WDW Bus Question

[MaryJ]

Can anyone tell me why there are no buses between Downtown Disney and the parks? There have been times we've wanted to go to DD for supper, and have to leave the park extra early to go back to our resort to catch a bus to DD. Then, if we would want to go back to the park for fireworks, it's almost impossible to get there? I'm sure "the powers that be" have a reason, and I'd sure like to know what it is!

 

[CarolA]

There used to be buses between the parks and DTD.

ANd then folks decided that what they would do is park at DTD for FREE and ride the bus meaning there was not enough parking for poeple actually trying to VISIT DTD.... ABUSE KILLED those routes.

 

[Robert P]

Well put.

 

[pugdog]

You don't have to go back to your resort to go DTD either. Just go to the closest resort to the park your in and then hop on a DTD bus from there. And reverse the order to get back to the park. It will cut down on some of the time.

 

[MaryJ]

You don't have to go back to your resort to go DTD either. Just go to the closest resort to the park your in and then hop on a DTD bus from there. And reverse the order to get back to the park. It will cut down on some of the time.

I tried that the last time I was at WDW. It took me one hour to get from AK to DD. I went first to All Stars, then waited for the bus to DD. A direct bus would have to be quicker than that!

 

[pugdog]

I tried that the last time I was at WDW. It took me one hour to get from AK to DD. I went first to All Stars, then waited for the bus to DD. A direct bus would have to be quicker than that!

You should have gone to AKL, that is the closest resort to AK. And then taken the DTD from there, alot less time. And as long as your staying on property your able to do that.

 

[WillCAD]

This is why I always rent a car. I am never at the mercy of the WDW transportation system.

I think the quickest way from AK to DTD is not to go to AKL, but to go to CSR. CSR is diectly on the route from AK to DTD, along West Buena Vista Drive, and has some of the best bus service of any of the Disney resorts.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Wouldn't the quickest route most likely be to board whichever resort bus comes first, go to that resort and switch to the DTD bus? Or take a taxi?

A direct bus would have to be quicker than that!

Of course it would - but post number 2 here explains why that routing no longer exists.
A side note - mostly everything at Downtown Disney is open until 10 or 11 PM - so you don't have to leave a park 'early' to get there, although early is relative.

 

[clkelley]

I usually take a bus to Saratoga Springs then walk to DTD from Animal Kingdom.

If I am at Magic Kingdom, I walk to the Contemporary, then take a bus to DTD.

If I am in the World Showcase area of Epcot, I walk to Yacht Club, then take a bus to DTD. (This is usually the last stop in the circle of resorts before heading to DTD. Sometimes a bus driver will do it differently, and you still have to make another stop before heading to DTD).

If am at the Studios, I start walking toward Yacht Club. If a Saratoga Springs bus pulls up as I am passing, I'll get on it, otherwise, I just continue on the pathway to Yacht Club.

 

[WillCAD]

Wouldn't the quickest route most likely be to board whichever resort bus comes first, go to that resort and switch to the DTD bus? Or take a taxi?

That depends on the resort.

A bus to one of the monorail resorts would take you way out of the way on a trip from AK to DTD - the MK area is several miles in the wrong direction.

A bus to Contemporary, for example, would take longer to get you to the resort than a bus to CSR, and then you'd have a much longer wait for the bus to DTD, as the bus service at Contemporary is notoriously slow. It's a little better at Poly and GF, but they are still way out of the way for this particular trip.

CSR, on the other hand, is not only directly in line between AK and DTD, but also has some of the best and most frequent bus service of any WDW resort, partly because it's a convention resort. Not only will you not go out of the way, but you will be much more likely to get a bus from AK to CSR faster, and from CSR to DTD faster, than you will at any of the other resorts.

Of course, this is all generalization. Once in a blue moon a different route will be faster, but in general it's better to think about where you are going and how you get there vs. which bus happens to show up first.

 

[MaryJ]

The whole point of this thread is that there is no direct bus from ANY park to DTD. I only used AK as an example. It seems that Disney would provide a bus for this.

 

[goofy4tink]

The whole point of this thread is that there is no direct bus from ANY park to DTD. I only used AK as an example. It seems that Disney would provide a bus for this.

They used to, but too many off-site people were taking advantage of the free parking at DTD. They would drive there, park for free, and hop on a bus going to MK, thereby avoiding the parking charges. It made the buses hugely crowded, Disney was losing money from the avoidance of parking fees..everyone was very unhappy. So, no more buses to the parks!

Have to say that I find the buses to and from DTD to be the worst on-site. The waits at your resort for the DTD bus is long, the wait at DTD to go back to a resort is long. If I need to head to a park from DTD I pick a nearby resort and jump on that bus. Then switch to a park bus at that resort. Yes, it takes awhile but that's the price of doing business there.