Walt Disney World has ended the temporary Disney Springs bus restrictions following the conclusion of the Easter holiday period. The restrictions were put in place during the last weekend in March as a precaution against higher-than-normal crowds, ensuring that resort bus transportation was only utilized by guests staying at Walt Disney World Resort hotels. Here’s the latest.
Disney Springs Ends Bus Restrictions
Guests visiting Disney Springs can, once again, utilize bus transportation to Walt Disney World Resort hotels without the need to have an active reservation. The move is a return to normal operations following an Easter holiday restriction that only allowed guests with an active reservation to utilize resort transportation.
When we visited this morning, we saw Cast Members taking down the barricades that were in place to funnel guests to a checkpoint where Cast Members would either allow or deny access to the bus loop area based on the restrictions that were in place.
Why did Disney put this restriction in place? From what we understand, hundreds, if not a thousand or more, guests without a resort reservation try to use the bus transportation from Disney Springs to hotels each day. During busy periods, that number can climb to hundreds of guests per hour. When that many guests without a resort reservation want to use the bus service from Disney Springs to a hotel, it can lead to less availability for guests who actually have a resort reservation.
Why are so many guests without a resort reservation trying to use the buses from Disney Springs to resort hotels? Usually, the reason is to try to avoid paying parking fees at the Walt Disney World theme parks. While standard parking is $35 per day at the theme parks, parking is free at Disney Springs. Hundreds of guests per day park at Disney Springs for free, take bus transportation to a Magic Kingdom area, or an EPCOT area hotel, and then walk right into the theme parks without having to pay for parking. It’s a time-consuming task, but some guests view it as being worth it versus paying for theme park parking.
In general, Disney has allowed this loophole to be utilized by guests during normal crowd-level seasons. However, during the busy season, more guests attempt to use this loophole due to more guests visiting the theme parks, and that puts strain on the bus system. Therefore, Walt Disney World has implemented restrictions, such as the one they implemented this past Easter, restricting bus usage to guests with a resort or dining reservation.
While this was viewed negatively on social media (likely by those most likely to try and leverage the loophole), it seemed like a perfectly reasonable thing to do. In fact, while this last restriction was temporary, and there are currently no restrictions on bus usage right now, we wouldn’t be surprised if Walt Disney World found a more permanent solution to the problem.
Of course, guests trying to avoid paying for theme park parking were not the only non-reservation guests trying use the Disney Springs bus transportation to hotels. Throughout the years, Disney has become far more restrictive on who can park at the hotels, as well – especially at hotels that have more direct access to the theme parks. This makes it difficult for non-resort guests to go and enjoy a drink or vibes at a hotel. We’re particularly fond of Geyser Point at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge, and it’s not uncommon to find parking restricted to guests who have a reservation. Given the fact that Geyser Point doesn’t have a traditional reservation structure, if Disney is restricting parking and restricting Disney Springs bus service, it makes it far more difficult to enjoy offerings at resort hotels that don’t fall within the traditional reservation rules required for parking or bus service.
Either way, Disney Springs bus service is back to normal…for now. Expect that restrictions will be put in place again during busier times of year, at a minimum, and possibly expanded should Disney want to try and cut down on loopholes that seem to be getting more and more popular on social media.
As always, keep checking back with us here at BlogMickey.com as we continue to bring you the latest news, photos, and info from around the Disney Parks!
As a frequent user of the Disney transportation from Disney Springs to a resort I’ll say I’ve never used Disney Springs parking to avoid paying for parking. Wasting an hour each way doesn’t make any sense to me because it would take to much time away from the park and it’s an awful lot of unnecessary walking. I go to the different resorts to enjoy a small part of what the resort offers. We eat at the various restaurants, shop the souvenirs, and relax at the bars for a drink and appetizer, or just sit in the lobby and watch the world around us. I’m guessing having no children with us makes that make a lot more sense. Disney doesn’t make hundreds of dollars from us when we do that but we almost always spend money.
When this restriction was in affect, it would take an HOUR or MORE to take MY boat back to my HOTEL at old key west because free riders were using boats to go to resorts and take their busses were ever they wanted to go. Disney did not think this tru.