bus confession

Ron Burgundy · Aug 15, 2017

Hi all,

Sorry this question may have been done 100's of times we are staying in carribean beach resort trying to look into getting around on the bus, this is our first disney stay and i am getting a bit nervous as the transport seems to be a bit of a minefield. Can anyone give me a simple guide to getting from the resort to parks and other resorts, we have been to disney before always had a car and never stayed in a disney resort.

Thanks

Westcoastwild · Aug 15, 2017

Ron Burgundy said:
Hi all,

Sorry this question may have been done 100's of times we are staying in carribean beach resort trying to look into getting around on the bus, this is our first disney stay and i am getting a bit nervous as the transport seems to be a bit of a minefield. Can anyone give me a simple guide to getting from the resort to parks and other resorts, we have been to disney before always had a car and never stayed in a disney resort.

Thanks

Ignore the crazy people, and don't read the bus threads. That will alleviate the stress a lot. It isn't a minefield. You go to the bus stop and get on the bus labeled for your destination. If it's a long wait, you can always get on the Disney Springs bus and take the bus to the park from there. The only time the buses are super crowded are at closing, so either hang back- the buses run until there is no one left to pick up- or take uber back to your resort.

Sweettears · Aug 15, 2017

Westcoastwild said:
Ignore the crazy people, and don't read the bus threads. That will alleviate the stress a lot. It isn't a minefield. You go to the bus stop and get on the bus labeled for your destination. If it's a long wait, you can always get on the Disney Springs bus and take the bus to the park from there. The only time the buses are super crowded are at closing, so either hang back- the buses run until there is no one left to pick up- or take uber back to your resort.

There are no buses from DS to the parks.

Ron Burgundy · Aug 15, 2017

Westcoastwild said:
Ignore the crazy people, and don't read the bus threads. That will alleviate the stress a lot. It isn't a minefield. You go to the bus stop and get on the bus labeled for your destination. If it's a long wait, you can always get on the Disney Springs bus and take the bus to the park from there. The only time the buses are super crowded are at closing, so either hang back- the buses run until there is no one left to pick up- or take uber back to your resort.

Thanks for that!!! We have some reservations and just wanna make sure i leave enough time between them all!!!

Westcoastwild · Aug 15, 2017

Sweettears said:
There are no buses from DS to the parks.

Then I must have bussed to the contemporary or beach club and walked to Epcot or MK. My bad. Close enough though...

Belleofthehouse · Aug 15, 2017

I agree with westcoastwild....let the busses take care of the transportation. One less thing to deal with.... we have always had great experiences. Easiest thing in the world.

Ron Burgundy · Aug 15, 2017

Belleofthehouse said:
I agree with westcoastwild....let the busses take care of the transportation. One less thing to deal with.... we have always had great experiences. Easiest thing in the world.

Thank you, just looking so forward to it

ncc1701 · Aug 15, 2017

Ron Burgundy said:
Thanks for that!!! We have some reservations and just wanna make sure i leave enough time between them all!!!

You can always Uber or taxi if you are pressed for time.

Kaytie · Aug 15, 2017

Buses to parks from your resort: wait at the bus stop, board the park-labelled bus when it arrives, board the bus, exit at the park.
Buses to your resort from the parks: go to the bus stop for your resort as indicated on the sandwich boards as you approach the bus area, wait for bus to come, board bus, exit at the stop closest to your village.
Buses to other resorts from your resort (and back): don't exist, so you need to take a bus to any open resort or Disney Springs, and switch to the bus going to your destination.

sgc · Aug 16, 2017

Disney buses gets you close to entrance as compared to who knows how far back in the parking lot.

Only disavatage is the wait if you just missed it and the next takes awhie. What is avg wait times 15 min to 30 max? or whats the longest anybody seen.

Pooh2 · Aug 16, 2017

Even when we stay in a Disney resort, we rent a car. Then we can come and go as we please without waiting in yet another line.

kandb · Aug 16, 2017

Sweettears said:
There are no buses from DS to the parks.

I thought this has changed? and you can get a bus to DS from the parks. We have an adr at DS and I thought after our day at epcot, we could take a bus to have dinner at DS.

RS Applecore · Aug 16, 2017

If it helps, we've been to WDW seven times and never rented a car/used Uber. If we are going to a resort for dinner, we go to a park and get on the bus for that resort. Sometimes we choose a resort for dinner based on its transportation, i.e., can we take the monorail or a boat? For us, boat rides are definitely part of a nice night out. We really enjoy them. And we usually go to Trail's End at Fort Wilderness Campground once every trip.

Otherwise, you're at CBR--when you check in, they will give you a map and circle the bus stop closes to your village. We've stayed at CBR for the majority of our trips, and despite being in a different village each time, never had an issue with buses. (Yes, I agree with the poster who said don't check the bus threads here, because you'll be appalled, LOL--it's really fine!) Also, keep in mind that CBR has a bus stop at Old Port Royale, where the pool and dining options are. So most mornings, we walked over (coffee in hand, made in our room), got another coffee and something for breakfast, and then just got on the bus at the stop there. Same coming back from a day in the parks--get off at the Old Port Royale stop instead of your own, and you can get food and drinks or go to the pool, and walk back to your village or get on the internal bus.

And yes, not to be confusing, but CBR has an internal bus system as well. It just circles the resort and doesn't go out, so you can go to your village bus stop, and take that bus to Old Port Royale, instead of walking. OR, as many bus drivers reminded us, just ask when ANY bus pulls up: "Hey, are you going to go to Old Port Royale before leaving the resort?" If they say yes, you can hop on there, too.

It may sound confusing, but you'll pick it up easily once there. As for wait times--5 min? 30? Yeah, the buses aren't perfectly timed, and if you just missed your bus to, say, the Magic Kingdom, then you'll be waiting. Having said that, Dis transportation is just part of the experience for us. We don't mind it, and we're not in a rush. You're not going to see everything this trip anyway, so enjoy yourselves and relax on the bus

siskaren · Aug 16, 2017

kandb said:
I thought this has changed? and you can get a bus to DS from the parks. We have an adr at DS and I thought after our day at epcot, we could take a bus to have dinner at DS.

You may have been able to get a bus from DS to the parks years ago but this was eliminated to stop people from parking at DS for free and then bussing to the parks. You can now get a bus from the parks to DS after 4 however.

bumbershoot · Aug 16, 2017

Belleofthehouse said:
Easiest thing in the world.

Ok. Except for that 2+ hours my husband and aunt waited at dhs to get back to one that one time. Yeah. Except for that.

OP the buses are simple. They will almost always have the signage on them to tell you where they are going. Almost always. Sometimes not.

Buses will show up. Sometimes they are going where you want. Sometimes you get to wait longer. For me at MK-close my resort's line is always the second furthest away from the entrance and I'm staring at the ferry line wishing I'd driven in that morning. (Which is why I drive to MK so I can get in that ferry line instead of the bus line) Sometimes buses take longer than you want. Sometimes you get lucky.

But ultimately it's simple. Just not always pleasant or timely.

Maybe hit the crazy-people bus threads so you surround yourself with people who know how they work, like that there are no buses from disney springs to the parks. Those of us who rent cars to avoid the buses do also tend to know how the buses work.

bumbershoot · Aug 16, 2017

siskaren said:
You may have been able to get a bus from DS to the parks years ago but this was eliminated to stop people from parking at DS for free and then bussing to the parks

Yep. And it would have been years ago. Late 2010 or early 2011 we met up with cousins who had FL APs without parking and parked at the then DTD. It took so long for them to get to Epcot because there were no buses to the parks from there even then. So much wasted "where are you?" time...

belle2008 · Aug 16, 2017

kandb said:
I thought this has changed? and you can get a bus to DS from the parks. We have an adr at DS and I thought after our day at epcot, we could take a bus to have dinner at DS.

You can take the bus TO Disney Springs from the parks (though they don't start running until the afternoon). You cannot take the bus FROM Disney Springs to the parks.

disneyseniors · Aug 16, 2017

Ron Burgundy said:
Thanks for that!!! We have some reservations and just wanna make sure i leave enough time between them all!!!

Disney suggests you give yourself 90 minutes to get to your reservation. I think that is reasonable, and you won't be rushed or stressed out if a bus doesn't come for quite a while. We have always done this, and never missed a reservation. However, we are chronically early to everything

There is also uber, taxi, or the new minnievans.
No worries; each resort can have "bus" problems from time to time.

brockash · Aug 18, 2017

Westcoastwild said:
Ignore the crazy people, and don't read the bus threads. That will alleviate the stress a lot. It isn't a minefield. You go to the bus stop and get on the bus labeled for your destination. If it's a long wait, you can always get on the Disney Springs bus and take the bus to the park from there. The only time the buses are super crowded are at closing, so either hang back- the buses run until there is no one left to pick up- or take uber back to your resort.

I agree with this, except that I would NEVER get on a Disney Springs bus to transfer to a park....wayyyy more time consuming then just waiting.

KrazeeK120 · Aug 18, 2017

sgc said:
Disney buses gets you close to entrance as compared to who knows how far back in the parking lot.

Only disavatage is the wait if you just missed it and the next takes awhie. What is avg wait times 15 min to 30 max? or whats the longest anybody seen.

The longest? Well, there was a time when it was 20 minutes until rope drop at MK and no bus had shown up yet, at all. We bailed and drove at that point, so I'm not sure how much longer it was until a bus showed up.

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