Disney World hotels have a lot of perks that, for many people, ease the pain of that hefty price tag.
Not only are you immersed in the Disney magic (we call it the “Disney bubble”), but you can also use complimentary Disney transportation to get wherever you need to go. Sometimes, you have the choice of taking a Monorail, boat, or the Skyliner, but other times, your only choice will be the bus. Disney buses can be great, but we have a MASSIVE gripe with the bus stops at some Disney World hotels. Hear us out.
At some Disney World hotels, there really isn’t a physical LINE at the bus stops. What do we mean by that? Let us show you. Here, we have the bus stop at Disney’s All-Star Music Resort. See that? There is a clear line with a beginning and an end.
Now, here is the bus stop at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort. See the difference? There’s no line! Who’s at the front of the line to board the bus? No one can tell. It’s pure anarchy. OK, that may be an exaggeration, but you get the point. There isn’t any clear line here!
Need an example? Let’s set the scene — you’re at Port Orleans Riverside waiting for the bus to Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Your bus is arriving in about ten minutes, and everyone else around you is waiting for the same bus. Some people are sitting, some are standing. A loose “line” is starting to take shape near the road, but the bus hasn’t arrived yet. You’ve been waiting at the bus stop for about fifteen minutes, but out of the corner of your eye, a large group is approaching the bus stop. Uh oh.
Finally, the bus arrives. Predictably, everyone swarms for the bus, and the next thing you know, you’ve ended up at the back of the line. Talk about frustrating!
This has happened to us on many occasions, and that sums up our gripe. At Disney World’s value hotels, Disney has clear lines for each bus, meaning you’ll never be worried about accidentally cutting in front of someone else or feeling frustrated that someone has cut in front of you. Our question is: why aren’t those lines set up EVERYWHERE? We understand that some of the larger hotels have multiple bus stops, so that means ALL of them would need to be revamped…but that seems like a pretty worthy investment to us.
Alas, we can beg Disney all we want to bring these to all hotels, and maybe we’ll eventually get our wish. Until that time, though, here are some tips to keep in mind when you find yourself in this situation:
- Make sure your stroller is folded up BEFORE the bus arrives. This will save you time when it’s time to board the bus.
- Be prepared. Don’t waffle around once the bus shows up! Once you’re near that bus and in that semblance of a line, the only way to move is FORWARD.
- Pay close attention to the screens at the bus station, which will tell you what bus is arriving and update in REAL TIME. So if your bus is suddenly arriving 5 minutes early, you’ll know!
We’re always here to bring you the latest Disney hotel news, so if something changes, we’re here to let you know, so stay tuned to DFB!
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How do you feel about these hotel bus stops in Disney World? Tell us in the comments!
Pat says
Scooters…. and their families. Sorry, but, Come on now, we’re all waiting.
A separate mean of transfer should be afforded to this.
Once got on to stand with my kids, while 3 scooters (1party)took up all the open space.
beautiful gorgeous says
Moderate and Deluxe get more buses than the value. When you stay at value you wait a long time for transportation. Value- Art of Animation and Pop Century have the skyliner (I would recommend them to get around fast). Moderate and Deluxe guests don’t run you over. Some deluxe guests get feisty when they share a bus with another resort–polynesian and grand floridian going to studios.
Michele says
This is definitely a pet peeve of mine. I have often had to wait for another bus even though I was one of the first ones there because of people rushing in front of my family.
Wilma Barnes says
I hate the mob scene lack of queue and fairness at these resorts. Disney transportation is bad enough. This just makes it worst
Terry Metiva says
This is the exact reason we stopped staying at Port Orleans Riverside. It is chaos every time a bus comes, especially in the morning.
Elizabeth says
I have experienced this several times at Beach Club resort. My family and one other family was at the bus stop first and a large group of like 20 people swarmed and cut as soon as the bus pulled up. Another time it was a big family of 9 people cut and jumped ahead of us for the bus line saying “we got little ones” pointing to their kids who weren’t much younger than my kids. It got annoying so we ended up taking a Minnie Van to Magic Kingdom for our last day because we were tired of having so many people cut the line at Beach Club. The roped queue lines at value resorts like AOA and Pop as well as All Star Movies was much better for lining up to get on the bus.
Teresa says
Big pet peeve of mine too. We stay at Beach Club so lucky enough we skip the bus for two parks and sometimes MK if we hop through Epcot. When we do head to the bus I usually stand up by the stop but make note of anyone sitting on the seats and let them ahead of me as best I can. I hate when people just jam ahead of everyone when they just walked up with a large group.
Michael McGee says
1) The lines with the ropes are probably there because there will be more people at these resorts trying to get a bus. These are cheaper resorts, hence more people for the buses.
2) The buses show up so far apart that the lines get longer and longer. Hence, more people
3) the stops without rope lines are the pricier hotels. Less people to get on a bus. Plus, they might be within walking distance of Epcot and they can take the more regular monorail to Magic kingdom.
Julie says
1000% Agree. I stayed a couple nights at All Star Music, which I LOVED, then went to Port Orleans French Quarter. I was first in line when someone tried to cut in front of me but the bus driver saw it and told them there was a back of the line lol.
Kenh ag says
It is clear that Disney could use some improvement with their resort bus service. It was not this way back in the 1990’s to 2010, then all the hotel building began to come 0n line with more guests staying on site and it feels like the bus service was not expanded to meet the demand. Wait times increased, busses became more filled and tempers have been stretched. 9n short, they need more buses.
Bobby says
Oh wow, I thought I was the only one who thought this. I completely agree to the point that the set lines are actually listed as a pro for us when discussing where we want to stay. We like the moderates but default to POP or Art usually because of the ease of transportation. The lines do play a part.
Chris Corbett says
Hey your right.
The economical resorts have marked off lines.
I’ve stayed at those ones.
Just recently I stayed at animal kingdom.
No barriers at all. Since the tourist are lost in transit, and everyone is lost in there own we got infront
Brittany says
I couldn’t agree more with this! And the comment that guests staying at moderate and deluxe resorts don’t run you over, I very much beg to differ. That sense of entitlement gets even worse for some at the higher rated resorts. Internal Disney transports systems need an overhaul.