DHS bus drop off 20 min walk!?

[HopperFan]

Even some of vloggers that live in the area, including the ones from the site, have mentioned and complained about the lack of shade in Toy Story land. They have also mentioned that the engineers sometimes don't seem to take into account that they are planning attractions/areas/temporary bus stops etc. for central Florida where is it EXTREMELY hot, humid and blazing sun 7+ months of the year OR there are torrential tropical downpour occurring.

Completely agree with you. If the Florida full-time residents feel there was oversight, then I will defer to them. As a part-time resident and frequent visitor to Florida and Disney, the lack of shade in TSL is a huge miss. We all understand that full grown trees are not planted and sometimes we need a few years to fill in, but TSL is designed in a way that we will likely never have big shade cover because it won't work with the "we are toys in a backyard" and it would hide much of the cool decor they built.

Disney for the most part is very good about shade trees, overhangs and covered & AC queued. Even large stretches, say SM across the plaza has spots of shade with overhangs, people mover track, umbrella tables etc. Yes, lots of sun in Epcot but also lots of shops, restaurants, shade trees and places to step out of the sun. TSL has none of this. They had to know Slinky would have long lines with the bulk being out in the sun. They already dealt with long character lines ... so they moved them outside... It's nice they have umbrella tables for the Lunch Box but not only are they always full, they are too few for the location and folks have even reported altercations among guests. We walked over there to look at menu, realized there was no seating and no shade so we left.

We are talking families with young children, standing in long long hot lines to meet characters, to ride rides, to have lunch .... all in a dead end land with the only AC not in a ride .... in the bathrooms. I was there, in July, it was even hotter than even Dino-rama. I am a normal, average guest. I will say I am more acclimated to the heat than most the normal guests. I live in the south, I have a home in Florida ........ it was stifling ... with the next closest AC being out in Walt's Dream exhibit. No surprise it was packed.

I have never had to really plan which hours in which land at Disney but now ... TSL will be early morning or night time only. And I won't be using those bus stops until they build the new ones if I need to travel in mid day.

* I think Disney's last major fail in this respect was the bridge leading into Be Our Guest. It probably was a part of what led to daytime meals needing ADRs so that lengths of people were not standing out there trying to get in.

 

[Shoshana]

I'm 59 and I pushed my dd (same weight as me) in a wheel chair to the new bus stop area at DHS this June at midday. It was hotter than hades, and I had to work harder on that walk than when we're in the parks. When we arrived, we found just a few umbrellas and they were full. Older people were obviously uncomfortable, I was uncomfortable and we waited a full 25 minutes for a bus in the blazing sun. I had a fan that I tried to use to shade my head. I'm pretty disgusted at the sentiment that I'm somehow weak or incapable and shouldn't visit Disney because I found the trip to the bus stop and wait for the bus to be a very difficult and unpleasant aspect of my visit to the happiest place on earth. The imagineers need to imagine themselves in this situation and do a better job.

 

[maxiesmom]

I'm very glad we didn't run into this when I brought my 79 year old dad to WDW last year. He still takes care of his own house, does the cooking and cleaning with only a little help, but that walk would have done him in. He can walk in the parks, but we did take many breaks, found many planters/walls/benches to sit on.

Someone needs to round up whoever designed this mess and make them walk back and forth in the sun.

 

[Farro]

No one has called anyone weak and incapable that I can recall.
It is a fact that some people just can't handle the heat as well as others. We just plain don't like it all that much, so we avoid the hottest times of the year.

That said, again, I think they should have done better with shade at the temporary bus stop. But the addition of the cooling buses is great, especially since there is a CM announcing the arrival of buses. A temporary solution to a temporary situation.

 

[disneygirlsng]

I'm 59 and I pushed my dd (same weight as me) in a wheel chair to the new bus stop area at DHS this June at midday. It was hotter than hades, and I had to work harder on that walk than when we're in the parks. When we arrived, we found just a few umbrellas and they were full. Older people were obviously uncomfortable, I was uncomfortable and we waited a full 25 minutes for a bus in the blazing sun. I had a fan that I tried to use to shade my head. I'm pretty disgusted at the sentiment that I'm somehow weak or incapable and shouldn't visit Disney because I found the trip to the bus stop and wait for the bus to be a very difficult and unpleasant aspect of my visit to the happiest place on earth. The imagineers need to imagine themselves in this situation and do a better job.

Maybe I'm missing something here, but the new bus loop being discussed was not in use in June. The temporary one started being used last week.

 

[rteetz]

Great take on the situation. I hear a lot that the management making decisions don't visit the parks routinely. I think that might be the case here. They seem out of touch with the average WDW clientele. The need for a "cool bus" pretty much confirms that in my mind.

Personally I think this issue is being blown out of proportion. Yes I understand everyone is different and can not handle long walks and the heat but this really is not much longer than some of the other bus stops and they have to deal with the same weather inside the park.

As I have said at least 3 times in this thread this is temporary. Disney can’t close and open everything over night. The cooling bus and umbrellas are there to help because it isn’t an ideal situation and Disney knows that.

 

[rteetz]

No one has called anyone weak and incapable that I can recall.
It is a fact that some people just can't handle the heat as well as others. We just plain don't like it all that much, so we avoid the hottest times of the year.

That said, again, I think they should have done better with shade at the temporary bus stop. But the addition of the cooling buses is great, especially since there is a CM announcing the arrival of buses. A temporary solution to a temporary situation.

Other than the bus and umbrellas what could they have done?

 

[Farro]

Other than the bus and umbrellas what could they have done?

Oh, I think the addition of the cooling buses is a fine solution, I'm just agreeing they should have though of it first, before it all started.

Just trying not to get yelled at!

 

[rteetz]

Exactly. For instance, before the final plans for Toy Story Land were put into plae, those people should have been "invited" to wander in blazing sun all day long, eat their food standing up, and then hike their sorry carcasses back to the "new" bus stops.

There is a complete lack of knowledge regarding the reality of "normal" WDW guests vs. that of the VIP WDW folks whose work related visits move them right into the park after having been granted door to door service. I have no idea how this is still going on when you consider the way some of the latest attractions were designed and the complaints that have stemmed from those short sighted decisions.

I think the comparison of Toy Story Land to a bus stop is apples to oranges.

 

[Shoshana]

Maybe I'm missing something here, but the new bus loop being discussed was not in use in June. The temporary one started being used last week.

There were temporary bus stops in use in June that required a long walk away from the regular bus stops, past construction walls, and with no shade. If these were in the same location as today, I don't know.

 

[rteetz]

There were temporary bus stops in use in June that required a long walk away from the regular bus stops, past construction walls, and with no shade. If these were in the same location as today, I don't know.

There were no temporary bus stops in use in June. There were construction walls up in the area though.

 

[clutter]

I did this yesterday. It was roasting hot but not as humid as other days. It it was HOT. 93 with a “feels like” 100 per weather.

The morning wasn’t especially noticeable.

But at around 1pm, it’s pretty bad. All asphalt, surrounded by high chain link fences with dark construction fabric. It’s way hotter than the weather there. And long, and there were no CMs offering cooling busses. And the busses were longer than 20 minutes apart. People were huddled under the few umbrellas available. No water stations anywhere.

When we go back we will either drive - because you get a tram - or will Uber.

 

[Lilsia]

It’s because the individual bus queues are not covered nor protected from the sun as they are in the 3 other parks. The portable umbrellas do not provide protection for all those in the queue.

But neither are the bus stops at the value resorts. People seem to manage just fine with those. I know it stinks waiting out in the sun and it gets really really hot, but unless someone is out there for an extended period of time or have medical issues then it should not be an issue.

 

[Disneylvr]

But neither are the bus stops at the value resorts. People seem to manage just fine with those. I know it stinks waiting out in the sun and it gets really really hot, but unless someone is out there for an extended period of time or have medical issues then it should not be an issue.

There is at Pop Century. It doesn’t cover the entire queue but there is definitely shade for those that need it.

 

[SaintsManiac]

We want things better, but things sometimes get worse temporarily while that happens. If I am as prepared for the heat as I am in the parks I don't see why I won't be waiting for a bus. I might grumble about it, but this is getting out of hand.

I just don't understand how this walk is any worse than walking around Epcot at 2pm in the middle of August.


ETA: Can't you check bus arrival times on the app now?

 

[rteetz]

We want things better, but things sometimes get worse temporarily while that happens. If I am as prepared for the heat as I am in the parks I don't see why I won't be waiting for a bus. I might grumble about it, but this is getting out of hand.

I just don't understand how this walk is any worse than walking around Epcot at 2pm in the middle of August.


ETA: Can't you check bus arrival times on the app now?

You can check on the app but only at resorts you can’t check times at the parks.

 

[SaintsManiac]

You can check on the app but only at resorts you can’t check times at the parks.

Darn. That would be nice to do before making the walk as an option to those worried about it.

 

[lucas]

Regarding no covered areas to get out of the heat - what about standing out there in the pouring rain?

 

[lucas]

But neither are the bus stops at the value resorts. People seem to manage just fine with those. I know it stinks waiting out in the sun and it gets really really hot, but unless someone is out there for an extended period of time or have medical issues then it should not be an issue.

But, at POP Century, you don't have to walk 20 minutes straight in the heat before you even get to the bus line.

 

[Farro]

Regarding no covered areas to get out of the heat - what about standing out there in the pouring rain?

Put on a poncho, get wet, and be happy it's cooling you down!