Disney Bus Catches Fire In Orange County

[peter11435]

Article

 

[SeaSpray]

Thats a shame Fortunately no one was hurt, and most of the cruisers' luggage was not on the bus that burned.

 

[Lew]

I believe the cruise buses are operated by Mears.

 

[plutojudy]

I hope they had time to get their carry-ons out from underneath the bus. At least they had their documents in hand.
What a horrible way to start their cruise.

 

[tinkerbellmagic]

Those are some scary pictures. I'm so glad everyone is ok. Wonder if any Dis'ers were aboard that bus.

 

[figment52]

Originally posted by Lew
I believe the cruise buses are operated by Mears.

That is the same understanding I have. Disney contracts those routes to Mears.

I hope everyone is ok and it does not dampen their experience on the ship.

 

[TraSee]

They interupted TV here in Orlando at the time of the accident. I can spot a DCL bus a mile away, and as soon as I saw what little was left of it, I caught a glimpse of the Disney colors. The reporter at that time said no passengers were on the bus. I guess he was wrong! At least everyone was okay. I know Disney will do what they can to assist anyone with documents. This is the three day cruise which usually leaves around 5ish. I am sure they will have an update from the port on the 5pm news. I'll let you know if I hear anything.
Tracy

 

[LibertyBelle]

Holy Cow... thanks for the link. We were just out in that area running errands and they said on the radio that the beeline was closed, but they never said why... that's crazy! I am glad that no one was hurt, someone was watching out for them

O and yes, I forgot to add the Buses are owned by Mears Transportation but Disney has a contract with mears for sole use of the Cruise Line buses on sailing days (during the week Mears can use them for whatever they need, on sailing days they are only used for DCL transfers...but the drivers are still Mears employees)

 

[TraSee]

The local news in Orlando said that all passengers and their belongings escaped without harm from the bus. Thank goodness! The bus driver was alert and noticed something was wrong and got everyone off safely. Good for him!!

 

[tvguy]

Yeah, we flew in the day before our cruise (a Friday). Saw the DCL buses at the airport with signs that said "Parking Shuttle", thought that was odd. That makes sense since Disney only needs the buses on Sundays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

 

[Chip 'n Dale Express]

Originally posted by tvguy
Yeah, we flew in the day before our cruise (a Friday). Saw the DCL buses at the airport with signs that said "Parking Shuttle", thought that was odd. That makes sense since Disney only needs the buses on Sundays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

Indeed, that's why Mears has the contract to run the DCL buses, instead of Disney themselves. Mears is allowed to use the buses on non-cruise days for various charter work, including the Mears Airport/Disney shuttle. This way, the buses get used in revenue service instead of sitting for more than half the week.

 

[pppiglet]

The bus driver deserves a raise!

 

[tezb]

Or I think the Bus Driver deserves a FREE Disney Cruise! He's a hero...a few seconds longer, and it would have been a tragedy w/ all those people still on the bus...not to mention the kids too!

 

[jlima]

The NBC channel in Orlando is reporting that some people did lose their stuff on the bus. How sad! This is from WESH.com:


Disney Tour Bus Catches Fire

A Disney Cruise Line tour bus caught fire on state Road 528 Thursday afternoon.

The bus caught fire near Dallas in east Orange County. Eastbound lanes of the Beeline Expressway were closed as fire crews extinguished the fire.

The fire was started by a flat tire. When the tire blew, the driver pulled to the side of the road to change it. The driver and all 52 passengers got off the bus and were moved a safe distance away before the bus erupted in flames. No one on the bus was injured, according to a Disney spokesman.

The bus is owned by Mears Transportation. Other Disney buses, which were heading westbound after dropping other cruise passengers off, stopped when they saw the fire and picked up the passengers from the burned-out bus. The passengers were all taken to the Disney Cruise Line terminal at Port Canaveral and boarded the Disney Wonder ship bound for Castaway Key.

Most of the luggage for cruise passengers had already been sent ahead to the port. There were only a few pieces of luggage and some small personal items on the bus with the passengers that were lost when the bus caught fire, according to a representative of Disney Cruises.

In the ensuing traffic jam, three cars collided, and helicopters airlifted two people to nearby hospitals.

Police said traffic was backed up for about eight miles after the fire. About 30 minutes later, there was a second secondary accident. Two cars collided in that accident, leaving two people with minor injuries.

Police said none of the four injuries were considered life-threatening.

 

[LibertyBelle]

Again I find it ironic that while we were out running errands today the radio was talking about "the mess" on the Beeline, they mentioned the car accidents and said that the Beeline was closed so take an alternate route if possible, but they never mentioned the bus being on fire. Seeing the pictures from WESH.com the local news station it is an absolute miracle that everyone was moved to safety in time and that there were no injuries from the fire itself.

 

[cruzindon]

Now I understand why I see DCL buses at WDW resorts on non-cruise days, Mears uses them.

 

[mmouse37]

Imagine my surprise and delight when I saw a DCL bus on Route 19 in Clearwater one day!!!

MJ

 

[ericamanda01]

Good job shout out to the bus driver!