A few BAD bus experoences at the BWV!

[SnowWitch]

We stayed at the BWV last week for a week, this was our 2nd trip home. I could not believe they have 5 deluxes sharing buses to the MK and the AK. Our 2nd day we went to AK until around 1, when we left the park we hopped a bus . The bus stopoped at Blizzard Beach, the Swan, Doplhin, YC, BC, and then stop number 6 was finally the BWV, this took right at an hour!! I said to myself this is okay not a big deal until later that evening when we headed to the MK. We went to the bus stop, we only waited about 10 minutes, during this 10 minutes 3 Coronado Springs buses came and dropped off. When the Mk bus arrived it was packed, standing room only. We exited the bus, retrieved the car from valet and drove!!!! I'm sorry but Disney can do better than this!!!!!!! The rest of the week I drove if I wanted to go to the AK or MK. Part of the great thing about going to Disney has always been I could park the car and not look at it but appartently no more. Throughout the week I heard alot of complaining about the buses. I'm curious does anyone else feel that 5 deluxes sharing is a bit much?

 

[drusba]

Was there the same time. Did not have unusual problems with the buses. Nevertheless, I agree that having the same bus for all three groups of resorts (BWI/BWV, S/D, YC/BC) is something they need to improve on. In fact, they have actually taken a step in the right direction as the MK bus for BW is shared only with YC/BC now (S/D now has its own), which is a recent change. Perhaps by next year, they will do the same for AK.

 

[vacationman]

I was also at BWV June 15-23 and had no bad bus experiences but did have one great experience. We got caught in a rainstorm at Disney's MGM Studios and got on to a Downtown Disney bus hoping to transfer at Downtown Disney to a bus that would get us back to BWV. We were drenched. When we asked the driver how to best get back to BWV, he said he would take us there.

After droping the folks on the bus off at the downtown area, he drove us right to BWV. This (to us) was pure Disney magic. Next time you are waiting for a bus, it just may be due to a driver going out of his/her way to help others. The bus system will never be perfect to everyone so just understand its limitations and chill out or drive your car everywhere you want to go.

 

[robinb]

I have to admit that I find it hard to "chill out" when I know how good the bus service can be at other resorts. I too had to wait a long time for the busses at BWV and making multiple stops added to the time and frustration. It took me over an hour to return from the MK one day . I stayed at CBR last year. My husband had the rental car for work and I had to rely on the bus system. I never had to wait for a bus more than 5 minutes. Then, they were quick and effecient to and from the parks.

FWIW, we always rent a car and drive everywhere but the MK.

 

[SnowWitch]

Actually vacationman I spent alot of money becoming a member of disneys vacation club, I don't think its alot to ask to have descent bus service !! I visit Disney several times a year so I know what good bus transportation is, what the BW has is NOT GOOD. But thanks so much for your input.

 

[ReneeQ]

I agree that the bus schedule needs serious work at BWV. I have stayed at all three All Star Resorts in the past, actually twice at each one since 1997. The bus service there is FAR SUPERIOR to the bus service at BWV. I don't see the problem so much as being how long you have to wait for a bus. The problem to me is too many resorts are sharing one bus.

 

[TerriBelle]

Last year when we stayed at the BWV we tried to be creative. We would get off at the S/D or YC/BC and walk to the BW. We also like to take the monorail at least once all the way from MK to EPCOT. The kids like the long monorail ride and it is better than the bus! We did this one night since MK closes earlier than EPCOT in the off season. When we got to EPCOT it was empty and we were able to get on quite a few rides. Then we worked our way back towards the BW and caught the parade.

 

[Lesley]

One important thing is that if you have problems with the bus service let them know....write a letter to the management of BWV and also have it sent to WDW transportation. It could be that everyone hates the system but unless they are told about the problem they can't do anything about it.

I do think its insane that the deluxe resorts have to share bus service and that the busses are generally less reliable (slower and more crowded) than at the moderates...we have yet to experience this at BWV but didn't think the busses from the Poly were nearly as good as those from CBR or CSR. It wasn't terrible, but all the stops lengthen the ride considerably.

 

[mickeyc]

We have stayed at various locations throughout WDW and the Bus Service has been excellent. However, based upon the information contained herein I plan to contact transportation. All of us don't spend our hard earned dollars to ride buses at WDW. I can do that everyday going to work. Thanks to all for sharing this information. I hope the bus service at BWV improves. As the saying goes: " the squeaky wheel gets the grease."

 

[SnowWitch]

When I exited the crammed MK bus that night I did go and retrieve a member of the BWV's management team who was kind enough to give me the name and address of the VP of resorts. If any are interested in having this address and the moderators don't have a problem with me posting it, I would be happy to post it.

 

[mickeyc]

Hi Snowwitch... If you already have the names of the appropriate contact it would be helpful if it could be posted, if it is ok with the moderators. I think this is one way the service may improve. I would think Disney with it reputation for excellent customer service would like some constructive feedback. Nice job! I think this will help everyone.

 

[TheWho]

How does the "walk to EPCOT, use monorail to get to MK" strategy work? Is this a good way to bypass the bus situation at BW?

Dave

 

[GCM13]

Going through Epcot to get the monorail only works when both parks are open. So, if you want to do EE at MK, then you have to take the bus. The other disadvantage is that it is quite a long walk from the Boardwalk to the monorail station. We did this one time and our kids were pretty tired.

 

[drusba]

That walk through Epcot, take monorail to TTC and then another monorail to MK can easily take 50 minutes to an hour. The bus from BW to MK is only a 15 minute ride as BW is the last resort stop when heading to MK. Coming back it stops at YC/BC before going to BW and takes about 30 minutes. The bus, despite any flaws, is faster than the Epcot/monorail route.

 

[Kathy C]

I guess for us, one of the selling points of BWV was being able to walk to MGM, Epcot and catching the monorail from Epcot to MK and vice versa. Of course you wouldn't be able to do this if you were going to an EE morning at MK but could any other time. We also enjoy the monorail ride. We have learned, over time, to be very creative where the buses are concerned.

 

[CLC]

We have had a few long waits with the BWV buses-but what is interesting is everytime we have seen several empty Coronado Springs buses stop at BWV prior to our bus arriving. Does anybody know why they stop so frequently [we have NEVER seen anybody get on or off one] and why they stop at all? Just curious and thought some of you may have some insight.

 

[BetsyB]

When we've stayed at BWV and have seen buses from other resorts I've just assumed it's because The BoardWalk is an "attraction" too -- similar to Downtown Disney.

 

[Kathy C]

I thought Coronado Springs was the only resort that actually had a bus to and from Boardwalk because
of it being the "convention" resort.

 

[grumpy-duck]

We had a rental car that we used for everywhere we went except MK when we visited in early June. We had no problem getting to MK on EE days but came back to packed lines to get back to BWV in early afternoon. Our strategy was to hop on the bus to the Swan and walk back to BWV. Not as good as getting more busses specifically for BWV, but it worked great. If the name is available to send a letter I would love to see it so all of us who have experienced problems can sound off to the appropriate person.