Magpie
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 27, 2007
We've been lucky, too.
Though, I will say that we didn't enjoy our bus experience at Coronado Springs. Too many stops, and too often the bus would fill up before it got to our stop, doubling our wait. Which then led to my husband insisting we run to stop 1 all the time. In my sandals. I was not impressed. We will not be staying at Coronado Springs again.
However, we've had excellent bus service every time we've stayed at the Pop Century. Most busses arrive within what my husband refers to as the "operational standard" of 20 minutes. Yes, he times them. All of them. All trip long. Every now and again one will take 40 minutes (meaning a bus has gone missing somewhere), but it's rare that happens more than 2 or three times in an 8 day trip. Keeping in mind, we're riding the bus at least 4 times a day (we like to park hop and nap in the afternoons).
The Pop Century has only one bus stop, and even better (from my perspective) you can't see the bus stop until you've exited the gift shop. So there's no temptation to run!
I also like the orderly roped-off queues at the Pop Century stop. Means there's no confusion over who was "first".
That said, I do consider 45 minutes entirely too little time to get to a dining reservation. It takes the bus almost 25 minutes to get from Pop to the Magic Kingdom, even with light traffic. And then you've still got to get through bag check, the tapstiles, and all the way back to the Crystal Palace.
I personally wouldn't feel good giving it less than an hour and a half. But, I also don't like feeling rushed.
I do enjoy the busses, though. I like chatting with people on them. And I particularly like being dropped off right at the entrance to the park. Especially when it comes to the Magic Kingdom, where driving means you then have to take a trolley to the TTC and catch a boat or monorail from there.
Though, I will say that we didn't enjoy our bus experience at Coronado Springs. Too many stops, and too often the bus would fill up before it got to our stop, doubling our wait. Which then led to my husband insisting we run to stop 1 all the time. In my sandals. I was not impressed. We will not be staying at Coronado Springs again.
However, we've had excellent bus service every time we've stayed at the Pop Century. Most busses arrive within what my husband refers to as the "operational standard" of 20 minutes. Yes, he times them. All of them. All trip long. Every now and again one will take 40 minutes (meaning a bus has gone missing somewhere), but it's rare that happens more than 2 or three times in an 8 day trip. Keeping in mind, we're riding the bus at least 4 times a day (we like to park hop and nap in the afternoons).
The Pop Century has only one bus stop, and even better (from my perspective) you can't see the bus stop until you've exited the gift shop. So there's no temptation to run!
I also like the orderly roped-off queues at the Pop Century stop. Means there's no confusion over who was "first".
That said, I do consider 45 minutes entirely too little time to get to a dining reservation. It takes the bus almost 25 minutes to get from Pop to the Magic Kingdom, even with light traffic. And then you've still got to get through bag check, the tapstiles, and all the way back to the Crystal Palace.
I personally wouldn't feel good giving it less than an hour and a half. But, I also don't like feeling rushed.
I do enjoy the busses, though. I like chatting with people on them. And I particularly like being dropped off right at the entrance to the park. Especially when it comes to the Magic Kingdom, where driving means you then have to take a trolley to the TTC and catch a boat or monorail from there.