News Disney Springs Bus Service to Resorts Now Requires Reservation Verification

[Basil of Baker Street]

When staying offsite, I will almost certainly be adding the Carpet of Aladdin option to my ticket in case I want to visit a few resorts while I'm there.

 

[WorldExplorer]

Yes, they’d have to take skyliner or friendship boat and transfer at a resort.

I can assure you it’s possible to get to polite pig and salt and straw (my favorites!) from a theme park! Haha I do it all the time.

You can do it, of course. But if you're going to take a roundabout way that involves multiple modes of transportation to arrive at a place, then that family shouldn't be shocked when they have to take a roundabout way back.

Having wandered around every bit of Disney property many times (except Old Key West), I don't see that big of a difference between taking a Springs bus to a resort then needing to walk to the skyliner/boat, and taking that transportation to Studios (complete with either extra boat stops or skyliner transfers), and walking to Saratoga and taking the Hollywood Studios bus back. In fact that latter might be more direct.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

When staying offsite, I will almost certainly be adding the Carpet of Aladdin option to my ticket in case I want to visit a few resorts while I'm there.

…don’t give them ideas

 

[Chi84]

You can do it, of course. But if you're going to take a roundabout way that involves multiple modes of transportation to arrive at a place, then that family shouldn't be shocked when they have to take a roundabout way back.

Having wandered around every bit of Disney property many times (except Old Key West), I don't see that big of a difference between taking a Springs bus to a resort then needing to walk to the skyliner/boat, and taking that transportation to Studios (complete with either extra boat stops or skyliner transfers), and walking to Saratoga and taking the Hollywood Studios bus back. In fact that latter might be more direct.

People are really stretching to find something wrong with this.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

Having wandered around every bit of Disney property many times (except Old Key West)

Take the boat over while you still can!!!!!

Seriously though, the boat ride over from springs is really nice and old key west has a really cool vibe. Olivia’s is great (rip photos ) and the counter service has key lime dole whip!

In my specific example - the walk from salt and straw to Saratoga is a very long walk vs. the bus loop.

It’s just annoying to be this inconvenient for guests. It’s similar to TTC only allowing guests to use the resort monorail in the last hour or so of park operations. It’s bad show to inconvenience guests with transit.

 

[Chi84]

Disney provides several forms of transportation to move its guests around its resorts. As with any transportation system, you have to understand it and make some effort to work with it.

Disney is not required to provide a palanquin to transport guests around like Cleopatra.

 

[nickys]

Honey, we gotta getcha out more

So you haven’t been since the Covid crunch? And I assume the prior was sometime in the late 10s cluster years?

It’s not even close to the same place now. Double the price…but much more pleasant…because they’ve beaten people away by doubling the price.

2022 was after Covid.

But hey, feel free to send me a few thousand $$$ and I’ll happily meet you for a drink at Epcot. At least once the airports are functioning again.

 

[Raxel7851]

It’s been done in an informal way for about 15 years, but this is a more concerted effort with scanning bands, etc.

During the very early years of WDW, you had to show your paper resort ID to board any bus. Of course that was before the Downtown Disney/Disney Springs era.

 

[nickys]

Why wouldn't they just take their car? How are they getting to Springs from Hollywood Studios in the first place?

Maybe they want to drink alcohol? They’d get a bus or Uber to the Springs. We never drive anywhere on property and use the buses all the time.

The issue really is that Disney has been encouraging people to use Disney transport to get around property. Want to see the GF Easter eggs? Park at TTC or get a bus / boat / monorail.

However it seems that in reality, if you are staying at a Disney onsite resort you can get a bus to anywhere. The checking of magic bands isn’t generally happening on the buses, it’s happening at the entrance to the bus station from the Springs. Once through you can get any bus you want. Mostly at least. This is a storm in a tea cup and in a week or so it’ll be back to normal.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

2022 was after Covid.

It was the delayed travel with giveaway checks…they literally hit the wall at the start of 2023 and haven’t recovered…if your eyes work. But that’s not what HUGE Johnson says…

But hey, feel free to send me a few thousand $$$ and I’ll happily meet you for a drink at Epcot. At least once the airports are functioning again.

Anytime…would love it…you…me…mono…we’ll get mom…

Pure magic

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Maybe they want to drink alcohol? They’d get a bus or Uber to the Springs. We never drive anywhere on property and use the buses all the time.

The issue really is that Disney has been encouraging people to use Disney transport to get around property. Want to see the GF Easter eggs? Park at TTC or get a bus / boat / monorail.

However it seems that in reality, if you are staying at a Disney onsite resort you can get a bus to anywhere. The checking of magic bands isn’t generally happening on the buses, it’s happening at the entrance to the bus station from the Springs. Once through you can get any bus you want. Mostly at least. This is a storm in a tea cup and in a week or so it’ll be back to normal.

This is pretty much a headfake…one of those little social experiments they pull from time to time

 

[Chi84]

The checking of magic bands isn’t generally happening on the buses, it’s happening at the entrance to the bus station from the Springs. Once through you can get any bus you want. Mostly at least. This is a storm in a tea cup and in a week or so it’ll be back to normal.

Disney must be doing a lot more right these days if we’re clutching our pearls over this.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

Disney must be doing a lot more right these days if we’re clutching our pearls over this.

I’ll happily start a thread over the sad fact we no longer have custom printed napkins!!!

 

[JerseyMan95]

Want to see the GF Easter eggs? Park at TTC or get a bus / boat / monorail.

This is 100% what they are trying to do with limiting who takes the buses from springs.

Springs already has very limited parking on busy times of the year. Average stay is 2.5 hours. If people are parking there and going to resorts or parks for 8+ hours a day, it’s limiting the parking for people going to visit springs.

So yeah, if you want to go visit resorts, they want you parking at one of the parks and going.

 

[WorldExplorer]

Take the boat over while you still can!!!!!

Seriously though, the boat ride over from springs is really nice and old key west has a really cool vibe. Olivia’s is great (rip photos ) and the counter service has key lime dole whip!

In my specific example - the walk from salt and straw to Saratoga is a very long walk vs. the bus loop.

It’s just annoying to be this inconvenient for guests. It’s similar to TTC only allowing guests to use the resort monorail in the last hour or so of park operations. It’s bad show to inconvenience guests with transit.

I went there a few times! Olivia's is great. I just never picked it for weekend wandering. The quick service is outdoors and that's the last thing you want after an hour of walking around in the sun.

I get the frustration, it would suck to walk that far. I just feel like in order for this to become a real issue you need to get into more and more specific and rare niches (willing to try and work around the lack of a Springs bus, going to somewhere on the west side, has issues with a long walk). Especially since if you're not knowledgeable about the resorts you might end up with a long walk from there to get to the bus to go to Springs and the same in reverse (the Studios skyliner dumps you off at Caribbean Beach. Do you, as a newbie, walk to that bus depot or gamble on another one being shorter?).


I do think there are scenarios where this really sucks (your's where you stay at good neighbor resorts is a good one, I can totally see being upset about that) and I'm sympathetic to people in those niches. And I'm definitely not someone who defends Disney's decisions often. But I've also seen how packed those buses get (I'm sure you have too) and think it's acceptable for a week since I'm not sure what else they could really do to help.

Maybe they should include good neighbor resort guests in the groups allowed on.

 

[Ayla]

I went there a few times! Olivia's is great. I just never picked it for weekend wandering. The quick service is outdoors and that's the last thing you want after an hour of walking around in the sun.

I get the frustration, it would suck to walk that far. I just feel like in order for this to become a real issue you need to get into more and more specific and rare niches (willing to try and work around the lack of a Springs bus, going to somewhere on the west side, has issues with a long walk). Especially since if you're not knowledgeable about the resorts you might end up with a long walk from there to get to the bus to go to Springs and the same in reverse (the Studios skyliner dumps you off at Caribbean Beach. Do you, as a newbie, walk to that bus depot or gamble on another one being shorter?).


I do think there are scenarios where this really sucks (your's where you stay at good neighbor resorts is a good one, I can totally see being upset about that) and I'm sympathetic to people in those niches. And I'm definitely not someone who defends Disney's decisions often. But I've also seen how packed those buses get (I'm sure you have too) and think it's acceptable for a week since I'm not sure what else they could really do to help.

Maybe they should include good neighbor resort guests in the groups allowed on.

I think we could all come up with one very obvious answer to what they could do to "help".

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

But I've also seen how packed those buses get (I'm sure you have too)

I haven’t. I have never seen the Disney Springs departing bus even close to full when using it. I’m sure right at closing time the line can get longer, but that’s not when people are looking to use them for this resort hopping scenario.

 

[networkpro]

I have to say…it’s a rather ingenious idea to break up the monotony of Orlando…

But they’ll tire of the hassle of it quickly.

I don’t think alot of Disney fans who haven’t worked realize: central Florida sucks. It’s all low paid…low grade construction…85% service jobs…oppressive weather 9 months a year…and you don’t even get the ocean

Oppressive weather ? Hardly, it's just not suitable for those from the northern territories. Anything less than 50% humidity is miserably dry. The ocean proximity is a blessing, you drive an hour to the beach instead of dreading it to be lapping your front door. If its so horrible, why do people still come ? Southern California has a more bland (as in very little deviation) environment so why not go there ?

 

[Basil of Baker Street]

Running this through my head. What if you paid to park at MK, left the park early afternoon, walked over to GF or CR to check it out, then hopped on a bus to DS for dinner. Are you stuck at that point? Would a $35 parking receipt not get you a ride back? You did Disney a solid by paying $$ and and parking at MK instead of DS.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Oppressive weather ? Hardly, it's just not suitable for those from the northern territories. Anything less than 50% humidity is miserably dry. The ocean proximity is a blessing, you drive an hour to the beach instead of dreading it to be lapping your front door. If its so horrible, why do people still come ? Southern California has a more bland (as in very little deviation) environment so why not go there ?

Because half of the people in the US and 75% of the money was on the eastern seaboard and Rust belt when it was built and it’s closer

Don’t play the fool,bro