Just curious how many people have been in a bus accident at WDW

[minnie2002]

I was reading a post about POP Century and the bus situation. The person stated they were in a bus accident. This is one of my fears when the buses are so packed especially at night. Friends of ours were in a bus accident during Christmas at the POP. They were luckily seated and the bus wasn't packed with standing people. They just got some bruises, and were sent to guest relations to get fast passes for the day to compenstate for the problem. Just curious how often this happens. It really does worry me when I see small children or really anyone standing on a packed bus. I would hate for anyone to get seriously hurt on a magical vacation.

[AuntDJ]

Thankfully, I have not been in an actual accident; however, we came very close on our last trip.

On our first night, from the MK to POFQ a yellow cab did not yield the right of way and our bus had to slam on the breaks, there was only us and one other family on the bus, but my 6 yr old niece was in the back seat of the bas and was tossed around quite a bit. She cried but really wasn't hurt. the driver apologized but that was it.

It was a little scary as I have never really thought about it until then, now I hold on to the kids a little closer...

DJ

[baby minnie's mommy]

That's one thing I like about driving our own vehicle on the roads - DD can sit in her carseat. :)

[Tink#64]

Not us. Honestly I think the Disney bus drivers seem very competent & I have really never worried. I'm sure it happens, but hopefully the accidents are few & far in between. :)

[Aggie97]

Our bus accident story (my apologies for its length!):

As we were on a bus leaving the Polynesian last month, we could see that an ambulance was entering the resort with sirens and emergency lights flashing, approaching on our left. Our bus driver paused briefly and then turned left directly in front of the ambulance (which veered slightly to its right and stopped).

The left side of our bus crashed into the left side of the ambulance... but our driver kept on going! The bus scraped/dragged along the side of the ambulance, until the bus was stuck to the ambulance's back bumper and could no longer move forward. We were in the back of the bus facing the ambulance, so we had a good view of it. :ambal:

With the exception of an EMT who stepped onto the bus to ask if everyone was okay (we were), no one ever said a word to the passengers.

After about 20-25 minutes of waiting, everyone decided to exit the bus. A handful of people (including me) stopped to fill out some paperwork the driver had -- he just sort of handed us a clipboard without speaking. We guessed he was a little shell-shocked.

Because the bus was at an odd angle, we had to exit directly onto some landscaping. A large, pointy wood chunk stabbed through the bottom of my shoe into my heel, resulting in a decent puncture wound and more blood than I would have expected. We stopped at an ambulance for assistance -- after I responded that it was not broken glass from the bus, the EMT handed me an alcohol wipe. :( Thankfully I had Neosporin and Band-Aids back in the room. I ended up using tweezers to pull three splinters out of the puncture wound in my heel later that evening, though.

I have to admit we were surprised at how the whole affair was handled, or I guess I should say the lack of handling! I suppose we could have said something to a manager on the scene or at the front desk. But frankly, it just wasn't that big a deal to us, we weren't at all angry, and we were on vacation. So we just had a good laugh about it, let it go, and moved on with our trip! :mickey:

[vizsla]

Out of all my trips to WDW we were never involved in a bus accident. We did witness one two years ago at the MK when one bus was departing and the bus that was in front of him. Thankfully nobody was hurt on either bus.

[joeyGibson]

Back in 2003, as we were getting on the bus at Blizzard Beach, the driver got distracted, forgot to put on the parking break, and as we were climbing the front stairs, he ran into the concrete pylon. My 5 year-old son fell down the stairs, but was unhurt. I was thrown forward, but was able to steady myself. When we checked out, I noticed a $60 credit on the bill for 'substandard service.'

[DisneyCrazyET]

This past Dec. the bus was packed and we were standing in the front. DSs, myself, then DH. The bus slamed on the brakes and everyone went forward, he hit the gate at the resort. He had to back up and try again. No one was hurt but could have been if any little ones were standing. The bus driver did not say a word.

[Sean Riley Taylor's Mom]

We 've stayed onsite for the past 12 years. Thankfully, we have never been involved in any kind of an accident.
It is something I am always concerned about with my kids. I will wait for another bus rather then having them stand.

[minnie2002]

I am pleased to see that there isn't many replies I am just a worry wort about the bus situation at the world. We wait for empty buses as much as we can, sometimes that means a really long wait. When we go in August we are going to stay at the WL because the travel is easier and less crowded.

[Marker]

I have never experienced, nor witnessed any bus accidents. I honestly believe I would stand a greater chance of being in some sort of mishap if I was driving myself. The busses are big, visible, and the driver know where they are going.

I'm sure it does happen, especially given the number of miles travelled by those busses every day. But certainly not with any frequency that would make me feel unsafe or afraid to ride.

[BronxTigger]

Minnie2002- I don't think this is something you need to worry about too much. If all the seats are taken and you need to stand, try to stand towards the middle of the bus and face towards the windows. You will get better balance that way than standing facing the front or back of the bus. Also, you get better grip if you hold a vertical pole versus the seat backs or the horizontal pole towards the ceiling.

If it's something that really bothers you, I guess you can wait for the next bus, but you could lose a lot of vacation time doing that. I commute every day on extremely crowded buses here in NYC and rarely get a seat. In 3 years of almost daily bus riding I have never been in a bus accident here (or in WDW in 7 trips).

In August you should have good luck with low crowds on the buses, with the exception of park closing time.

[crazypoohbear]

Last August we had a bus ride from haites!
first the driver couldn't get the door to shut so he couldn't engage the bus, (15 minutes later he got up and remembered he needed to do something with the hydrolics)
Then to make up time he flew like the wind!
THen pulling into AS Music he took out the curbing! We hit the curb going about 25 MPH and took about a 2 foot chunk out of the curb.
We were glad to be off THAT bus!

But... considering the number of times we have ridden busses this was the exception rather than the rule.

[Piglet822]

The busses are big, visible, and the driver know where they are going.


You would think they are visible. I drive a 45 foot bright yellow and black (Mears) bus and you would not believe how many people do not see the bus.

[Hull-onian]

We have never really had a bad experience with the bus system. But one morning at POFQ, we boarded the bus for MK, and by the time we got to POR it broke down. Disney was quick to respond and sent us another bus right away. That was good service. :tiphat: