Here at AllEars, we have a review page on our website where fans can leave reviews for all kinds of theme park offerings. And over the years, we’ve seen some DOOZIES.
People have left angry commentary for rides, restaurants, entertainment offerings, hotels, and more, doling out 1-star reviews to the things they believed “ruined their vacation.” And during a recent scouring of those 1-star reviews, we found that quite a few people had a rough go of it with the Disney World bus system.
Bus transportation is a free offering in Disney World, and it’s available for everyone to use, regardless of whether you’re staying at a Disney World Resort. You can use buses to get to all the parks, hotels, and Disney Springs, so it’s the most widespread form of transportation on the property.
However, it also seems to be the form of transportation that gets the most complaints. Buses are said to come about every 20 minutes in Disney World, but sometimes there’s a gap in the service, and that can severely impact your plans if you’re in a rush to get somewhere.
One 1-star review for the Disney World bus system said: “During a rain storm got stuck at a bus station for over an hour. Asked multiple times when a bus would come to take us to the correct location and no answer was clear. Terrible customer service! Stranded with two kids for over an hour with no help!!!”
Walt Disney World Bus System
Another person shared their experience with the buses at Old Key West, saying, “Never arrived on time. On our last day did not even stop and we had to wait 24 minutes for another bus to take us to Epcot. Frequent breakdowns delaying service. We waited 45 minutes for a bus back to OKW from Magic Kingdom. It was incredibly disappointing.”
A third reader noted that they waited an hour and a half for a bus to EPCOT, watching 4-5 buses come by for each of the other parks during that time. It was so bad, they wished they’d just taken an Uber instead.
So what do you do if you experience a bus problem in Disney World? Well, there are a few things you can try. If you’re at a hotel, you can try speaking to someone at the front desk for assistance (though you run the risk of the bus coming to the station while you’re gone). We’ve also seen some people have luck with contacting Disney through the chat feature in the My Disney Experience app.
Another option is to call the Disney World transportation help line. That phone number is (407) WDW-RIDE or (407) 939-7433. By dialing this number, you’ll reach a help desk that has connections to the transportation office. They can find out what’s delaying transportation and make sure that a bus gets to you as quickly as possible.
If you’re waiting for a bus at a resort, there are often TV screens available at the station that will show you what time to expect the next bus. If the estimated time for the next bus is too far out for you, your best bet would be to seek alternate transportation, like a rideshare service. Uber and Lyft can pick up at many locations around the Disney World property.
So there you go — the solution to your bus system woes! Hopefully, these tips will help you if you find yourself in a pickle during your next trip to Disney World. And if you’re heading to Disney World in 2025, check out our new tips below!
Stay tuned to AllEars for more tips and tricks for your Disney World vacation.
Disney World Transportation Guide — How to Get to Magic Kingdom
How do you feel about the buses in Disney World? Tell us in the comments!
We’ve been pretty lucky during MOST of our vacations. 3xs we weren’t come to mind though. 1) We waited almost an hour for a Hollywood Studios bus to come to Animal Kingdom around midday. 2) We have waited at Disney Springs at 11 pm for a PoP Century bus while many other busses came for other Resorts that had NO one waiting in line and the bus just stayed there, driver even got off and stood by the bus waiting for someone and looked at all of us standing there waiting on a bus. This was at least 2 busses/drivers that did this. 3) At the Resort, multiple busses for a different park arrived before a bus for the park we were going to arrived and there were less people waiting for the park that had multiple busses. 4) Leaving Magic Kingdom after park close, just missed the bus for PoP. Then watched multiple busses for other Resorts come and go (multiple times), and saw 2-3 buses in a holding area waiting for their “assignment”. Took almost 45 minutes . Like I said, there are these 4xs in over 20 trios that I had an issue. All the issues have happened in the past 4-5 years.
There was a time when you’d see a bus that was assigned to somewhere else, change its assignment (digital location on the front and besides the doors) to pick up the Resort or Park that had a long line, especially if the original assignment didn’t have anyone waiting.