goofy10
Registered: December 2010
Location: New York
Posts: 11
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Review Date: Sun April 1, 2012
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 7
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Pros:
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Easy and no rental
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Cons:
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Wait times and standing
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Stayed 3/25 to 3/28. The parks were crowded and so were the buses. Had to stand on every trip no matter what time of the day or night we took the bus. We stayed at the YC. My biggest complaint is how can Disney have five deluxe resorts sharing one bus stop at AK? One day, the line was so long they had to call a second bus and there were still people left waiting for third bus. This is absurd and needs to be changed.
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hfuellgraf
Registered: March 2012
Location: Columbus
Posts: 4
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Review Date: Wed March 28, 2012
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 7
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Pros:
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Ferry was great; Bus pretty good
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Cons:
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Bus at closing not so good
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One complaint- 2 buses for All Star Movies and 6 for Pop Century. So, that night was not great; BUT overall bus service is good. I recommend waiting to sit-not standing. Ferry service to camp ground was great and as always the Monorail is excellent.
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oneSAHDdude
Registered: September 2010
Location: Michigan
Posts: 20
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Review Date: Wed February 29, 2012
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 7
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Pros:
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Free, no need for car rental
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Cons:
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Unpredictable, sometimes takes way too long
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I've always been a fan of being able tot just hop on the Disney bus to get from resort to park and back again. Our last two trips revealed some flaws.
The Monorail is a mixed blessing depending on where you are staying and where you need to get to. Polynesian to MK is a snap. Poly to Epcot is another story altogether. Four stops, then a transfer (more waiting) for a slow ride in what felt like standing in a sardine can. The rest of the trip we found it quicker and easier to drive to Epcot.
One thing that Disney needs to implement is some sort of system to let guests know when the buses are coming. This trip we had a reservation at Boma. We gave ourselves 30 minutes to get from AK to AKL, yet it took a full 45 minutes to basically wait and wait and wait for a bus to drive us around the corner. Our previous trip was during a slow season (after Labor Day) and there were several instances where we had to wait a long time for a bus, which is not fun with a toddler in tow. At one point I hailed a cab at Epcot because it was taking so long.
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bellebookworm9
Registered: May 2009
Location: 1,194 Miles from Disney World
Posts: 131
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Review Date: Sun February 12, 2012
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 8
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I had heard ahead of time that Coronado Springs has a very good bus system and I found that to be pretty accurate.
On 2/9, we went to the Casitas bus stop and just missed the Epcot bus. An Animal Kingdom bus pulled up moments later and we got on that one instead. Returning from Animal Kingdom to CSR, the wait was not too long. We decided that the El Centro stop was closer to our room, so we used that one when we went to Epcot in the evening. A bus came moments after we arrived, and when we left the park in the evening, the bus was waiting for us at the stop.
2/10: I waited about 15 minutes for a bus to DHS at 8am or so, and my mom experienced the same thing later in the morning. Coming back to CSR in the afternoon, we again had a short wait. We went to Epcot again in the evening and once again had only a few minutes wait. After Epcot we walked to the Beach Club to catch a bus to Downtown Disney, and that bus took about 20 minutes to come. (At one point a bus pulled up that said Coronado Springs so we asked the driver if he was going there. He said no, Magic Kingdom, and didn't even know the sign said Coronado. I've found that a lot of bus drivers don't know what destination is showing.) Once at Downtown Disney, it took about 20 minutes for a Coronado Springs bus to come, as one had just pulled away when we arrived.
2/11: We went to Animal Kingdom around 12:45. The bus took only about 10 minutes to arrive. On the way back around 5:30pm, the bus took 20 minutes, but it seemed a lot longer because it was extremely cold. After a brief stop at our room, it was back out to the bus stop to wait for a Downtown Disney bus. Did not take too long to arrive, but on the way back, it took 25 minutes to come and it was very, very cold again.
2/12: Today we went to Magic Kingdom around 11:15am. The bus took about 25-30 minutes to arrive, but once it did two came at once. When we returned to Coronado several hours later, the bus took 10 minutes to arrive.
We did not have to stand at all on this trip and the buses were hardly ever full, which were big pluses. For the last two days, we had a collapsible wheelchair from the resort and we were allowed to board first, and the drivers were helpful and courteous.
Only two negatives were the occasional random stops at Blizzard Beach and the occasional long waits.
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CinCin
Registered: October 2010
Location: Texas
Posts: 41
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Review Date: Fri February 3, 2012
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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Good service. Reliable. Drivers helpful. Free!
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Cons:
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time wasting, takes quite a bit of preplanning
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First off, I love Disney transportation and not needing to have a rental car. There is a bit of challenge in going from resort to resort though and it definitely takes some pre-planning to navigate. The only real drawback though is the time it takes to use Disney's transportation. Disney says to allow 1.5 hours one way to go from one resort to another and we found that to be pretty accurate. It was bit tricky at first trying to find the bus stop for Hollywood Studios at EPCOT (which is in the middle of the parking lot) and then finding the ferry from DHS to the resorts. The buses do not run from every park to every resort like we expected. The EPCOT resorts are connected by walkway or ferry to EPCOT (that you can only access with park admission) and the MK resorts are likewise connected by monorail. Once you figure out which transport runs where and which does not, then getting around is no problem as long as you have the time. It was a little confusing the first couple of times though and we asked for lots of help to find our way. All the drivers were very helpful in letting us know how to get from A to B. It's simple to go from a resort to a park, but not so easy to go from resort to resort using a park as a transfer point. The drivers were all very courteous and very helpful.
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Fansince73
Registered: August 2007
Location: Fort Lauderdale, FL
Posts: 4
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Review Date: Fri January 27, 2012
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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Fast, easy, and of course...cool
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Cons:
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Early closing time
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This review is mostly to give others a heads up. I just got back from a four night stay at the Polynesian. We had dinner at Citrico's the third night at 8pm. Magic Kingdom closed at 8pm so I knew from all the signs placed around that the monorail would be closing at 9. No big deal, we can take the little boat that runs from the Poly to the Grand Floridian back after dinner. Wrong! It was 9:45pm and a pretty large group of people were out on the boatdock. After 20 minutes with no boats in sight, we accepted our fail and went back into the lobby. We were told to take a bus to Downtown Disney and transfer to our resort bus, or we could walk. Hmmm, did I really want to go through all the bus trouble to get one hotel over on the lake? Did I feel like walking after a huge(and expensive) meal, not to mention we were dressed up, no tennis shoes. We chose to walk, and it sucked. I think they charge too much at the 3 monorail hotels to shut down all train and boat service at 9pm at night. I could't imagine all the angry people coming from Epcot to find they had to bus it to their hotel after spending all that money on a monorail resort. At least keep the resort line open till 10pm, 9 is just too early! I called when I got back to the room and the manager agreed but it was out of the control of the hotel, but she would pass on the complaint to upper management. Beyond that inconvenience everything else was great!
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bellebookworm9
Registered: May 2009
Location: 1,194 Miles from Disney World
Posts: 131
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Review Date: Tue January 10, 2012
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 8
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Today I had a goal to use all three main forms of Disney transportation: bus, boat, monorail. And I was successful!
At approximately 5:30pm I headed to the boat dock for Downtown Disney and the boat pulled up only minutes later. The driver took a 5 minute break and we departed at 5:40. I did not realize this would only go to the Pleasure Island stop, but that was not a big deal, I just walked over. The ride was pleasant and created a nice breeze on a muggy evening.
After dinner at Downtown Disney, my roommate and I headed to the bus stops to catch a bus to the Polynesian for Wishes on the beach. We were at stop 3 at the posted sign for our bus, but it moved to the next station? So we went to get on and found out it was actually going to Ft. Wilderness. He changed the sign quickly. When the bus finally came it was pretty empty. Very cold. First we stopped at PI, then the Contemporary before finally heading to the Poly. It seemed to take a very long time.
After Wishes from the Poly, we found our way to the TTC and the Epcot monorail. We caught Monorail Yellow just before it closed its doors. I had to stand but it was lovely to see Epcot-my favorite park.
Upon making our way over to the bus stops and seeing that Old Key West was stop 9, I saw the bus was there and jogged over. It was full-ish but everyone was seated. It left after a few minutes and the ride back to OKW was not long...at first. I needed the Hospitality House stop, which is the last one, and sticking around for it adds 25 minutes to the travel time. It would have been faster to get off at the Peninsular Road stop and walk back to my building. Bus drivers were very friendly on this leg of the trip
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bannwj
Registered: January 2012
Location: La Porte, IN
Posts: 6
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Review Date: Tue January 3, 2012
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 7
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Pros:
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No need for a Rental Car
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Cons:
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Can take awhile to get from Point A to Point B
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We stayed at the WL from 12/11/11 to 12/19/11. We used the boat service to get to the MK, and also to get to ADRs at the Cont. and FW. Average wait for a boat was around 5 minutes, although one time we did probably wait around 10 minutes (but, hey, you're at Disney World, right, so who cares!). Overall, we were very pleased with the boat service.
Bus service wasn't as predictable. Sometimes we got lucky, and a bus would show up within minutes, but on more occasions than not we waited around 15 minutes.
We only used the monorail twice, but both times it was very efficient and cool way to get around the property. My 4 year old son kept on calling it the 'monta-rail', so now in our family, it will always be affectionately called that :-)
Overall, it was nice to not have to worry about driving, parking, taking a tram, etc.
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nrymut
Registered: July 2006
Posts: 87
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Review Date: Mon January 2, 2012
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 6
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Pros:
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Boats, monorails
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Cons:
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Bus
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We had no problem using boats and momorails. But we needed to get to Narcoosee's for dinner reservation at 7pm and decided to take bus and momorail rather than use rental car and pay to park. We should have taken the car. We left the Boardwalk at 5:50 pm and got to restaurant at 7:05. The bus was very slow and crowded. I anticipated it would take about 45 minutes, not over an hour.
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sjdeane
Registered: September 2007
Posts: 15
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Review Date: Fri December 16, 2011
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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convenience
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Cons:
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lines
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Disney makes it so easy for you to never leave the Disney property. Busses ran well and frequent on our trip Nov 13-21. Didnt wait long at POP for a bus, nor at any parks for that matter. When they saw there was a large POP line here came the busses like 3 of them. they do a lot better now than in the past on that. We took the boat from MK to GF and that was a nice change of pace and very quick, but then again we got to the boat when he was just docking both ways and did not have to wait, plus it was a down time of the year as well. We took the monorail a few times and that tends to be more crowded and we had to stand more. I dont think I would like to stay on the line in a delux resort because even tho its convenient, when we pulled into those hotels there was always hotel guests waiting especially at Contermporary. Overall Disney transpo rocks it
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wdwfan6
Registered: March 2006
Location: MA
Posts: 74
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Review Date: Wed November 30, 2011
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Would you recommend the product? No
| Rating: 1
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Pros:
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Very little
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Cons:
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Transportation was beyond awful!! Should have rented a car!
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Ok. I'm not one to complain, but the transportation (especially the buses) was ridiculous! Way too slow, especially at park closing. Watching bus after bus for the deluxe resorts, while waiting 40+ minutes for a bus for the French Quarter was irratating. One night it took 45 minutes to get from POFQ to EPCOT!!! The bus was completely packed at POFQ and everyone was going to EPCOT. The driver still went to every single stop at POR! No one got off and no one could squeeze on. This park is like 5 minutes from this resort. There is absolutely no reason for a ride to take 45 minutes.
The worst was being on a bus from DTD to POFQ to get a bus to DHS, because apparently you can't go to any other park from another park directly, but rather have to go to a resort to get a bus to the park. Driver took forever to leave DTD, even though no one was waiting to get on the bus. He then stops at Typhoon Lagoon, knowing it was closed for rehab. He pulls into POFQ, only to drive right by the resort!!! When I asked him why he did not stop at the resort, was told it was not on his screen to stop there. WHAT??? Then when we get to POR, he completely bypasses the main bus stop and does not stop until he gets to the 2nd Buyoo stop. At this point, I could not stand it anymore. Took down his name and bus number and got off the bus. I then called Disney transportation and told them what happened. They were dumbfounded as to why the bus driver would not only skip POFQ, but why he would not stop at POR main stop or the 1st buyoo stop.
Next trip, I'll be renting a car.
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5crapps
Registered: November 2011
Location: Wisconsin
Posts: 8
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Review Date: Sun November 20, 2011
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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everything
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Cons:
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none
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We stayed at the Music resort and had no problems with buses. The only time it was really crowded, was going to Downtown Disney. The other times we got almost right on. We had the Park HOpper, so we used the monorail and boats too. We loved taking the boat from Epcot to Hollywood. We had reservations at Cape May Cafe: took bus to DHS then boat to Yacht Club. Was extremely quick! Nice walk from CMC at BC to Epcot! This is a main reason we stay at Disney...no hassle of driving and trying to find your way!
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OneLtlSpark
Registered: March 2007
Location: Chicago
Posts: 43
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Review Date: Thu November 17, 2011
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 7
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Pros:
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convenience
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Cons:
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wait times, crowding
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Although I adore Disney transportation, and love the convenience of it, there seem to be some issues with the system as of late that could stand to be corrected.
It's clear that Disney is taking extra safety precautions with the monorail system. Once upon a time, those monorails would be zipping around at full speed, pulling into stations practically on top of each other. Now, they run at much slower speeds, there are fewer on the rails, and there are constant mid-track stops while a monorail ahead clears a station.
I appreciate the safety, but this does mean wait times are much longer than they used to be.
The bus system can be unpredictable. We stayed at the Poly, and never had to wait more than 20 minutes for a bus coming or going, but the buses were often jam-packed.
I strongly suggest using the boats whenever possible. Considering the wait times with the buses and monorail these days, the boats are often quicker. They're certainly more pleasant.
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borfnorton
Registered: October 2011
Posts: 1
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Review Date: Fri October 28, 2011
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Would you recommend the product? No
| Rating: 2
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Pros:
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its available and is "there" as an option
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Cons:
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value resorts get less buses and long waits
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It's as simple as this. The value resorts have the longest bus lines and wait times and lowest bus allocations. Numerous times on our trip we would wait a minimum of 20 to 30 minutes while other resort wait stations had multiple buses come and go. We even had multiple instances of empty buses drive right by then pullover and sit there doing nothing while the all star resort line would continue to grow. It's apparent that Disney's bus dispatch system gives the least priority to the value resorts.
If you are staying at a value resort plan an extra 1 to 1.5 hours of standing waiting transportation time to get anywhere in the park.
Avoid with children and within 2 hours either side of any park closing.
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OkieDisney
Registered: October 2011
Posts: 11
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Review Date: Wed October 26, 2011
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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No Driving!
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Cons:
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Sometimes very full and had to wait.
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This was a great stress relief to us on our vacation. NO Driving! I'm one of those that hates traffic and driving in unfamiliar areas, so this was great. There really is nothing like being delivered to the front gates of the parks and back to the front of the hotel after an exhausting day at the parks. After doing this I would never consider driving while at Disney. But beware, sometimes the buses can be full and you may have to stand and you may have to wait a little before a bus comes to pick you up. If you are prepared for this before going into it, you'll be glad you used Disney Transportation.
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