Worst bus service goes to....

slp87

DIS Veteran
Joined
May 3, 2001
...the Epcot resorts! I have never had such horrible bus service from these resorts. We waited over 40 minutes for a bus to Disney Springs from BW with about 20 other people. Finally took an uber. Waited close to 30 minutes to come back. We watched buses come around twice for every other resort. BW was the only one with a line and it filled the queue. AK today at 9:00, 30 minutes. Leaving AK, same problem. We watched 3 for GF & Poly come by. Everyone is complaining about the awful bus service. We are talking to every supervisor we can so they'll be aware of the problem.
 
I'm not doubting your observations but as we plan our 9th Board Walk stay with 3 additional stays at S/D.I have to say that my experiences have been quite different. We've been particularly pleased the last 3 BW stays since going to MK we didn't stop at any other resorts, had a bus to ourselves. As for returning to an Epcot resort from a park, if we stroll up to the bus departure area and a BW bus is not there but one from S/D or YC/BC is there we'll hop that since it'a a short walk from those resorts to BW. Add to that the fact that it's an easy hike from any Epcot resort to half of the WDW parks. Our most recent stay was Nov 2 - 11 2017 so maybe things have changed.

Bill From PA

Bill From PA
 
We always stay at Epcot
Resorts and we've never had issues like these. We would take the YC/BC, but it hasn't been any better, they're hopping on our buses. Currently BW is sharing return buses with S/D. I've never heard complaining from so many guests.
 
When did they start sharing buses...that’s rotten.
I didn’t have any issues with buses at Beach in Feb or Yacht in March. Though one night i had just missed the Yacht bus, so we jumped on the BW bus, since it had just arrived.
 


We always stay at Epcot
Resorts and we've never had issues like these.

So it’s a temporary thing. Obviously something is going on. It’ll be different by next week no doubt.

And see, my vote would be for Saratoga Springs. Worst one, to date, for us.

And it’s AKL for me over three separate visits separated by a couple years each.

Though husband and aunt the literal hours it took them to get from DHS to OKW one night on our very first Wdw trip.
 
And see, my vote would be for Saratoga Springs. Worst one, to date, for us.

I'll agree with this. It wasn't the service, just so much that it took some time to get anywhere. Literally, you're at Disney Springs (all but) so it's not the closest to the parks.

And if you're having issues with the buses, especially from an Epcot resort, you're around a lot of places that you actually could go and catch a bus somewhere else. I know, not what you want to do, but getting on your way somewhere is better than waiting for a bus that may never come. Sometimes ya just gotta improvise.
 


Oh no! That is where we are staying. Any reason why it was so bad? Or tips!
My first recommendation would be to stay at the Grandstand. At least you are first on the bus.

Second, know it is going to take you forever to get anywhere. Including the fact that you are on the bus for at least 10 minutes before you even go through the resort gate.
 
My first recommendation would be to stay at the Grandstand. At least you are first on the bus.

Second, know it is going to take you forever to get anywhere. Including the fact that you are on the bus for at least 10 minutes before you even go through the resort gate.

We have a 2 br Preferred. Should I also request Grandstand?

This is kind of disappointing to hear especially since we will be traveling with my partner's mother who has some health issues and limitations

Well better to know ahead of time
 
I'll agree with this. It wasn't the service, just so much that it took some time to get anywhere. Literally, you're at Disney Springs (all but) so it's not the closest to the parks.

And if you're having issues with the buses, especially from an Epcot resort, you're around a lot of places that you actually could go and catch a bus somewhere else. I know, not what you want to do, but getting on your way somewhere is better than waiting for a bus that may never come. Sometimes ya just gotta improvise.

How long should we leave to get from Saratoga to the parks in the morning? Thank you!
 
My first recommendation would be to stay at the Grandstand. At least you are first on the bus.

Second, know it is going to take you forever to get anywhere. Including the fact that you are on the bus for at least 10 minutes before you even go through the resort gate.

::yes::

BW used to be awful, multiple resort stops. Was satisfied last October. I thought during peak hours they had dedicated buses now?

AKL better than it was years ago, sharing with Kidani adds on time. Nowhere as bad as SSR

Worst park for a bus to materialize, consistently, is returning to anywhere we’ve stayed from AK non peak for some reason:confused3
 
it's just crazy that the deluxe resorts have the worst buses. I agree that Epcot resort buses are the worst, followed closely by WL. But not quite as bad as the boat service at WL.
 
We have a 2 br Preferred. Should I also request Grandstand?

This is kind of disappointing to hear especially since we will be traveling with my partner's mother who has some health issues and limitations

Well better to know ahead of time
We also had preferred and we were told that we could request anything, but chances are we wouldn't get Grandstand because it is not preferred.

We were in the Springs. After our first 40 minute wait for bus that could take a scooter, we decided to walk/ride over to Grandstand whenever we could.

But keep in mind, it wasn't just because I use a scooter. When they eventually got an empty bus to the Springs, it was full from just that one stop. You see, the Springs is also the bus stop for the Tree House Villas. So it does double duty.

This was our first and hopefully our only stay at Saratooga so I don't know what to suggest for you.
 
I've had horrendous bus service at most resorts. None of them seem to be exempt. The deluxe resorts really don't have the worst service. The issue is that the other resorts have many more guests in them so they have more buses in service. Yet, if you listen to some people, the value resorts have awful service. They stand and wait, at park closing, for over 30 mins. But, I think it's all about perception.

My experience at BW has been very good in the past few years. I really haven't had any issues. If I get there, just as the bus I wanted is pulling away, I could possibly wait 20 or so mins for the next one. But, that's normal.
 
That is unfortunate. I really do think the resort buses are a hit or miss. We stayed at Beach Club the last 2 years and we thought they had the best bus service we've experienced of all the resorts we've stayed at and we have stayed at all value and moderates. Maybe it was the week we went - Labor Day week. It is more of a quiet week after the holiday. We never waited long for a bus going to the parks or coming back to BC, we never had to stand and the lines were never long when leaving the parks.
 
We're just back from SSR and the bus service was, with minor exception, excellent. Our bus stop was Carousel--we were at Paddock but nearer to the Carousel bus stop. Carousel is the 2nd pick-up spot (Paddock, Congress Park, and the Springs come after) and I'd say it took maybe 15 minutes altogether to get to Epcot and DHS, a bit longer to DAK, and about 20 minutes to get to MK. I consider those times to be pretty good. Unless you're staying at a monorail resort, it takes at least 20 minutes from anywhere else to get to MK

Sometimes a person's timing is bad, like when you're at Epcot in the early afternoon and as you're going toward your resort's bus stop to get back to the resort, the bus pulls away. It can be a long wait until the next bus. That's what Uber/Lyft is for!
 
And my pick for worst would be Contemporary last September. It was complete and utter chaos out at the bus stop every morning we went out to catch a bus. Not even close to enough buses (probably had enough people to fill 3 buses each for HS and AK). Oh and there was the morning that the CP working the bus stop forgot that she had us waiting with a scooter and let the driver start loading a bus, and it was then too late. We cut our FoP fastpass very close due to the long wait (at least 30-45 minutes waiting) and plus another 15-20 after being forgotten. There were many many angry people and a lot of yelling at the poor cast members there. I honestly prefer the buses at Pop since there are chains and separate areas for each park, so everyone knows where everyone stands. There were people left behind at the CR stops who had been there long before others who were able to get on the buses. There are a lot of reasons I crossed BLT off my list to stay at, but the bus mess was a huge one.
 

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!






Top