Buses are terrible

[aljack34]

The buses this week have been terrible. We waited over an hour for an AK bus on Tuesday morning from CSR. Then yesterday we waited from Epcot to the CR 45 minutes for the bus to arrive then once we were seated the driver did not have a key for the bus. They had just switched. Waited another 20 minutes then just got off and went back to Epcot. Another time waited an hour from Disney springs to CSR. Just horrible

 

[holden]

Yep. That's why we rent a car or Uber/Lyft. Loved when they had the Minnie Vans.

 

[keishashadow]

OP - we tend to rent a car. When we don’t typically expect at least a 20 minute wait for a bus to appear when non peak time

Adult beverages at epcot generally lead to a bus back to resort for us always seemed to take at least 30 minutes for one to appear from 7 pm on (when illuminations still running).

CSR is one of those resorts when the bus can take a lot of time to just loop the resort on a good day.

Curious, how full were they loading the buses? We were there earlier this month. Didn’t ride the bus but, the lines didn’t look especially long at the stops at CSR.

 

[Meglen]

This is why were planning on renting a car for out oct trip.

 

[SarahC97]

That sucks. We gave up on buses a while ago. I didn't think I'd like driving myself, but having a car on property is something I've really liked. The bus situation just got too frustrating for us.

 

[redrosesix]

The first 8 or so years we were there the buses were great. By our last trip 3 years ago, they were awful -- there were 3 times we waited over an hour for a bus from the All Stars to the parks and one time we waited nearly 2 hours for a bus from DHS to the All Stars (not a sharing issue -- no buses came for any of the All Star resorts). There was no time we waited less than 20 minutes for a bus, and we tried to take buses all times of the day. We had long since given up taking buses to the water parks, which also were fine when we first started going there.

Add to that the fact that bus stops are now quite a hike from the front of the park, and you don't save yourself much time over taking a car. This is especially true if you're going early in the am or after supper and can park closer to the front of the park. MK is still dependent on how quickly you can get on the monorail or boat.

 

[supersnoop]

The buses this week have been terrible. We waited over an hour for an AK bus on Tuesday morning from CSR. Then yesterday we waited from Epcot to the CR 45 minutes for the bus to arrive then once we were seated the driver did not have a key for the bus. They had just switched. Waited another 20 minutes then just got off and went back to Epcot. Another time waited an hour from Disney springs to CSR. Just horrible

That's crazy! I had a problem with the bus from Epcot to the Contemporary on Friday, too. It was only 20 minutes between buses, but I was sitting on the bus for 20 more minutes before I realized we hadn't moved. The drivers swapped and something was wrong with the bus. I gave up and headed back in to enjoy the food booths.

 

[joelkfla]

That's crazy! I had a problem with the bus from Epcot to the Contemporary on Friday, too. It was only 20 minutes between buses, but I was sitting on the bus for 20 more minutes before I realized we hadn't moved. The drivers swapped and something was wrong with the bus. I gave up and headed back in to enjoy the food booths.

You can thank Disney cost cutting for that. Years ago, driver changes always were done in offline parking areas, never in load zones with Guests on board. Then Disney decided it would be more efficient to do it in load zones while Guests waited. Well, sometimes it goes smoothly; other times, the new driver isn't quite ready or a problem is discovered during the change, as you experienced.

 

[Joerookery]

The buses this week have been terrible. We waited over an hour for an AK bus on Tuesday morning from CSR. Then yesterday we waited from Epcot to the CR 45 minutes for the bus to arrive then once we were seated the driver did not have a key for the bus. They had just switched. Waited another 20 minutes then just got off and went back to Epcot. Another time waited an hour from Disney springs to CSR. Just horrible

We went in March 2021 and there was no problem with the buses.

 

[aljack34]

OP - we tend to rent a car. When we don’t typically expect at least a 20 minute wait for a bus to appear when non peak time

Adult beverages at epcot generally lead to a bus back to resort for us always seemed to take at least 30 minutes for one to appear from 7 pm on (when illuminations still running).

CSR is one of those resorts when the bus can take a lot of time to just loop the resort on a good day.

Curious, how full were they loading the buses? We were there earlier this month. Didn’t ride the bus but, the lines didn’t look especially long at the stops at CSR.

The buses were about 3/4 full to full in the seats. No standing but most times all seats were taken

 

[aljack34]

That's crazy! I had a problem with the bus from Epcot to the Contemporary on Friday, too. It was only 20 minutes between buses, but I was sitting on the bus for 20 more minutes before I realized we hadn't moved. The drivers swapped and something was wrong with the bus. I gave up and headed back in to enjoy the food booths.

Was it around 4? That was us too! We waited longer to get on tho. I think we were the second in line. The second bus driver said he didn’t have keys.

 

[supersnoop]

Was it around 4? That was us too! We waited longer to get on tho. I think we were the second in line. The second bus driver said he didn’t have keys.

Sounds like it happened twice. I walked up just as they fully loaded the prior bus at 5:10, so I was first in line and the next bus showed up at 5:30. I walked off the bus at 5:52 and walked back into Epcot.

 

[saturn5]

I can say y'all aren't the only ones frustrated with the bus system. I still have a few friends left in Bus Ops, and they all despise the new system the company has put in the buses. Now with the lesser load, and with COVID precautions it irritates the drivers just as much. Best advice? Let the front desk at your hotel, or Guest Relations at the park know. The bus drivers can tell managers about the issues all day until there is no oxygen left on this planet, but 95% of the managers won't do a darn thing about it. Best of luck to all, and remember the driver is probably just as frustrated.

 

[ypv]

We are just recently back and found the buses to be hit and miss. We had a long wait trying to get to Disney Springs from PVB. I'll estimate it was an hour between buses. Even worse was a trip back from Epcot. We waited close to an hour before just deciding to take the bus that was there to the Contemporary and then take the monorail to TTC. There was a group there before us and they hopped on a bus to GF. I erroneously figured that must mean they'd been waiting a while and another bus would be coming soon. Our other experiences were better.

 

[Bullseye]

We'll what the heck, I'll pile on. Had awful bus experiences of a different nature than the OP described way back in 2009. Have never ridden another WDW bus since and haven't looked back. Having your own wheels in WDW is the way to go! Right now, maybe the bus service is worse due to the economic situation. Actually though car rentals are way inflated this year too so everyone's feeling the pinch.

 

[juju]

We stayed at Pop a few weeks ago. The buses leaving the resort in the morning were great and the cast members were superb in getting us all on the bus. On the way back, there was always a long long wait. It is frustrating when you see buses stopping to pick up guests for another resort more than once when you are still waiting with a long line of guests for the first one. You would think a cast member should take note and direct a bus to that longer line. Plus all the buses driving through that are in training or for the cast members drove me nuts, always such a let down when you read the sign.

 

[Meglen]

We stayed at Pop a few weeks ago. The buses leaving the resort in the morning were great and the cast members were superb in getting us all on the bus. On the way back, there was always a long long wait. It is frustrating when you see buses stopping to pick up guests for another resort more than once when you are still waiting with a long line of guests for the first one. You would think a cast member should take note and direct a bus to that longer line. Plus all the buses driving through that are in training or for the cast members drove me nuts, always such a let down when you read the sign.

This is why I love staying on the monorail line, No bus for contemorary? ok but the GF is there.. just take that one

 

[chrissy92972]

We are at Movies this week. Today is day 5 of using buses to all 4 parks, disney springs, and blizzard beach. We used the buses 20 times and we have had waits of 20 minutes or longer every time. They are using large charter buses with clueless drivers with no instructions on where to sit and no markings on the buses. Sometimes it is Disney buses with nice drivers, but these charter buses are awful. Tonight we left Disney Springs at 904 and pulled into Movies at 934. Driver was going 20mph most of the way and stopped at green lights and went thru red lights. It was scary. Wish I knew who to contact???

 

[DL1WDW2]

The fact that you are taking the time to share this experience late at night after an exhausting day , certainly alerts me to the seriousness of this potentially dangerous problem.
Disney bus drivers must fulfill a training session that demonstrates they are trained to operate a bus on Disney property. It is doubtful a charter bus driver is familiar with the “ directions” as well as a Disney driver that drives on a daily basis. ( Just my opinion and no legal basis for my words so, I apologize and edit my words . I know all bus drivers are required to be legally licensed and trained and insured . Correct.
I doubt you will receive a guest survey questioning your family safety concerning this specific problem. But I would guess Disney is saving money using charter drivers perhaps. What do you think?
There was some chatter online (by bus drivers) that signs were showing up at the bus stops requesting the guests to text their “concerns” to management. Have you noticed any signage at the bus stop?

 

[chrissy92972]

The fact that you are taking the time to share this experience late at night after an exhausting day , certainly alerts me to the seriousness of this potentially dangerous problem.
Disney bus drivers must fulfill a training session that demonstrates they are trained to operate a bus on Disney property. It is doubtful a charter bus driver is familiar with the “ directions” as well as a Disney driver that drives on a daily basis.

I doubt you will receive a guest survey questioning your family safety concerning this specific problem. But I would guess Disney is saving money using charter guys perhaps. What do you think?

There was some chatter online (by bus drivers) that signs were showing up at the bus stops requesting the guests to text their “concerns” to management. Have you noticed any signage at the bus stop?

I have not seen any signs, but will definately look before we leave on Monday. The charter buses seem to be the problem. Drivers not trained properly and definately no Disney Spirit.

Currently leaving Hollywood Studios and waiting for a bus to Grand Floridian for a look around to see their Easter Eggs. 15 minutes and counting at 155pm.