Here now, OMG buses.

[xipotec]

Ok i am currently on a bus that left the
Poly 20 minutes ago.

We have made it as far as the GF !

Why??? Strollers and scooters. Half the bus is full with them , looks like 8 seats are not usablebecause of them. Each stop is taking close to 15 minutes. If your at Contemporary, i would plan an hour at least.

Be prepared to add alot of extra time because buses are full

 

[DebbieB]

Ok i am currently on a bus that left the p
Poly 20 minutes ago.

We have made it as far as the GF !

Why??? Strollers and scooters. Half the bus is full with them , looks like 8 seats are not usablebecause of the

Rent a car and drive, that's what I do.

 

[Robo]

Thread turned nasty. I'm out.

 

[xipotec]

Rent a car and drive, that's what I do.

Yup we have our car, going to take it to AK tomorrow

 

[DakotaRose]

I was surprised how many of families with strollers had no idea they had to fold them up to board the bus. So we all sit and wait while they unload from the stroller the kids and all the bits and bobs and fold up. Are there signs up in the bus stops saying strollers have to be folded??

 

[davedmaine]

Yeah, who would have thought that there'd be a lot of strollers at Disney World.

 

[xipotec]

I was surprised how many of families with strollers had no idea they had to fold them up to board the bus. So we all sit and wait while they unload from the stroller the kids and all the bits and bobs and fold up. Are there signs up in the bus stops saying strollers have to be folded??

This ,it not about strollers it about the way they are handling things so far this trip, see my new thread, rides closed, broken, last minute closings, nor impressed so far at all, this is not the WDW of 5 or 10 years ago

 

[DRDISNEYMD]

This ,it not about strollers it about the way they are handling things so far this trip, see my new thread, rides closed, broken, last minute closings, nor impressed so far at all, this is not the WDW of 5 or 10 years ago

~We were on a crowded standing room only bus & I saw a lot of strollers taking up seats, too. There is a way, that you can position the stroller to rest right in front of your legs, so someone can have a seat! Anyway, when our bus finally arrived at our destination, this woman had the nerve to push her stroller out in the aisle to prevent the standing passengers from exiting first. She almost caused a riot on our bus, as a guy took her stroller and shoved it back and told her she had to wait!

~Are you having any fun? The scenarios you mentioned above happen to us on just about every trip, and we still had a blast. Even after reading your post, I still wish I was there. I hope you have some positive experiences to share as well, just don't focus on all the negative stuff! Have fun!

 

[xipotec]

~We were on a crowded standing room only bus & I saw a lot of strollers taking up seats, too. There is a way, that you can position the stroller to rest right in front of your legs, so someone can have a seat! Anyway, when our bus finally arrived at our destination, this woman had the nerve to push her stroller out in the aisle to prevent the standing passengers from exiting first. She almost caused a riot on our bus, as a guy took her stroller and shoved it back and told her she had to wait!

~Are you having any fun? The scenarios you mentioned above happen to us on just about every trip, and we still had a blast. Even after reading your post, I still wish I was there. I hope you have some positive experiences to share as well, just don't focus on all the negative stuff! Have fun!

Yea its a good time , but WDW has some work to do.
They absolutely should have offered a FP to the people who had waited 45 minutes in line already.
The fast pass we went an got after is useless for us since its in the middle of our pre paid hollywood brown derby ADR
Going to see if guest services can change it for us.
Other wise no toy story mania for us thus trip

 

[TeamBlack]

We went in Sept, our first trip since 2003. I was taken back by how many ECV's there were. In 2003, I can remember maybe 1 a day getting on or off the bus. This trip, every bus we took had at least 1 and usually 2 ECV's. That add's 20 minutes to any bus ride with the loading and unloading. It seems like Disney need's seperate busses for ECV's, there's that many.

 

[Jillpie]

Are you starting your day at the parks at this hour of the day? If you are, that could be your mistake. Try getting up much earlier tomorrow, for rope drop. It'll be much less crowded on the buses and easier to get on everything. Don't waste your mornings sleeping or hanging at the resorts, crowds just build and build, then you run into all these problems. In 12 years of going to DW, we haven't run into this because we're always on the first bus to the parks. It really works.

 

[Ariel8676]

I'm sorry you are having a bad time so far. Maybe the signs should be easier to read, maybe the bus drivers should tell them the rules before boarding..but even if all that is done, you are still going to have people that try to bend the rules to make things better for them. There are a lot of good people, and there are a lot of people that feel that the world revolves around them..not just in WDW, everywhere. The rides that are closed or down is going to happen anytime..i was there in August and there was a lot that my family was unable to ride, oh well.
Take you car to the parks, its so much easier anyway. Take a deep breath and try to have fun, despite all that has gone wrong so far. Im in NJ and just had our power return, i would much rather be in your position having a not so great time lol

 

[hollygolitely93]

We went in Sept, our first trip since 2003. I was taken back by how many ECV's there were. In 2003, I can remember maybe 1 a day getting on or off the bus. This trip, every bus we took had at least 1 and usually 2 ECV's. That add's 20 minutes to any bus ride with the loading and unloading. It seems like Disney need's seperate busses for ECV's, there's that many.

That's a really good idea. You should email disney with it.

 

[minniesmama]

You know, I have used the outside stroller rentals and loved them. The City Mini double from Orlando Strollers was so comfy for my kids and easy to push. BUT those things are huge. Even the single is big when folded. I think the increase in people renting these giant strollers from outside companies has directly impacted the bus situation. Before these companies came into play more people used park rentals (now WAY too $$$$) or brought their own umbrella strollers. Now every bus is full of City Minis, and there's no room for people.

 

[WedgieSock]

This ,it not about strollers it about the way they are handling things so far this trip, see my new thread, rides closed, broken, last minute closings, nor impressed so far at all, this is not the WDW of 5 or 10 years ago

What was the Disney of 5 or 10 years ago?

 

[goofy4tink]

That's a really good idea. You should email disney with it.

Nope, not going to happen. Can you imagine the addtl costs involved??? Do you really want to pay those addtl costs? I don't.
In all reality, there just aren't that many ECVs using the buses at any one time. And that 20 mins addtl time, loading and unloading? Wrong. The 'on foot' guests get off that bus, long before the ECV is unloaded. So, your time may have an addtl 5-10 mins, depending on how many ECVs are loaded, the skill of the operator and the bus driver, doing the loading.

Everyone seems to think that there are many more ECVs now. Well, while I have noticed more ECV use, I don't think it's out of control. Why? Those that use ECVs, tend to find that it is very inconvenient to board the buses. It adds a lot more time to their bus ride than it does to ours!!
In all reality?? Each bus carries two, and some buses can accomodate three, ECVs. I have seldom seen a bus with two on it...and that's at least one trip a year, and usually more like two!!!

BUT....I have more of an issue with strollers. Someone already mentioned that it's annoying for guests to leave the stroller as is, right up until the time to board the bus. I have seen guests try to board the bus, with the child still in the stroller. And then, they commenced to arguing with the driver...'well, the baby is sleeping and I don't want to wake her up!!'. The driver was less than sympathetic. And if someone put a folded up stroller on a seat? You can believe that I would be the person requesting that they remove the stroller if there were guests standing!!! Seats are for human behinds, not for strollers!!!

If you leave your resort within 45 mins of park opening (from 8:15 to 9:30ish), you are going to have a ton of company. It's best to get the earliest bus you can make. Much better to be standing at the park, waiting for rope drop than to be among the hordes arriving for 9am!!!

 

[WedgieSock]

Why? Those that use ECVs, tend to find that it is very inconvenient to board the buses. It adds a lot more time to their bus ride than it does to ours!!

We used the bus on our first day - the loading of my Mum in her EVC took a long time and it wasn't worth the huffing & rolling of eyes from some at the end of the day when people were tired. We used our car after that and will continue to do so.

 

[stpats317]

My husband has very painful arthritis in his hips and we have rented an ECV for the first time for our trip coming up in a few weeks. Once we decided to rent the ECV, we then bit the bullet and rented a car so we would not have to fight getting the ECV on the bus - a convenience for us, but also for the others riding the bus. Of course, it didn't hurt that I got a great deal on a rental car, lol. We are staying at WL and will take the boat to MK and take the car elsewhere.

Like so many others with "invisible" disabilities (my husband is young -- 56 --) we just didn't want to have to deal with the "look" from fellow bus passengers who think that just because he looks young and healthy there is no need for him to have an ECV.

 

[WLSILVERCREEKSPRINGS]

Nope, not going to happen. Can you imagine the addtl costs involved??? Do you really want to pay those addtl costs? I don't.
In all reality, there just aren't that many ECVs using the buses at any one time. And that 20 mins addtl time, loading and unloading? Wrong. The 'on foot' guests get off that bus, long before the ECV is unloaded. So, your time may have an addtl 5-10 mins, depending on how many ECVs are loaded, the skill of the operator and the bus driver, doing the loading.

Everyone seems to think that there are many more ECVs now. Well, while I have noticed more ECV use, I don't think it's out of control. Why? Those that use ECVs, tend to find that it is very inconvenient to board the buses. It adds a lot more time to their bus ride than it does to ours!!
In all reality?? Each bus carries two, and some buses can accomodate three, ECVs. I have seldom seen a bus with two on it...and that's at least one trip a year, and usually more like two!!!

BUT....I have more of an issue with strollers. Someone already mentioned that it's annoying for guests to leave the stroller as is, right up until the time to board the bus. I have seen guests try to board the bus, with the child still in the stroller. And then, they commenced to arguing with the driver...'well, the baby is sleeping and I don't want to wake her up!!'. The driver was less than sympathetic. And if someone put a folded up stroller on a seat? You can believe that I would be the person requesting that they remove the stroller if there were guests standing!!! Seats are for human behinds, not for strollers!!!

If you leave your resort within 45 mins of park opening (from 8:15 to 9:30ish), you are going to have a ton of company. It's best to get the earliest bus you can make. Much better to be standing at the park, waiting for rope drop than to be among the hordes arriving for 9am!!!

It's interesting to see different people's experiences and perceptions. We've been regular DW visitors since 1987, always used DW transportation and rarely experience the stroller issues that I see on so many threads.

 

[TeamBlack]

Nope, not going to happen. Can you imagine the addtl costs involved??? Do you really want to pay those addtl costs? I don't.
In all reality, there just aren't that many ECVs using the buses at any one time. And that 20 mins addtl time, loading and unloading? Wrong. The 'on foot' guests get off that bus, long before the ECV is unloaded. So, your time may have an addtl 5-10 mins, depending on how many ECVs are loaded, the skill of the operator and the bus driver, doing the loading.

1. I don't want to pay for the additional cost of an expanded Fantasyland or Avatarland, but we will.
2. You wait for the ECV's to load at the park. You wait for them to unload and reload at the various depot's on the way. 20 minutes was being conservative.