Disney Buses

[PollyannaMom]

This is probably a spin-off of many different threads, as I hear the same complaints a lot (so not picking on anyone specifically) - but I don't quite get what people have against the buses?

(Or I guess, more accurately, I don't get the level of dislike for the buses.) I do, of course, understand that people don't enjoy waiting for them, but to me, that's far outweighed by not having to drive! - Driving in an unfamiliar area is super stressful to me (and my DH). I'd much rather leave it to a professional while I talk with my family, plan my park adventures, or review the pics I took at the end of the day.

Plus, isn't one bus better for the environment than 20 cars? And wouldn't the traffic and parking be far worse if we all drove?

 

[Searc]

This is probably a spin-off of many different threads, as I hear the same complaints a lot (so not picking on anyone specifically) - but I don't quite get what people have against the buses?

(Or I guess, more accurately, I don't get the level of dislike for the buses.) I do, of course, understand that people don't enjoy waiting for them, but to me, that's far outweighed by not having to drive! - Driving in an unfamiliar area is super stressful to me (and my DH). I'd much rather leave it to a professional while I talk with my family, plan my park adventures, or review the pics I took at the end of the day.

Plus, isn't one bus better for the environment than 20 cars? And wouldn't the traffic and parking be far worse if we all drove?

I agree with you. I don't mind the buses and I HATE driving around Disney. Lots of people drive like idiots and I'd rather not start my day dealing with them.

 

[Tigger in a kilt]

I hate driving in the US (I’m in the U.K. so it’s the “wrong” side of the road) so I will use Disney buses because I don’t want to drive. However, I will use Uber and Minnie Vans where possible, because the buses are usually busy. My problem with the buses at Disney is the same one I have with buses and other public transport elsewhere: I will sometimes use it if it suits me, but they are busy, loud, smelly, run on their own schedule rather than mine, and put me in far too much contact with other people!

 

[lorimay]

We do the buses 99% of the time.
I rather wait a little longer than deal with the parking lots.

 

[jalapeno_pretzel]

We are okay using the buses, and I definitely prefer that to driving, but the wait can be pretty ridiculous for some of them. Probably 75% of the time we seem to get one pretty quickly, but we have had to wait up to 45 minutes for them before, and then by the time it finally gets there, there are 3 buses worth of people waiting to get on, everyone is pushy and irritable, and at that point we're running behind for whatever we need to get to since I generally allow for about a 20 minute wait.

 

[firefly_ris]

I have dealt with them for the past two trips but only because a rental car was not in the vacation budget.

Driving is not really ever stressful to me (I'm the primary driver on 99.9% of all of our road trips), and the whole unfamiliarity thing is eliminated with good old Google Maps or Waze talking to me. Next trip to WDW in maybe 2022, a rental car will be a non-negotiable part of the budget, lol. I'll probably end up off site anyway with the way on site prices are going and I think my husband is done sharing 1 room with 3 kids.

I don't love them for a few reasons.... "free" (er, rather incorporated into your room rate) is great and I'm glad Disney provides them and they definitely serve a purpose.

I just don't like standing at the bus stops, and in the case of the moderates, what DOES stress me out (way more than driving!) is when we are there waiting patiently for a long time, and then a bunch of people try to get in front of you and get on an already-crowded bus, and then I'm stressed that my family won't make it on and have to wait another 20 to 25 minutes for another bus to come by. Then when we DO get on, it can be very cramped and crowded depending on the time of day. And lastly, sometimes the times are just not reliable... last trip we waited at about 4pm in the afternoon at Epcot for a bus for over 40 minutes, and had to wait at the stop with this extremely annoying group of clearly drunk ladies talking about really inappropriate subjects next to my small kids. The next day, another 35 minute wait at DHS for a bus back to CBR while I watched *four* AoA buses come and go. My kids were hot and tired. Stuff like that.... after a long day at the parks, I'd rather hop into my own, quiet, vehicle and go right away.

Never had an issue with the parking lots at all. We drove in 2015 when my parents went with us and we got around the parks plenty fast. The only exception is getting to MK, but I don't even mind that because I never stayed on-site as a kid, so part of the nostalgia for me is taking the ferry boat over from TTC.

 

[fly girl]

We never rent a car. Too much hassle for us. Granted, we are not by any means fans of the bus, but we will take them over a car rental.

Our favorite resorts are Epcot Resorts. The busses for those resorts used to be horrible because you'd have to hit ALL of them before a park. It is a lot better now that they split it in half, but we still don't like the wait and the pushing and shoving to get on the bus. (I swear the bus can bring out the worst behavior in people.)

Sometimes we splurge and get an Uber. $8 well spent when we are tired and just want to go back to the hotel.

 

[AP1209]

I'll never drive my own car around Disney. I will use busses, monorail, boats, Minnie Vans, skyliner, etc. The last thing I want to do on a Disney vacation is to drive.

 

[Eeyore daily]

I live in FL so I only drive to Disney, once I'm at my hotel I'm not driving again until it's time to go home. It's just too convenient to have the buses and I absolutely loathe driving down here.

 

[scrhsa]

This is probably a spin-off of many different threads, as I hear the same complaints a lot (so not picking on anyone specifically) - but I don't quite get what people have against the buses?

(Or I guess, more accurately, I don't get the level of dislike for the buses.) I do, of course, understand that people don't enjoy waiting for them, but to me, that's far outweighed by not having to drive! - Driving in an unfamiliar area is super stressful to me (and my DH). I'd much rather leave it to a professional while I talk with my family, plan my park adventures, or review the pics I took at the end of the day.

Plus, isn't one bus better for the environment than 20 cars? And wouldn't the traffic and parking be far worse if we all drove?

Exactly!!!! And my sister and I say that the buses are our favorite ride at Disney. We love the buses! I love to see the happy faces going and the exhausted/happy faces coming back. And if you get lucky you get to meet some really fun people.

 

[Aimeedyan]

I haven't stepped foot on a Disney bus in years - and hope to stay that way! Last trip we relied on them was maddening. Thankfully we now live ~1hr away and don't have to budget for a rental car.

Driving on property is incredibly simple and the parking lots are easy to navigate. Time is money on vacation and I don't want to waste it standing at a bus stop The more people that take buses means the faster I can get to my destination and into the parks so it's a win-win for us.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

Resort to park the bus service is pretty good. But resort to resort can is a pain and the water parks and the shopping mall from certain resorts can be. The bus to MK is far more convenient than driving. The Bus to DS is nice too. But it's a long walk to the bus stops from AK and EP and I find driving more convenient. But if I'm going to visit some of the resorts, it's best to drive than rely on the bus. We've never really waited more than 5-10 minutes for a bus at the values. But it can be much longer than that at the deluxes during off peak times because fewer people rely on the bus there.

We drive down rather than fly, but if we flew, I doubt I'd rent a car for the trip.

 

[Klayfish]

If I had to use WDW buses, it would be an absolute deal breaker for me. No way, no how, no thanks.

I love to drive and find all the conveniences and flexibility that driving affords us absolutely invaluable.

 

[22Tink]

I tolerate them because I refuse to drive and I don’t want to pay to Uber everywhere. I do not enjoy them though and take Uber/Lyft sometimes to avoid them.

 

[ford family]

We have always found the buses to be excellent.
We are DVC members at the Boardwalk Villas so straight away two of the parks, Epcot and Hollywood Studios are just a short walk away. The MK bus drops you at the park itself, not on the other side of the lake so that is always quicker than driving. On the way to the park or Disney Springs the WDW Experience app tells you when the next bus is due so you simply stroll out a few minutes early to be at the stop.
You are on holiday so rarely is time of the essence.

ford family

 

[BrianL]

The buses are fine - I wouldn't say I love them (especially after park close), but generally they do the job and do it well. There's always room for improvement of course and sometimes you end up waiting longer than expected, but generally, I'm fine with them.

 

[willowsnn3]

We always drive to WDW & almost always drive to the parks & other resorts. Much faster & more convenient, guaranteed a seat, cold water in a cooler in the trunk...
I love to drive so it doesn't bother me at all.
I do love to ride the ferry or monorail to MK instead of getting dropped off at the entrance.
And if I rode the bus, I wouldn't get to ride my favorite ride...

 

[Christine]

I took the bus for the first time last year. Did it twice, won't do it again. I *hate* waiting, I hate the crowd, etc. Our buses were slow/late each time and I spent a lot of time waiting.

I'm not a fan of driving either--I spend too much time commuting to work and living in a congested area. I do find driving around Disney property to be a breeze and I love how quickly I can get where I need to be.

 

[Searc]

We always drive to WDW & almost always drive to the parks & other resorts. Much faster & more convenient, guaranteed a seat, cold water in a cooler in the trunk...
I love to drive so it doesn't bother me at all.
I do love to ride the ferry or monorail to MK instead of getting dropped off at the entrance.
And if I rode the bus, I wouldn't get to ride my favorite ride...
View attachment 426217View attachment 426217

At MK, your favorite ride is now considerably shorter.

 

[cabanafrau]

Even trips where we did have our car, once we parked at our resort we didn't use it again until it was time to leave. Most visits we were at the Poly and generally relied on monorail, boats and walking to get around. Buses would serve the purpose where we needed them, but weren't very useful for most of our touring.

We gave up on WDW six years ago. The introduction of the Skyliner is one of THE most encouraging things I've heard about the resort in a very, very long time. (Far from enough to encourage us to ever return however.) I was shocked at the condition of the monorail cabins six years ago. If we had been paying the rates to stay at the Poly in the years they were shutting down the resort monorail in the midday hours to cut costs I would have been livid. That was one of many signs for me that the company knows absolutely no shame in conducting operations the way they do and continuing to refer to its customers as guests, as if there was much more than a shred of the famous Disney quality and customer service left.