Waiting for Buses

[PlutoTheDog89]

Waiting for buses stinks! No lie, it played a pretty big role in deciding to stay at BC next trip. We love that we can walk to EPCOT or DHS. But I digress...

What are some fun ways to pass time while waiting for the bus? Here are some things my family does to pass time... you know, other than sitting on our phones:

The name game. My friends do it with sports players, but you can Disney-fi it a bit, too!
It usually starts with one person naming someone. So.. Derek Jeter. The next person has to name someone whose first name starts with J.. Justin Upton... the next person names someone with a "U", so Ubaldo Jiminez. And on and on it goes.

How can we Disney-fi it? Let's try it with characters. If the character has one name, use the last letter from the first name. If it's two names (or more) use the first letter from the last name:
Simba
Aristocats
Scrooge McDuck
Kristoff
Flower

Fun, right?

--------
Here's another game that's fun for older families. Bet on the next bus. Let's say you're waiting for the Magic Kingdom bus to come. It seems like Hollywood Studios has passed 3 times! Make a bet.

"I bet you a Dole Whip the next bus is for Animal Kingdom."
"I bet you a Mickey Bar it's Hollywood Studios."
"I bet you a drink in EPCOT three more buses come before Magic Kingdom does."

You'll almost feel bad when your bus comes.

----------
Play a "scavenger hunt" at the bus stop.
2 points for each ECV
3 points for each person wearing Mickey ears

----------
Try and find some hidden Mickeys.

----------
Play hypotheticals:
1) Name your top 3 rides at Disney
2) You can only go to one park today - where do you go?
3) Name your top 3 favorite restaurants/meals/desserts, etc.
4) Would you rather spend a night in Cinderella Castle or...
5) Would you stay a night at Poly or Beach Club.

Just some ideas. How do you pass time at the bus stop (outside of cursing under your breath )

 

[Koz]

A. Alamo Rent-a-Car.
B. Budget Rent a Car
Etc etc. I'm so anti bus after so many trips using them.

 

[glassslippergirl]

We don't ride busses, but I sometimes play an alphabet game. Pick alerted to start-- doesn't have to be A. Think of something in WDW that starts with that letter, then the next letter, then the next. If there's 4 people in your party, you need 4 things that start with each letter. The last person to go for the previous letter is the first person to go on the next letter. You can add challenge by requiring that it be something from the park you are heading to.

 

[BadPinkTink]

threads like this make me laugh, Im guessing you dont take the bus in your day to day life. I dont drive so my only transport is by bus. Sometimes after work the bus could turn up in 5 minutes or 25 minutes depending on traffic. Waiting on a bus at Disney is no big deal

 

[disnut8]

A. Alamo Rent-a-Car.
B. Budget Rent a Car
Etc etc. I'm so anti bus after so many trips using them.

I'm the opposite. Having to stay offsite the last two trips and having the loooooooonnnnnnnngggggggg walk and the loooooooooonnnnnnnnnnnggggggg wait to get going on a tram to the entrance, I want Disney transportation

 

[blestmom]

I love the Disney buses. I didn't play this game, but witnessed a Dad play with his 2 kids. It was on the bus (long ride back to Pop from MK) but you could play it while waiting too. They asked someone they didn't know if they could guess where they were from by only asking "yes" or "no" questions. The lady they asked happily agreed to the game. They all had a lot of fun, including those of us nearby who overheard the whole thing. By the end of the game, the lady was showing the kids pictures of her travels on her phone. Lots of smiles and laughter. It was great!

 

[stenmarks]

Great games! I'm taking note for our next trip.

 

[loves to dive]

We don't play games, we either just talk to each other or I read a book on my phone and my son catches up on ESPN.

 

[Pixie Dust ✨]

Ellen's "Heads Up!" app. There's even a Disney Parks deck that you can download for free if you're there.

 

[Tucker24]

We also play "I'm thinking of a Disney character" which is the 20 questions version for a 4 and 5 year old. My son doesn't really get it and will often pretty much give it to you. Like "I'm thinking of a Star WArs character that has a red lightsaber, says Luke I'm your father, and it's Vader" It passes the time

 

[Disneylover99]

We eat, drink and put on sunblock.

 

[denecarter]

To make the wait shorter, we've been known to play bus roulette. We get on whichever bus pulls up first!

It helps if you've been several times.

 

[Amelia :)]

To make the wait shorter, we've been known to play bus roulette. We get on whichever bus pulls up first!

It helps if you've been several times.

Steady on there you'll be giving all the big planners out there a heart attack

 

[PlutoTheDog89]

We don't ride busses, but I sometimes play an alphabet game. Pick alerted to start-- doesn't have to be A. Think of something in WDW that starts with that letter, then the next letter, then the next. If there's 4 people in your party, you need 4 things that start with each letter. The last person to go for the previous letter is the first person to go on the next letter. You can add challenge by requiring that it be something from the park you are heading to.

Should have geared it toward riding buses or waiting standby... I like your idea!

 

[PlutoTheDog89]

We don't play games, we either just talk to each other or I read a book on my phone and my son catches up on ESPN.

I've been known to check fantasy while my sister rattles off scores. We're there for Christmas so usually that Sunday is pretty meaningful for the playoffs.

 

[MaryKatesMom]

I love not having to drive! I used public transportation for years in Boston and it is no big deal to wait for a bus.

The only exception is the water parks. The buses aren't direct and take forever. Definitely worth the extra $10-15 dollars for a taxi or Uber.

Love the idea of the games. We people watch.

 

[MCB]

We too play bus roulette.

We also play this game, call it what you want. Each member of my family picks a character and when we see that character on a shirt, hat, sign, etc. you get a point. The big four are excluded. if you see the actual character in the park you get 2 points.

The next game we do, this is more for the parks, we each pick a state and city. If we see someone with either the state (think of University of XXX) or a CM with the state or city you get a point...

Just some ways to keep everyone engaged with each other...

 

[wintotty]

Sooooo BC has bad bus services?
We will stay there for Oct trip for the first time, and slow/bad bus service concerns me.............do we need to consider Uber?

 

[BarbieGal457]

I'll take Disney buses over Philly's SEPTA any day! I don't mind public transportation for the most part but SEPTA is notoriously...not well favored by us Philadelphians.

I downloaded Ellen's Heads Up game (I think it might be $2 or so in the App Store) and it's awesome! It has all different sorts of cards to play ranging from family friendly to more adult, and even a special Disney Parks one that you can get for free if you're in a Disney park. What you do is one person holds the phone up on their forehead and the person across from them gives clues for the person to guess what's on the card, and each round is 1 minute long. If you get it right you flip the phone down, and wrong you flip it up.

We love playing it and when we've seen children near meltdowns in line, we've taken it out and started playing and they've always either calmed down to watch or even join in! Many a time have parents thanked us for letting their kids join in on the fun. It's really fun and makes wait times anywhere pass quickly, and all you need is a phone to play. It also works on airplane mode, which I use a lot in Disney to conserve data and battery.

 

[disneydacey]

Sooooo BC has bad bus services?
We will stay there for Oct trip for the first time, and slow/bad bus service concerns me.............do we need to consider Uber?

I think OP meant that bus service was why they want to stay at BC: no bus is needed for 2 parks.