lots of people will be taking the greyhound from orlando.. its like 2-3 hours and $14 each way. get in line early.. if there isnt a line for your destination be the first to create one at the correct door. ask someone who works there which door it is. you can use a bag to save your spot in line..just make sure you're in the right one. greyhound buses are first come first serve with no standing room and its common to have buses fill up then whoops.. not another one coming for 7 hours. sometimes in places like orlando where they have additional buses this isnt as much of a problem but ya never know with greyhound.

now, when you leave gainesville going back to orlando be extra sure to get in line early because they have no additional buses at that tiny station. although they should be aware of the Fest situation by now and make plans for additional buses but ya never know.

also, dont avoid the people talking to themselves - talk to them. or as one of my greyhound drivers from Atlanta said over the intercom with a bus full of people... "make friends with your neighbor, that way later in the trip when they cut your head off you can at least say you made a friend." then proceeded to ask if anyone knew the incident he was referencing...

lots of people wonder what greyhound is like - its like taking a city bus across the country... the most common thing i heard from my years of taking greyhound was "this is our first time on greyhound and we're never doing it again" hahahahaha, but thats long distance.. a 2-3 hour trip is nothing on the dirty dog.

oh yeah, and lots of people that just got out of prison take greyhound because they have no other option. they pick them up in large groups sometimes. you'll be able to tell from their matching outfits and mesh bag with all their belongings... but seriously some of the most well behaved, respectful people... never saw one of em create a problem - they're just trying to get home. ive never seen such levels of excitement to stop at McDonald's either..

So you can't actually book a seat on a Greyhound over there? I've only ever used Greyhounds in Australia but over there you book your seat in advance so at least you're guaranteed to get on the bus at the time you want to.

unless they've changed the system they will sell an unlimited amount of tickets. so what you're buying is an unreserved seat. same thing with the amtrak train over here - except they allow standing room so at least you get on.

ive waited hours for an additional bus to arrive. although it doesn't usually happen to me because i claim a spot in line. this isn't always possible though - for example, if are transferring to another bus and the station you're arriving at is jam packed and you only were given 30 minutes for a transfer. i once had a 5 minute transfer.. which is ridiculous for long distance bus travel expecting that sort of exact timing. i waited 4-5 hours for the next bus that day. sometimes there are not enough people to warrant them finding another bus AND another driver.. you're probably out of luck if its just 10 of you. sometimes the additional drivers are coming from cities 6 hours away on an inbound bus..surprisingly though its been my experience that most greyhound buses run pretty much on time..

Yeah I looked into it after your last post and it seems they still work on the same system. It seems to me that given the low cost airfare in the US, taking the bus is a bad idea if you have nowhere to stay should you not be able to get on the bus you hoped for.

you can sleep inside the greyhound station as long as you have a ticket.. once had a scheduled 13 hour layover in a major city. you're in a daze after 24 hours on a greyhound anyway. some smaller stations actually close at certain times - hasn't happened to me but ive heard stories from people that got stuck outside in the middle of the night at no fault of their own. greyhound is an adventure..or something.

Im doing it and pretty sure it will be FULL of festers (last year was)

Im sure if you buy your ticket in advance you will be guaranteed a seat in the bus

NOT true. see above for the long explanation.

short explanation: always a good idea to get in line early.. i do 1-2 hours. not always necessary but you are NOT guaranteed a seat on your scheduled departing bus just because you bought a ticket.

Did you actually read any of this thread!?

What would be the best way to get to the Greyhound station?

Are there shuttle buses from the airport or is it best just to catch a taxi?

from the orlando airport? either city bus or taxi. probably best just to sacrifice on a taxi.. city bus will take well over an hour.

See you guys on the Greyhound on Thursday morning.

Are you able to drink on these things?

nope and from my experience they're pretty strict about it so be careful.. only a 2 hour ride anyway