What I Learned - Pop Century Bus Service
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christiejay · 07-11-2005, 04:07 PM

If there was an icon of somebody throwing up, I would use that icon. The bus service was atrocious! Now, I realize that we were there during an extremely busy time, but I also know that they can send extra buses when needed. Especially since Pop Century is the largest resort, they really need to consider sending buses more often. One night at Magic Kingdom closing we stood in line for 30 minutes before even one bus came. Meanwhile, ALL the other bus stops received several buses. You know you have been waiting in line a long time when every single person in line cheers at the sight of a single bus.... I should note that bus service to the parks was not that bad, although we always seemed to just miss the bus we needed and had to wait a while for the next one, but that is just the luck of the draw. If you are staying at Pop Century, you might consider driving yourself to the parks if you have a car, especially to the Magic Kingdom. Yes, you would have to wait in line for the monorail and then a tram to the parking lot, but at least those forms of transportation run continuously, unlike the buses which you never know what to expect.

ladyt · 07-11-2005, 04:09 PM

Sorry you had a bad time with the busses. This is actually the first bad thing I have read about Pop. I had heard from several others that the service was good. Hopefully the rest of your trip was good!

bradk · 07-11-2005, 04:20 PM

unfortunately, i've heard of this myself. although it's basically the only negative about pop (aside from its general location). while pop has its own buses, pop is also able to handle a lot more guests who need the same buses.

if it's any consolation, i believe the all stars share their buses, so even though theirs might have come first, there's still multiple stops to be made. and quite honestly, if people are stuck standing in the middle of the bus, it can be a lot uncomfortable when people get off at various stops than when it is when EVERYONE gets off at the same stop.

TravelingTots · 07-11-2005, 08:06 PM

We had the same type of experience with the PC buses in mid-May. The lines always seemed so long, and the buses seemed infrequent as compared to our experiences at AKL (one would think that MORE buses would be running to a larger resort during the summer months). We also experienced the horendous lines at MK after closing. The line for PC had more than 100 people, while the lines for other resorts had only 25-50, and there was such a huge delay between buses. Definitely frustrating at the end of a long day.

KrisLuvsDisney · 07-11-2005, 08:38 PM

We stayed at Pop in June and we had the same problem! I have nothing else bad to say about Pop it is a great resort, but they do need to send more buses when the parks close to pick-up the large amount of guest they have. Actually we have stayed here 3 times and our trip in June was the worst when it came to the bus service.

Annabel · 07-12-2005, 02:42 AM

Sorry to hear you had problems with the buses. I hope this isn't a sign of what's to come - DH and I have stayed at Pop 4 times now and we haven't had to wait longer than 15-20 minutes, except the one time when we had a PS and we needed a bus to MK and waited over half an hour. Let's hope they start laying on more buses for the journey back from the parks, especially when there are a lot of people waiting.

mamapajama · 07-12-2005, 06:53 AM

This is the thing that irritates me about the Values. This time after Wishes, we will either take a cab back to Pop from the CR or we will take a bus from CR to DTD depending on how tired we are.

Elise

LuvMinnie · 07-12-2005, 03:35 PM

[ QUOTE ]
This is the thing that irritates me about the Values. This time after Wishes, we will either take a cab back to Pop from the CR or we will take a bus from CR to DTD depending on how tired we are.

[/ QUOTE ]

We've stayed at all levels of resorts & I find
getting to the parks in the morning is fine. For some reason
at the end of the day the VALUE resort get the worst bus service.
One time we were staying at ASMO & I know 5 buses
came to pick up POFQ & CSprings & we still were waiting.

Value or Deluxe its still your hard earned money & Disney needs to fix this.

graygables · 07-12-2005, 04:22 PM

In May, the service was beyond terrible. 6yo DD uses a stroller as a wheelchair, but since it is not "officially" a wheelchair, they make her get out and me fold up the huge jogger. After the lines I experienced solo in May, there is NO WAY EVER I would stay at Pop w/ kids without a car. No way. EVER.

Cheeser · 07-12-2005, 04:55 PM

I've actually noted worse bus service at the parks lately in lots of resorts. We stayed at AS Sports for Memorial Day and the waits were horrendous at MGM. We stayed at OKW last March and the wait at all parks was horrenduous. My DH's theory on that was that once they tricked you into the DVC they didn't need to actually give you service anymore. I disagree but it was very obvious that buses for PC came by 3 times as more often when waiting at the parks. I think they are just having a hard time tracking all the bussing. They need attendants at the parks who actually give out those little wait tags that track how long you have to wait. If it gets more than 20 minutes...they should call up another bus.
I also have to say...if you expected anything better than 45 minutes for 4th of July weekend you had really outrageous expectations. My best friend the EvilQueen was there at that time...and she said she is definitely going back to fall or feb or march dates from here on out during value seasons! I concur wholeheartedly. We're splurging for Christmas but I fully expect it to be the most crowded I've ever seen and do not have high expectations for getting anywhere fast!

**Fortissimo** · 07-12-2005, 05:25 PM

We stayed at Pop this June. We waited about 20 minutes for a bus from MK at the end of the day. We were walking up as one pulled away (we were too far to catch the driver's eye) so we were first in line for the next bus. While it other resorts did have two busses pull up during that time, I wasn't too unhappy with our wait.

paradox · 07-12-2005, 07:55 PM

Every resort bus stop has a long line at MK after closing. We have waited almost 1 hr for a bus to the All Stars. CBR has had the best end of the night trip time so far for us.

FanOfMickey · 07-12-2005, 08:59 PM

When I was in Pop last Sept. I did have a nite where I had a half hour wait. I think actually it was more then a half. The line for the bus went down past the All Stars. It was kinda funny watching all the guests walk past the line and then half way down there was a guy yelling if your going to Pop, the line is back there and pointed towards the rear lol. The guy was actually agrevated cause no one in the rear of the line would say it to these other guests lol. Guess he was getting tired of telling everyone. I just sat on a bench and talked to another family also waiting to go to Pop. They had the same thought, it was going to be awhile before we got on a bus, so may as well sit and relax. That was the only night that bad though, the rest of the trip wasn't so bad, though I stood all the time and rarely got a seat.

KandJluvdisney · 07-13-2005, 07:11 PM

This is the reason that I wanted to drive to the TTC - Thank you all for proving my point.

magic mickey · 07-13-2005, 09:58 PM

I am considering renting a car when we go for Christmas. My DH is in a wheelchair and we always get dirty looks when we are in line because they load wheelchairs first.