Just Back - WL Bus Service to Epcot [Archive]

Bohms4

04-23-2008, 09:33 AM

Let me start off by saying that we LOVE the WL -this is our 3rd stay there (the other 2 were a long time ago). The bus service was just less than stellar.
We had a 7:45 ADR in Epcot (Japan). We arrived at the bus stop at 6:20. There were people there before us that said they were waiting for about 10 minutes. We thought we left plenty of time but we waited and waited and waited....no bus. People were leaving :mad: the bus stop to find other methods of transportation. My husband used that phone by the bus stops and talked to a CM who said that they couldn't locate the driver. Don't they have more than ONE bus going to Epcot??
Anyway by 7:00 we knew that we would never make a 7:45 ADR in Japan (walking around the showcase with 2 kids) b/c the bus would still have to stop at FW on the way to Epcot. A taxi pulled in and we jumped in it.
On the way home from Epcot we ran into the same people from the bus stop earlier and they told us that they were dropped off at Epcot at 7:40! Now they were at the bus stop at 6:10!! Completely unacceptable!! On the way home, we only waited 15 minutes but we were at the end of the line. When the bus pulled up everyone in the front of the line started clapping saying "It's about time!"....guess they must have been waiting a while.
This was not a one time thing....another time we waited 25 mins for an Epcot bus (that's still unacceptable to me). We wound up paying for taxis a few times just to avoid the Epcot bus!!
In general we just weren't thrilled w/the bus service at WL for the 7 days we were there....it was so much better when we stayed at POR two years ago....everytime we walked up to the bus stop our bus pulled up - the longest we waited was 10 mins and we were there for 10 days....now that's service!
I would love to send an email....just don't know who to send it to!

cal5755

04-23-2008, 09:44 AM

Wow that totally stinks!! Sorry you had such trouble with the buses and I hope they are fixing the problem!

Here we go again...

04-23-2008, 09:45 AM

When going to Epcot from WL the best way is usually to boat to MK then Monorail to Epcot. You can avoid the traffic that way.
The thing about Disney busses is that they are only scheduled to run every 20-30 minutes. So, they were pretty much on time.
I hate waiting for a bus too, so I can competely understand your frustration.

If you are ever in this situation again you could alway boat to MK and take a bus to Beach Club and enter right into the World Showcase. That would make it a little easier too.

To contact Disney go to their website and look for the Contact Us link at the bottom of the page.

buzznwoodysmom

04-23-2008, 09:51 AM

I agree with you that it is no fun waiting on a bus, especially if you have an ADR to make it to. However, I wouldn't say this is a problem with WL. It seems that no matter which resort you stay at it's going to happen once and a while. Everytime we have visited AKL for either an ADR or just to check out the resort we have had to wait forever for any of their buses. Twice we ended up just taking a cab. But hey, at least we are in WDW!!!!!

Bohms4

04-23-2008, 10:03 AM

Belle619

04-23-2008, 10:20 AM

We had a similar problem trying to catch a bus from AK to the GF, where we had a 6pm reservation for V & A's.

We left the park at 4:30 and between waiting for the bus and the additional stops at the Contemporary and the Poly, we got to the GF at 5:45! We've never gotten ready so quickly for dinner before in our lives!!!!

I don't think it is necessarily a problem, but it is definitely something to consider when planning your day. I now know that you can't assume that you'll be arriving at a certain time if you're taking the buses.

katzctkpt

04-23-2008, 10:27 AM

I thought the buses were every 15 min. I'm sorry you had so much trouble. We've stayed only at POR and haven't had any problems with the buses there.

TammiMcMan

04-23-2008, 10:31 AM

I know for myself, I get to Disney and think that I'm in a magical place that isn't affected by the outside world. Unfortunately, it is though. Buses break down, employees call out sick, supervisors make mistakes. I did think that the buses ran every 20-30 minutes though, so with the time you waited at the bus stop, there should have at least been another that came by just before 7am. They must have been very short staffed. Usually the resorts have their own shuttles, so if anyone is in that situation again, check with lobby concierge and they could have maybe gotten that group to Epcot in their shuttle van.

This is the contact information for Disney customer service, [email protected] . They will pass along your e-mail to the appropriate department. For future reference, sometimes it's best to handle problems while you are on site though. The lobby concierge at the hotel could have put you in touch with the transportation manager during your stay. Management might not have been aware of the situation and if it was a shortage, they would probably be the ones who could have okayed bringing in some temps or re-assigning. I hope your next trip runs more smoothly.

Darbylew

04-23-2008, 10:36 AM

We have not had any problems with the bus
transportation at WDW. I will say that we have
waited longer sometimes that I would have liked but all in all the bus service has been very
good. Sorry you had such a problem. I hope they
are going to work on the routes and make it
easier for all the resorts. :D

Ian

04-23-2008, 10:44 AM

We've never liked the Disney bus service and never really use it. We always rent a car when we go.

We've found the busses to be totally unrealiable, crowded, and slow. Wilderness Lodge, especially, had some of the worst service I've seen.

ibelieveindisneymagic

04-23-2008, 10:47 AM

Glad it just wasn't me!

We don't stay at WL (although I would love to), but venture over for WCC during our trips. Each time the bus service has been just horrible...we now drive to WL!

Mackflava99

04-23-2008, 10:54 AM

The bus service at WL has been spotty- sometimes its great and other times its not-

I am not sure if it has to do with the traffic out near the entrance or just that there are not enough busses-

Also it seems like the wait was way more than 20 minutes- i feel a wait of more than 30 is excessive. Understanding that to wait 30 min you'd have to just miss the last bus and wait the entire time. In most cases, you'd expect to be there in between busses and only wait 10 min.
I agree with the boat option, but is it really easier to boat to Mk then monorail to Epcot ( and change) ? i am not sure if either option is great.

brewcrew26

04-23-2008, 11:21 AM

We had a similar problem last Friday trying to get to Artist Point at WL for an ADR. We left over an hour before from CBR. We took a bus to Epcot and then waited over a half hour for a bus to come.

But, it wasn't until that night that we really had problems trying to get back. We weren't in any rush but it took two hours for us to get back to the resort because, first, the lights on the main road between WL and MK were out and local police were conducting traffic (supposedly because of senior night at the park). Then, our bus got diverted to the Polynesian and the Contemporary because of the back-ups.

Then, we got stuck again in the police melee. Finally, we got to Downtown Disney where we could switch to another bus for CBR. (We didn't go to a park to transfer because Illuminations and Fantasmic were just getting out for the evening)

The only other time we had bad bus service during the trip was when we were leaving the Studios and our bus driver forgot what route she was on and she first took us to Blizzard Beach. Then, she took us to Pop Century. She finally got it right to Caribbean Beach on the third time. DH was sitting right behind her and couldn't figure out how she was getting lost since the computer monitors give the drivers directions for their routes.

Gator

04-23-2008, 11:41 AM

I thought the buses were every 15 min. I'm sorry you had so much trouble. We've stayed only at POR and haven't had any problems with the buses there.

That's strange. One of the reasons I've never gone back to POR is because we always waited a long time for bus service - especially to DS. CBR and CS have been much better.

wjrhw

04-23-2008, 11:49 AM

We had similar problems on our January 08 trip. WL had the worst bus service of all the resorts we've stayed at.

Even the boats were problematic the week we were there. For example, one night DD fell asleep in her stroller at MK and I thought "good thing we stayed at WL so we can take the boat and not disturb her". For some reason the boat was not taking any passengers (i think someone had a medical problem) and we could not even get near the bus. So, instead, we walked to the Comtemporary to take the small boat from there to the WL. The wait was extremely long here as well. After about a half hour 2 small boats came from the other side of Discovery Island. I don't know if they dock there or what, but I was getting very disturbed by point. Made me wish we were staying at POP again where the buses are crowded, but they are always moving.

Tick-Tock

04-23-2008, 12:15 PM

The transportation from WL disappointed me greatly when we were there. The buses were infrequent and stopped at other resorts before going to the parks - it took way longer than when we stayed at POR. And one night the boat didn't show up for more than 45 minutes - turned out all boats were stuck behind the EWP, which was occupying the small canal near the Contemporary and nothing else could get through.

jillluvsdisney

04-23-2008, 12:18 PM

These stories are why we started renting a car 5 years ago. Time is money. I'm not wasting hours of my day waiting for buses.

McGoofy

04-23-2008, 12:57 PM

I find it humorous that you mentioned the bus service at POR was better. We stayed at POR in early December and after a couple of days of long waits--longer than the normal 20 minutes--we decided to start driving our car. The worst morning that was the "straw that broke the camel's back was this: We went to the bus waiting area. Several buses came and went, but not the one we wanted for the Magic Kingdom. People waiting there before us had been there a good 20 minutes already. Our line for MK started to really pile up with people. We saw 4 buses for MGM go by, 3 for Epcot, etc... Finally after waiting 45 minutes for a bus (and who knows how long before we were standing there), my DH told the driver of the next bus that pulled around (of course it was headed somewhere else) to PLEASE call dispatch and send us a bus. A bus did come shortly after that, but we wasted nearly an hour just waiting for a bus. After that we just drove the rest of the trip. Time at Disney is too precious to be waiting that long for a bus!

Ian

04-23-2008, 01:06 PM

The truth is, the bad bus service is not resort-dependent. I've had bad bus service at AKL, WL, SSR (the worst EVER), PoR ... the fact is the bus system is generally inefficient and slow.

Also it seems like the wait was way more than 20 minutes- I feel a wait of more than 30 is excessive.Sort of funny, I guess, how opinions vary on what is and isn't acceptable in terms of wait times.

I think 20 minutes is excessive ... by 30 minutes I'm pretty much fuming. Much like jillluvsdisney, the idea of wasting my valuable vacation time standing around waiting to be herded on to a bus and carted around like a commuter is not something I'm really in favor of.

DNS

04-23-2008, 01:25 PM

When we first started going to Disney in 1994, I loved the buses and we seldom had problems with them. However, it seems in the past few years (4 to 6) I've completely changed my opinion of them. We often have to wait and wait. Last time there, we got a late start on our second day for the parks and were heading to Epcot about 3:00. After waiting for almost an hour, I said something to another bus driver who called someone and then told us a bus would be there shortly for Epcot. About 20 to 25 minutes later, the same bus driver was making another round and couldn't believe our bus was still there. By that time we were getting pretty angry and decided it wasn't worth using a whole day on our passes to go for four hours, so we went to Downtown Disney. There were two or three times we had to wait more than 45 minutes, and most of the other times at least 30 minutes. I emailed when we got back home. I sent mine to the "contact us" on the Walt Disney World web site. Never heard anything back though. We love going to Disney, but the bus transportation has just gotten so bad (in my opinion) that we all dread it. We have even been talking about renting a car to avoid the buses, but of course that adds a chunk of money to the budget.

KylesMom

04-23-2008, 02:33 PM

Quite honestly, our time is so precious at Disney that we've never attempted riding the buses due to hearing about massive waits such as the original post here. Standing around in the summer Florida sun, waiting for a bus isn't our cup of tea. We spend the money to have a rental car each trip if we haven't driven down, and it's worked very well for us. We drive to each park except for MK, and maybe our timing has just been impeccable, but we've never had to wait for more than 20 or so minutes for a boat to get us back to our resort. Usually the wait is 10-15 minutes.

On the way home from Epcot we ran into the same people from the bus stop earlier and they told us that they were dropped off at Epcot at 7:40! Now they were at the bus stop at 6:10!! Completely unacceptable!! You bet that's completely unacceptable - I'm afraid we'd be in such a foul mood after that kind of wait (when the resort is a 10-minute drive to Epcot) that it would ruin our entire night! :(

Ian

04-23-2008, 02:40 PM

When we first started going to Disney in 1994, I loved the buses and we seldom had problems with them. However, it seems in the past few years (4 to 6) I've completely changed my opinion of them.Not surprising ... that's when they switched over to that new "On Demand" bus service they have.

In the past, they used to have dedicated busses for each resort that were solely detailed for running people between MK and WL, or the Poly and Epcot, Port Orleans to Blizzard Beach, etc.

But they switched it around so now they're supposed to work based on demand. If there are huge lines of people waiting at Epcot after closing, they route more busses there. Which means if you're the poor slob who, at that point, wants to get from the Contemporary to Downtown Disney you're left out in the cold.

Sean Riley Taylor's Mom

04-23-2008, 02:49 PM

SSR (the worst EVER)

Wow, Really?
We were at SSR for ten days in September and had flawless bus service. Really. The longest wait we had was 20 minutes and that was after a MNSSHP.
Hopefully, it wasn't just a fluke for us. We will be there again in December for a shorter trip (7 days) so waiting for buses would not be a good thing!:)

branvy

04-23-2008, 03:18 PM

When we went for our trip in 2004 we stayed at POFQ and had pretty nice bus service...some long waits, but not too bad overall. But when I got sick midway through and needed to get some stuff/meds, what it cost to take a taxi to the store blew me away. So we rented for our next trip. I could not BELIEVE how fast we could get from resort to park, or park to park with our car...which was a quite inexpensive rental. During that trip we managed to visit all parks (multiple times in fact) over just a 3 day period, and still have time to go back to the resort to nap. I also always had a seat and just the right amount of air conditioning, and a few mornings we quickly drove thru McD's instead of braving the food court at 8 a.m. ;) For our next trip in a few weeks (to WL!) we will be using the car for every park but MK. We'll never rely on the buses again.

Stickey

04-23-2008, 04:36 PM

Bus service is very problematic. Sometimes the bus arrives within 5 minutes, other times it takes 45 minutes. Usually, it is your unlucky timing. Other times, you see two buses for every park/destination OTHER than the one you are waiting for.

The MK resorts are the most distant to the other parks. The bus rides to the AK are exceptionally long. In contrast, you can drive from the Poly/WL to the AK in less than 15 minutes.

BrerGnat

04-23-2008, 07:27 PM

Thanks for the ideas & suggestions. I agree....I don't think it's the norm for WL I think it's just the luck we had while we were there!
I don't think it'll stop us from staying there next time....we'll see!

Unfortunately, this was our experience ALL WEEK last Feb 2007 at the WL, and it was not just the bus to Epcot. It was also the bus to MK, the boats, and the buses to Downtown Disney, in particular.

It once took us an HOUR to get from WL to Poly for dinner. We were almost late! We left 1.5 hours prior to our ADR, with the plan to have a drink at Tambu Lounge before dinner...didn't happen.

We figured the bus to MK would be faster than the boat (we had had HORRIBLE luck with the boats up to that point). We waited 40 min for the bus to MK, then when we got to MK, the monorail was down, and the boats to the Poly and GF were mobbed.

Unfortunately, that experience made me not really want to return to WL. And, for me, that is a HUGE deal. I spent my honeymoon there and stayed there two other times, and I love it there, but the transportation is awful.

AnnieBananie

04-23-2008, 07:52 PM

Gosh!! Were we even visiting the same place? We were at WL March 25-30, 2008. This was Spring Break - the week after Easter. Sorta wary about going this week, but our bus service @ WL was amazing! It seemed as if we got to the bus stop just as a bus was pulling up. I promise the longest time we waited for a bus was about 15 m inutes coming back from DTD. We just had the best luck with buses. We also rode the boat to MK and back and had a great experience with that, too. I must say, all of our transportation was great. We usually park our car at our resort and really don't use it much our whole trip. We were @POP in Jan., AKL in February and WL in March. Part of our Disney experience is using Disney transportation and we are usually very satisfied. (The only disappointment was the Monorail was down one of the times we wanted to ride - they had to tow a broken down unit back to the garage)

Edenza

04-23-2008, 08:02 PM

When the bus pulled up everyone in the front of the line started clapping saying "It's about time!"....guess they must have been waiting a while.

This was the norm of our bus experience last September. The biggest problems were getting to and leaving MK and leaving AK (getting to AK was okay; we used boats for MGM & Epcot). And every time a bus showed up at DD, you could hear applause wherever you were.

At one point, the bus driver missed the turn to the Yacht Club and we had to choose either to get off at the Beach Club or go another trip (MK, S&D, Yacht Club). A few women began to demand that he "turn the bus around" like it was a car. We got off to avoid them as much as to get back to our room :D

Bohms4

04-24-2008, 08:53 AM

[QUOTE=BrerGnat;1611458]Unfortunately, this was our experience ALL WEEK last Feb 2007 at the WL, and it was not just the bus to Epcot. It was also the bus to MK, the boats, and the buses to Downtown Disney, in particular.

Thankfully we had better luck with the boats with the exception of one time. We went to dinner at the Contemporary and when we were walking to the dock, the boat JUST left. The captain yelled out that he was sorry to be leaving all of the people waiting. It happened to be a chilly, windy night on the lake and we had to wait there until that SAME boat dropped off at WL and Fort Wilderness and came back to the Contemporary! It would have been nice if there were two boats. That took a good half hour to 40 mins.

diz_girl

04-24-2008, 10:52 AM

The last time that we stayed there (Sep 05) the bus service was so-so, and I distinctly remember waiting about 40 minutes or so before our bus to EPCOT showed up. And it also seemed that wherever you wanted to go, you saw at least two buses going to each of the other parks. It was ridiculous.

Last year, we stayed at the Poly and only needed to take a bus to MGM (which we took from GF) and AK. Both waits were no more than 15 minutes.

Now that we'll be staying at the WL again in December, I think that I'll seriously consider taking the boat and monorail to EPCOT and our car to MGM and AK, rather than leaving it parked in the lot all week.

Our last two trips were just DH and I, but this trip we will be taking our young son (it still sounds strage saying that), so I don't want to deal with long waits at the bus stops, especially if we have ADRs that are at parks or resorts other than the MK and its resorts. Plus, it will be an extended family trip, with my SIL (DH's sis), my parents, my sister, BIL and their two children (5 and under). It would really stink if we were stuck at the bus stops for 30 minutes and trying to keep the little ones occupied when they're overdue for their naps.