WDW Buses

All-

The free dining was just the thing to lure us into switching our usual
Dec WDW trip into a Hurricane chasing September one. We're staying on
property at Port Orleans French Quarter from Sept 12-17.

Amazingly, this will be our first on property stay at WDW. I've got
the monorail and boat thing down pretty well as we've used them in the
past to all destinations (and I'm fairly sure our hotel has a boat
that goes to Downtown Disney).

Buses will be new to us at WDW. Can anyone explain how the system
works? There doesn't seem to be any good specific info online
anywhere.

I have to imagine that there is direct park to park service and that
we will have direct buses to any of the theme parks and waterparks
from our hotel (and back). But say if we have dinner reservations at
Artist Point in the Wilderness Lodge one night before we attend the
Halloween Party at Magic Kingdom- how does one get from (in this case)
Port Orleans French Quarter to Wilderness Lodge? Is there a central
bus hub where you would connect, or do you need to go to any of the
theme parks, get out, and wait for the other resort's bus there?

Thanks for any help,

Mark

[Windbinder]

We stayed at Port Orleans, Riverside on our last visit. The bus system is basically the same there as French Quarter.

You are correct about the buses running "directly" to the parks. Although you will have stops along the way at Blizzard Beach and/or Typhoon Lagoon depending on which major park you are going to.

You also have direct routes to Downtown Disney.

Beyond that you will have to transfer to get between resorts. We found that this took an inordinate amount of time. Sometimes it took over an hour to get from POR to another resort because of waiting for buses. We basically quit using the bus service unless we were headed to on of the 4 major parks.

POR and French Quarter are kind of at the end of the line when it comes to bus service. We loved staying there because it was quiet and secluded feeling, but that meant longer/slower bus service.

I wrote up a review of POR on my blog (see my profile for the URL, as I cannot post it here).

> You pretty much got it. The buses sometimes group (I think TTC and
> Epcot are the same bus) but in general its a direct shot unless
> otherwise indicated. You don't even have to show anything. Its pretty
> much walk on and go.

My fiancee asked me to correct this. No buses go to TTC (durh) from
resorts, just parks. Also, Chris pretty much cleared that up for you.
She also suggested this routing for getting to Wilderness Lodge: Take
the bus to Magic Kingdom and from there take the boat to Wilderness
Lodge. Then you get the benefit of scoping out the two defunct parks
on property (River Country and Discovery Island).

On Aug 27, 7:29�pm, NoGodForMe <religionki...@fairytales.com> wrote:

> The best part about the buses is you can pre-game. �That's the big
> reason why everyone stays onsite. � They can get plastered and not worry
> about driving. � �After dragging around a bunch of rug rats, it's
> needed. � �I'll give you some tips on this. � Before you check into your
> hotel, have the limo driver stop at Publix. � Pick up a styrophome
> cooler in the beer isle and stock it. � Buy lots of beer, wine, and hit
> a liquor store.
>
> At each Disney hotel they sell souvineer soft drink cups for like $15
> that have unlimited refills. � Buy one of these cups. � �Now when you
> get on the bus, bring your cup with an adult drink in it. � Schweet.
> Or you bring little shot bottles with you, best is Barcardi Limon.- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

That's the instructions on how to be an out of control alcoholic, they
were asking for directions on using the bus.....sheeesh

"Mark Rosenzweig" <stoneonta@> wrote in message
news:16174ab9-55a8-4c05-9894-981292387601@c58g2000hsc..com...
> All-
>>
> Buses will be new to us at WDW. Can anyone explain how the system
> works? There doesn't seem to be any good specific info online
> anywhere.

First, start with the concept that every RESORT has busses that go to the 4
theme parks, the 2 water parks and Downtown Disney (DTD). (The exception is
that if the RESORT has boat or monorail service to a park, they keep the bus
service quiet, meaning that they want you to take the boat or monorail but
if you have the front desk call, they will get you a bus). Sometimes these
busses do double duty (two resorts to a park or a resort to DTD and Typhoon
Lagoon) but they are clearly marked

Next, add a set of busses that connect the four theme parks (only). The only
variance here is that the busses in this group that stop at the Magic
Kingdom (MK) actually stop at the TTC (while the resort busses to the MK
stop closer to the front gate). Going from a THEME park to a WATER park
requires that you go back to the resort and switch.

And now you understand the basic bus system. As others have pointed out,
there is no RESORT to RESORT bus service, no RESORT to TTC bus service, and
no PARK to DTD bus service - To get to Artist Point from Port Orleans, you
have to switch at one of the parks or DTD - and I agree with one poster that
the boat from Port Orleans to the Marketplace and then bus to WL would be
the most fun route. Quickest would probably be bus to theme park (not the AK
because it's too far away) and then bus to WL. I usually just take the first
bus to MK, DHS or Epcot that comes along.

One last add (and exception of sorts) is that a bus connects the TTC, WL and
Fort Wilderness, and as you know the TTC is the hub for the monorail, so you
could get a bus from Port Orleans to Epcot, monorail from Epcot to the TTC,
and then bus to WL - if you are in for the fun of various transportations.
Change TTC ferry to the MK and then boat from MK to WL for even more fun.
Remember to leave "all day" to have this much fun !!


Enjoy
Sonya

Hi Mark!

Just something to consider - I think the bus/boat system is great for
those who are flying into Orlando and using Disney's Magic Express
system, but we ended up using our car to travel to the various parks,
resorts and DTD. I found the bus/boat system nervewracking and very
time consuming. You are literally packed in like sardines, and they
always fill up, so there's a good chance you'll have to wait for the
next bus (or boat), particularly if you're in line with a lot of
asians, who seem to be culturally conditioned to push and shove their
way through everything.

All resort guests get a free parking pass, and using our car took less
than half the amount of time it took to travel using the bus or
boats. The only exception, of course, is the monorail, which we took
from the MK to the Grand Floridian for the afternoon. I would also
use the boat for a leisurely mid-day trip, but not at opening or
closing (it's definitely preferrable to the bus, though). If the bus
system operated as efficiently as the monorail I would endorse it
wholeheartedly, but I always felt anxious, impatient, and at times a
little violated - get off my dress!

Have fun!

MarkinArk

On Aug 31, 10:04 pm, Runaway Mine Train <Markin...@>
wrote:

> All resort guests get a free parking pass.

You learn something new every day. This is news to me.

- Ted

On Sep 1, 11:33 pm, Mark Rosenzweig <stoneo...@> wrote:

> Since I'm really not familier with each resort's amenities, how would
> you rank the various Resort pool areas?

Catrina and I have stayed at the French Quarter and Coronado and I
think both pool areas are very nice. The French Quarter pool is kind
of "kiddy" but does include a water slide and small cabana bar. We
both felt that the one at Coronado was much nicer and the bar area was
top notch. In my opinion, Coronado Springs is really the gem of the
moderates.

Speaking of pools and bars ... we are returning to WDW in December of
this year with some of the family. We have been looking at the Pop
Century since we need multiple rooms and it hadn't really dawned on me
till yesterday that they might NOT have a bar area by the pool. Can
anyone confirm or dispel this for me. Not a deal breaker, but I do
like to "relax" every once in a while on vacation.

- Ted

Mark Rosenzweig <stoneonta@> wrote:

> The free dining was just the thing to lure us into switching our usual
> Dec WDW trip into a Hurricane chasing September one. We're staying on
> property at Port Orleans French Quarter from Sept 12-17.

I don't know jack about the buses at WDW (or any of the other modes of
transportation, or the pool policies, or pre-game strategies, etc), but
I do know that Pleasure Island is closing at the end of this month, so
this is your last chance to visit the Adventurers Club if you haven't
already.

On Sep 7, 7:18 pm, Mark Rosenzweig <stoneo...@> wrote:

> Can't remember the exact order, but we've got Artist Point,
> Chefs Paris, Mama Melrose, Ohana, and Flying Fish for sit down meals.
> Due to AP and FF being premium "two credit" meals, we'll have to
> supplement the bills at each.

Thank you for the reminder, Mark. I just called in my Dec 4th
reservation for Ohana. The dining plan really does throw a monkey
wrench into planning your meals at Disney. Everyday I checked for
Ohana had nothing available before 8:25pm. Coincidence? I think not.

- Ted