resort to send a separate bus that isn't completely full, and if the resorts or whoever aren't willing to pay for it, they must expect a lot of complaints.

Well, having had my rant, let me say I DO respect Tyler's superior knowledge of the situation, and encourage you to pay attention to what he says.

 

[seashoreCM]

The driver on the bus says "please move back", "Please move back" ...
All through the town.

If people standing moved as far back as they could, the bus would not be stationary at each stop for as long. (Transit experts call this "dwell time").

It is not necessary for parents to hold 8 year olds and up on their laps.

As for number of stops:

Caribbean Beach: 8 I think.
Port Orleans (both): 5
All Stars: 3

It seems to me that resorts that don't share buses (e.g. Animal Kingdom Lodge, Coronado Springs ) tend to have less frequent service during more of the off hours.

Coming back from the park at closing, there is the advantage of not having too many resort stops per bus since the dwell time goes up as people getting off at the first few stops have to squeeze by so many people not getting off. But I think WDW has this all figured out. This is not a problem going to the park, everybody gets off at once.

One unofficial guide to WDW (I had the 1996 edition) confirms that driving between resort and park is almost always quicker, the primary exception being to and from Magic Kingdom because of the need to transfer to monorail or ferry. A comprehensive list of trips and estimated best and worst case travel times was published and sure enough, some worst case times (involving transfers) were more than one hour.

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[Chip 'n Dale Express]

Originally posted by julfre
It did take more than 5 extra minutes to go to all the other hotels. Sometimes it was 20-30 minutes extra.

It takes 10 minutes to go from the Swan -> Dolphin -> Yacht -> Beach -> Boardwalk. 15 minutes, tops, if I sit, and wait for stragglers, or need to use the lift.

I drive this route, or a partial variation of it, nearly every day.

 

[Poohlovr]

I have stayed at the S/D many times and have been there when the bus was shared with YC/BC and BW. I have also been there when it was S/D only, or shared with YC/BC only or with BW only.

There was very little time difference no matter how many stops. Certainly no more than 10-15 minutes, total, if we waited for those stragglers who then have to fight to get that deluxe stroller folded and on the bus.

Chip--do you ever work evenings??? And did you ever have a large group of crazy people picked up at the Dolphin, who sang "The Wheels On the Bus Go Round and Round" almost the entire ride from the Dolphin to MK on e-night?? LOL!

that wasn't me. I don't sing

No, I guess it wasn't you. Our driver joined in the singing.

 

[Chip 'n Dale Express]

Originally posted by Poohlovr
Chip--do you ever work evenings??? And did you ever have a large group of crazy people picked up at the Dolphin, who sang "The Wheels On the Bus Go Round and Round" almost the entire ride from the Dolphin to MK on e-night?? LOL!

My schedule varies. Currently, I've been mostly on mornings, but every so often, I'll pick up a bunch of night shifts, just so that I can make sure that I'm up to date on night operations. (Not that they ever change much)

I prefer working the night shift, as I get to have more fun. However, I request morning shifts since it allows me to have more of an active social life.

Wait... who am I kidding... I spend it all on here!!! LOL

 

[Poohlovr]

So, since I'll be at the Dolphin in Dec, does that mean you'll be my driver?? The man I depend on to get me to the parks?? The man who'll learn to sing by then?

The DIS is a social life!

 

[Chip 'n Dale Express]

Originally posted by Poohlovr
So, since I'll be at the Dolphin in Dec, does that mean you'll be my driver?? The man I depend on to get me to the parks?? The man who'll learn to sing by then?

The DIS is a social life!

LOL... Somehow, I doubt I'll be your driver (*glances down at countdown, giving innocent look*)... however, never fear, there are a whole slew of other drivers who are just as entertaining as me... and better yet, thier jokes might not be as corny as mine! LOL

 

[Poohlovr]

So, what is the biggie in 60 days that will, I have to assume from that guilty expression on your cyber face, keep you from takin g care of me??

Come on, you can tell me...I won't tell anyone.....It'll be just our secret.