I cannot emphasize enough the need to allow enough time when you travel by Disney bus. The parks were not crowded but we usually allowed an hour when using a bus and were glad we did.
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Yes, Wings, that is so important. We made sure we were at stop few minutes b4 8am (7am EMH) to give ourselves buffer in case of potty emergencies etc. Noticed a few complaints here and on chat re waiting 25 mins or more for bus.
I have a feeling that may have been folks who got to stop few mins after 1st bus of the day?
Or maybe we just had a good choice for buses at our hotel. stayed at Dolphin, sharing buses with Boardwalk inn and Swan.
In my experience at AoA and Pop, the buses can vary widely in terms of how long we waited. The vast majority of the time, it was under 20 minutes until the next bus, but every so often we would have an inexplicably long wait or be in a large line that filled at least one bus ahead of us, forcing us to wait for the next bus. I love the bus system, but this is just reality. If you are trying to get somewhere quickly to ensure that you make an ADR or something, take a cab. Budget in a few cab rides, and you will be glad you did. It also ensures that you don’t become resentful of the bus system.
Yes, “standard wisdom” is to allow an hour “gate-to-gate” when using DisTrans.
I really like the SoG busses. The Dis busses operate on a “live dispatching” model, which is what leads to irregular wait times. The SoG busses operate on a set “clock” schedule (e.g. departs evey hour and half hour) and are never late. Perhaps not a many busses, but you ALWAYS know exactly when they will be there.
That being said, I stayed at POP for my last trip, and I don’t think I ever waited more than 20 min for a bus. The only time thay I DON’T like to use Dis busses is if I am going from resort-to-resort after the parks have closed. Transferring at DTD is a pain…