Disney Transportation has gone down hill

[a4503]

I recently stayed at the Boardwalk 0719 to 07/26 I found the wait times for the buses were consistently long and the buses were overcrowded. It was obvious that it was one bus running a loop not multiple buses. by the end our trip we were walking over to the Contemporary and booking Lyft or Uber. For $10 bucks you are back at the hotel in fifteen minutes instead of waiting over an hour standing on an overcrowded bus. For $500.00 a night I expect some additional service such as convenient transportation. I have been traveling to Walt Disney World for over forty years staying on property and I've never seen such poor transportation schedule. I think they need to stop pushing the Minnie Vans and get more bus drivers. We were jumping on the Swan and Dolphin or Beach and Yacht Club bus instead of waiting. And staying at the Boardwalk your choice to get to DS is walk or take the boat which is shared with BC/YC and Swan and Dolphin and takes forever. I think Disney has forgotten how much people are paying at these hotels. I feel the transportation put a real damper on this trip. Way too much time waiting for transportation.

 

[Disneypro1]

Sorry, Have to disagree. We have stayed from the Allstars, POP to POFQ and others...And in all the years..We have loved Disney transport. Its free and im sorry of you had to wait an hour. I have never encountered that. At most we have waited 30 min. But in any case. The buses are as good as ever. I just cant find a reason to complain.
We will definitely continue to use Disney transport.

 

[Alesia]

I've always found that the deluxe resorts have inferior transportation

 

[FreeTime]

I agree with the OP. We stayed at the Boardwalk in June and the wait times were terrible. Also, after hours at TL for H20 Glow there were not attendants around to ask questions to and my kids said that four Springs busses went by and no one got on. Not one bus driver reminded everyone that you have to do a transfer. Finally, they called me and I reminded them that I had told them they would need to transfer.

 

[mamamelody2]

We stayed at All Star Sports last year and were very happy with the bussing. 9 park days, some with hopping, and the longest we waited was 20 minutes and that was once. We did take the bus from Epcot back to the hotel in the afternoon and it was just us and one other lady. She was waiting when we walked up, and the bus pulled in right as we got there. She said she had been waiting for 45 minutes. So in that instance, that same bus sucked for her and was awesome for us.

In 2017 DH and I stayed at POP and were very happy with the bussing there, too.

From what I read on here, it does seem like the deluxes often have inferior bussing, which does seem strange. If I was paying $500 a night for my hotel, I'd expect better, not worse than if I was paying $125.

 

[sethschroeder]

waiting over an hour standing on an overcrowded bus.

Sorry but I don't typically complain about really anything but if I am waiting on hour for a bus the whole trip you can believe I will be at the front desk every time I get back to the resort to complain.

Did you ever say anything to the front desk?

From what I read on here, it does seem like the deluxes often have inferior bussing, which does seem strange. If I was paying $500 a night for my hotel, I'd expect better, not worse than if I was paying $125.

Part of this could be that people staying in deluxes give less room for error or less patient. Could also be with smaller room totals they get less bus allocation because there are less people? Could also be more people on this sub stay at Deluxe if staying on site?

 

[Jimmy Mouse]

We enjoy the Friendship Boats from YC/BC to HS and enjoy the monorail but for all other transportation we just use Minnie Vans. We never have to wait more than 10 minutes and it's comfortable and fast.

 

[shocker]

Reports such as this make the Values more valuable. They often get shunned for poor transportation options, but its no different than any other resort (when it comes to buses). I've stayed at every level & I too enjoy walking to EP from BW & taking boat to HS.

 

[MillauFr]

Try Disneyland next time. No need for buses. You can stay offsite and walk to the front gate is 5 to 10 minutes.

 

[fractalpotato]

I've always found that the deluxe resorts have inferior transportation

Ironic isn't it?

Matt

 

[kaytieeldr]

It was obvious that it was one bus running a loop not multiple buses.

That is genuinely not how bus routes work. Yes, each bus loopsc- but not back and forth betewwen just two points. It's more like Resort A > park > Resort B > same park > Resort C > same park...

For $500.00 a night I expect some additional service such as convenient transportation.

Except AKL, each Deluxe offers two forms of transportation. It may not be the form each individual guest prefers, but it's not inconvenient.

We were jumping on the Swan and Dolphin or Beach and Yacht Club bus instead of waiting.

Okay ? Lots of people take alternate-resort transportation to save time.

And staying at the Boardwalk your choice to get to DS is walk or take the boat which is shared with BC/YC and Swan and Dolphin and takes forever.

If the 25 minute boat ride literally took forever, the first set of passengers would still be onboard and 20+ years of subsequent guests would have no choice but to walk.


It's entirely possible that Disney is aware that a higher percentage of Deluxe guests bring a vehicle, so they have determined there is less of a need for busing at these resorts.

 

[Alesia]

Ironic isn't it?

Matt

I think it's more a matter of supply and demand

 

[ButterbearUK]

We love the friendships and MK resort boats, even though they are slow. It’s like an extra ride and a very relaxing way to return back to the resort after buzzing around a park.

We have found deluxe resort buses to be consistently bad. Moderate and value have much better service. It absolutely is a supply and demand thing. Fewer people use them so they are less numerous.

When we go deluxe we hire a car, or get Minnie vans. If we want to use buses we stay at moderates and values.

I echo what another poster said - did you go and complain (nicely)? The last time we stayed at GF the monorail service was awful. One morning we waited nearly an hour trying to get on a monorail. 4 trains went by, full of double strollers and ecvs so we couldn’t board. In the end we took the boat and went to complain at city hall. They gave us some free fast passes and said management were aware of the issue. Now they are building a walking path to MK, which is brilliant news! the point is, if you have a bad run of luck with the transportation they will try to find some way to make it up to you if they can.

 

[rinnythepooh]

During our last stay at Beach Club we noticed that a lot of busses leaving the area were packed with people not staying at Beach/Yacht/Boardwalk. They were filled with Epcot guests parkhopping or going to Disney Springs. BC lobby areas were packed with Epcot overflow.

 

[easyas123]

Have to agree with the original poster....have found bus transportation more & more of a wait in general. Our last trip (May of this year) we used Uber probably once per day on average during our stay. Already had it calculated into my travel budget and was happy to pay it.
I'm afraid Uber has spoiled us a bit at WDW, and I'm glad for the convenience. Still use the bus in the AM if there isn't a crowd.

 

[OKW Lover]

I've always found that the deluxe resorts have inferior transportation

We've found that ALL the resorts have inferior transportation.

OK, so that was a bit tongue in cheek. But we have had good and bad transportation experiences at all the different resorts we have stayed at over the years. That experience covers everything except the value resorts. It really is just a matter of luck and timing.

 

[Alesia]

We've found that ALL the resorts have inferior transportation.

OK, so that was a bit tongue in cheek. But we have had good and bad transportation experiences at all the different resorts we have stayed at over the years. That experience covers everything except the value resorts. It really is just a matter of luck and timing.

I can only speak to my own experience, but with value resorts, I've never waited more than 20 minutes. With deluxe resorts, I've never waited less than 25 minutes

 

[Searc]

I recently stayed at the Boardwalk 0719 to 07/26 I found the wait times for the buses were consistently long and the buses were overcrowded. It was obvious that it was one bus running a loop not multiple buses. by the end our trip we were walking over to the Contemporary and booking Lyft or Uber. For $10 bucks you are back at the hotel in fifteen minutes instead of waiting over an hour standing on an overcrowded bus. For $500.00 a night I expect some additional service such as convenient transportation. I have been traveling to Walt Disney World for over forty years staying on property and I've never seen such poor transportation schedule. I think they need to stop pushing the Minnie Vans and get more bus drivers. We were jumping on the Swan and Dolphin or Beach and Yacht Club bus instead of waiting. And staying at the Boardwalk your choice to get to DS is walk or take the boat which is shared with BC/YC and Swan and Dolphin and takes forever. I think Disney has forgotten how much people are paying at these hotels. I feel the transportation put a real damper on this trip. Way too much time waiting for transportation.

The Epcot area resorts tend to share buses, so yes, they are always crowded.

 

[Super 27]

I totally agree with the OP with regard to the buses. They are consistently the least magical part of our trips, and we have found ourselves relying on Minnie Vans more and more.

As for the other modes of transportation, I actually think they do a pretty solid job. I don't see any issues with the Friendship boats, other than the fact that I'm still annoyed by them cutting the number of boats on World Showcase Lagoon. The water transportation in general actually seems to be the most reliable on property. And the monorails seem to be getting better too - still not perfect, but trending in the right direction.

 

[Missyrose]

During our last stay at Beach Club we noticed that a lot of busses leaving the area were packed with people not staying at Beach/Yacht/Boardwalk. They were filled with Epcot guests parkhopping or going to Disney Springs. BC lobby areas were packed with Epcot overflow.

You say all this like it's improper, it's totally within the rules. The transportation at a resort isn't limited to the people staying there. And, yes, I say that as someone who finds it easier to go from World Showcase to MK via a bus at BC than the monorail at the front of the park.