Walt Disney World Bus Riding Etiquette

For some guests, bus riding etiquette is a no brainer. It comes as second nature to guests who are used to taking public transportation at home, however for guests who are not used to riding on public buses, they might not quite know what to do. Thankfully, a bit of common sense, and common courtesy can go a long way in this situation.

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7. Your bag does not need a seat.

If other guests are standing, but your purse is sitting, we have a problem. Unless your purse has miraculously sprouted legs and been standing on its feet all day, that seat will be better used for a guest who was looking forward to sitting down on the bus ride home.

6. Lap children don’t need their own seats.

If a child is small enough to sit comfortably on your lap (or even if you have older children who aren’t sitting still anyway) those seats could easily be given to another guest who is standing. It makes more sense to give the seats to those who really need them, instead of giving it to a child you’re going to end up holding half the bus ride anyway, or an older child who is going to get up and move around, and not really even use the seat.

5. Move all the way to the back of the bus.

When buses become standing room only, some Disney guests tend to have this problem where they don’t move to the back of the bus and fill in all of the available space. This is a problem when more guests are trying to fit on a bus, and they would have no problem fitting on if the guests ahead of them would only move down. This is where common sense comes into play—if there’s space ahead of you, and guests trying to get on the bus, the best thing you can do is to move down and fill in that space.

4. When standing room only, removing backpacks will allow more guests to fit.

When there is only standing room available on the buses, removing your backpack will help to make room for other guests. Backpacks take up additional space that could be better used to let another guest onto the bus. Simply take off the backpack and put it down by your feet. I usually hold it in place between my ankles and this seems to work fine—more guests fit on the bus, and my backpack is still basically on my person.

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3. Offer seats to those who need them.

Of course, it is sometimes hard to determine who needs a seat more than you do, but my rule of thumb is generally that is I see any elderly guests standing and I’m sitting down, I’ll give up my seat. It’s much more difficult for certain guests to be standing for most of the day in the parks and then to continue to stand on the bus on the way back to their resort. This is an instance where just a little bit of common courtesy can go a long way in making a difference for other guests.

2. Fold up strollers before boarding the bus.

I’ve witnessed a number of occasions where the process of boarding the bus from a resort or one of the parks is dragged out because families are situating all of their personal belongings and folding up strollers while they are trying to get onto the bus. Doing so at this point in time delays the bus from boarding all of the other stroller-less passengers who have also been waiting. I know sometimes it’s difficult to fold up strollers if they contain young ones who are sleeping, however it is much more efficient for you, the bus driver, and all of the other guests if this process is taken care of before you’d go to board the bus.

1. Keep the noise to a minimum.

Buses are small, enclosed spaces, and loud noises will just bounce off the walls and potentially annoy other guests. There’s nothing wrong with having a little fun, but continual yelling and screaming is not going to make the bus driver and the other guests happy to be on a fifteen minute long bus ride with you back to the resort. Just remember, indoor voices applies to the time you spend on Disney buses as well.