Blt busses

[disfanforlife]

We have been so frustrated by the buses in the past, that we now rent a car. I research coupon codes and rates and continue to check the rates and modify my reservation as my trip gets closer. For our most recent trip, we are paying $12 a day. It's a small price to avoid the buses! Parking at the resorts/parks is free, and when I purchase my park passes through AAA they provide a Diamond Parking pass which gives access to a special parking area in the lots (so we can arrive at AK and MGM later in the day but park near the gates). Still use monorail for MK and EPCOT. The car is also easier when we dine at a non-monorail resort!

Wow. I didn't know you could rent a car that cheaply! We have avoided flying to Sanford for that reason because we don't want to bother with car rental etc... Maybe we should consider. We will see how the transportation is on this trip and think about it for the future!

 

[DVCmember1992]

We always use Dollar Rent a Car. Google coupon codes which give added discounts, and remember to keep checking the rates even after you book! Also, if you join Dollar Express (it's free) the pick up and drop off is a breeze, plus they upgraded our car for free last week! Good luck!

 

[JessLCH]

I had the same ME experience last Monday. 1 hour and 40 minutes. We were the first stop at BLT/CR - followed by three stops: Polynesian, Grand Floridian and Wilderness Lodge. I can't remember the order. So about an hour later we were finally on our way to the airport. Side A was dropped off first and of course I was side B. By the time I got through security which was over a 30 minute wait, road the monorail to the gates, and grabbed something to go to eat, it was time to board the plane.

This was the same type of scenario a year ago leaving from Port Orleans Riverside only the security line wait was 45 minutes which was cutting it even closer yet. I had considered asking for any earlier pick up time this year, but thought I would give it one more try. Next time I'm either asking for an earlier time if I can get it or budgeting my trip to include a town car service again.

On the arriving end, I had always had great luck in the past getting to my resort. Lines were short, busses were waiting, left shortly after boarding, and lucky to be the first or second stop. This time was great with the ME line using the Magic Band, but then we waited on the bus for over a half hour before leaving followed by being the last stop of four. I think it was around 1 hour and 40-50 minutes from the time I got off the plane.

I also agree about the deluxe resort busses. With all the stops, it always seemed like 20 minutes before we would even leave the area. It was okay for me. I was on a solo trip and had time. I also had rented points to stay at BLT. If I were with my family and had paid a lot for a resort room stay, I know I would have been very disappointed. My previous stays have been at WL, POR, POFQ and Pop. Although the busses were often more crowded, they were frequent with very little wait time and stops.

On one bus ride there was a discussion between two dads about the bus transportation and ALL the waiting - everywhere!! It seemed to be an extra busy week at WDW also. One of the guys talked about budgeting an extra grand into the trip and taking taxis. We took a taxi a couple of times last trip for a resort breakfast and the Segway tour. I know I will be budgeting for taxis next time, too!

We had pretty much the exact same not so Magical Express experience leaving BLT on the Tuesday after Columbus day. It took us an hour to make all the bus stops before we even left WDW. I have used ME several times and never had an experience like this before. Still, we will continue to use Disney transportation as we like the luggage handling and not having to have a car. (We have tried both car rental and not and prefer no car.) We will occasionally take a cab.

 

[Andrew015]

We were so frustrated at WL last time b/c of the crazy bus sharing. Never had an issue at AKL! This is why we plan to rent a car!

Curious to know the issues with WL bussing? I have always found WL bussing to be a breeze. While they do share with FW, I have found that part of the loop to be a quick "one-stop" pickup, perhaps adding another 10-15 minutes tops to the round-trip. In the world of Disney bussing, that's almost instantaneous!

I have found BW to be the worst from a bussing standpoint.

 

[goofy4tink]

If the deluxe resorts each had their own bus, the room rates would go up! Those bus costs are included in the resort budget...someone has to pay for addtl buses. So, in the end it will be the guest. Paying deluxe room rates get you nicer lodging, close to at least one park, with better resort amenities.
I was at the Dolphin last week. Buses weren't all that wonderful. The same could be said for my stay at BWV in early Sept. But, there weren't many times that our buses went to the YC/BC. The DTD bus did, but not the AK or MK buses.
Is there room for improvement? Sure is. I have to think that Disney has cut down on the number of buses running out there at any given time. Sure, it saves Disney money every day, but it sure isn't making the guests very happy. And Disney should want their guests to be happy.

 

[Andrew015]

I’m not an expert on the subject, but I would have to imagine that Disney Transportation works very closely with both Park and Resort Operations to determine the # of guests staying at each resort, daily projections for each park, etc. I would venture a guess that the # of buses serving each resort/park combination fluctuate daily based on these figures provided by Operations.

While it is not perfect by any means, IMHO, bus transportation at WDW is pretty darn good. I think we’ve all been spoiled by the “good times” when crowds and associated wait times are low, and this then becomes the baseline for our normal expectation. Unfortunately, that’s not always going to be the norm, and we become frustrated when crowds and corresponding wait times rise. With WDW being the largest vacation destination in the world, I think they move around hundreds of thousands of people around pretty darn efficiently. My baseline for comparison is Cleveland public transportation, so perhaps my expectations are very low. When the thought of catching a bus here in Cleveland comes to mind, I think of the caveman from World Of Motion blowing on his red-hot feet (I’d rather be “that guy” than catch a bus here in Cleveland).

Some have commented that the easy fix is to add more busses, but that Disney would not do that because it effects their profitability. We can, in fact, see that Disney is not opposed to spending capital to help this issue. We can see the new bus depots being added to MK which will accommodate the pending articulating buses. The larger, articulated buses should really help to move the masses during “peak” times. Now if Disney chooses to reduce the # of “normal” buses when the articulated ones come online, we might not see a drastic improvement. Time will tell, but my bet is that we will see improvement during those peak times and crowd levels.

 

[disneynutz]

I’m not an expert on the subject, but I would have to imagine that Disney Transportation works very closely with both Park and Resort Operations to determine the # of guests staying at each resort, daily projections for each park, etc. I would venture a guess that the # of buses serving each resort/park combination fluctuate daily based on these figures provided by Operations.

While it is not perfect by any means, IMHO, bus transportation at WDW is pretty darn good. I think we’ve all been spoiled by the “good times” when crowds and associated wait times are low, and this then becomes the baseline for our normal expectation. Unfortunately, that’s not always going to be the norm, and we become frustrated when crowds and corresponding wait times rise. With WDW being the largest vacation destination in the world, I think they move around hundreds of thousands of people around pretty darn efficiently. My baseline for comparison is Cleveland public transportation, so perhaps my expectations are very low. When the thought of catching a bus here in Cleveland comes to mind, I think of the caveman from World Of Motion blowing on his red-hot feet (I’d rather be “that guy” than catch a bus here in Cleveland).

Some have commented that the easy fix is to add more busses, but that Disney would not do that because it effects their profitability. We can, in fact, see that Disney is not opposed to spending capital to help this issue. We can see the new bus depots being added to MK which will accommodate the pending articulating buses. The larger, articulated buses should really help to move the masses during “peak” times. Now if Disney chooses to reduce the # of “normal” buses when the articulated ones come online, we might not see a drastic improvement. Time will tell, but my bet is that we will see improvement during those peak times and crowd levels.

My guess is that Disney will use Magic Bands in the future to count waiting Guests and to dispatch and re-direct bus routes.

Several years ago Disney installed dispatch hardware and software for the buses along with the GPS tracking and music/announcement systems. They have counters installed at each bus door that was supposed to keep track on the number of Guests onboard but the sensors had trouble being accurate.

The MB's can be read as person counters as you enter the bus line so Disney would know how many are waiting for the bus.

Bill

 

[Andrew015]

The use of MB's is certainly a possibility. This would require some type of scanning / counting hardware being installed in the bus waiting lines, but is certainly not out of the question. Perhaps it's already in the works for the new MK bus depot

 

[spiceycat]

Pop has excellent bus service. would love CR/BLT to have the same service.

all the value resorts have much better bus service than the deluxes.

so it is not the budget that worries disney. or the value resorts would have the worst.

 

[Andrew015]

all the value resorts have much better bus service than the deluxes.

so it is not the budget that worries disney. or the value resorts would have the worst.

You are correct - it's not necessarily budget driven. I would venture a guess that it has more to do with the resort layout. Most of the deluxes have one centralized bus stop, where as the values/moderates have multiple stops. I think the # of buses servicing a particular resort is a combination of current occupency + number of stops.

 

[spiceycat]

You are correct - it's not necessarily budget driven. I would venture a guess that it has more to do with the resort layout. Most of the deluxes have one centralized bus stop, where as the values/moderates have multiple stops. I think the # of buses servicing a particular resort is a combination of current occupency + number of stops.

no Pop Century has one bus stop - and it has pretty great service (my opinion)

so far it and AoA are not sharing.

 

[Andrew015]

I was speaking in general, but I'm out of theories now