Problem - Guests on SSR busses from theme parks to DTD

[dcibrando]

There is a problem that keeps getting worse with guests using the Saratoga Springs busses directly from the parks as a quick/easy way to get to Downtown Disney. My family and I just returned from our annual Walt Disney World trip staying at Saratoga Springs (our DVC home resort) once again, and each year this problem has existed, but unfortunately it is now worse than before. This year, every bus we boarded to go back to Saratoga Springs (day or night from any park) had multiple people (not staying at SSR) asking which stop to get off on to get to Downtown Disney, etc.

I completely understand the Walt Disney World bus transportation can be used by anyone staying on property…my family has also used other resort busses to get to a dining reservation somewhere else, etc. but there are a few issues happening at Saratoga Springs specifically that is getting bad and that Disney needs to consider taking a look at.

1- Saratoga Springs guests are having their bus space taken up by many non-Saratoga Springs guests which means a couple of things are happening (again I witnessed all of this multiple times)
a. Some SSR guests were left waiting in line for the next bus due to full busses with many of whom are simply looking for a quick/easy way to get to Downtown Disney
b. Many SSR guests (children and some parents holding small children, me included) were forced to stand because several of the seats were taken by those just looking for a quick/easy way to get to Downtown Disney

2- Some guests are parking at Downtown Disney, walking to SSR, and catching the Disney bus to the parks so they do not have to pay for parking. I’ve overheard people talk about this on our busses so it is happening from time to time but it’s not too frequent from what I can tell. My guess is some people board the Magic Kingdom resort area busses as well at DTD to do this but I have no proof of that.



I absolutely love Saratoga Springs, that is why we made this our home resort. As a Disney Vacation Club member, my family has spent and continues to spend a lot of money for these deluxe accommodations and we would expect bus service accommodations to be the same (or even better) than value resorts where we have also stayed at before.

The problem in my opinion is two-fold:
1- There are no busses directly from the parks to Downtown Disney (therefore they simply board the SSR busses)
2- The bus drivers tell them how to do this! (I’m not blaming them, they are simply answering the question when they are asked “how can I get to Downtown Disney”…unfortunately “just get on the SSR bus” should NOT be the answer)


I’m hoping Disney can take a look at providing a direct bus from the theme parks to Downtown Disney. I understand why they should not “pick up” guests at Downtown Disney to go to the theme parks as more people would take advantage of the free parking so if there could just be a pickup at the parks and a drop-off spot at Downtown Disney I think this would eliminate a lot of the problems with the SSR busses (and/or the bus from Downtown Disney after dropping off guests from the parks could even service another resort instead of going back to the theme parks – not sure how the bus system fully works but this may be an option as well)

I know some of you probably haven’t experienced this or may even think this is not a big deal and how everything is supposed to be… but when you are left waiting on the next bus or having to stand holding an infant while the bus is close to half full of those just going to Downtown Disney…I just don’t think this is fair (over and over again) and is something that could easily be corrected. Your thoughts?

 

[dwelty]

We experienced standing room only busses on our SSR stay as well. (A couple of weeks ago). I think the solution is just to allocate more busses to SSR. Then there would be no need to police anybody.

 

[tomandrobin]

This has been an issue for a long time. Disney initially helped create the problem, by directing people to use the SSR buses. Later, they changed it to Port Orleans and to catch the DTD bus from there.

During peak times, I will not stay in the Congress Park section just because of the DTD guests using SSR bus to get to the parks.

 

[dcibrando]

Interesting...I think we should email and let Disney (and dvc member services) know of these problems and our concerns so they can look into it

 

[Deb & Bill]

Once when we were at Epcot heading towards the buses, there was a sign at the entrance to the bus area stating guests wanting to go to DTD should take the SSR bus.

Since members pay for the buses from SSR and not Disney, Disney should not be telling guests to use the SSR bus to get to DTD.

 

[dcibrando]

Once when we were at Epcot heading towards the buses, there was a sign at the entrance to the bus area stating guests wanting to go to DTD should take the SSR bus.

Since members pay for the buses from SSR and not Disney, Disney should not be telling guests to use the SSR bus to get to DTD.

Wow I didn't know it was THIS bad....that is not right and if this is how they want to handle this then they need to increase the busses to/from SSR to make it more fair to those like me paying a large amount in annual dues and membership.

 

[Chuck S]

The SSR buses are contracted through the WDW Resort Transportation System. Anyone may use them that has a multi-day park ticket. Yes, some local and offsite DTD hotel guests do use the SSR buses. However, to follow the suggestion in a previous post, to have buses go TO DTD from the parks, without having return passengers is extremely inefficient both in terms of energy usage and driver time/bus costs.

The best solution IMO would be for Disney to charge for parking at DTD, unless you have an annual pass or are an onsite guest, in which case you'd have free parking at the theme parks anyway. The parking could be free for 2 to 3 hours with a store validation, 4 hours with a movie theater/cirque validation.

 

[Chellymouse]

SSR is our home resort also and yes this is a problem. Especially since DH and I are what we politely call Congress Park snobs and we have only stayed in CP. Now, this may not be very polite, but when we hear others who are parking at DTD to avoid paying for parking in the parks, we tell them to get off at the Grandstand or the Springs. No, it's not nice, but we pay good money for DVC and our busing should be better than average. If Disney is going to allow this, then they need to increase the number of buses at SSR.

 

[suemom2kay]

Wow! That is really frustrating. That would really make me mad too. You would think WDW would just add DTD busses from the parks. A LOT of people go to DTD after visiting a park earlier. Disney makes a LOT of money at DTD. I just don't get why they make it such a headache to get there.

If you really think about it.... ALLLLL those people "going" to SSR would be just getting on a bus directly to DTD. Maybe they aren't making enough millions there, LOL!

Two years ago we were staying at the Boardwalk with plans to got to DTD. We waited 45 minutes for a FULL bus. I think they let 2 people on and then drove away. The next bus had a driver in training and I talked them into taking the rest of us there. Who knows how long we would have been waiting for the next FULL DTD bus.

 

[Chuck S]

SSR is our home resort also and yes this is a problem. Especially since DH and I are what we politely call Congress Park snobs and we have only stayed in CP. Now, this may not be very polite, but when we hear others who are parking at DTD to avoid paying for parking in the parks, we tell them to get off at the Grandstand or the Springs. No, it's not nice, but we pay good money for DVC and our busing should be better than average. If Disney is going to allow this, then they need to increase the number of buses at SSR.

At whose cost? Disney's? If Disney were willing to eat that cost, they'd simply restore direct bus service from DTD to the parks. If the number of buses is increased, it would likely be at the expense of SSR dues.

 

[dcibrando]

I would ask for those who have experienced this to politely contact DVC member services to make them aware of this issue and our concerns. Hopefully this can be resolved before it gets worse

 

[dcibrando]

At whose cost? Disney's? If Disney were willing to eat that cost, they'd simply restore direct bus service from DTD to the parks. If the number of buses is increased, it would likely be at the expense of SSR dues.

Yes at Disney's expense. It it not fair for SSR members to pay alot of money for DVC annual dues which includes bus service to get worse bus accommodations than the all-stars and pop or the other DVC resorts

At some point Disney is going to need to stop thinking about every way to save a buck here and earn a buck there and keep the parks and experience top notch to keep their consistent visitors returning as often as before. If they fix this problem the right way they'd probably come out ahead not having some park at DTD and abuse the Disney transportation to keep from paying to park

 

[Chuck S]

I would ask for those who have experienced this to politely contact DVC member services to make them aware of this issue and our concerns. Hopefully this can be resolved before it gets worse

From WDW's point of view, there is likely no problem to resolve. SSR buses are contracted with the WDW Transportation system. All multi-day guests are entitled to use the system. Park to resort busses, for all resorts, are increased during peak park times, such as opening and closing.

During SSR construction OKW saw a similar increase. People busing to OKW, and filling the ferry boat to DTD.

 

[crisi]

From WDW's point of view, there is likely no problem to resolve. SSR buses are contracted with the WDW Transportation system. All multi-day guests are entitled to use the system. Park to resort busses, for all resorts, are increased during peak park times, such as opening and closing.

During SSR construction OKW saw a similar increase. People busing to OKW, and filling the ferry boat to DTD.

Yep, as a Disney guest staying at BWV, I'm entitled to take the bus from Magic Kingdom to SSR to walk to DTD if I want. And we have.

I'd rather the bus went straight to DTD, but Disney has decided that encourages people to park at DTD and catch the bus - or for those in the DTD hotels within walking distance to catch the DTD buses.

And people have been complaining about the situation for years.

 

[Simba's Mom]

I guess I wonder why they don't go back to what they did in the 80s-check for some form of ID that you're staying on-site, or are otherwise eligible. Back in the 80s, we were trying to board transportation to FW late at night. They asked for our room key, and DD had forgotten hers. Back in those days, Disney sometimes actually said "No" to guests, and she was denied boarding. You know, we didn't get P****d at WDW and have gone back MANY times, but always have our room key!

 

[Chuck S]

I guess I wonder why they don't go back to what they did in the 80s-check for some form of ID that you're staying on-site, or are otherwise eligible. Back in the 80s, we were trying to board transportation to FW late at night. They asked for our room key, and DD had forgotten hers. Back in those days, Disney sometimes actually said "No" to guests, and she was denied boarding. You know, we didn't get P****d at WDW and have gone back MANY times, but always have our room key!

It used to be that the resort buses required resort ID, and Disney provided park to park and park to DTD transportation. But that stopped in the very early 1990s. Also, Disney has gone to a generic room key, rather than each resort having an easily identifiable logo-ed room card for each resort.

I don't know why they actually changed the system, it seemed to work fine back then.

 

[manning]

There is a path that leads to DTD. One solution would be to build a tall fence and a gate system where you need a pass to get thru. It doesn't have to be manned. I have seen gates that have this and they are impossible to jump.

Here's one

http://www.boonedam.us/securityaccess/traseries.asp

 

[dcibrando]

ya know what might make this work... RFID tags in wristbands (or keys/tickets) that you have to have on you to get into the parks, on the busses, etc. that expire once your vacation is over. Could be implemented into the Next Gen project stuff that has been rumored

 

[Chuck S]

RFID is not necessary to make such a system workable. Swiping your current resort ID could work. However, safety regulations would likely not allow an RFID or card requirement to go FROM SSR to DTD, though it could work for entry back into SSR. So that would only solve half the problem. And there is the non-expiring multi-day tickets to consider. They could have transportation access for years on a single multi-day non-expiring ticket. And it would not stop the people staying at a DtD area hotel from access with their multi-day tickets. Remember that there are stores and restaurants (as well as spas) at every resort that are open to the general public, staying onsite or not. It is not in their best financial interest to severely restrict access.

Many are privately operated non-Disney entities that surely pay a fortune to Disney in rent for the location, including the spas and hair salons.

 

[seashoreCM]

Bus service is (or should be) augmented to meet the actual demand. Standing room only and full buses happens to a similar degree at all other resorts.

"Resorts" contract with "Disney Transport" for bus service with the cost based on room count and capacity.

(Am I mistaken?)