Are the Busses at Disney That Bad.,,

[TAPMD]

Hi All,
I’m staying at the Dolphin for 6 nights at the end of Oct and beginning of Nov. I’m thinking about saving money by not renting a car. Also, I’m 52 and haven’t used bus transportation since my late 29s. So, my question is.....Is the bus transportation at Disney really that bad?
Thanks in advance for your opinions.

 

[P'colaBeachBum]

Hi All,
I’m staying at the Dolphin for 6 nights at the end of Oct and beginning of Nov. I’m thinking about saving money by not renting a car. Also, I’m 52 and haven’t used bus transportation since my late 29s. So, my question is.....Is the bus transportation at Disney really that bad?
Thanks in advance for your opinions.

Depends what you mean by "bad". When they are pack jammed with people, parents that don't put small children on their lap, Strollers, etc in the aisle, drunks from F&W....then yes, to me that would be bad. I have experienced all that and worse.

 

[jjwelch24]

Hi All,
I’m staying at the Dolphin for 6 nights at the end of Oct and beginning of Nov. I’m thinking about saving money by not renting a car. Also, I’m 52 and haven’t used bus transportation since my late 29s. So, my question is.....Is the bus transportation at Disney really that bad?
Thanks in advance for your opinions.

We have been to Disney many times in the past ten years and never rented a car. We haven't had any problems with the bus system. Sometimes you might have to wait a little while, but you won't have to park the car and you get dropped off near the entrance. The buses do get full sometimes, but we went at the end of October before and it wasn't too bad. Also, since you are staying at the Swan you can walk or take the boat to both Epcot and Hollywood Studios.

 

[Southernmiss]

Hi All,
I’m staying at the Dolphin for 6 nights at the end of Oct and beginning of Nov. I’m thinking about saving money by not renting a car. Also, I’m 52 and haven’t used bus transportation since my late 29s. So, my question is.....Is the bus transportation at Disney really that bad?
Thanks in advance for your opinions.

We love the buses/ boats at Disney. We are on vacation and not in a hurry to get anywhere.

Dh drives 45 minutes each way for work and is so glad to stay in the bubble and leave the driving to someone else.

We have an 8 to 11 hour drive to Disney from home, and are glad to be out of our automobilefor the duration of our stay.

Just plan around needing extra time to wait on the bus to and from your resort and the parks.

 

[TAPMD]

Depends what you mean by "bad". When they are pack jammed with people, parents that don't put small children on their lap, Strollers, etc in the aisle, drunks from F&W....then yes, to me that would be bad. I have experienced all that and worse.

Yep, that would be my definition of bad. I also don’t want to experience long wait times for the busses.

 

[TAPMD]

We love the buses/ boats at Disney. We are on vacation and not in a hurry to get anywhere.

Dh drives 45 minutes each way for work and is so glad to stay in the bubble and leave the driving to someone else.

We have an 8 to 11 hour drive to Disney from home, and are glad to be out of our automobilefor the duration of our stay.

Just plan around needing extra time to wait on the bus to and from your resort and the parks.

Thanks! This is helpful.

 

[TAPMD]

We have been to Disney many times in the past ten years and never rented a car. We haven't had any problems with the bus system. Sometimes you might have to wait a little while, but you won't have to park the car and you get dropped off near the entrance. The buses do get full sometimes, but we went at the end of October before and it wasn't too bad. Also, since you are staying at the Swan you can walk or take the boat to both Epcot and Hollywood Studios.

Thanks!

 

[MillauFr]

The Disney buses aren't nearly as good as the public transportation in most big cities.

 

[tarheel618]

Honestly, if you go knowing that you will have to wait and plan that wait time into your day, they are fine. If you leave park at closing time, they are going to be very crowded. If you want a seat, then wait for the next bus that is what we do. If we want to sit, we will wait for the next one- sometimes we do stand but it all depends on how tired we are at the end of the night. Also, as a woman and mom of kids, I don't expect anyone to give up their seat for me if I get on the bus and its standing room only. I don't know if those sitting waited an extra bus to get seats so they won't have to stand.

 

[rinnythepooh]

You should be able to make the walk to Epcot and HS, no problem. We are older than you and do it all the time. This is why BC has become our favorite resort. I think the MK busses are the ones that really become a zoo.
(we are only going to MK one day on our up coming trip) You can always take a uber, cab or minivan to MK and AK if you find the busses to bad. I also think you can get a rental car delivered to Swan/Dolphin if you really think you need one, once you are there.
Our perspnal preference would be to not rent a car.

 

[Narnia_girl]

We don't find them that bad. Part of our vacation is not having to drive--particularly in an area that is congested and we are not overly familiar with directions.

 

[gottalovepluto]

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[Tiki_Sara]

Disney buses were great when we were there, can only recall one occasion when we waited longer than 10 minutes for one to come along but others have said this isn't always the case, so perhaps we just got lucky. Yes, they are busy, there are lots of kids and strollers and often excited noise but I mean, this is Disney. Actually, on the way home from the parks, the bus was probably the quietest place you could be, everyone was exhausted!


I can't really see how driving from resort to park would save you any time or convenience. As others have said, the Dolphin, you'll be able to walk to Epcot and HS anyway.

 

[MrsPete]

Pros to using the buses at Disney:
- They run on schedule; you can trust what Disney publishes. When we stay on property, we always use Disney's transportation,
- The Disney drivers know the roads; you'll never need to read a map, and you'll never take a wrong turn.
- They drop you right by the park entrance -- no walking from the back of the parking lot -- this is especially valuable in the Magic Kingdom, where you'd otherwise need to park and then ride the ferry or the monorail into the park.
- They pick you up right by the park entrance -- no searching for your car in a large lot and no climbing into a super-hot car.
- You don't have to pay to park.
- If your group wants to split up, no problems sharing the car.
- If you park hop at mid-day, no need to return back to your original park to find your car.
- If you've, um, "had a few" with your dinner, no concerns about drinking and driving.
- This is a very small perk, but you can leave your car keys behind in the room. Toting stuff in the park is no fun.

Cons to using the buses at Disney:
- If you're traveling at a popular time (i.e., just before the parks open or just after the fireworks), the buses will be crowded. You may end up waiting a while and/or you may end up standing on the bus. This is only a problem at popular travel times.

 

[adamak]

I'm from NYC so I use buses and public transportation almost my entire adulthood. WDW bus is definitely not as efficient as NYC's. Took forever to load wheelchairs. Took a loooong time to go from one resort to the rest. This is what I'm not used to. I have no problem taking buses, I just can't stand it when connections are virtually non existence during park hours. Just make sure you have real expectations.

 

[disneyfantotheend]

No where near as bad as some make them sound. Or we have been lucky for 8 trips, 6 different resorts, varying times of year, etc. Sure they get full and very very occasionally you may need to wait more than 30 minutes. They also do get packed especially after parades, fireworks and park closing. Otherwise we have never been packed in, but again could just be very good luck.

 

[Laurieannc]

Since you are staying at the Dolphin, the buses should not be a problem at all. Assuming you don't have any mobility issues, you can easily walk to Epcot and DHS from the hotel--for us it is about 10 min to Epcot and 15 min to DHS. If you choose not to walk, the friendship boats are a wonderful alternative. The buses to MK and AK are frequent, and should not be a problem at all. You might have to wait for a second bus to come if you plan on going to MK early for rope drop, but the buses are usually plentiful early in the morning. They do tend to run a bit slower in the afternoon going back to the Swan/Dolphin from the theme parks so keep that in mind.

 

[Sweettears]

Close to 20 trips never experienced any of the PPers complaints. If you don’t want to subject yourself to the public rent a private car.

 

[serenitynow]

I like riding the Disney bus at WDW. I enjoy seeing the pretty little girls dressed up in their princess dresses and the matching family T-shirts. All the little kids and big grown up kids in Mickey hats and blinged out Minnie Mouse ears. The time and care some people take in creating their park outfits is amazing.

I get a kick out of the excitement the little ones have on the morning bus on the way to a park and their chatter about maybe seeing Mickey Mouse and Buzz Lightyear. To me it’s part of the resort experience. Yes sometimes when you are tired it seems like the wait is forever for your resort bus. Kids and grownups can be cranky when they are exhausted after a long Park day. But then once in a while the bus driver starts singing Disney songs on the bus and most everyone chimes in, making the experience on a dark bus with a bunch of strangers seem almost magical.

 

[disneyfantotheend]

I have also been on busses where a random guest is the one that starts the sing along.