Time to rant...

[BDK33]

See, we believe that there is more value staying on site than just the transportation. In fact, we almost never use the transportation because we don't like the crowds on the bus and monorail (I face that every day using public transit in NYC) and we like the flexibility of coming and going when we please. Staying on site and driving means we get free parking at the parks and we don't need to get there driving in the traffic on I-4 or 192. A lot of the time now, we don't even rent a car and instead we use taxis to get where we want to go. If you're OK staying offsite and driving in each day, that might be a better choice for you at this time.

Like I said on the initial post, we are AP holders so we already get free parking. I get it for non AP's, obviously parking for free is a benefit.

 

[BDK33]

There are phones at most all bus stops, though I can't say for sure about the Values, I've not stayed there enough to know. You pick it up and ask whoever answers on the other end.
We use buses, as we fly and do not rent a car. We spend a lot of days at Disney, as AP holders, several trips per year, 5+ nights each. We have never waited 40 min for a bus. So I can't see it is the norm.
You have hit an extraordinarily run of bad luck. For whatever reason.
I do think the road construction is causing a lot of delays too

As to your original time frame, I'm going to chime in that unfortunately, for future reference, 45 min is not enough time. Not by far. They recommend 90 min for a reason. We always go with 90 min to reach an ADR. Yes we usually arrive early but we aren't late. We just stop and shop for a few minutes on the way in.

I know they quote you 90 mins, but that doesn't mean its how it should be. Not sure why if they say busses run every 20 mins why you should need to allow 90 mins to get from resort to reservation? Just seems to contradict each other.

 

[toolmanjan]

You are justified with your complaint. We have stayed onsite 7 times in the last four years. The waits time s for bus transportation have become progressively become longer. Especially trying to get back to your resort. When you're waiting 45+ mins. at as full bus stop as buses repeatedly stop at empty stops. This tells me that Disney's method for dispatching buses is flawed or the dispatchers are sightless or clueless.

BTW I'm not talking about bus waits at park closing.

 

[DavidNYC]

Even when staying on property we've almost always had a car because we've had such uneven experiences. Usually good to great - but we've had a few of those waits. And end of evening can be nightmare. We've actually ubered a few times as it was relatively inexpensive and very worth it for the peace of mind for mornings where time was important or end of evening where it looked like we had at least several busses ahead of us.

 

[BDK33]

You are justified with your complaint. We have stayed onsite 7 times in the last four years. The waits time s for bus transportation have become progressively become longer. Especially trying to get back to your resort. When you're waiting 45+ mins. at as full bus stop as buses repeatedly stop at empty stops. This tells me that Disney's method for dispatching buses is flawed or the dispatchers are sightless or clueless.

BTW I'm not talking about bus waits at park closing.

The most recent trip we were at MK and stayed for Happily Ever After show. We understood busses would be a mess if we left then, so we waited an hour after the show which was 11pm, which was an hour before the park was closing at midnight. We thought that it would be a good sweet spot to go back. Not the case as we waited for 5 buses. When we got on the bus there were still probably 4 to 5 busses of people waiting behind us.

Maybe I'm unlucky... but if I'm unlucky then a few hundred other Coronado Springs resort stayers were also unlucky with me.

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

I know they quote you 90 mins, but that doesn't mean its how it should be. Not sure why if they say busses run every 20 mins why you should need to allow 90 mins to get from resort to reservation? Just seems to contradict each other.

They say give 90 minutes because it is impossible to say what might delay a bus. Maybe this is my first time loading my scooter. Maybe just as someone steps on, they drop their bag and a bunch of stuff falls out into the bus. Maybe there is an accident and the bus needs to take a different route.

The point is, Disney tells you before hand that you should give them 90 minutes to get to your destination. If you choose to ignore that, you will probably be late.

 

[hllb]

I know they quote you 90 mins, but that doesn't mean its how it should be. Not sure why if they say busses run every 20 mins why you should need to allow 90 mins to get from resort to reservation? Just seems to contradict each other.

Well, part of the problem is that the buses don't just go from your resort to the park of choice. It does depend on your resort, but the bus may go to multiple stops in your resort, and then go to one or two additional resorts before going to the park. That is why they tell you to allot that much time. And then, at busy times like for rope drop or at the end of the day, you may have to wait for more than one bus due to crowds. While 90 minutes is a lot of time, 45 minutes is definitely not a lot of time to do all those things. I've only used the bus at two resorts - Art of Animation and CBR. At CBR, I absolutely hated the buses. That resort has multiple bus stops and it took forever just to leave the resort. At AoA, the busing was fast and efficient. I would not stay at a large resort with multiple bus stops again. Frequently the buses would be full by the time they arrived at our stop.

 

[BDK33]

They say give 90 minutes because it is impossible to say what might delay a bus. Maybe this is my first time loading my scooter. Maybe just as someone steps on, they drop their bag and a bunch of stuff falls out into the bus. Maybe there is an accident and the bus needs to take a different route.

The point is, Disney tells you before hand that you should give them 90 minutes to get to your destination. If you choose to ignore that, you will probably be late.

So if you're saying that if I don't allow 90 mins then I will probably be late, then you are agreeing that this bus mess is the norm, not the exception.

If that's really the case then Disney Transportation has a very big problem it needs to deal with...

 

[Micca]

I can understand the frustration, 40 minutes is a long time when "time is money." There's a lot of waiting in lines at WDW, it does get old. We've given up on Disney transport and rent a car as it's one less line to wait in. OTOH we do have to wait in line to rent the car.

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

So if you're saying that if I don't allow 90 mins then I will probably be late, then you are agreeing that this bus mess is the norm, not the exception.

If that's really the case then Disney Transportation has a very big problem it needs to deal with...

It has never taken me 90 to go to my destination.

But with luck like yours, yes, you will probably be late.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

We gave up on Disney transportation a LONG time ago. Disney recommends 90 minutes to get anywhere on property and they're not joking. The last straw for us was a few years ago when we were staying at BWI and had a reservation at CR for dinner - easy peasy, right? Bus to MK, walk to CR. It took almost 2 hours. Never, ever again. We now factor in uber/lyft/Minnie Vans into the overall cost of our trips.

It would be GREAT if they posted the bus wait times on the TV's in the resort rooms or put the in the MDE app! We do attempt the bus, but, if it's going to take too long, it's uber time!

In your case, it really seems the only perk of staying onsite would be the FP+ perks. I would not count Disney transportation as a perk to staying onsite if you have a car at your disposal.

 

[Princess_Lisa]

I agree with your reasons as well. However, how much is that bubble worth to you?

For the same $300 or so a night to stay at like a port orleans, I could stay at Gaylord.

Just ranting because it’s stuff like this thstntotaly wrecks a trip.

For $300/night, you could stay at the Swolphin (Swan/Dolphin) and still be on property (you get most of the resort perks), plus you can earn Starwood Points to be used towards free/discounted nights down the road.

 

[hllb]

So if you're saying that if I don't allow 90 mins then I will probably be late, then you are agreeing that this bus mess is the norm, not the exception.

If that's really the case then Disney Transportation has a very big problem it needs to deal with...

That's not saying it's the norm, but if it happens 20% of the time, you should plan ahead. That way you're only pleasantly surprised and you don't miss reservations. When you go to a job interview, do you leave in just enough time to get there? I don't. I leave about an hour sooner than I should have to. Because it's important. And, I usually drive there, at the same time of day, ahead of time, to check the location and the traffic that I'll likely run into. Overkill? Perhaps. But I'm not generally late. Since you do have a car there, you could get to the bus stop early and decide, if no bus has arrived in a timely fashion, to go get your car and use that instead.

 

[BDK33]

It has never taken me 90 to go to my destination.

But with luck like yours, yes, you will probably be late.

Seems like from other posters experiences you're the lucky one lol.

 

[sharonabe]

At the very least, update all of the bus stops with the screens that tell you when the next bus will arrive.

While I did enjoy having this information, it was more often incorrect than correct. Every morning, the wait for our park bus of choice would lengthen as we waited. We never waited 40 min, but it was little disheartening to watch that number go up instead of down.

 

[anomamatt]

So if you're saying that if I don't allow 90 mins then I will probably be late, then you are agreeing that this bus mess is the norm, not the exception.

If that's really the case then Disney Transportation has a very big problem it needs to deal with...

Unfortunately, I don't think WDW views it that way. WDW has the mindset that their transportation will get you where you need to go (on property) within 90 minutes. >90 mins and WDW would say it's a problem. <90 minutes and they think it's "all good".

Now... should it take that long? No. But if you rely on busses and have something you cannot miss (an ADR or crucial FP), it's wise to either allow 90 mins or find other transportation.

 

[BDK33]

That's not saying it's the norm, but if it happens 20% of the time, you should plan ahead. That way you're only pleasantly surprised and you don't miss reservations. When you go to a job interview, do you leave in just enough time to get there? I don't. I leave about an hour sooner than I should have to. Because it's important. And, I usually drive there, at the same time of day, ahead of time, to check the location and the traffic that I'll likely run into. Overkill? Perhaps. But I'm not generally late. Since you do have a car there, you could get to the bus stop early and decide, if no bus has arrived in a timely fashion, to go get your car and use that instead.

If we have to treat our vacations that we pay for just like a job interview, then I think I have a bigger problem...

I appreciate your attention to time, as I am the same way in the real world. However, when I pay for a service that says I will get on a bus ROUGHLY every 20 mins, I don't feel like I need to leave 5 times earlier.

So while you all think I should be there 90 mins early, the real story here is that I am still waiting for this service for over 45 mins.

You all are burying the important part of this which is how the transportation is consistently late or lagging.

Clearly, from the other posters, I'm far from the only one who has had to deal with this.

 

[BDK33]

Unfortunately, I don't think WDW views it that way. WDW has the mindset that their transportation will get you where you need to go (on property) within 90 minutes. >90 mins and WDW would say it's a problem. <90 minutes and they think it's "all good".

Now... should it take that long? No. But if you rely on busses and have something you cannot miss (an ADR or crucial FP), it's wise to either allow 90 mins or find other transportation.

They also say buses run every 20 mins...

 

[Spencer Wright]

...We stayed at all star music. Three consecutive times on this trip we waited 40+ minutes for a bus to come get us. The last time this happened we ended u[ being 30 minutes late for our Chrystal Palace reservation. Before people chime in and say I should have left earlier... I think being at our bus stop 45 minutes before the reservation should suffice. Isn't that the benefit to staying on property?

...

Sorry for this rant but I'm wondering if I'm crazy or if others are having similar experiences...

TIA

I am the kind of person who is always unnecessarily early for things (however as I get older this is changing). However, I agree that 45 minutes is reasonable. I personally probably would have done an hour, however that's to accommodate for security procedures.

I do think bus service is getting worse. I see some posters starting to stay at moderates or values when they may normally stay one level higher, and renting a car or taking uber/lyft.

We are staying the the Beach Club next trip, and I cutting out little extras until then and saving the money to use toward a Minnie Van, perhaps to use once a day, or twice on some days.

I did suggest for this trip (August 2018) looking off site and was, lets say... firmly shut down. I am going with my mother and sister and we have only ever stayed on property.

I knew off property was cheaper, but when I researched I was really blown away at how much less wonderful resorts are off property. Like Bonnet Creek is half of a deluxe!! And that place looks gorgeous!!

I also suggested a half or partial Universal stay (again, firmly shut down); but it's also much cheaper and I called and asked questions and someone knowledgeable and genuinely interested answered!! I was just a little confused about how the early entry and 'fast passes' worked.

I absolutely agree with your rant, and Disney better step it up!!

My mother did offer to pay for some of my trip (don't judge me ) ; which is primarily why were going with Disney again. But I was very tempted to go with a RC cruise or Universal this vacation.

 

[DisneyMom93]

We've never waited 30-40 minutes for a bus. I'd say 10-15 average and 20 tops. That's at Pop Century.