Disney Buses: the good, the bad, and the ugly?

[mamapenguin]

I have not used the Disney buses in a while. Are they really slow or are they ok? I like the idea of being dropped off at MK without having to go to the ticket and transportation center. I will have a rental car, so if they are super inefficient I can drive. Specifically I am thinking about to and from a Halloween party in October and evening EMH at MK. Maybe staying at one of the All Star resorts if that makes a difference. TIA

 

[pitpat]

we take the bus to MK, but have started driving to the other parks. I resisted it because of the whole "bubble" thing, but it is so much faster and more convenient.

While waiting 40 minutes for a bus after Illuminations one night, I decided not to do that anymore.

 

[SaintsManiac]

Like everything else it ebbs and flows. It's always going to be longer at the end of the night, but maybe not as bad since you're doing EMH and the party?

I've had great experiences and not so great experiences. It's not ever going to be perfect.

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

We take the buses everywhere on property. I use a scooter and assembling and disassembling a couple of times a day is a pain. Driving it onto the bus is much easier.

We've generally had good luck with buses.

We go a lot and I can think of 3 times where we waiting long enough to get upset. Once was at POFQ, and it was more the boat, than the bus. Once at Epcot, when the driver simply didn't want to load a scooter, so he left right before the end of the day. Even security at the park, wondered why he left with just a few people on the bus. And once at Saratoga Springs. We were the last stop and every bus that came by already had a full load of scooters. They eventually sent another bus directly to us, for me.

Each time, we ask for help from a cast member. And each time, we were helped. They either called for another bus or directed us to someone that could do that.

We try to plan our day so we are ridding before everyone else. If we need to be somewhere early, we get out there for the first bus. If we stay until after the fireworks, we wait until the crowd leaves. It just takes some planning.

One thing we don't have is young children. So that stress isn't there.

 

[chelseabun76]

We fly in and I do not want to rent a car for the week, so we bus it everywhere. We only ever have had one really long wait that I can remember, and as I get too stressed driving in new places, it's so worth it to me. lol

 

[TinkSassy]

I find the parking and much more stressful. The line can be a bear at the end of the party night - but easier to me is if the line is bad to walk to the Contemporary and grab an Uber (way faster than getting to the TTC, tram to car, drive to hotel, etc.). With the parking fees at the hotels now - I try not to rent cars if I don't have to. Those fees have made the Uber worth it.

 

[bumbershoot]

Once at Epcot, when the driver simply didn't want to load a scooter, so he left right before the end of the day.

WOW.



Op I don’t like the buses. I rarely take them. I even drove to MK. TTC isn’t awful, and I’ve even walked from the car when the tram situation seemed icky

And driving to MK isn’t even for convenience in the morning, but because I truly cannot handle waiting in those lines for the bus at night. I’d rather be walking to the ferry, on that boat, walking or tramming to my car, and driving.

Follow gps until you’re onsite. Then follow signs. Know what resort area you’re in (next trip we start at BW so that’s epcot) and know what resort area you’re going to, and follow the signs.


On maybe we’ll walk to Epcot from BW. And I hear you can walk to DHS from that area. So maybe the car will stay parked for a little bit.

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

WOW.

Yep, it was pretty bad.

He was sitting there, with about 8 people on the bus. A couple were sitting where the scooter would go. He was pretty comfortable, obviously waiting.

But when I pulled up, he jumped up, said, sorry those places are already full, closed the door and almost peeled wheels.

There was a security guy nearby and asked what happened. He knew which bus driver it was, and reported it. It was pretty clear, to everyone, that he just didn't want to load the scooter.

It was about a 15 minute wait for the next bus. He pulled up and was about as jovial as Santa, calling me a princess and needing to get my chariot loaded. He is either a great cast member, or someone told him about what happened. Either way, it made me feel better.

I know that loading them is a pain. I know it slows everyone down. And I really try to be as gracious as I can be. And I wait if I know others have been waiting longer than I have.

But stuff like that hurts.

 

[Gehrig1B]

Buses at closing can be a long wait. We generally adjust to this by either hanging around for awhile after closing or by leaving a bit early. I would rather spend that time in the park than waiting for a bus. Disney does not herd you out of the parks at closing time.

We usually stay at Wilderness Lodge now and do not need to take buses that often. We do not rent a car anymore. Over time we have changed our expectations relating to the buses. It makes no sense to me to have my day ruined by letting a long wait for a bus bother me so we just accept the possibility. ---> “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.” By the way, some call me a "Disney apologist" for having this attitude.

 

[Br'er Rabbit is the Best]

The Good: I find taking the buses somewhat relaxing. I don't have to stress about fighting traffic or getting lost while trying to navigate roads I have never driven on. I can just get on and play around or look for fast passes on my phone or just zone at the end of the day when I'm exhausted. Biggest factor is that it is free. No paying to park or for a rental car or for gas. Consider that hundreds in savings over the course of a week.
The Bad: Sometimes you have to stand when you are tired and sometimes the buses get really crowded and you are close to people.
The Ugly: At few moments throughout the day, you can have really long lines. First thing in the morning or trying to leave a park at night can mean you are going to wait 20-30 minutes to get on a bus. The worst is when a large scooter family shows up at the last second and gets on first and then you just miss getting on the bus.

 

[alliecat523]

Generally during the day I’ve not had issues other than a standard wait. Busy time I just grab a Lyft or Uber. Cheaper than a rental and parking.

 

[Dayzy]

Only once did I have a big problem and that was leaving AK at about 4 pm to get to POR. We waited 40 minutes for thew bus and we weren't even the the first ones on line so it was longer for others. The bus was PACKED and with 4 stops at POR people were trying to get on while others were still having trouble getting off the bus.

 

[neoDonald]

We've been renting a car and driving to the parks for a while. Last trip, a couple of weeks ago, we thought we'd just take the bus to MK from SSR. This was the first time taking the bus transportation in a long time. The times on the MDE app was pretty accurate and got at our stop on time. The bad is I forgot how long the bus took to get there because it had to make several stops before going to the park. I think between all the stops and how slow the bus took to get to the park, it would have almost been a wash between us driving to the TTC and taking the tram to the monorail. The worst part was taking the bus on the ride home. We left mid-day to go rest, and there was a line at the stop, which we thought might have been a good thing because a bus would surely show up soon. We waited, and waitied, and waited. Someone else complained to another bus driver and the bus that was just waiting at another stop finally moved over to our stop to take everyone back. The bus also had to load up 2 mobility scooters, which added to the time (not complaining, just pointing out this adds a lot of time). The total time was about an hour and 45, and the people before us waited even longer. We didn't take the bus again, and probably won't again unless we absolutely have to.

 

[snappy]

We've been renting a car and driving to the parks for a while. Last trip, a couple of weeks ago, we thought we'd just take the bus to MK from SSR. This was the first time taking the bus transportation in a long time. The times on the MDE app was pretty accurate and got at our stop on time. The bad is I forgot how long the bus took to get there because it had to make several stops before going to the park. I think between all the stops and how slow the bus took to get to the park, it would have almost been a wash between us driving to the TTC and taking the tram to the monorail. The worst part was taking the bus on the ride home. We left mid-day to go rest, and there was a line at the stop, which we thought might have been a good thing because a bus would surely show up soon. We waited, and waitied, and waited. Someone else complained to another bus driver and the bus that was just waiting at another stop finally moved over to our stop to take everyone back. The bus also had to load up 2 mobility scooters, which added to the time (not complaining, just pointing out this adds a lot of time). The total time was about an hour and 45, and the people before us waited even longer. We didn't take the bus again, and probably won't again unless we absolutely have to.

Waiting and hour and 45 minutes would make me swear off Disney busses forever. Never again.

 

[BLLB]

Our experience. We never rent a car, bus/cab/Uber only. We have DVC at BWV so we walk to Epcot and HS. Many folks would rather not drive to MK, so we bus there as well. Which leaves AK, which we bus to as well. We take cabs/Uber when we need to get to a resort as that usually involves a few too many bus transfers. In terms of budget, since we fly, it would be much cheaper for us to take a cab/Uber then to rent a car.

In terms of “good, bad ugly”, in over 20 trips, only one experience sticks out. It was a girls trip at POFQ in 2017. Boats were not running because of weather and we were going to DS for dinner. We had been waiting for around 20 minutes for a bus, but others at the bus stop had been waiting much longer and were getting very upset. One person set off to find a manager. The manager came out and asked for those waiting for a DS bus to follow him to the port cochere where he had arranged for cab/vans. Those that had been waiting longer were so loud and rude it was embarrassing. We let them go in the first van. We hung back with a few others and went in the second one. We all started comforting the manager who was being verbally abused. It was awful. I felt like as soon as it was brought to his attention, he fixed the problem. What did they want him to do?!

 

[KerryCM]

We always stay at an Epcot Resort, so really only bus to MK or AK. I don’t mind the busses at all. Only go to AK when we travel with our son and his family, so it isn’t too bad.

 

[joelkfla]

I felt like as soon as it was brought to his attention, he fixed the problem. What did they want him to do?!

To be aware & proactive, know that the boats weren't running, and handle the situation before it became a problem.

There are a limited number of buses and drivers available, but if the vans and personnel to drive them were available, he shouldn't have had to wait for Guest complaints to use them.

 

[Shanti]

I have not used the Disney buses in a while. Are they really slow or are they ok? I like the idea of being dropped off at MK without having to go to the ticket and transportation center. I will have a rental car, so if they are super inefficient I can drive. Specifically I am thinking about to and from a Halloween party in October and evening EMH at MK. Maybe staying at one of the All Star resorts if that makes a difference. TIA

The buses are the best way to get to and from MK from outlying resorts. Stick with them.

 

[AngiTN]

Buses can be good
Buses can be bad
Even for the same 2 guests at the same resort/park on the same day.
Heck, even the same guest can have both great and horrible experiences.
We've been flying and not renting a car regularly for 3 years now
At no point has the service changed or been so horrible that I've come away saying "I'm never using the bus again, I'm going to rent a car from now on"
Do we wait longer than I'd like every once in a while? Yep.
Do we walk up and find the bus we want right there quite often? Yep.
It all evens out.
About the only time I never even attempt to figure out a bus, going Resort to Resort. I can't think of any instance when we want to go from one resort to another that I'll opt to travel via a park. We call for Uber/Lyft every time.
Another time we lean to using Uber/Lyft is early morning. This is because sleep comes at a premium in my family. With buses it takes longer almost 100% of the time. Even if the bus is waiting it takes longer for loading, off loading, walking in, etc. Lyft/Uber I know when the car is coming, we are the only ones picked up so that's faster and drop off points are usually closer to the gates, so quicker walking in. All that can easily add up to 30 more minutes of sleep. In my family, that's huge.
We may use car services if we are running late for a FP or an ADR too. Since my DH seems to have it in his head that the time to leave for somewhere is when we are due to be there. Annoys me quite often and if I can fudge our times with him so give us a cushion, I do. Can't always get away with it.
But mostly, we use the buses and we are good with them. They get us there efficiently and we don't have to deal with traffic, parking and can have as many drinks with meals as we want.

 

[BLLB]

To be aware & proactive, know that the boats weren't running, and handle the situation before it became a problem.

There are a limited number of buses and drivers available, but if the vans and personnel to drive them were available, he shouldn't have had to wait for Guest complaints to use them.

I don’t believe anyone deserves to get a verbal beat down in front of 50 people. It was embarrassing and humiliating. Over a ride to DS. He actually called commercial cabs to transport us, not Disney employees.