WDW bus transportation is horrible

I personally have never found transportation rigid at WDW. Even the skyliner. Has issues. The hub to Hollywood is terrible in the mornings. We rent a car anymore. Valuable time wasted on waiting for transportation. I’m not sure why Disney can not get this together. They know how many guests have reservations in the hotels and in the parks now. They have had years to get it together. Yet they never do.
 
We used Uber most of the time during our last trip, except when we walked to DHS and EOCOT from BWV. We encountered a long bus wait mid day at DHS. Learned a lesson. Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me.
 


I personally have never found transportation rigid at WDW. Even the skyliner. Has issues. The hub to Hollywood is terrible in the mornings. We rent a car anymore. Valuable time wasted on waiting for transportation. I’m not sure why Disney can not get this together. They know how many guests have reservations in the hotels and in the parks now. They have had years to get it together. Yet they never do.
Budgeting. Transportation is a cost center, not a profit center.
 
FYI- during our trip earlier this month we were leaving AK for Pop and there was a pretty long line for a bus and 3 people on scooters which I knew would delay loading. I used the ‘chat’ feature on MDE and told them the situation. Before the first bus pulled out another had arrived. It may have been coincidental but it seemed to help at least a little. :) Perhaps if enough people use the chat to complain about bus service it will encourage them to make some changes.
FIle this in YMMV. We waited over an hour @ AK for a bus when we were there. We were chatting, we even had one of the bus drivers who was not on shift come over and talk to us. Nothing helped - except patience. We were headed back to BLT and didn't have anywhere else to be so that won the day.
 


So I had to return and let you know what happened after I sent my concerns to wdw.guest.communications@disneyworld.com .

I typed a nice detailed letter (2 pages) of my experience with the transportation at OKW. I mentioned 6 specific concerns and kept with the details and left out my emotions and frustration. I emailed the letter on October 26. I received a voice mail and personal email from a Guest Experience Services CM on November 5. I actually think she called me on November 4 but I missed her call. I told her I would call back on Monday, November 9.

It was a crazy Monday so I called her today. We had a pleasant 21 min and 37 second phone call today. We talked in depth about my awful experience with the transportation and she asked several more detailed questions to get me to elaborate on my experience. She was typing and taking notes of our conversation. We talked about a little bit of everything. One thing she asked me was did I go to guest services in the parks or at the front desk of OKW to tell them the problem. I said no, we told the bus drivers. She encouraged me to contact Guest Services if I have a problem/concern.

She also mentioned that on the MDE App, under Resorts, there is an ETA button for the busses. My MDE information has cleared from the App so I can't check but I don't remember seeing this feature. So if anyone is going soon will you please verify if you see the bus ETA button. I was in and out of the MDE App every day and I don't recall seeing that bus ETA button when I went into the Resort portion of the App. I also don't recall anyone in the App looking up the ETA while we were at the OKW bus stops. Several times the line was crazy long so if someone was on the App I'm sure they would have informed us to check the App for the bus ETA. I told the CM that the bus drivers must not be aware of it either because when asked about the ETA of another park bus they didn't know nor did they tell us to look it up on the App. So this bit of knowledge was great and I urged her to initiate communication to resort guests of this feature in the MDE App. To me, this should be information readily available. This should also be posted at the bus stops on how to access ETA. I'm still baffled that this was offered but no one knows about it. Hopefully a dis'er can report back if they have it on their MDE App while at the resorts.

She said she has already forwarded my letter to Transportation and they will talk about it more after her call with me. The detailed questions she asked me were questions from Transportation.

She offered me two 2-day park passes for my lost time in the parks dealing with bus issues which I gladly accepted.

I wasn't expecting anything. I just wanted them to know that there is a problem with the OKW transportation and it should be addressed. I told her we had a great vacation even with the Covid protocols in place. Heck we were looking to book another trip in the next 60 days because we enjoyed it so much. Or maybe we're just tired of being at home. LOL!

I'm shocked they contacted me via phone and I was able to speak with a live person. I'm quite pleased with the discussion and their proactive approach to resolve my concerns.
 
She also mentioned that on the MDE App, under Resorts, there is an ETA button for the busses. My MDE information has cleared from the App so I can't check but I don't remember seeing this feature. So if anyone is going soon will you please verify if you see the bus ETA button. I was in and out of the MDE App every day and I don't recall seeing that bus ETA button when I went into the Resort portion of the App. I also don't recall anyone in the App looking up the ETA while we were at the OKW bus stops. Several times the line was crazy long so if someone was on the App I'm sure they would have informed us to check the App for the bus ETA. I told the CM that the bus drivers must not be aware of it either because when asked about the ETA of another park bus they didn't know nor did they tell us to look it up on the App. So this bit of knowledge was great and I urged her to initiate communication to resort guests of this feature in the MDE App. To me, this should be information readily available. This should also be posted at the bus stops on how to access ETA. I'm still baffled that this was offered but no one knows about it. Hopefully a dis'er can report back if they have it on their MDE App while at the resorts.

Just FYI, pre-COVID there was a feature deeper in the app that would tell you the estimated bus wait times at your resort (but not from the parks back to your resort). It was GPS based and operated pretty much in real time (it was usually pretty accurate but at times would have wild swings if they took something in/out of service, traffic, etc). This feature was removed when they reopened this summer with no announcement/explanation. Sounds like Guest Services is operating with old info about that being an option in the app.
 
Just FYI, pre-COVID there was a feature deeper in the app that would tell you the estimated bus wait times at your resort (but not from the parks back to your resort). It was GPS based and operated pretty much in real time. This feature was removed when they reopened this summer with no announcement/explanation. Sounds like Guest Services is operating with old info of that being an option in the app.

Thx GAD. I've been scratching my head that I missed that bus ETA in the App. I studied that App for weeks. I clicked on each link and explored the App. Not to mention I studied the App at night after each park day. I'm glad to know I'm not going crazy because I know I would have seen a Bus ETA link.
 
Thx GAD. I've been scratching my head that I missed that bus ETA in the App. I studied that App for weeks. I clicked on each link and explored the App. Not to mention I studied the App at night after each park day. I'm glad to know I'm not going crazy because I know I would have seen a Bus ETA link.

Lol! Yeah, when it existed it was pretty buried in the app on the “Resort” info page (see below). Not really sure why Disney scrapped it upon reopening, although I’m sure there’s a good reason somewhere when it comes to capacity, Covid, routes, etc. Also, it only worked during your stay, the icon wouldn’t be there before or after your dates.

I do hope they bring it back at some point though. I found it pretty useful in our travels.

712EC994-DD42-4BEC-A973-15196AEB06A9.jpeg
 
Thx GAD. I've been scratching my head that I missed that bus ETA in the App. I studied that App for weeks. I clicked on each link and explored the App. Not to mention I studied the App at night after each park day. I'm glad to know I'm not going crazy because I know I would have seen a Bus ETA link.
The times in the app were based on the times posted on the monitors at the bus stops. If the times aren't on those monitors, they won't be in the app, either.
 
So I had to return and let you know what happened after I sent my concerns to wdw.guest.communications@disneyworld.com .

I typed a nice detailed letter (2 pages) of my experience with the transportation at OKW. I mentioned 6 specific concerns and kept with the details and left out my emotions and frustration. I emailed the letter on October 26. I received a voice mail and personal email from a Guest Experience Services CM on November 5. I actually think she called me on November 4 but I missed her call. I told her I would call back on Monday, November 9.

It was a crazy Monday so I called her today. We had a pleasant 21 min and 37 second phone call today. We talked in depth about my awful experience with the transportation and she asked several more detailed questions to get me to elaborate on my experience. She was typing and taking notes of our conversation. We talked about a little bit of everything. One thing she asked me was did I go to guest services in the parks or at the front desk of OKW to tell them the problem. I said no, we told the bus drivers. She encouraged me to contact Guest Services if I have a problem/concern.

She also mentioned that on the MDE App, under Resorts, there is an ETA button for the busses. My MDE information has cleared from the App so I can't check but I don't remember seeing this feature. So if anyone is going soon will you please verify if you see the bus ETA button. I was in and out of the MDE App every day and I don't recall seeing that bus ETA button when I went into the Resort portion of the App. I also don't recall anyone in the App looking up the ETA while we were at the OKW bus stops. Several times the line was crazy long so if someone was on the App I'm sure they would have informed us to check the App for the bus ETA. I told the CM that the bus drivers must not be aware of it either because when asked about the ETA of another park bus they didn't know nor did they tell us to look it up on the App. So this bit of knowledge was great and I urged her to initiate communication to resort guests of this feature in the MDE App. To me, this should be information readily available. This should also be posted at the bus stops on how to access ETA. I'm still baffled that this was offered but no one knows about it. Hopefully a dis'er can report back if they have it on their MDE App while at the resorts.

She said she has already forwarded my letter to Transportation and they will talk about it more after her call with me. The detailed questions she asked me were questions from Transportation.

She offered me two 2-day park passes for my lost time in the parks dealing with bus issues which I gladly accepted.

I wasn't expecting anything. I just wanted them to know that there is a problem with the OKW transportation and it should be addressed. I told her we had a great vacation even with the Covid protocols in place. Heck we were looking to book another trip in the next 60 days because we enjoyed it so much. Or maybe we're just tired of being at home. LOL!

I'm shocked they contacted me via phone and I was able to speak with a live person. I'm quite pleased with the discussion and their proactive approach to resolve my concerns.
I viewed the app under my resort and then clicked on guest services and if you scroll down there is a icon that says Walt Disney Bus Transportation, but I only see the different bus stops throughout all the resorts and parks, it does not show the wait times.
but I am not in the parks yet, but will be on December 11, so I can check then.
 
It has been a while since I last used the busses, but from my observation the main problem with the busses is traffic. Especially the roads around Disney Springs and the access roads to the parks are notoriously jammed. Disney Transportation should have reserved lanes on the busiest roads and a system that gives them priority at traffic lights would be helpful as well.
 
It has been a while since I last used the busses, but from my observation the main problem with the busses is traffic. Especially the roads around Disney Springs and the access roads to the parks are notoriously jammed. Disney Transportation should have reserved lanes on the busiest roads and a system that gives them priority at traffic lights would be helpful as well.
They do have special lanes on certain roads now.
 
As I always say, when the buses are running efficiently, they're great. If I show up at the bus stop and a bus comes within 5 minutes or so, I'm happy. If not, I'm on the phone booking a Minnie Van - oh wait, they did away with them. Guess I'll be using Lyft.

Why Disney got rid of the Minnie Vans I'll never understand. Yes, they were pricy but on vacation, I can accept that. Poor bus service...I'll never accept that. My time is too valuable.
 
I stayed at the YC in October and had really good bus service. We always use Disney transportation and have never rented a car in all of our visits for the past 25+ years. This last trip, the buses came regularly and there were hardly any people on them. Many times I had the bus to myself. Never waited more then the average 10-15 minutes.
 

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