[Soundgod]

Let me state, let's try and keep this nice. Yes, I did say that, but I figure this thread has the possibility of taking off in the wrong direction.
The reason I'm starting it is I've been reading trip reports and I'd like to get all of these stories together in one thread about recent speed bumps on what I call "My favorite Disney thrill ride - 'Out of Control Bus'".
To whichever mod has authority, can we try to keep this thread here in the main theme park forum?

I'll get the ball rolling. We were heading for Magic Kingdom from the Boardwalk. Bus rolls in and it's sign still reads "Boardwalk Swan Dolphin". Bus stops and I ask the driver where he's going. With attitude he responds "the Swan and then the Dolphin". Yes, but what's your destination? "Magic Kingdom". Why doesn't the sign say so? With more attitude "It changes at the end of the route". Which makes no sense at all. How is a guest at the Boardwalk supposed to tell where the bus is going, if the signs don't change until we got to the Swan? Don't ask. I sure didn't. Not when our driver was the role model for Grumpy.
I did find out later from another, much friendlier driver, that they were having all kinds of problems with signage because they had closed the Marketplace stop at DTD and the GPS kept reporting that the bus was where it wasn't supposed to be.

[LittleMissMagic]

Well... this is nothing specific, and I'm not sure if it's exactly what you were looking for, considering it has nothing to do with actual people, but...

The Epcot resort boats are so slow!!! I raced one, walking... and beat it (I left as soon as the boat docked, so this includes unloading and loading time). The only time I ever ride is when it's raining.

And there are a million Magic Kingdom buses, but hardly any Animal Kingdom buses. And they run the MK buses all too close together (during my most recent time of stay)... two MK buses were at the resort at the same time, and then another came within the next three minutes. Meanwhile, there was no AK bus.

[WishUponAStar]

I am always pretty satisfied with the WDW transportation services, I mean where else in the world can you go on vacation and have such an extensive & gratis web of transportation?

Anyway, my only huge complaint are those dang EPCOT resort buses!!!!Sharing buses between the Boardwalk, the Swan, the Dolphin, AND the Yacht/Beach is ridiculous. From the time we arrived at the bus stop bench at the Boardwalk once to the time we physically got OFF the bus at AK it was an hour and 5 minutes?!?! How is that even possible? It was CRAZY!! THEN, most of the buses were PACKED b/c we shared all those stops!!

That's all!

[Dana]

I did not have a positive experience with the bus system in August as stated in my trip report. The buses going to the parks in the morning after stopping at all POR stops took almost an hour on some days...it was ridiculous. It didn't matter what time of morning we left...we always took forever to get there. The buses going back to the resort were MUCH faster for some reason. This is the only trip I had an issue with WDW transportation...ever.

Let's keep this thread as nice as possible. I like that you are going to compile the complaints and forward it to Disney. That being said, if the complaints in this thread are just 100% negative spew, it won't be heard. An instance where the busses were not so good and possibly a way to improve service would be taken more seriously than ranting.

[SuiteDisney]

We rent a car and drive everywhere. My husband has a handicap tag due to his arthritis and we valet park at resorts or use the close handicapped spaces at the parks. It makes life easier for him and saves us time.

[LittleMissMagic]

ooh... I shall add a couple of positives (I have so many), although this is supposed to be a rant thread.

I have never run into an unfriendly bus/boat driver.

The buses are fast and air-conditioned.

The boats run, even in the rain (Uni/IOA shut theirs down!!!).

Buses and boats are clearly marked as to where they are going (although, apparently, sometimes the location is not correct).

[DisneyTeacher]

We've had a few long, crowded bus rides but nothing to really gripe about. We were lucky during our BCV/BWV stay this summer because we didn't share any bus with all 5 Epcot resorts. I was worried about it because of past trips but we only shared with YC when we were at BC and Swan and Dolphin when we were at BW.

[Daisee]

I have a positive!!!!

One year, we were going to the Dolphin to rent a car from Alamo for a day trip to St. Augustine. We were not sure how to get to the Dolphin from our resort. We knew we had to get to a park first. We asked the bus driver what the faster route would be and he said.. the fastest route will be if I take you directly there... and he did! We were the first and only people on the bus.. it was the first pick up of the day at our resort. He radio'd in what he was doing and took us directly to the resort. We were so excited we could not thank him enough. I think Rlander may have tried to tip him, but he refused. Now that was a great bus driver!

[MrDisneyfan1]

DW and I (on a trip with out the kids) once waited over 30 minutes for a bus to EPCOT from the Contemporary. We'll we soon found out there was none and we had to go to TTC for the Monorail - Stupid us! Note to us, one less cocktail poolside nextime!!!

[bosoxx65]

Very good topic Doug.

I've been biting my lip since i've been back, just waiting for the chance.

While not horrendous by any means, we found the Disney Transport to be with serious flaws this past trip. I could count on one hand the 40+ minute waits we had at random times. One particular time was at Downtown Disney where we must have waited for almost 55 minutes for a bus to the PoP. When you're waiting, it seems like every other resort bus goes by 3 or 4 times. After another bus that wasn't ours stopped Sandy went over and asked why we hadn't had a PoP bus go by in almost an hour? He was nice and said they were working the bugs out of a new system and a bus should be along soon. True to his word, the PoP bus arrived about 3 minutes later.

I'll admit i don't follow the entire transportation system very well. They roll signs seconds from your bus stop... some have no signs at all. It can all be pretty confusing. But one thing i can follow. I can remember numerous times a bus would arrive at a bus stop where one had just stopped minutes ago. This would happen a lot. So while you are waiting for just one to stop for the PoP, 4 would stop in 15 minutes for the Poly.
Some days it just seemed that way. And there were a lot of days where a bus was just "waiting" for us when we got to the bus stop, so i think it balanced out pretty fairly over 8 days.

Another thing. When you are waiting in the heat and sweat is dripping off you, people can become quite opinionated. Many unhappy people had their own theories on why it takes so long for a bus. Most tended to lean towards Disney treating their Moderate and Deluxe patrons better with regards to quicker buses than the Value resort patrons. I don't buy it because i heard people from all resorts and parks complaining. But one has to wonder. If even only a little bit.

[GrumpyDad]

Disney transportation was one of the first amazing encounters for me at WDW. On my first trip I was presenting at a work conference. Several of us closed the Copa Banana after our "shift" was over and then went walking around the resorts. After a while we were very lost, lol. A bus driver, who was clearly done for the day, pulled over, asked us where we were going and then gave us a ride back to the Dolphin. Now this was some years ago but that always stuck with me.

As far as the boats go, I have always felt that they are supposed to be a nice slow cruise from point to point. I kinda of enjoy the sit down time as we move from MGM to EPCOT.

Can I go back now.............

[DayDreamer]

I took the bus one time and won't again unless I absolutely have to. I don't like waiting for the bus, I don't like a crowded bus when it arrives and I don't like all the stops. Therefore, I rent a car and I'm on my merry way. I think the bus system is good but something needs to be done about the frequency of when they run. If I'm staying at a resort I should feel that if I miss a bus another will arrive within 5-10 minutes and not be packed. Disney transportation should be stress free whether its a bus, monorail or boat.

[rjbarnhart]

I've been biting my tongue since our last trip, but the transportation to and from Saratoga Springs was terrible in July. Lines at the bus stops were unbelievably long, and the waits were at least 30 to 40 minutes all the time. By contrast, there always seemed to be an Old Key West bus leaving or arriving at the bus stops, but the SS buses were very few and far between. One day, we just missed the bus to Animal Kingdom in the morning (it literally pulled away while we were just a few steps from the stop) The bus stop was empty but quickly filled up. When the next bus to AK arrived 45 minutes later, we became separated from our 2 kids in the rush of people to get on the bus (not a lot of courtesy from other hot, irritated Disney guests) Even though we had waited the longest, only our 2 kids managed to get on the bus. There was no room for my wife and I. I tried to explain to the bus driver that we had already waited 45 minutes and he was not sympathetic at first, but agreed to call for another bus. Our kids got off the bus and joined us at the stop. We waited another 15 minutes and the other guests at the bus stop who now had heard our story made sure that we got on first. All in all, it took up an hour and 15 minutes to get the Animal Kingdom that morning. I know July is one of the busiest times at WDW, but you would think there would be extra transportation to handle such times. The very poor transportation was the only negative part of an otherwise magical vacation.

[Dopey]

Gee, we've always been lucky with Disney transportation. I don't like reading all this stuff
I have high hopes for November, people. Send pixie dust, please

[woohoo]

How about waiting for 45 min at DTD for a bus to AS resorts and when one finally pulls up and you go up to the bus the busdriver YELLED at me with "Im only dropping off"
WHAT???????? That is insane!

Or how about ME and how unorganized they always seem to be- both trips were riddled with ME issues. How can a service that knows 3000+ are arriving at the same time and all going to CSR and not have additional busses going there or seperating AKL from the mess of people checking in at once or even have a seperate check in line just for the one party of 3000+? That was miserable for a family of 6 to wait through.