Who has used the bus service from Dolphin/Swan?

[Sun Lover]

We have stayed once before at the Dolphin quite a few years ago and used the water taxi and bus service most of the time and found it to be good. We never waited more that 10 minutes. I've read some complaints recently that people think Disney has cut back on the bus service and that they had long waits many times, etc. We are staying at the Swan starting this weekend and will be renting a car so we could drive to the parks, wihch we don't mind doing if it's going to be much faster. Anyone who has used the bus service from the Dolphin/Swan area recently, could you please let me know your experience with them and if you think we'd be better off driving to certain parks. Thanks.

 

[MICKEEP]

I don't know where you have been reading those reports, but the vast majority of the posts, here on this transportation board, are positive. Disney has spent a lot of time and money on improving it's transportation system and I feel they have been very successful. Of course there are exceptions, but you will rarely find waits of more than 15 minutes (as long as you do not leave the park right after fireworks).

 

[goofy4tink]

We have stayed once before at the Dolphin quite a few years ago and used the water taxi and bus service most of the time and found it to be good. We never waited more that 10 minutes. I've read some complaints recently that people think Disney has cut back on the bus service and that they had long waits many times, etc. We are staying at the Swan starting this weekend and will be renting a car so we could drive to the parks, wihch we don't mind doing if it's going to be much faster. Anyone who has used the bus service from the Dolphin/Swan area recently, could you please let me know your experience with them and if you think we'd be better off driving to certain parks. Thanks.

The bus service at the S/D hasn't changed at all. While I haven't stayed there since last summer, I do stay at BW a lot.....over a week in Dec. They share the same route and there hasn't been a change that I can see. The bus service at these resorts isn't 'stellar' simply because they have boat/foot transportation to both Epcot and DHS..so bus service tends to suffer.
But I don't think there has been any change over the years. You may face a wait of up to 20 mins but that's the usual time between buses. If you get to the bus stop as the MK bus is pulling away, you could have to wait a bit for the next one...especially midday.

 

[MICKEEP]

The bus service at these resorts isn't 'stellar' simply because they have boat/foot transportation to both Epcot and DHS..so bus service tends to suffer.

The quality of the bus service to AK, MK and DTD has nothing to do with the fact that these resorts have boat service. Buses are dispatched to S/D, from these parks, at the same frequency as any other resort.

 

[cranbiz]

I know where Diane is coming from.

The bus service at SW/DO is different because
1) there is no regularly scheduled bus service to Studios and Epcot
2) To anywhere except MK, it's shared between all 5 Epcot resorts.

Yes, they are dispatched every 20 minutes or so like all other resorts. So, in that respect, they are treated no differently from any other resort.

They frequently get crowded because 5 resorts are services with the same bus.

 

[TaraPA]

We were at The Dolphin in late Feb/early March of this year & had impeccable bus service to MK, AK & DTD. Never waited more than 15 min. & the busses were never crowded.