Which Resort has the best bus service?

[CardCollector]

Our first year we stayed at SSR and the buses were great and not real crowded, but when we have stayed at the French Quarter the buses were over crowded and we always shared a bus with Riverside.

[Ms. Mode]

The best bus service we have EVER had was from Animal Kingdom Lodge...no kidding...we only ever waited a few minutes for a bus. Also, it's nicely shaded!

The down side of this is that getting from the parks back to AKL was a little less pleasant. It seemed like every bus was going to CBR. But, there was never a time when we didn't have our choice of seats...and this was August.

[CleveRocks]

Our first year we stayed at SSR and the buses were great and not real crowded, but when we have stayed at the French Quarter the buses were over crowded and we always shared a bus with Riverside.

You're gonna get a wide variety of responses to your question. My advice is to IGNORE ALL RESPONSES.

[Huh? Did he just say to ignore the answers???]

YES. Ignore all the answers. The fact is that all resorts have pretty good bus service.

The reason I say to ignore all of the answers is simple: Someone's experience during a few days or a week does not mean that everyone's experience will always be like that every day or every week at that resort.

I know this from my own experiences. For example, I've stayed at Caribbean Beach Resort two times. Both times, bus service was great. However, I've read many reviews over the years complaining about how BAD the bus service was at CBR.

So I've had to ask myself, "How can that be? How could I have had good experiences during two separate weeks a few years apart, and others have had such bad experiences? Are the other people lying? Was I just dreaming that my bus experience was OK?"

And then the same thing happened during my stay at POFQ. Bus service was great. During my 7 mornings there, my bus went into Riverside only twice, and one of those 2 times we stopped only at the main depot and didn't drive around the entire resort. And then there was your experience, with overcrowded buses and constantly sharing with POR.

But my favorite example is my stay at Polynesian last year. We had the best bus experience EVER! I'm not exaggerating when I say that we never waited more than about 2 minutes for a bus, or a monorail for that matter. NEVER. By about the 4th day of our trip, we began joking about it, but it never changed during our 8 days there.

But think about it. Buses run every 15-20 minutes or so. Had we walked up to a bus stop 3 minutes later EVERY TIME, we'd have waited 15-20 minutes for every single bus during our 8 days there, and I'd be coming back to Intercot complaining how bad Poly's bus service was. So during our week there, it's not that the bus service was so great, but rather that our timing was so consistently lucky.

As an aside, having stayed at resorts that never share buses (CBR), sometimes share buses (POFQ) and always share buses (Polynesian), I can't say that I think there's a difference. I know it's a popular and somewhat intuitive idea that sharing buses has to be worse than having your own buses, but I disagree. Think about it this way ... CBR has 7 internal bus stops, POFQ and POR have a combined 5 stops, Poly buses stop at Contemporary and often Grand Floridian (depending on the route), and SSR has maybe 4 internal bus stops. So even resorts that don't share buses SEEM to share buses due to the multiple internal bus stops. I may be wrong, but I think Pop Century may be the only WDW resort that has only 1 stop AND doesn't share with another resort.

There are aspects of resorts that don't change from day to day or week to week (theme, amenities, room size, walking distances, non-bus transportation options, etc.) ... I recommend choosing a resort based on those features rather than on quality of bus service, which will seem different for each person from week to week.

Just my 2 cents ....

[PETE FROM NYC]

Very simple answer.
The worst bus service is the resort that you are staying at.
The best bus service is at the resort you should have chosen.
Last year, DW and I stayed in Pop. We are both ECV users, so this trip, we had to rely on the WDW buses. We had one bus that had a bad lift. Otherwise ,no problems.

[retiredfigment]

I agree with previous posters. It all depends. I laughed at your comments on AKL because last year when staying at WL we traveled from AK to AKL to have a look around. We waited forever with some people for a bus to MK and they kept complaining about how horrible the bus service had been all week. We had decided never to stay there. Bus service was great at WL by the way. Murphy's Law, I guess.

[HoosierDisneyFan]

I totally agree with CleveRocks! Nothing more to add.

[Scorpiosammy]

I agree, I think a lot of it has to do with plain luck.

That being said, the worst resort for buses for me was ASR's consistantly (they would pick up/drop off at all 3... might be different now). Also, I agree with POR/POFQ having a few issues as it normally picks up on both sides.

The absolute best bus service I have experienced so far was last year when we stayed at AKL Jambo House for our Honeymoon Im crossing my fingers that the monorail/bus service from GF is good this September (our first time at GF)

[Gator]

I can tell you who doesn't have the best: All Stars Movies. Very slow service. Plus, ECVers seem to flock there, which will really slow down service. I saw more of those there than at all my other trips combined - no kidding.

[tinka]

Definately the best bus service in my opinion is Pop Century. The resort is so big, there are constantly buses running!

[Belster]

I have stayed many places and my whole family agrees that Pop has the best busing. I LOVE how the bus station is organized at the resort. And we NEVER have to wait long for a bus either at the resort or at a park. I will have to say that the great bus service is very consistent at Pop...each time we go there no matter what time of year the busses are great!

This could be because they don't share a bus...but we also stayed at CSR, which does not share, and it was horrible!!!!!!!!!

[DizneyRox]

On any given day, your mileage may vary, however, there are some trends and even some facts that can be taken into account regarding the bus service.

For example, I think it's safe to say that since there are more poeple staying at a value resort than a deluxe resort (just look at the room count) that the busses will probably be more full to a value resort (more standing room only) than to a deluxe.

This also means that the lines will probably be longer at a value bus stop and a deluxe. That doesn't mean that you will be in line longer, just that the line will be longer (typically).

Most of the moderates have multiple stops, so depending on where you are in the rotation, you may have a higher chance of having to stand all the time. That's just how the busses roll... SSR is a deluxe with a moderate layout, PLUS the treehouses use an internal bus system to transport guests to a park bus.

I'm probably going on 50+ trips now (easily in the 40s) and stayed at a range of resorts at all different times. I would feel comfortable saying that in my experience, AKL has had to most consistent, decent bus service TO the parks.

Worst? I'm not sure... I've had a lot of trouble with POP and not great experiences at Boardwalk.

My absolute WORST experience was getting FROM a park to a resort and that was AK to AKL in the morning. I blame this more on the design of the Disney bus dispatch than the resort however. When we complained, the bus driver told us they don't really run bus service from the parks to the resorts that early (this was maybe 10am and we waited for 45 minutes at least seeing many many busses drop off and not pick up any passengers to any resort!)

The above does weigh in on my decision as to where to stay. I won't stay value resorts, period, end of story. Using statistics, the number of people increases the chances of things going wrong at those resorts. Moderates, ehh... I don't like the designs like CBR or CS. POR I can deal with... SSR is the equivalent of a moderate, I haven't been impressed with it at all. I wouldn't be caught dead in the treehouses without my own car.

[buzz2001]

CSR has great service that is not shared with any other resort.

[Hammer]

The above does weigh in on my decision as to where to stay. I won't stay value resorts, period, end of story. Using statistics, the number of people increases the chances of things going wrong at those resorts. Moderates, ehh... I don't like the designs like CBR or CS. POR I can deal with... SSR is the equivalent of a moderate, I haven't been impressed with it at all. I wouldn't be caught dead in the treehouses without my own car.

If you have an issue with SSR, I would not recommend staying at OKW. Resort layout is the same as SSR (though the actual rooms at OKW are bigger) so the bus situation is the same, if not worse. I say worse in that SSR bus stops were designed with cul-de-sacs so the buses could easily maneuver each stop. Not so with OKW. The way the bus stops are laid out there was not an easy way for buses to get in and out of the bus stops, which added to the overall travel time. After the third bus ride, we used our car to travel to all parks except MK.

[Fastpasssteve]

I've stayed lots of places on Disney property and the bus service fluctuates with traffic, which bus drivers are sick that day, which day of the week it is, and ten other factors.

However, the doormen and bell hops are the cutest at Carribean Beach Resort. That rugged doorman in the sailor outfit almost made me drop my compass. If that helps...

[ANG]

I wouldn't say it's bad bus service. Just the amount of time on each bus varies. But I'll never stay at another value resort because the rides/wait times were too long.

[Scar]

Just to prove CleveRocks advice:

I will have to say that the great bus service is very consistent at Pop...each time we go there no matter what time of year the busses are great!

This could be because they don't share a bus...but we also stayed at CSR, which does not share, and it was horrible!!!!!!!!!

The exact opposite for me. POP was by far the worst I've experienced and CSR by far the best.

[MOJoe]

I have heard that Disney has done many studies about their bus system and the wait times involved for different resorts. What they found is that while the majority of complaints come from people in the Value resorts, the Value resorts actually have the fastest service. That is on average, and as a whole to all areas of WDW.
Go figure.

[Nascfan]

CleveRocks is absolutely 100% correct. Ignore all the responses. To prove that, I'm going to go against what Ms. Mode and DizneyRox have said and tell you about our experience just back from AKL.

If I have any complaint about AKL, it would be the bus service. On Friday, June 4th, at approximately 5:15 pm we waited 45 minutes for a Magic Kingdom bus. Seriously. We timed it. People who were waiting before us gave up and got a cab. This was a day MK had evening EMH, so I can't for the life of me find an excuse for the long wait. I get the 15 minute wait, and really have no problem with that. It all depends on when you walk up as to whether you'll wait 2 minutes or the 15. But 45 minutes is inexcusable.
On the flip side, we've always had better than excellent bus service at Pop, never, ever waiting more than 5 - 10 minutes at the very most.

We also like the queues (sp?) at Pop much better than AKL as more often than not, there would be several families waiting for a bus at AKL on the benches and when the bus was coming, people would walk right up and get in front of those families. Not Disney's fault, mind you, but the rude, inconsiderate guests who have absolutely no manners. But to alleviate that, we do like the queue lines at Pop better.

Just my and you can put it in the pile with the others and ignore it. And have a great time!

[SBETigg]

This is why I love the monorail deluxes. I don't rely on bus service very often. Most of my time is spent between MK and Epcot, and I have boat launch and monorail services. When I do bus to the other parks or locations, I have never had a long wait even though the bus is shared, and I usually don't have to stand (though do occasionally). The GF, my favorite, has a lovely bus stop with plenty of seating. Returning from parks or other locations, never a long wait and I have never had to wait for a second bus because one was full. This is one of many reasons why deluxes are worth it to me. But you will have people who say the bus service is terrible to any given resort. You're asking a question with no set definitive answer.

[c&d]

CSR. Doesn't share with any other resorts, buses were empty during the day and at most parks had prime bus stops, up close to the entrance.

Having said that we've never really encountered horrible bus service. Yes sometimes waits were a little longer than we would have liked, but it was never outrageously long.