Buses, shmuses!

Pluto777

DIS Veteran
Joined
Jul 10, 2017
The rules seem to change so often so I thought to ask not only for myself, but for MANY others out there who I am sure need to know; what is the CURRENT schedule (when they begin and end) of buses regarding:

1 buses from DS to resorts
2 buses from resorts to DS
3 buses from DS to parks
4 buses from parks to DS
5 buses IN GENERAL from resorts to parks
6 buses IN GENERAL from parks to resorts

Questions 5 & 6 seem strange,but for example, if you are at WL and have a Bkfast early ADR at Cape or Bdwalk, what time is the first bus possible to BC or BW? (I have heard 6:30 Am from some, and 8 AM from others - a lot of conflicting info out there and no definitive source I could find for info); so please only answer if you are 100% sure (like if you were recently at DW and saw it for yourself). I don't know why Disney doesn't have a dedicated website to these bus & other transport questions - hopefully they will start one soon, Thx!
 
The rules seem to change so often so I thought to ask not only for myself, but for MANY others out there who I am sure need to know; what is the CURRENT schedule (when they begin and end) of buses regarding:

1 buses from DS to resorts
2 buses from resorts to DS
3 buses from DS to parks
4 buses from parks to DS
5 buses IN GENERAL from resorts to parks
6 buses IN GENERAL from parks to resorts

Questions 5 & 6 seem strange,but for example, if you are at WL and have a Bkfast early ADR at Cape or Bdwalk, what time is the first bus possible to BC or BW? (I have heard 6:30 Am from some, and 8 AM from others - a lot of conflicting info out there and no definitive source I could find for info); so please only answer if you are 100% sure (like if you were recently at DW and saw it for yourself). I don't know why Disney doesn't have a dedicated website to these bus & other transport questions - hopefully they will start one soon, Thx!
The 'rules' haven't changed at all, so I'm not sure what the issue is.
1. not much need, so buses don't start running to resorts from DS until after 9am, generally speaking.
2. same thing....you might see one at 8am, but not much call, so the buses don't run early. Around 9am.
3. no buses at all. You may have seen a post or two that stated you could get a bus to a park from DS by hopping on a bus to a resort that will continue on to a park, but that isn't something I would count on.
4. these buses run after 4pm, every 20-25 mins.
5. 6:30am. if the park opens at 7am, you will probably see buses start by 6am.
6. after park opening. there may be some earlier buses, but again, not to be counted on.

The buses ran on the same schedule when I was there in early June as when I was there 3 yrs ago....with the possible exception of buses running to DS from parks after 4pm. That's the only different thing to happen in years.
 


If you are at WL there is no bus to BW or BC, there are no resort to resort buses. You would need to take the earliest bus to HS and walk.
 
I don't know why Disney doesn't have a dedicated website to these bus & other transport questions - hopefully they will start one soon, Thx!
Don't trust anything that disney posts about transportation. Also, don't trust anything that a non-transportation CM tells you about transportation. That's why you see so much conflicting info -- because people believe the misinformation that Disney gives them and they repeat it.

The information you have been given on this thread is correct.

If you have specific questions about how to get from one resort to another using Disney transportation, feel free to ask us.
 


Don't trust anything that disney posts about transportation. Also, don't trust anything that a non-transportation CM tells you about transportation. That's why you see so much conflicting info -- because people believe the misinformation that Disney gives them and they repeat it.

The information you have been given on this thread is correct.

If you have specific questions about how to get from one resort to another using Disney transportation, feel free to ask us.
Sooooo true. Disney's website says that resort to park transportation starts one hour prior to park opening. But, we all know this isn't true. I truly believe that Disney does this to cover their collective butts. If a guest wants to get somewhere but the bus is delayed, Disney will just state 'Buses start one hour prior to park opening' and move on. They can run the buses on any schedule they want, as long as they start running consistently by that one hour prior to park opening time!
I have had people argue with me as to the start time of buses. They tell me that I obviously have no idea what I'm talking about since the official site states one hour prior to opening. Yeah, I've been doing this for years, so I have no idea what I'm talking about. They tell me that when they called Disney to find out how to get to an early park ADR, they were told they would have to get a cab!!! Seriously??? I know this because it's what I was told before. When I was told this, I asked the CM, on the phone, that I thought the buses started running much earlier, was this no longer the case? She said 'No mam, the buses have always started running one hour prior to park opening. If you need to get someplace before that, you will have to arrange for a cab.' Ah, no. Not so. So, yes, I can see how and why people are confused. We tell the the official site is wrong...can't blame them for doubting us!
 
Sooooo true. Disney's website says that resort to park transportation starts one hour prior to park opening. But, we all know this isn't true. I truly believe that Disney does this to cover their collective butts. If a guest wants to get somewhere but the bus is delayed, Disney will just state 'Buses start one hour prior to park opening' and move on. They can run the buses on any schedule they want, as long as they start running consistently by that one hour prior to park opening time!
I have had people argue with me as to the start time of buses. They tell me that I obviously have no idea what I'm talking about since the official site states one hour prior to opening. Yeah, I've been doing this for years, so I have no idea what I'm talking about. They tell me that when they called Disney to find out how to get to an early park ADR, they were told they would have to get a cab!!! Seriously??? I know this because it's what I was told before. When I was told this, I asked the CM, on the phone, that I thought the buses started running much earlier, was this no longer the case? She said 'No mam, the buses have always started running one hour prior to park opening. If you need to get someplace before that, you will have to arrange for a cab.' Ah, no. Not so. So, yes, I can see how and why people are confused. We tell the the official site is wrong...can't blame them for doubting us!
Happened to us too!! We were at BC waiting for the 6:30 am bus (in 2015 before the screens with times were installed) to go to MK to get to chef Mickey for 7 am breakfast and we were told by the CM AT THE BUSSTOP there was not a 6:30 bus! I told him there was and he told me I was wrong. He told me I had to go back to the lobby and get a cab. DH began to question MY information and said we better get the cab. We started to walk back to the lobby when a bus for the MK pulled up at 6:31!!! So even the CMs on the ground at their post may not be completely informed!
 
Happened to us too!! We were at BC waiting for the 6:30 am bus (in 2015 before the screens with times were installed) to go to MK to get to chef Mickey for 7 am breakfast and we were told by the CM AT THE BUSSTOP there was not a 6:30 bus! I told him there was and he told me I was wrong. He told me I had to go back to the lobby and get a cab. DH began to question MY information and said we better get the cab. We started to walk back to the lobby when a bus for the MK pulled up at 6:31!!! So even the CMs on the ground at their post may not be completely informed!
That's because the official info is one hour prior to park opening. If Disney continues to post that, and CMs continue to give that info, if there is any kind of bus issue, they can just say 'The buses start one hour prior to park opening. Buses arriving before that are a bonus.' and go on their way. Drives me nuts. I've had CMs tell me there are no buses and I'll have a very long wait, that I should probably get a cab.
 
Some information from, or quoted by, various posters on this forum:
1. "Buses start at 6:30 AM."
2. "Buses start an hour before the park opens."
3. (someone posted a "schedule" for a resort I forget which) "The first Magic Kingdom bus is scheduled at 6:25 AM. the first Epcot bus is scheduled at ... dada dada ... "
4. "Buses don't run as often prior to an hour before park opening."

With just this information we could get the following scenario: Six twenty five and bus comes and departs. Guest family arrives at 6:30. Next bus arrives about a half hour after its predecessor, ca 6:55.

Conclusion: Everything is truthful within reasonable tolerances but still enough to drive guests nuts.

Trying to catch the ca 6:30 bus for a 7:00 breakfast does not leave much time for a Plan B if something goes wrong i.e. the bus does not show up as expected.

Me? I would 'love' to see printed schedules that Disney endeavors to adhere to,
 
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Conclusion: Everything is truthful within reasonable tolerances but still enough to drive guests nuts.

Except that buses start an hour before park opening, and there's even an exception to this: when a park opens at 7.
Me? I would 'love' to see printed schedules that Disney endeavors to adhere to,
Because buses run in traffic on roads, this is an entirely unreasonable and potentially furor-inducing expectation, goal, or desire.
 
Me? I would 'love' to see printed schedules that Disney endeavors to adhere to,
That's the "old" way. I've been told by old-timers that Disney used to run like that (though the schedules may not have been public.)

The "new" way is flexible scheduling to respond to shifting demand and (more importantly to mgt) improve resource utilization. At least that's what it's supposed to do.
 
Me? I would 'love' to see printed schedules that Disney endeavors to adhere to,
That's the "old" way. I've been told by old-timers that Disney used to run like that (though the schedules may not have been public.)
Running a bus system on a fixed route with a published schedule opens them up to a whole host of federal transportation regulations.
 
Some information from, or quoted by, various posters on this forum:
1. "Buses start at 6:30 AM."
2. "Buses start an hour before the park opens."
3. (someone posted a "schedule" for a resort I forget which) "The first Magic Kingdom bus is scheduled at 6:25 AM. the first Epcot bus is scheduled at ... dada dada ... "
4. "Buses don't run as often prior to an hour before park opening."

With just this information we could get the following scenario: Six twenty five and bus comes and departs. Guest family arrives at 6:30. Next bus arrives about a half hour after its predecessor, ca 6:55.

Conclusion: Everything is truthful within reasonable tolerances but still enough to drive guests nuts.

Trying to catch the ca 6:30 bus for a 7:00 breakfast does not leave much time for a Plan B if something goes wrong i.e. the bus does not show up as expected.

Me? I would 'love' to see printed schedules that Disney endeavors to adhere to,
You won't see any printed schedules because there aren't any! Buses are very fluid..perhaps too fluid for those used to city transit. But, this isn't city transit. Way too many variables.
We all know that Disney says buses start one hour prior to park opening. We also know that this isn't true, that buses start running around 6:30, unless the park opens at 7, then they start earlier. Nothing is etched in stone, but since this is Disney we're talking about, we know that the only thing 'etched in stone' is that nothing is etched in stone!!!
 
Me? I would 'love' to see printed schedules that Disney endeavors to adhere to,

While that sounds great, I think we can all see what would happen if the bus was 5 minutes late. There would be mass chaos, people burning Mickey Mouse in effigy, demanding Fast Passes for a year......I exaggerate only a smidge. I'm honestly surprised they stuck their necks out with those screens.
 
Some information from, or quoted by, various posters on this forum:


Me? I would 'love' to see printed schedules that Disney endeavors to adhere to,

The only bus routes that have a "schedule", are the MK-WL-Settlement-MK route, all the FW routes, and if the boats go down at the EPCOT resorts, I know DHS puts buses up on a schedule sheet. I would assume EPCOT would as well, but can not say for sure.
 
The only bus routes that have a "schedule", are the MK-WL-Settlement-MK route, all the FW routes, and if the boats go down at the EPCOT resorts, I know DHS puts buses up on a schedule sheet. I would assume EPCOT would as well, but can not say for sure.
You left out the EWWS bus, and the CBR internal (although I was never able to keep the schedule on that one.) AFAIK, the EWWS one is the only one made public.
 
Is it true what I heard that on the MDE app they now show how long the busses are due to arrive?? (I hear this only works when you are ONSITE)
 

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