Why are Disney Transport buses so bad?

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Now, that isn't to say that there have been many instances of guests having to wait 30+ mins....it's happened to me, maybe three times. But, I go to WDW about 5 times a year, for a week at a time usually. I own DVC so stay in those resorts but also stay in value and moderate resorts as well. I have had fairly good bus experiences to date. I was getting used to renting a car but now that Disney has instituted parking fees, that's a big old minus.

And yes, people here do tend to naysay those who report bad bus experiences. I'll go out on a limb and say that maybe 70% of those reports are valid, while 30% are exaggerated. Transportation at WDW isn't perfect, not by any stretch. But, it is generally acceptable.
Based on what? And if that is true it would also be true in the opposite. 30% of people who say they never have a problem with the buses or only rarely are also exaggerating so it comes out even. So it is basically a mute point.
 
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I stay at BWV or BCV so I can walk to Epcot and DHS. Don’t rely on busses very often. Drive to AK. Only attraction of bus service is when staying with a large party who have different plans each day with only 1 car. Then some some of the party has to deal with busses. Forget the busses, at MK at park closure. True nightmare. Won’t find me in that chaos.

snappy, while we were at WDW last week we booked a Free Dining Bounceback for next August and since our 2 favorite parks are DHS and EPCOT have decided to stay at the BWI so we will have no need for buses until we go to DAK or the MK where we will then use Uber.
 
snappy, while we were at WDW last week we booked a Free Dining Bounceback for next August and since our 2 favorite parks are DHS and EPCOT have decided to stay at the BWI so we will have no need for buses until we go to DAK or the MK where we will then use Uber.

Our exact plan. Have stayed exclusively Epcot area resorts since 2005 if staying onsite, except 1 trip to try the poly DVC for 1 night only. Love strolling into Epcot through the IG entrance during Food and wine stays. Actually for solo trips or traveling with husband only, it’s often been faster commutes, better room for the money to just stay at the Waldorf, the Hilton Bonnet creek or Wyndham Bonnet creek and drive. We have a car whether we drive or fly and rent a car. Great luck getting nice vehicles with Alamo. I use Uber a lot in NYC so plan to try that out too if we don’t feel like driving.
 
Based on what? And if that is true it would also be true in the opposite. 30% of people who say they never have a problem with the buses or only rarely are also exaggerating so it comes out even. So it is basically a mute point.
Based on what I've seen, personally. As Transportation moderator, I'm watching, always watching, what is going on with transportation when I'm in WDW...buses, boats, monorails, DME, etc. I will stand by my statement that probably 70% of the reports of less than expected service are spot on, while 30% of them have been exaggerated to some extent. Very few people say they have had good experiences when they haven't. It's human nature to report negative experiences, or to exaggerate a slightly less than expected experience as bad....just the way it is.
Rather than go overboard and say that no one exaggerates, or no one has had a bad experience, I tend to be more moderate, especially based on what I see/hear.
 


I will preface my statement by saying I tend to be pretty impatient, which leads me to lean against the Disney bus transportation.

When we were there last week and 3 years ago we stayed at AoA or Pop, and had a rental both times. On that 1st stay we did the bus to MK once and made the mistake of leaving right after the fireworks with a 4-year old and 1.5-year old. We experienced the hour plus wait for the bus we finally got on, the rude people pushing past, and the obviously crowded bus. I understand that is an aberration from most bus trips, but it still happens at close time.

This trip, we took the bus once from Boardwalk after a Bon Voyage breakfast to MK for a couple of hours on our final day there. When we got to the bus stop it was almost exactly a 20-minute wait, I know because I checked my watch to see how long it took us to get to MK. And there were several people in line who waited longer than us. Between the wait for the bus, bus loading, and drive time, we were at about 40-minutes to get to MK. That was about the longest trip it took us to get from AoA / Pop in our vehicle, including trek through the parking lot to the TTC, and trip from TTC to MK itself. On both that trip and the return trip to BW, each time a guest of BW was complaining about the bus service that week. This doesn't count the fact that if I am taking my own vehicle, I don't have to try and squeeze past people down a tight aisle on a bus with our stroller.

As for the roads, I found very little in the way of traffic issues even with all of the construction issues. And the use of Waze made sure we got where we were going without any issues.

I am personally all for people taking the bus if that is what works for them, ultimately it means less cars on the road and less in the parking lot, but to me, 'generally acceptable' is not a high enough standard for what we are all paying for the vacation. This is also why the resort parking fees anger me so much.
 
I will preface my statement by saying I tend to be pretty impatient, which leads me to lean against the Disney bus transportation.

When we were there last week and 3 years ago we stayed at AoA or Pop, and had a rental both times. On that 1st stay we did the bus to MK once and made the mistake of leaving right after the fireworks with a 4-year old and 1.5-year old. We experienced the hour plus wait for the bus we finally got on, the rude people pushing past, and the obviously crowded bus. I understand that is an aberration from most bus trips, but it still happens at close time.

This trip, we took the bus once from Boardwalk after a Bon Voyage breakfast to MK for a couple of hours on our final day there. When we got to the bus stop it was almost exactly a 20-minute wait, I know because I checked my watch to see how long it took us to get to MK. And there were several people in line who waited longer than us. Between the wait for the bus, bus loading, and drive time, we were at about 40-minutes to get to MK. That was about the longest trip it took us to get from AoA / Pop in our vehicle, including trek through the parking lot to the TTC, and trip from TTC to MK itself. On both that trip and the return trip to BW, each time a guest of BW was complaining about the bus service that week. This doesn't count the fact that if I am taking my own vehicle, I don't have to try and squeeze past people down a tight aisle on a bus with our stroller.

As for the roads, I found very little in the way of traffic issues even with all of the construction issues. And the use of Waze made sure we got where we were going without any issues.

I am personally all for people taking the bus if that is what works for them, ultimately it means less cars on the road and less in the parking lot, but to me, 'generally acceptable' is not a high enough standard for what we are all paying for the vacation. This is also why the resort parking fees anger me so much.

I absolutely agree with your post. I wouldn't have even been on a bus this past trip if it wasn't for the parking fees. No way am I going to pay $240 for parking fees in a 10 day stay after renting a vehicle for $250-$300! So now we'll always be staying in the EPCOT resort area and Uber to DAK and MK.

BTW on the BWI thread on the resort page posters have been complaining about the buses there in their recent stays.
 
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I guess I'm the one who didn't make my point clear. We've been going to WDW for 30 years. In 30 years we've never complained about anything. One trip we said the buses were awful and you think it ruined our vacation? Sorry, but like I said we enjoyed every other aspect of our trip from the parks, to the entertainment, food and resorts. Since clearly you are a Disney apologist who doesn't appreciate anything negative being said about WDW, we will never agree so let's agree to disagree.

Have a great evening.
So now you Resort toname calling. Nice
 


In the example the poor guests at AKL may have a 50 min wait for a bus to DHS because of the extra stops.
there isn't just one bus assigned to loop a route. With a 20 minute desired interval (possibly determined to be efficient enough to avoid or reduce mostly-empty buses), figure three of four buses on a given route.
t is not a REAL solution to have guests ask for buses from CM's at stops if the wait is long because as I have read on this thread and others there either isn't someone to ask or people don't know they can
I've approached the third Epcot bus driver when waiting to get to, say, DHS with no desired bus that entire time. I've asked for help at a Front Desk. Not a Transportation CM, but it's unusual for there to be nobody around.
Thankfully we’ve never had an issue with the buses. But I’m also from an area where public transportation is popular so waiting for a bus isn’t a huge deal to me.
That might be why there's such a rabid difference of opinion regarding individual experiences: expectation. If you never use public buses, any wait is too long and any ride with standards is to crowded.
I've been going to WDW almost every year for the last 30 years and this was clearly the worst we've seen the bus transportation.
96+% of your experiences have been positive to neutral, but you never posted about those?
The experiences of a few people who haven't had to wait for buses does not discount the experiences of the rest of the posters.
The experiences of a few people who have had to wait for buses does not discount the experiences of the rest of the posters, either.
More and more people have been complaining on this board about the waits increasing and the buses being more crowded.
Still, hundreds of posters on this board, and tens of thousands of Disney visitors, either have not had bad experiences, or have not had bad enough experiences to compel them to complain.
Public buses have nothing to do with whether you are willing to wait or not.
That might be part of the discrepancy - people not being accustomed to public bus transit.
when one line
In fairness, rail-restricted travel is different from bus travel.
So, there are many people that tend to exaggerate their wait times. And many times it's easy to do
::yes:: I forget where I was staying, but leaving AK one day and approaching my stop, a man at the end of the next line was ranting at a CM about having waited an hour. goofy4tink knows me, I'm nosy ;) so I asked the couple at the front of the line how long they'd been waiting. Twenty minutes.
 
I have to admit katie, I have no idea what you are saying about me? Just for an example I glowed in a post last week concerning POFQ. Over the years I have been on these boards I rarely have posted anything negative about WDW.

BTW, what bothers you so much about negative posts? I call them as I see them. We love WDW so much we are already booked again for next August. We will just make some adjustments to make our stay just that much more enjoyable.
 
katie, can I ask you a serious question? It clearly bothers you that myself and others in this thread are reporting bad experiences we've had with bus waits on our recent trips. Why would peoples honest experiences bother you? Are we not supposed to express negative experiences, if it's concerning WDW? One of the reasons I joined this forum years ago was because of my love of WDW and wanted to read posters good and bad experiences they've had with resorts, restaurants, transportation and so on. There are posters on this board who know my daughter works for WDW. In her first 2 years there they have treated her extremely well. She loves working for Disney and I love how they have treated her. I just don't get why some posters get so defensive when another posts a negative remark or experience they had. For years if we waited 20 minutes for a bus that would be long, this past trip we had waits from 30-50 minutes. It surprised us. We didn't go to WDW the past 2 years, because our 2 younger children just wanted to do Universal so we spent our entire stays there, but 3 years ago when we were at ASMo's the buses were fine that's why we were surprised this year and so were others we talked to.

Not trying to argue with you.
 
katie, can I ask you a serious question? It clearly bothers you that myself and others in this thread are reporting bad experiences we've had with bus waits on our recent trips.
No. What bothers me is the, "this is what happened to me so it must be a complete reversal from the last 46 years and it just be the standard experience every. single. visitor. is having and will have forever forward" vibe.
 
No. What bothers me is the, "this is what happened to me so it must be a complete reversal from the last 46 years and it just be the standard experience every. single. visitor. is having and will have forever forward" vibe.

Boy you really read things into peoples posts. I stated it's the first time it's happened to us. It's never been like this in the past and I NEVER stated it's going to be like this from now on, YOU read it that way. Look at the others on this thread that have had similar experiences. Are we all lying or exaggerating our experience? I can tell you that I'm not.

I've never understood some posters need to come to WDW's defense when others post a negative experience. I have been critical of my kids, if they've done something wrong, but I still love them. So I can still love WDW, if I think they've done something wrong.
 
@kaytieeldr Are you actually following this thread or are you just after me for some reason? It seems like my posts are the ones you decide to take out of context and "educate" me. Well I don't appreciate feeling like I can't post my experiences or opinions on a thread because you will have to "correct" me or answer me somehow even though it isn't relative to what I am posting about. Here are my answers to you:

there isn't just one bus assigned to loop a route. With a 20 minute desired interval (possibly determined to be efficient enough to avoid or reduce mostly-empty buses), figure three of four buses on a given route.
No one ever said there was only one bus assigned to a route, that would be just silly, so what's your point?

I've approached the third Epcot bus driver when waiting to get to, say, DHS with no desired bus that entire time. I've asked for help at a Front Desk. Not a Transportation CM, but it's unusual for there to be nobody around.
Did you even read my post because you obviously didn't get it. Just because YOU do that doesn't mean everyone else does which is what I said. BTW, you just admitted you have problems with the bus system because you know who to go to.

The experiences of a few people who have had to wait for buses does not discount the experiences of the rest of the posters, either.
Again you are taking my quote out of context. Just because you haven't had much of a problem doesn't mean the rest of us are exaggerating or lying. And yes we have been accused of making stuff up, i.e. lying. That was the point of my paragraph thank you.

Still, hundreds of posters on this board, and tens of thousands of Disney visitors, either have not had bad experiences, or have not had bad enough experiences to compel them to complain.
Again what is your point because it has NOTHING to do with what I was talking about if you quoted my whole post and not just two separate sentences. Please see the explanation above for what I was trying to say.

That might be part of the discrepancy - people not being accustomed to public bus transit.
Now you are repeating yourself. There is actually no discrepancy at all. Whether or not you take public transportation is totally irrelevant to people's experience and whether you are willing to wait or not. One has nothing to do with the other because WDW is NOT public transportation and people who aren't accustomed to public transportation have also said that they don't mind waiting.

No. What bothers me is the, "this is what happened to me so it must be a complete reversal from the last 46 years and it just be the standard experience every. single. visitor. is having and will have forever forward" vibe.

Well what bothers me is "the this never happened to me so it can't be happening now or be a change from the past for ever and you are just exaggerating or making stuff up" vibe.
 
While we have had some longer than we'd like bus waits, the majority have been reasonably on time for all our trips. We always use Disney transportation and it's just part of the experience for us. We just try to relax and go with the flow. I think Disney does a decent job of coordinating so many people to so many destinations.
 
No one ever said there was only one bus assigned to a route, that would be just silly, so what's your point?
A 50 minute wait for a bus (delayed by unsubstantiated other stops) indicates the expectation of a single bus on a given route.
Did you even read my post because you obviously didn't get it. Just because YOU do that doesn't mean everyone else does which is what I said. BTW, you just admitted you have problems with the bus system because you know who to go to
When I have had a problem with repeated buses arriving for one park with no sign of one for my destination, accompanied by a lack of evidence of any Transportation CMs in the vicinity, my reasonable use of common sense to resolve a problem takes over. I address an available employee. Anywhere. NOT restricted to WDW.
Again you are taking my quote out of context. Just because you haven't had much of a problem doesn't mean the rest of us are exaggerating or lying.
Lying? My, and others', not experiencing or not being bothered by a Transportation delay (especially, but not limited to, on vacation) doesn't mean I think anyone is lying. People who expect only agreement might possibly consider an outlet where one person controls the discussion.
Again what is your point because it has NOTHING to do with what I was talking about if you quoted my whole post and not just two separate sentences. Please see the explanation above for what I was trying to say.
Thousands of people ride Disney buses daily with no issues, or issues small enough that they choose not to complain. I would be interested to see what a visitor's actual vacation-long bus wait is, compared to what it's perceived to be. As for crowded, well, more people use the buses, so yes, they're going to be more crowded.

Well what bothers me is "the this never happened to me so it can't be happening now or be a change from the past for ever and you are just exaggerating or making stuff up" vibe
Again, what bothers me is the "this happened to me so it is obviously what will happen to every person every single time forever" point of view.

Look at the thread title. The OP question is phrased to indicate that the subject is a foregone conclusion. Not asking if anybody else feels that, or what others have experienced. Just 'why are...'.
 
A 50 minute wait for a bus (delayed by unsubstantiated other stops) indicates the expectation of a single bus on a given route.

When I have had a problem with repeated buses arriving for one park with no sign of one for my destination, accompanied by a lack of evidence of any Transportation CMs in the vicinity, my reasonable use of common sense to resolve a problem takes over. I address an available employee. Anywhere. NOT restricted to WDW.

Lying? My, and others', not experiencing or not being bothered by a Transportation delay (especially, but not limited to, on vacation) doesn't mean I think anyone is lying. People who expect only agreement might possibly consider an outlet where one person controls the discussion.

Thousands of people ride Disney buses daily with no issues, or issues small enough that they choose not to complain. I would be interested to see what a visitor's actual vacation-long bus wait is, compared to what it's perceived to be. As for crowded, well, more people use the buses, so yes, they're going to be more crowded.


Again, what bothers me is the "this happened to me so it is obviously what will happen to every person every single time forever" point of view.

Look at the thread title. The OP question is phrased to indicate that the subject is a foregone conclusion. Not asking if anybody else feels that, or what others have experienced. Just 'why are...'.

katie, on your point about "thousands of people ride Disney buses daily with no issues, or issues small enough that they choose not to complain." How would you know thousands aren't complaining unless they post their complaints on the DIS? Of the thousands of visitors to WDW yearly how many know about or post on the DIS? In the last 10 years my wife and I have helped people we know plan Disney vacations, because they never heard of the DIS and even when we told them to check it out they didn't. So there's plenty of visitors out there who have bad experiences and don't vent them here. People that post on any type of message board are usually fans of the subject the board is about whether it's Disney, a sports team or a television show. So as most fans of anything will do they can't bring themselves to say anything negative about the topic who's board they are on. And when you have fans like myself and others in this thread who do bring up negative experiences it bothers others like yourself. We talked to or over heard conversations of plenty of WDW visitors during our recent stay complain about the bus situation. Many saying they had never seen it this bad. I'm just being honest with you.

And concerning your "this happened to me so it is obviously what will happen to every person every single time forever" thought is just you, once again, reading into our posts much more than what they are meant to be. It's your interpretation that we are saying that, though we are not, so that's your fault. I could read into your posts and come up with "we always have a good experience with Disney buses and that's how it will be for every person every single time forever", but I don't.

I think we've all beaten this topic down.
 
Here's the issue, as I see it......When someone posts a less than stellar experience, and someone else comes along and says, well that hasn't been my experience, the first person feels as if the second person is saying their less than stellar experience didn't happen, or doesn't matter. We all realize that each person has their own experiences, and they may not be even close to the same as someone else's. And, to make matters worse, 'perception is reality'. So, if you go to WDW and you have a couple of less than wonderful experiences, you are going to feel that's just the way it is. And someone else may not have the same expectations you have, and while having the exact same experience you had, they feel that it was fine.

It's time to stop taking issue with what others are saying. Because someone hasn't had 'bad' bus experiences does not negate the fact that someone else may have had 'bad' experiences. What one person sees as bad, another sees as perfectly acceptable or vice versa. And what is acceptable to me, may very well not be acceptable to you. I go to WDW a lot. The sense of 'urgency' is gone, has been for quite awhile now. Because my dd now lives and works down there, I like to have a rental car, but prices keep going up for rentals, and now I get to pay for the privilege of parking at my resort! Makes renting a car something to give a lot of thought to now. So, I use buses more often than not. Are they perfect? Not even close. Has Disney cut back on the number of buses out there? Quite possibly. That means longer wait times....which isn't great. It would seem that not only is Disney saving money by cutting back on bus costs (fewer buses means fewer drivers and maintainence costs) but they also now get parking fees for overnight guests at each resort. They aren't stupid...it's all about their bottom line. So, what do I do? If I'm renting a car (and not getting a CM discounted room which allows me to park free), I tend to stay offsite. I can find a much cheaper room, without parking costs, and get to the parks almost as quickly as I can if staying onsite, with a car. No buses to worry about.

So, let's play nicely here. Everyone has their own experiences, both good and not so good. Just because you haven't had a bad experience doesn't mean others haven't. But, the same goes for those with bad experiences, they have to understand that others haven't had those same experiences.
 
katie, on your point about "thousands of people ride Disney buses daily with no issues, or issues small enough that they choose not to complain." How would you know thousands aren't complaining unless they post their complaints on the DIS? Of the thousands of visitors to WDW yearly how many know about or post on the DIS? In the last 10 years my wife and I have helped people we know plan Disney vacations, because they never heard of the DIS and even when we told them to check it out they didn't. So there's plenty of visitors out there who have bad experiences and don't vent them here. People that post on any type of message board are usually fans of the subject the board is about whether it's Disney, a sports team or a television show. So as most fans of anything will do they can't bring themselves to say anything negative about the topic who's board they are on. And when you have fans like myself and others in this thread who do bring up negative experiences it bothers others like yourself. We talked to or over heard conversations of plenty of WDW visitors during our recent stay complain about the bus situation. Many saying they had never seen it this bad. I'm just being honest with you.

And concerning your "this happened to me so it is obviously what will happen to every person every single time forever" thought is just you, once again, reading into our posts much more than what they are meant to be. It's your interpretation that we are saying that, though we are not, so that's your fault. I could read into your posts and come up with "we always have a good experience with Disney buses and that's how it will be for every person every single time forever", but I don't.

I think we've all beaten this topic down.
Thank you, Disney Ron. I agree with you. I am fairly new to the Dis but I find what you are saying is totally true. People on here have a totally different perspective than the general public or other people going to Disney and they don't understand. I felt like I was being personally singled out for attack when I didn't say anything to kaytieelder. I was posting my own experiences and opinions. The last attack was the final straw and I posted how I felt which she totally ignored and again singled out sentences in my whole post to attack. I am glad someone else can see what she is doing because I thought the Dis was a place I could voice my opinion without constant attack. I am not talking about someone disagreeing with me. What she is doing is way beyond that. I have been in disagreements with people on boards. What she is doing to me is on a whole other level. Again thanks for calling her out.
 
A 50 minute wait for a bus (delayed by unsubstantiated other stops) indicates the expectation of a single bus on a given route.
Now that’s quite the leap...probably the least logical reason I can think of for a 50-minute wait.

<snip>

Thousands of people ride Disney buses daily with no issues, or issues small enough that they choose not to complain. I would be interested to see what a visitor's actual vacation-long bus wait is, compared to what it's perceived to be. As for crowded, well, more people use the buses, so yes, they're going to be more crowded.

Again, what bothers me is the "this happened to me so it is obviously what will happen to every person every single time forever" point of view.
Wow. Again, quite the leap...a really huge one in fact.

Look at the thread title. The OP question is phrased to indicate that the subject is a foregone conclusion. Not asking if anybody else feels that, or what others have experienced. Just 'why are...'.
And, posts of transportation issues are completely on topic. You seem to need to reply to everyone of them as if it’s a quest to show us the error of our ways...as if your lack of transportation issues are somehow proof the rest of us don’t have the right to be annoyed.

Mike
 
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