Value Resorts and Transportaion

[CapeCodTenor]

I'm trying to plan my trip for next year with the family, me, DW and DD, who will be 4 y/o at the time of trip, and I know that two of the value resorts share bus routes. Does anyone know what those two resorts are? I know that the buses will be crowded no matte what, but I'm hoping to minimize the the time it takes to get to the hotel, especially after a long day with a tired 4 y/o, if that's even possible. One of the reasons I liked staying at Port Orleans was because the buses, went there first for pick-up and drop-off before heading to Dixie Landings (can you tell how long it's been since I've been to Disney World? I still call those two by the original names). I'm also looking at a moderate if I can get a good price. Thanks, for any and all bits of information in advance.

 

[Minnesota!]

The All Stars SOMETIMES share busses.

I have heard that once in a blue moon, Pop and AoA share. I have never seen it in action.

I have stayed at all levels of resorts and, by far, the best bus transportation has been at the values. Cannot even compare.

 

[rg35]

If minimizing travel time is your primary objective, have you considered budgeting for a car rental? I think Disney transportation is convenient (and free is nice), but it's not really the fastest way to get around.

I'm also assuming with a 4 yo you'll be using a stroller at Disney, so you definitely want to make sure you have something that folds up easily and compactly for riding the bus.

 

[WEDWDW]

Here is some info as to the frequency of "sharing" at Disney's All-Star Resort you may find helpful.

I kept a "log" during one of my trips to All-Star Sports.

(Times are actual "Travel Times"-they don't include "waiting for the bus times").

It takes the Buses about 2 minutes to travel from Sports to Music and about 2 minutes
from Music to Movies

I also did some Park Hopping:

Monorail from TTC to Epcot----9 minutes.

Monorail from Epcot to TTC----7 minutes.
Express Monorail----4 minutes

Friendship between Epcot and DHD----20-30 minutes(We actually did make it in 20 minutes one day!)

Saturday April 18-
Sports to Epcot----8:23AM to 8:33AM----10 minutes----Direct
Epcot to Sports----4:46PM to 4:58PM----12 minutes----Share

Sunday April 19----Sports to DAK(EMH)----7:44AM to 7:52AM----8 minutes----Direct
DAK to Sports----12:51PM to 12:57PM----6 minutes----Share
Sports to DHS----5:37PM to 5:57PM----20 minutes----Share
MK to Music----10:31PM to 10:52PM----21 minutes----Direct
(Hopped on a waiting Music Bus and then walked back to Sports.)

Monday April 20----Sports to MK----6:49AM to 7:04AM----15 minutes----Direct
(BOG Breakfast!)
Epcot to Sports----12:31PM to 12:42PM----11 minutes----Share
Sports to Epcot----2:44PM to 3:04PM----20 minutes----Share
Epcot to Sports----7:00PM to 7:12PM----12 minutes----Share

Tuesday April 21----Sports to DHS----7:58AM to 8:10AM----12 minutes----Direct
DHS to Sports----11:01AM to 11:15AM----14 minutes----Direct
Sports to DTD----2:23PM to 2:50PM----27 minutes----Share
DHS to Sports----9:57PM to 10:09PM----12 minutes----Share

Wednesday April 22----Sports to DAK----7:33AM to 7:44AM(EMH)----11 minutes----Direct
DAK to Sports----12:29PM to 12:37PM----8 minutes----Share
Sports to DHS----1:30PM to 1:49PM----19 minutes----Share
MK to Music----9:25PM to 9:40PM----15 minutes----Direct

Thursday April 23----Sports to Epcot----11:10AM to 11:19AM----9 minutes----Share
DTD to Sports----5:18PM to 5:37PM-----19 minutes----Share

Friday April 24----Sports to Epcot----8:06AM to 8:17AM-----11 minutes----Direct
Epcot to Sports----10:27AM to 10:43AM----16 minutes----Share
Sports to Epcot----12:23PM to 12:43PM----20 minutes----Share
Epcot to Sports----9:14PM to 9:30PM----16 minutes----Direct

Saturday April 25----Sports to DHS(EMH)----7:20AM to 7:30AM-----10 minutes----Direct
Epcot to Sports-----4:16PM to 4:30PM----14 minutes----Share

Sunday April 26----Sports to MK----9:15AM to 9:30AM----15 minutes----Direct
Epcot to Sports----12:20PM to 12:32PM-----12 minutes-----Share

Time to board THE SAD BUS!!!!BOOOOOOOO!!!!

 

[Kelly Anne]

I have stayed at pop and it never shared a bus with any other resort..... I have heard that the all stars all share buses tho, but never stayed there myself.

 

[Pmlocke]

I wish these rumors of the All Stars having to share buses causing long delays, crowded conditions, etc. would stop I have stayed at All Star Music for my last 8 trips and have only had to share during the mid afternoon when there are usually only 2-3 people standing waiting for a bus. You would have to agree that a bus for 2 people makes no sense. It may add a few minutes to the ride but when you consider the amount of time it takes to load up a bus in the morning, I don't really think there is any difference in the time frame. I should also report that I have seen buses for all of the resorts share during this time frame.

 

[Kelly Anne]

I wish these rumors of the All Stars having to share buses causing long delays, crowded conditions, etc. would stop I have stayed at All Star Music for my last 8 trips and have only had to share during the mid afternoon when there are usually only 2-3 people standing waiting for a bus. You would have to agree that a bus for 2 people makes no sense. It may add a few minutes to the ride but when you consider the amount of time it takes to load up a bus in the morning, I don't really think there is any difference in the time frame. I should also report that I have seen buses for all of the resorts share during this time frame.

Which is why I said I heard but never witnessed it because I have never stayed there for I really wouldn't know....

 

[LinderInWonderland]

Compared to our trip in 2014, the All Stars shared busses way less on our recent trip. The only times we shared were:

1. Leaving Animal Kingdom at mid-day. Easily the longest bus waits of the trip.

2. On the way to MK early evening. The bus actually stopped at Movies (our resort) first, then was sent to Music and Sports.

 

[goofy4tink]

Can the Allstars share a route? Yes. Do they? On occasion.
I'm not a huge fan of the Allstars..just don't care for the resorts themselves.
I much prefer Pop. I like AoA but the LM rooms tend to be pricey.
Neither Pop or AoA share a bus route with any other resort.
Once you board the bus, you go to the park. No other stops.
I still love 'DxL'!!! I never loved the multiple stops, within the resort. Still don't. But, it's a spread out resort, so needs multiple stops.
But for a value? Pop gets my vote for best transportation.

 

[Lisa1982]

We stayed at AofA in May 2015 and never shared a bus and the longest we waited was 20 mins strangely for a MK bus :-( Overall we couldn't complain. We went again in Dec and stayed at the Wilderness Lodge and shared a bus with the Contemporary to HS which took a while. Good luck!

 

[si-am]

The worst thing about value resort transportation is that the bus stops are the farthest away from park entrance/exit and that you are limited to bus-only (no boats or monorails, obviously.)

Other than that, I've found the buses to run pretty frequently. There's the occasional random long wait, but you have those at mods and deluxes, too. I also love the defined queues at the resorts so that getting on the bus isn't a total free-for-all when it arrives.

I've stayed at Pop many times and haven't had to ever share buses with AOA. The few times I've stayed at All Stars, the buses did share, but that was so long ago it's hardly worth mentioning since so much has probably changed.

 

[Lisa1982]

The worst thing about value resort transportation is that the bus stops are the farthest away from park entrance/exit and that you are limited to bus-only (no boats or monorails, obviously.)

Other than that, I've found the buses to run pretty frequently. There's the occasional random long wait, but you have those at mods and deluxes, too. I also love the defined queues at the resorts so that getting on the bus isn't a total free-for-all when it arrives.

I've stayed at Pop many times and haven't had to ever share buses with AOA. The few times I've stayed at All Stars, the buses did share, but that was so long ago it's hardly worth mentioning since so much has probably changed.

Yes they are SO far away from the entrance. I forgot to mention that. We did run a time to two to make it before a bus left!

 

[caroline1851]

We always stayed moderate and the transportation was okay, but our last trip we stayed at All Star Sports and it was the best transportation experience to date.

 

[scrapquitler]

We stayed at Pop 4 trips last year, and the bus was shared with AOA on ONE night....it was at the very end of evening EMH at MK when we were leaving MK at approximately 2:45AM and there were about 15 people on the shared bus.

We have stayed at All Stars a couple times, and the only time we saw the All Stars sharing busses were at the very end of evening EMH at MK once, and a couple of times in the middle of the afternoon when we were the only people waiting to board the bus at our resort.

 

[CapeCodTenor]

The All Stars SOMETIMES share busses.

I have heard that once in a blue moon, Pop and AoA share. I have never seen it in action.

I have stayed at all levels of resorts and, by far, the best bus transportation has been at the values. Cannot even compare.

I would expect them to share sometimes as well, especially in the middle of the day/extremely late at night when there's not a lot of people. I wasn't sure if they shared early in the day.

If minimizing travel time is your primary objective, have you considered budgeting for a car rental? I think Disney transportation is convenient (and free is nice), but it's not really the fastest way to get around.

I'm also assuming with a 4 yo you'll be using a stroller at Disney, so you definitely want to make sure you have something that folds up easily and compactly for riding the bus.

I wouldn't get a rental for Disney World, there's need. I'm fine with Disney Transportation. I just wanted to get an idea of the transportation for the Value resorts is all.

Here is some info as to the frequency of "sharing" at Disney's All-Star Resort you may find helpful.

I kept a "log" during one of my trips to All-Star Sports.

(Times are actual "Travel Times"-they don't include "waiting for the bus times").

It takes the Buses about 2 minutes to travel from Sports to Music and about 2 minutes
from Music to Movies

I also did some Park Hopping:

Monorail from TTC to Epcot----9 minutes.

Monorail from Epcot to TTC----7 minutes.
Express Monorail----4 minutes

Friendship between Epcot and DHD----20-30 minutes(We actually did make it in 20 minutes one day!)

Saturday April 18-
Sports to Epcot----8:23AM to 8:33AM----10 minutes----Direct
Epcot to Sports----4:46PM to 4:58PM----12 minutes----Share

Sunday April 19----Sports to DAK(EMH)----7:44AM to 7:52AM----8 minutes----Direct
DAK to Sports----12:51PM to 12:57PM----6 minutes----Share
Sports to DHS----5:37PM to 5:57PM----20 minutes----Share
MK to Music----10:31PM to 10:52PM----21 minutes----Direct
(Hopped on a waiting Music Bus and then walked back to Sports.)

Monday April 20----Sports to MK----6:49AM to 7:04AM----15 minutes----Direct
(BOG Breakfast!)
Epcot to Sports----12:31PM to 12:42PM----11 minutes----Share
Sports to Epcot----2:44PM to 3:04PM----20 minutes----Share
Epcot to Sports----7:00PM to 7:12PM----12 minutes----Share

Tuesday April 21----Sports to DHS----7:58AM to 8:10AM----12 minutes----Direct
DHS to Sports----11:01AM to 11:15AM----14 minutes----Direct
Sports to DTD----2:23PM to 2:50PM----27 minutes----Share
DHS to Sports----9:57PM to 10:09PM----12 minutes----Share

Wednesday April 22----Sports to DAK----7:33AM to 7:44AM(EMH)----11 minutes----Direct
DAK to Sports----12:29PM to 12:37PM----8 minutes----Share
Sports to DHS----1:30PM to 1:49PM----19 minutes----Share
MK to Music----9:25PM to 9:40PM----15 minutes----Direct

Thursday April 23----Sports to Epcot----11:10AM to 11:19AM----9 minutes----Share
DTD to Sports----5:18PM to 5:37PM-----19 minutes----Share

Friday April 24----Sports to Epcot----8:06AM to 8:17AM-----11 minutes----Direct
Epcot to Sports----10:27AM to 10:43AM----16 minutes----Share
Sports to Epcot----12:23PM to 12:43PM----20 minutes----Share
Epcot to Sports----9:14PM to 9:30PM----16 minutes----Direct

Saturday April 25----Sports to DHS(EMH)----7:20AM to 7:30AM-----10 minutes----Direct
Epcot to Sports-----4:16PM to 4:30PM----14 minutes----Share

Sunday April 26----Sports to MK----9:15AM to 9:30AM----15 minutes----Direct
Epcot to Sports----12:20PM to 12:32PM-----12 minutes-----Share

Time to board THE SAD BUS!!!!BOOOOOOOO!!!!

That's amazing! Thanks for posting this.

I wish these rumors of the All Stars having to share buses causing long delays, crowded conditions, etc. would stop I have stayed at All Star Music for my last 8 trips and have only had to share during the mid afternoon when there are usually only 2-3 people standing waiting for a bus. You would have to agree that a bus for 2 people makes no sense. It may add a few minutes to the ride but when you consider the amount of time it takes to load up a bus in the morning, I don't really think there is any difference in the time frame. I should also report that I have seen buses for all of the resorts share during this time frame.

I don't know what thread I read that on, it was some time ago, but I had read it nonetheless and wanted to find out. Thanks for clearing this up. And I agree with you, running a bus for 2 people makes no sense. As I said before, I would understand the resorts sharing buses at certain times.

Can the Allstars share a route? Yes. Do they? On occasion.
I'm not a huge fan of the Allstars..just don't care for the resorts themselves.
I much prefer Pop. I like AoA but the LM rooms tend to be pricey.
Neither Pop or AoA share a bus route with any other resort.
Once you board the bus, you go to the park. No other stops.
I still love 'DxL'!!! I never loved the multiple stops, within the resort. Still don't. But, it's a spread out resort, so needs multiple stops.
But for a value? Pop gets my vote for best transportation.

Port Orleans and Dixie Landings, ok, French Quarter and Riverside, share buses, or they use to, and I was fine with that because Port Orleans is a small resort so one stop. I was just thinking of how big the All-Star resorts are and the transportation needs.

The worst thing about value resort transportation is that the bus stops are the farthest away from park entrance/exit and that you are limited to bus-only (no boats or monorails, obviously.)

Other than that, I've found the buses to run pretty frequently. There's the occasional random long wait, but you have those at mods and deluxes, too. I also love the defined queues at the resorts so that getting on the bus isn't a total free-for-all when it arrives.

I've stayed at Pop many times and haven't had to ever share buses with AOA. The few times I've stayed at All Stars, the buses did share, but that was so long ago it's hardly worth mentioning since so much has probably changed.

That's what I love about the Port Orleans resorts, boats to DTD!

We always stayed moderate and the transportation was okay, but our last trip we stayed at All Star Sports and it was the best transportation experience to date.

Good to know.