Just Returned...My Transportation Observations...

[kristenrice]

Here are some random comments and observations from my recent trip...

1) Arrived on Sunday morning at the DME stand around 9:45am. We waited less than 5 minutes for a bus. When we boarded (first on), I started my stopwatch. We waited 19 minutes before we departed. This was what I expected so I was pleased. First stop was Coronado Springs (what a mess that place is!) and then off to AKV. We were at the resort by 10:30am so DME was very efficient.


2) We stayed at AKV (Jambo) for 5 nights without a car so we relied exclusively on the buses. I was quite satisfied with the bus service overall. We had ONE scooter on a bus the entire week, and it was a person who had already boarded at Kidani so we never had that "scooter delay" that can sometimes be a headache. I will also point out that we were never at a bus stop to a park before 10am so we were not travelling from the resort during peak times.

3) We used Uber to get to the Top of the World Lounge on Sunday evening. Our driver arrived within a few minutes of being "ordered". We were pleasantly surprised to get a female driver around 9pm. She told us she was just getting ready to make a run to Wal-Mart and decided to turn on her app on a whim. She said that when she saw a "young lady" (oh, how sweet) that needed a ride, she decided to take on a quick fare before getting her groceries. We all had quite a laugh about the route that her GPS sent us on. We were in the access roads and parking areas of the Studios for some reason. There was so much construction, we just assumed that it was all detours, but she was very pleasant and we enjoyed the ride very much. We also used Uber to get back after the Hallowishes show. Our driver was a CM from the S&D who had just gotten off work and so he was much better with the actual navigation...no back roads on that trip...very pleasant ride and my friend was quite impressed with her first Uber experiences.

4) There is a new shuttle that takes you between Jambo House and Kidani Village. The last time we were there (last year), it was a 15-passenger van. Now is it a larger "bus", like the ones from the Car Care Center. It is much easier to board and I even noticed a bin of folded towels when you enter for those who are shuttling back and forth to use the pools. Nice touch.

5) We arrived to the resort bus stop around 10:45am as the Epcot bus was pulling away. I started my stopwatch again and the next bus arrived 16 minutes later, which was better than I expected at that hour.

6) The DME back to the airport is still quite quirky. I have never (in only about 10 experiences) had a DME bus that truly leaves as scheduled. Our bus was scheduled for 3:10pm for our 6pm flight. It arrived at 3:15 and we were the first stop. We went to AoA and Pop Century before heading to the airport. We arrived at the airport at 4:15 and....WOW!!...that was my first "bad" experience with security. In all of my past trips, I have gotten very lucky with the "random" TSA-pre designation on my boarding passes...not this time. Holy smokes!! It took about 30 minutes to get through what was the most disorganized operation I have ever seen. One family had one of their bags pulled for inspection and the agent set it aside and walked away! There it sat...totally ignored...while this poor family was waiting patiently. The dad finally flagged someone down and it was handled, but good grief! I admit, I was a bit slow because I couldn't remember what went where (I had a laptop and an iPad, plus my shoes, a plastic-buckled belt, etc) because I've always had pre-check, but I managed. Then, my bag disappeared. It went into the x-ray machine and when I was gathering my stuff, the bag was gone. The guys behind me said that "someone took it", but that "someone" was a TSA-agent. So there I stood...no agents anywhere near me...no bag...just people behind me wondering why I was holding up the line (I was out of the way) and not grabbing my electronics. Finally, my bag emerged from the x-ray belt. I have no idea what sort of side trip it took, but I got it back and all was well.
**NOTE: When DME says they will pick you up 3 hours before your flight, YOU MAY NEED EVERY MINUTE!! Heed the warnings!! We didn't have to run, but we made it to our gate with about 15 minutes to spare. If you are planning on chilling out, grabbing a snack, etc, you may need every second of that 3 hours.

Overall, I would say our transportation experiences this trip were above average, bordering on excellent. If anyone has questions, I would be happy to answer them.

 

[tjmw2727]

Thanks for the report - we are going to AKV Kidani in December and plan to use the buses as well as an occasional Minnie van or uber as well. The new internal bus sounds like a good upgrade!

We often book our DME return early for the reasons you stated, the day prior we go to the desk ask for 30 minutes early. Some people think the 3 hour window is already to long but between the construction and TSA at mco I would rather grab a meal or even read at the gate over missing a flight.

 

[loki_]

 

[AngiTN]

MCO is why we bought PreCheck couple years ago. Best travel money we've spent yet

 

[Shanti]

Here are some random comments and observations from my recent trip...

1) Arrived on Sunday morning at the DME stand around 9:45am. We waited less than 5 minutes for a bus. When we boarded (first on), I started my stopwatch. We waited 19 minutes before we departed. This was what I expected so I was pleased. First stop was Coronado Springs (what a mess that place is!) and then off to AKV. We were at the resort by 10:30am so DME was very efficient.


2) We stayed at AKV (Jambo) for 5 nights without a car so we relied exclusively on the buses. I was quite satisfied with the bus service overall. We had ONE scooter on a bus the entire week, and it was a person who had already boarded at Kidani so we never had that "scooter delay" that can sometimes be a headache. I will also point out that we were never at a bus stop to a park before 10am so we were not travelling from the resort during peak times.

3) We used Uber to get to the Top of the World Lounge on Sunday evening. Our driver arrived within a few minutes of being "ordered". We were pleasantly surprised to get a female driver around 9pm. She told us she was just getting ready to make a run to Wal-Mart and decided to turn on her app on a whim. She said that when she saw a "young lady" (oh, how sweet) that needed a ride, she decided to take on a quick fare before getting her groceries. We all had quite a laugh about the route that her GPS sent us on. We were in the access roads and parking areas of the Studios for some reason. There was so much construction, we just assumed that it was all detours, but she was very pleasant and we enjoyed the ride very much. We also used Uber to get back after the Hallowishes show. Our driver was a CM from the S&D who had just gotten off work and so he was much better with the actual navigation...no back roads on that trip...very pleasant ride and my friend was quite impressed with her first Uber experiences.

4) There is a new shuttle that takes you between Jambo House and Kidani Village. The last time we were there (last year), it was a 15-passenger van. Now is it a larger "bus", like the ones from the Car Care Center. It is much easier to board and I even noticed a bin of folded towels when you enter for those who are shuttling back and forth to use the pools. Nice touch.

5) We arrived to the resort bus stop around 10:45am as the Epcot bus was pulling away. I started my stopwatch again and the next bus arrived 16 minutes later, which was better than I expected at that hour.

6) The DME back to the airport is still quite quirky. I have never (in only about 10 experiences) had a DME bus that truly leaves as scheduled. Our bus was scheduled for 3:10pm for our 6pm flight. It arrived at 3:15 and we were the first stop. We went to AoA and Pop Century before heading to the airport. We arrived at the airport at 4:15 and....WOW!!...that was my first "bad" experience with security. In all of my past trips, I have gotten very lucky with the "random" TSA-pre designation on my boarding passes...not this time. Holy smokes!! It took about 30 minutes to get through what was the most disorganized operation I have ever seen. One family had one of their bags pulled for inspection and the agent set it aside and walked away! There it sat...totally ignored...while this poor family was waiting patiently. The dad finally flagged someone down and it was handled, but good grief! I admit, I was a bit slow because I couldn't remember what went where (I had a laptop and an iPad, plus my shoes, a plastic-buckled belt, etc) because I've always had pre-check, but I managed. Then, my bag disappeared. It went into the x-ray machine and when I was gathering my stuff, the bag was gone. The guys behind me said that "someone took it", but that "someone" was a TSA-agent. So there I stood...no agents anywhere near me...no bag...just people behind me wondering why I was holding up the line (I was out of the way) and not grabbing my electronics. Finally, my bag emerged from the x-ray belt. I have no idea what sort of side trip it took, but I got it back and all was well.
**NOTE: When DME says they will pick you up 3 hours before your flight, YOU MAY NEED EVERY MINUTE!! Heed the warnings!! We didn't have to run, but we made it to our gate with about 15 minutes to spare. If you are planning on chilling out, grabbing a snack, etc, you may need every second of that 3 hours.

Overall, I would say our transportation experiences this trip were above average, bordering on excellent. If anyone has questions, I would be happy to answer them.

Nice report. We stayed at AKL in April and had good bus service, too. ME was efficient, as well.

 

[pooch]

Can I ask about the CSR mess comment? Did you actually go to the resort or was that just the view from the DME bus?

 

[kristenrice]

Can I ask about the CSR mess comment? Did you actually go to the resort or was that just the view from the DME bus?

Just the view from the bus....I don't know what they were doing, but if I was staying there for the first time, I would not want to be welcomed with that view.

 

[pooch]

As long as it doesn’t affect the pool area, it’s ok.

 

[hsmamato2]

thanks for the report! I like the stopwatch idea to keep track of time,I'm gonna try that next trip just to get a feel for actual times vs. 'this feels like a million hours'

 

[Sandi]

thanks for the report! I like the stopwatch idea to keep track of time,I'm gonna try that next trip just to get a feel for actual times vs. 'this feels like a million hours'

I try to time waits for transportation and typically forget to stop the timer because we're making progress and its NBD. The OP is more disciplined than I!

 

[TheSouthernBelle]

Thanks for the update. Good info. We had the #2 scooter delay on every bus ride however the bus drivers always did a great job of getting them on and off in an efficient manner. I did notice that most times it was done in less than 5 min so not too bad however on a crowded bus, that takes away a handful of seats which I am not complaining, but some others on our bus did - YIKES!!

 

[maxiesmom]

Just the view from the bus....I don't know what they were doing, but if I was staying there for the first time, I would not want to be welcomed with that view.

I thought that when we drove by CBR a couple of days ago. No way would I advise any first timer to stay there right now. It looked awful!

 

[AngiTN]

I thought that when we drove by CBR a couple of days ago. No way would I advise any first timer to stay there right now. It looked awful!

See, I think the road outside of the resorts looks way worse than the resorts do. You can't go to Disney and escape seeing construction right now. It's everywhere, roads, parks, resorts. Roads are the worse to me. I know how nice it will be when they are done but man, it's a mess right now.

 

[maxiesmom]

See, I think the road outside of the resorts looks way worse than the resorts do. You can't go to Disney and escape seeing construction right now. It's everywhere, roads, parks, resorts. Roads are the worse to me. I know how nice it will be when they are done but man, it's a mess right now.

You are not kidding! It is pretty awful all around!

 

[joelkfla]

See, I think the road outside of the resorts looks way worse than the resorts do. You can't go to Disney and escape seeing construction right now. It's everywhere, roads, parks, resorts. Roads are the worse to me. I know how nice it will be when they are done but man, it's a mess right now.

Tim Trakker did a walking tour of CBR recently, and it parts of it looked pretty bad on the inside, too -- especially around the Center Town area.

 

[Realfoodfans]

Thanks for the update. Good info. We had the #2 scooter delay on every bus ride however the bus drivers always did a great job of getting them on and off in an efficient manner. I did notice that most times it was done in less than 5 min so not too bad however on a crowded bus, that takes away a handful of seats which I am not complaining, but some others on our bus did - YIKES!!

We weren't happy on one of our MK days (bus from POFQ) there were 3 scooters arrived at the stop after we (and a number of others) were waiting fair enough the driver began loading them - a driver from the following bus to AKL came to help and asked the third person to wait until the next bus - but all the first scooter rider family boarded through the ramp (at least 6) and we were still waiting at a closed door at the front - when the second scooter riders family were following up the ramp my DH was getting cross - I was stood all this time with a toddler in my arms him with the folded stroller and watching DGS so when the door opened we had to negotiate to the rear of the bus through this crowd. If family board I believe they should sit st the rear and large parties are meant to take their place in the queue?

 

[joelkfla]

We weren't happy on one of our MK days (bus from POFQ) there were 3 scooters arrived at the stop after we (and a number of others) were waiting fair enough the driver began loading them - a driver from the following bus to AKL came to help and asked the third person to wait until the next bus - but all the first scooter rider family boarded through the ramp (at least 6) and we were still waiting at a closed door at the front - when the second scooter riders family were following up the ramp my DH was getting cross - I was stood all this time with a toddler in my arms him with the folded stroller and watching DGS so when the door opened we had to negotiate to the rear of the bus through this crowd. If family board I believe they should sit st the rear and large parties are meant to take their place in the queue?

The rule is that up to 6 in the party may board with the scooter; if the party is larger, the rest should wait they're turn. But at resorts without roped queues, there's no way for the driver to know who's been waiting longest.

There's no rule about where the pre-boards have to sit. I think some people would be offended by being told they have to sit at the back of the bus.

 

[Realfoodfans]

The rule is that up to 6 in the party may board with the scooter; if the party is larger, the rest should wait they're turn. But at resorts without roped queues, there's no way for the driver to know who's been waiting longest.

There's no rule about where the pre-boards have to sit. I think some people would be offended by being told they have to sit at the back of the bus.

I was offended this large party boarded the bus in the middle and sat at the front and we had to negotiate scooters and the front of the bus full with a stroller, toddler and child to the back of the bus when we were first in the queue.

 

[Wild4Walt]

Thanks for the review - we're staying at AKL next year so this was all good to read.

 

[maxiesmom]

I was offended this large party boarded the bus in the middle and sat at the front and we had to negotiate scooters and the front of the bus full with a stroller, toddler and child to the back of the bus when we were first in the queue.

You would probably had been more offended if the scooters boarded after you and ran over your foot.

The scooters strap down towards the center of the bus, that is the way the buses are built and there is no way around it.