best wdw option to minimize bus transportation issues About This Page:

[Wyattearp]

I plan on going to Disney this summer and, based on my past visits, realize the bus service can be a huge hassle. Assuming I can not afford a monorail hotel, what are my best options?

[MayraLR]

One of the Epcot area resorts - Boardwalk, Beach Club or Yacht Club. They are walking distance to both Epcot and Hollywood Studios. They also offer boat transportation to those parks. Then you'll only have to take the bus to AK and MK.

Although, I've never encountered a huge wait for buses. Obviously park opening and closing will be the most crowded and you'll have to wait more, but it isn't that bad. I've stayed at Port Orleans Riverside and Animal Kingdom Villas.

[cattailmarsh]

Two other options for you - Swan/Dolphin (Epcot vicinity) and Wilderness Lodge (MK area via boat launch then monorail or walk to Epcot/MK)

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[Her Dotness]

Since the OP cannot afford a monorail resort, the relevant question may be can the OP afford any of the resorts previously suggested.

All of them are Deluxes or in the case of Swan/Dolphin Deluxe-like unless a family qualifies for a discounted rate at either Swalphin. (Discounted rates are offered to nurses, teachers, federal employees and military, FYI. However, chances of getting such rates for this summer may be quite limited or impossible at this point in the year.)

I further feel that even though Wilderness Lodge has typically been the least expensive of the Deluxes, it is very inconveniently located for anyone wanting to get to/from parks other than the MK without riding a bus. Depending upon the boat from WL to the MK and then monorail to Epcot means at the very least about an hour's transit time if you don't have to wait for either boat or monorail. And a wait for either or both is highly likely even at less busy seasons.

I'm not sure I understand the OP's wish to avoid Disney buses. We don't especially like the buses but have rarely had any notable difficulty using them. As was mentioned, with careful planning, long waits for a bus can be fairly easily avoided.

[JoanneS]

Could you rent a car for the vacation? That might be less hassle for you. Alamo often has some nice rates. If not, and money is an issue, then I would try to choose a resort that doesn't share buses, is close to a park, or isn't humongous. Pop Century, and Port Orleans French Quarter come to mind as possibilities.

[jenifermg0]

The last couple of trips we have rarely waited longer than 15 minutes for a bus either coming from or going to the parks. I think Disney has done an amazing job of updating their dispatch system. I really don't think you will have a major issue with using the buses regardless of what resort you are at.

[CinderAbby]

I agree with the rental car option if it's affordable for you. You could get the free shuttle to and from your Disney resort (just remember to set your pick up time the day before) and pick it up at the Car Care Center instead of the airport.

[Wyattearp]

Thanks for all the tips. Just to clarify; I am forced to go during peak times in the summer. During my last visit, mainly because of the loading of scooters and wheel chairs, it took us well over an hour to get anywhere. The kicker was, the buses were jammed, front to back. With the price you pay for the trip, time is money. I'm just trying to maximize the experience, and reduce frustrations..

[MsLydia]

I wanted to throw in there, don't overlook taking a taxi or Uber if you are pressed for time.

In general, we find the busses to be really quite good. We do schedule an hour to get from one place to another and rarely have to stress about getting there on time.

We do like Pop for it's dedicated busses with the option of hopping on a AoA bus.

[allgiggles]

Originally Posted by MsLydia

.....

In general, we find the busses to be really quite good. We do schedule an hour to get from one place to another and rarely have to stress about getting there on time.

We do like Pop for it's dedicated busses with the option of hopping on a AoA bus.

This!!

Due to school/work schedules, we always travel to Disney in late June. Our last 3 trips we've stayed at AoA and the 3 trips prior to that were at Pop Century. We've always found transportation at those resorts to be very good. Like MsLydia, we always plan for transportation to take an hour (from leaving our room to arriving at our final destination)...though we've found it's usually less than 30 minutes from the time we get in the bus line until we're at our destination. If we're going to a park for rope drop, we make sure to get to the resort bus stop at least 75 minutes before the park opens and we've always been at the park at least 45 minutes before the official opening time (I like to be there very early -- we could certainly stick to the one hour rule and arrive in plenty of time). If we stay at a park until it closes, we take our time leaving the park -- stopping for snacks and people watching or browsing through gift shops on the way out. By the time we get to the bus stop, the lines are relatively short. Other than those two high-volume times, we rarely wait more than 10 minutes for a bus to arrive. If there are ECV's to load, we might have to wait a few more minutes after the bus arrives to be able to board, but on our last 2 visits, we found that there were only ECVs on about 25-30% of our bus rides (we ride the buses at least 4 times a day during our stays). And I'll also mention that for us, we used to think we were waiting "a long time" for buses almost every time we needed to use one. A few trips ago, I started keeping track of the actual wait times and adding it to my trip notes. We found that while it felt like we were waiting a long time, in reality it was less than 10 minutes. I'm thinking that the heat and our general exhaustion contributed to our overestimating our wait times.

We also like the flexibility of being able to take a bus back to Pop Century and then walk to AoA. We actually do that intentionally at least one night during our stay because the walk across the bridge to AoA is gorgeous at night.

[JulieAnne]

Originally Posted by Wyattearp

Thanks for all the tips. Just to clarify; I am forced to go during peak times in the summer. During my last visit, mainly because of the loading of scooters and wheel chairs, it took us well over an hour to get anywhere. The kicker was, the buses were jammed, front to back. With the price you pay for the trip, time is money. I'm just trying to maximize the experience, and reduce frustrations..

Do you mean you have wheelchairs and scooters, or are you waiting for others with wheelchairs and scooters to load?

If you have them, then yes, there only being two spots on most of the buses can mean waiting for three or four buses to come especially at park opening or closing times.

If you are waiting for the others, unfortunately, because of the size of the parks, many people who don't regularly use one or the other use them at WDW. These people take longer than regular users, because most of them don't know the equipment well enough.

If you don't have them, then my suggestion is to make a list of all the resorts you can fit in your budget, then research how many "accessible rooms" there are in those resorts and other resorts on it's bus route. Choose the one with the smallest number of accessible rooms, and so you will minimize the possible wheelchair/scooter riders on your bus.

Good Luck!