Buses coming home from MK...

[3pirates]

I didn't see anything about this...and it was a really bad situation last night so I thought I'd warn people.

We went after the fireworks to get the bus back to our resort. They have a bunch of the bus station with stops from 1 - 10 closed. You couldn't get to your stop...the crowd collected around stops 1 - 2 and nobody else could get through. There was one guy that showed up from time to time telling everyone to take the monorail to T & T and get their bus there. Well, we might have, except that we were in a mob by that point. We even saw some people getting into an argument, and almost a fight, all fueled by the fact we were packed together and there was no way out.

Shame on Disney...but in the mean time I would go later, take the monorail, something else besides trying to get onto one of those 1 - 10 buses.

 

[goofy4tink]

Was there some reason given for closed bus stops?

 

[kaffinito]

I was reading on the Theme Parks thread that the monorail was closed last night too. I wonder what's going on?

 

[Jestocost]

Was there some reason given for closed bus stops?

When we were there two weeks ago there was some refurb activity going on at the MK bus depot.

 

[dudspizza]

When we were there two weeks ago there was some refurb activity going on at the MK bus depot.

I bet this is what OP ran in to. For stops 1-10, the first stop on the right was being refurbed, causing a very narrow walkway to get thru to the other stops. Add a bunch of people and all of the sudden that walkway is now clogged. Not ideal, but Disney also doesn't want people walking in the road to get to their bus stop.

People just need to pack some patience. It is always packed at park closing time, but it is especially bad when refurbs are going on.

The Express monorail was down a bunch of the nights we were at MK. It was a mob headed to the ferry... what a mess.

Duds

 

[zulemara]

I was waiting for a post to happen. Well let's see

1. 2 boats, a cruiser and a launch, are in dry drock being refurbished.
2. Our 3rd ferryboat, the Irvine, lost a generator and had to do a ship to ship transfer in 7 seas lagoon. In the history of watercraft, this has only happened once, and it happened last night. This requires 1 of the available 2 cruisers
3. Monorails, both express and resort, went down.
4. The only remaining cruiser was put on the gold route for the grand and poly
5. All we had on the FW/WL routes were MKs and a couple launches I believe. The other option? busses
6. So basically because we had a FB down and monorails down, busses were used to help pickup the slack. A rare scenario, but that is the reason why things happened.
7. 2 alpha units had to be called because 2 ppl had issues on one of the operating ferryboats, which means the FB can't move until the person is off the boat.

edit: if someone can link the other thread, I'd be happy to pop in and provide explanation as to what happened last night. While I understand ppl are/were upset, I always believe in presenting 2 sides of any issue to get a better understanding of how the perfect storm can create chaos.

 

[seashoreCM]

If they already have a portion of the transportation out of service and then another big chunk goes down, it would be prudent to extend the park hours on the spot.

Some people will still want to leave right away but the crowd will be spread out more.

 

[SueM in MN]

If they already have a portion of the transportation out of service and then another big chunk goes down, it would be prudent to extend the park hours on the spot.

Some people will still want to leave right away but the crowd will be spread out more.

Last night, when this situation happened to the OP, MK was open from 8:00 am to 12:00 midnight. The fireworks that the OP was leaving after (Wishes) was at 10 pm.
So, extending hours would not have helped.

 

[goofy4tink]

I was waiting for a post to happen. Well let's see

1. 2 boats, a cruiser and a launch, are in dry drock being refurbished.
2. Our 3rd ferryboat, the Irvine, lost a generator and had to do a ship to ship transfer in 7 seas lagoon. In the history of watercraft, this has only happened once, and it happened last night. This requires 1 of the available 2 cruisers
3. Monorails, both express and resort, went down.
4. The only remaining cruiser was put on the gold route for the grand and poly
5. All we had on the FW/WL routes were MKs and a couple launches I believe. The other option? busses
6. So basically because we had a FB down and monorails down, busses were used to help pickup the slack. A rare scenario, but that is the reason why things happened.
7. 2 alpha units had to be called because 2 ppl had issues on one of the operating ferryboats, which means the FB can't move until the person is off the boat.

edit: if someone can link the other thread, I'd be happy to pop in and provide explanation as to what happened last night. While I understand ppl are/were upset, I always believe in presenting 2 sides of any issue to get a better understanding of how the perfect storm can create chaos.

Thanks for the explanation. Man, that must have been one huge mess!! The monorails seem to be having more and more issues lately. Have you heard if Disney is going to address those issues???

 

[mousefan1972]

Wow, I am really glad we're staying at BLT when we check in next week. That sounds like a horror show!

 

[goofy4tink]

Wow, I am really glad we're staying at BLT when we check in next week. That sounds like a horror show!

That's one of the great things about being at BLT/CR!! I know that if I had been there that night, I would have just hoofed it over to the CR and taken a cab back to my resort....or even headed to DTD. No way would I have waited around in that mess.

 

[3pirates]

Hey...checking back in. They're right, there was still another parade, so the rush COULD have been worse.

Thanks for the explanation...maybe that's why it was so bad. I was afraid every night people would run into trouble...yes, there was construction at the bus stop at the beginning as you're getting there, so you couldn't get to any but the first or second stop, because the right was blocked with construction and the left was blocked with people not interested in moving.

It sounds like the other options weren't good either.

We are staying at the Boardwalk, and would have hoofed it from the Studios or Epcot...but not the MK!

 

[Alexander]

If a scenario like that presents itself again, walk to the Contemporary and take a cab. This is exactly what I would have done if it were us.

 

[seashoreCM]

I bet this is what OP ran in to. For stops 1-10, the first stop on the right was being refurbed, causing a very narrow walkway to get thru to the other stops. Add a bunch of people and all of the sudden that walkway is now clogged. s

If just stop 1 is being refurbished perhaps they should decommission stops 2 and 3 to make more queueing room. Only a few buses would have to be rerouted to pick up at the other side of 7 Seas lagoon (at TTC) or perhaps steal one Port Orleans or two All Star berths.

 

[zulemara]

Last night, when this situation happened to the OP, MK was open from 8:00 am to 12:00 midnight. The fireworks that the OP was leaving after (Wishes) was at 10 pm.
So, extending hours would not have helped.

exactly. This is why when people as me for tips for going to WDW, I always emphasize don't leave right after the fireworks. Let all the newbs do that while you enjoy the park as it begins to empty.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

The person who said to take the Express Monorail to the TTC was he a Cast Member or just some regular guest? I mean if he was a Cast Member then at least they would be telling the bus drivers to stop there, because the resort buses don't go there when picking up or dropping off guests for the Magic Kingdom. So if this person was not a Cast Member I wouldn't have taken his advice because chances are WDW wasn't telling their bus drivers to go there.