Value Busses

[birdsell]

My family is looking at coming down at the end of June and taking advantage of the great pricing for the rooms there. We will stay either at a Value on-site or somewhere off site and rent a car. My only hesitiation to staying onsite (probably at one of the AS) is the bus service. I have a DS2 who would probably not handle a long wait for abus very well (neither would his daddy). How are the waits for the busses at the AS resorts, both going and coming? Is one usually shorter than the other? Is Pop any better?

Thanks for any help!

[MOJoe]

The All Stars are layed out in a row, with Sports first, then Music and lastly Movies. So sometimes, especially in the peak morning times, when the bus fills up at the first resort or two, it skips the other resorts. Disney drivers and dispatchers are in constant contact, but glitches can occur causing delays at Movies.

[Ms. Mode]

The good thing is the buses run about every 15 to 20 minutes. Plus...no parking fee (and no getting lost...which always seems to happen to us!)

[crazygoalie39]

Personally, we have no problem waiting for buses because we always get the first one of the day. And we've never traveled back to our resort during the day. The only time we travel during the day is to go to another resort for dinner and then back to one of the parks. That being said, I've heard that AS:Mo has pretty bad buses, but it's also the best all-star resort. I know Pop's buses were fantastic for us. I know a lot of people complain about how they're crowded and noisy, but usually we have the bus basically to ourselves first thing in the morning and then it's quiet at night because all the kids are tired.
So, I would highly recommend POP. I would never stay off-ground. Free transportation, that isn't nearly as bad as some people make it out to be, and you are immersed in the Disney atmosphere 24/7.

[Goofy4TheWorld]

You probably have a better chance of not having to stand for EVERY bus ride if you stay at Pop or All-Star Sports instead of All-Star Movies or Music (because they don't share buses OR are the first stop.)

You have a better chance of longer lines waiting for a bus at Pop because it is much bigger than any of the All-Star resorts.

Even if you stay off-site, there is a 98% chance you will have to wait for the tram to carry you from the ends of the parking lot to the TTC, then wait in another line from the TTC to ferry or monorail over to MK. If you ride the bus, you only have to wait once because the bus will drop you off at the main gate of MK. I would not stay off-site if my #1 concern was waiting in lines, they can't be avoided.

I have stayed at Port Orleans and at Movies, and I LOVED the bus service much better at Movies, even though I did have to stand most of the time when leaving the resort toward a park.

[MaxPower]

There are pros and cons- but I will admit that sometimes it feels that Disney bus transportation takes forever.

[cajunmickey]

We have stayed at music and sports. At certain times of the day the busses can be crowded. We have never had to wait long except to got to DTD. That bus seems to take forever. We ride the bus to the parks and take my car to DTD. This even help with all the merchandise we seem to purchase. Just remember where you are and enjoy!

[Strmchsr]

I've stayed at all the values and most of the moderates. No matter what resort you're at, buses are crowded and lines take a while at opening and closing. It's just something you have to expect.

I have to admit, I was surprised at how slow the bus service was at Pop after hearing so many folks talk about it. While it's true that Pop does not share buses with other resorts, buses also seem to come there less frequently so I found myself standing in line longer (or as long) for a bus at Pop as at the All-Stars.

You just have to go expecting it if you're using Disney transportation. If the bus lines would be a real problem for you or DH, then I would suggest renting a car with a GPS. I drive myself most of the time now and only use the bus for DHS because the parking at DHS isn't as good.

[Scar]

Why don't you stay on site and rent a car. Parking is $15/day if you stay off site but free if you are on site.

[BigRedDad]

This is why I do not liek the AS resorts. All of those rooms and the buses start at one and go to the next. Pop was great. One place for the buses, they were always efficient, and only bad waits we had were at the end of an evening like after the last Fantasmic. Still not that bad at Pop. I will not stay offsite regardless. Too many other hassles to deal with.

[wmdaddy]

I've stayed at each level of resort at Disney and can tell you BY FAR, the best bus service is found at the Values.

But it is true, at the end of the park day, there are usually loads of people waiting in line for the Value buses, but Disney knows this and always has buses coming in.

[wmdaddy]

This is why I do not liek the AS resorts. All of those rooms and the buses start at one and go to the next. Pop was great. One place for the buses, they were always efficient, and only bad waits we had were at the end of an evening like after the last Fantasmic. Still not that bad at Pop. I will not stay offsite regardless. Too many other hassles to deal with.

Have you stayed at the All Stars? Believe it or not, this is an advantage that people who haven't stayed there do not realize. Here's the thing:

If the All Stars are sharing buses-
1st stop: Sports - Get off at Sports.
2nd stop: Music - Get off at Music or Sports.
3rd stop: Movies - Get off at Movies or Music.

If they aren't sharing buses, you have more choices-
Sports - Take the Sports or Music, whichever comes 1st.
Music - Take Sports, Music or Movies, whichever comes 1st.
Movies - Take Movies or Music, whichever comes 1st.

In other words, Music is easily walked to from Sports or Movies in less than 5 minutes, Sports is easily walked to from Music in less than 5 minutes, and Movies is easily walked to from Music in less than 5 minutes. In fact, in some cases, your room will be closer to the bus stop at one of the other All Stars.

[megustamex]

We just don't like taking the Disney transportation with kids, regardless of the hotel. We actually had the worst experiences at the Wilderness Lodge and the Animal Kingdom, not the values. We always rent a car now, which we just feel is essential with young kids. We almost always pay under $200 for week for a midsize and it's worth every penny - you don't have to wait for the bus to/from the airport, you can go to the parks when you want and leave when you want without waiting (essential when the kids are crabby), and you can run to the store when you need something (which we always do with young kids). You park for free everywhere if you are staying onsite too, so that is a cost savings over staying offsite.

[wmdaddy]

I've never had much of a problem with Disney buses. Service at the Poly was slow, but we made do. That's one thing I like about the Deluxe resorts. Most (with the exception of AKL) are accessible by monorail, boat or walking from at least 2 parks. That's huge.

[wdw_bound]

We just got back from a quick Mommy and Me trip to ASMo. The buses were fine. While we were there, we did not share buses with any of the other AS hotels. The only issue we had was one morning we were a tad slow in getting out the door and got behind the Brazilian tour group waiting for the DHS bus. We changed plans quickly, went to MK instead. Other than that, no problems. The longest we waited at AS was about 7 minutes. We never waited more than 5 at the parks.

Have a great trip!