Just back -weird Disney bus experience

[donaldsgal]

Yeah, but getting into a discussion of the OP's daughter's psyche is way off topic. She just wanted to know if anyone had a similar experience, and if so, to get some advice on where to lodge a complaint - she wasn't looking for parenting tips.

I completely agree.

I don't think fear is an entirely unreasonable response when you consider the actions of terrorists in our own country and in others (ie. attacks on public transportation, suicide bombings). Anything *could* happen. We are warned to watch out for things that seem out of the ordinary and report them...and I don't think anyone should be surprised if a passenger would call 911 in a situation like the OP described. Had that bus we were on in June left WDW property I would have been pretty scared.

Again, I completely agree. I'm not someone who constantly worries about terrorism, but I do agree that if we are told to be vigilant and to report strange situation, this isn't an out-of-left-field response for anyone. IMHO and YMMV.

ETA: I also agree with gooferynmost... guess I'm just agreeable tonight. I'm sure it was just confusion on the driver's part. I don't think we should be judging or presuming anything about the driver, the OP, the CM working the Mickey Bar stand two days before... you get my point. It was probably an honest mistake, worthy of talking to Disney about, but it's probably best when we talk to Disney when a good OR bad thing happens so they get the most accurate information and can deal with it quickly.

OP, hope this hasn't discouraged you from using bus transportation at WDW. It seems like most of us have had great drivers and perhaps this one just had an off night.

 

[cleo]

Since the daughter's fear seemed to have been the real problem it doesn't seem 'off topic'. I'm not offering parenting tips, I'm just commenting on the part of the post that struck me as the real issue. The OP brought up the daughter's psychological state. I'm not condemning that state, I'm just saying that's where I'd put my focus if it were my daughter. I would be far less concerned about some poor driver who probably felt worse about it than any of his passengers did.

He got lost, poor fool. That isn't really a long-term problem, is it? It's just inconvenient. The problem came from the daughter being so frightened. THAT strikes me as the issue. Sorry if you disagree. I guess there are several ways to read any one post, and that's how I read this one.

 

[DisneyMommyMichelle]

wierd!

 

[DisneyMommyMichelle]

Cleo, i agree with you as well!

Shame on those of you that called for him to be terminated. I sure hope the people that trained you had a little more sympathy for someone making an honest mistake then you have. You would not believe how many times a day I hear that demand. Almost all the time it was for some minor insignificant thing that hardly warrented a talking too, much less being fired.

Driving a vehicle that size, in heavy traffic with a load of loud passengers, with the interior lights glaring in the windshield is not an easy task. I challenge any of you to try it before you pass judgement. Those guys have a huge task to do and a very responsible one at that. They have a special license and are subject to random drug tests and yearly physicals to keep that license. I would trust my life to any one of them, anytime.

everything said here is right on!

 

[Dan Murphy]

Very, very strange indeed, Kim. I can well see how your daughter was as frightened as she was.

 

[chigirl]

As a supervisor for a public transit bus service I can tell you, based on what was said, that the driver was new and got lost. Could he have handled it better, I would think so but he was probably trying NOT to panic anyone figuring that he would find his way eventually.

WDW can be daunting in the daylight, imagine trying to find your way around at night if you are not totally familiar with the layout. Remember that these drivers must learn ALL the routes, not just the one you happen to be on. If your new, just like everyone of you when you started a new job, your nervous and confused and if you miss a turn, in this case, you can be up Reedy Creek without a paddle.

I cannot believe that anyone would jump to the conclusion that that he was "exchanging" anything when he stopped and asked a trucker for directions. What a quantum leap that is.

The fact that a supervisor met them when they finally arrived at the destination proves that he was in contact with dispatch and they were trying their best to get him back on track without causing a panic. After he got his bearings, if he ever did, he should have made an announcement that he had made a wrong turn and they were back on track. Just because they didn't hear any conversation with dispatch doesn't mean it didn't happen. Buses are loud and people are even louder.

Shame on those of you that called for him to be terminated. I sure hope the people that trained you had a little more sympathy for someone making an honest mistake then you have. You would not believe how many times a day I hear that demand. Almost all the time it was for some minor insignificant thing that hardly warrented a talking too, much less being fired.

Driving a vehicle that size, in heavy traffic with a load of loud passengers, with the interior lights glaring in the windshield is not an easy task. I challenge any of you to try it before you pass judgement. Those guys have a huge task to do and a very responsible one at that. They have a special license and are subject to random drug tests and yearly physicals to keep that license. I would trust my life to any one of them, anytime.

THANK YOU!!!!!!!

 

[kmadams]

Sounds like his first day on the job, which isn't really a safety hazzard, just the result of a very confused driver. The bigger question is, why did your daughter feel like she was going to be killed? I'd address that one first. Sounds like a generalized fear worth talking about and something she might need some help from Mom and Dad in dealing with.

I say this with all compassion. It's a scary world. But just being on a bus that's got a confused driver shouldn't really make someone feel like death is the likely outcome. There's more to that fear than this incident might warrent, I think.

Yep, we thought too that several years ago we would have been upset but would not have thought of the more frightening possiblities. It's a different world now. I have to add that it was not just my daughter that was upset, but it seemed most of the bus was freaked out. A dark ride late at night off of Disney property with a bus driver that shares nothing is enough to scare me. I appreciate your concern for her but she really is not one to have irrational fears. My son also tells me it was an unusual situation, and one that in the end was not handled well by the bus driver.

I also have to add that up to this point we've had good experiences with the Disney bus system. I think they do a great job of moving massive amounts of people. I just am upset that they did not screen the people they hire better, this guy clearly did not know his way around at all.

 

[ExPirateShopGirl]

A bus of 40 or 50 people and not one offered to assist the obviously-lost driver? They almost deserved to be taken for a side trip. KIDDING! But, cmon, where is everyone's common sense?

And truly believing you'll be killed while in a bus full of people with a lost driver is not a rational fear for an adult. Cleo called that one.

Peace out!

 

[waltsgirl]

Like others have said, sounds like the first day on the job or the first day out on his own. I agree it could be a little scary but to think that everyone was going to be killed?? And if people did think that why didn't they get off the bus?? You mentioned that the bus stopped at wrong resorts. If I felt like I was in that much danger I would have exited the bus and found another way back to my resort.

 

[kmadams]

I was thinking the same thing...sounds like a bit of an over-reaction for a lost bus.

When I have an "issue" at Disney, which hasn't happened often in our years of frequent visits there...I tend to handle it immediately. I don't wait until I get home to post it on the DIS and see what everyone else thinks I should do.

If this bus thing distressed me that much, I would have called the front desk of my hotel and asked for the name of the Transportation Supervisor, or whatever the person's title would be, and I would have called them with my complaint. I don't tend to "expect" compensation for negative occurrences, so that wouldn't have been an issue.

Wow, all great ideas. I first called the front desk who transferred me to Disney Transportation who told me to go to the bus stop as a Transportation Manager was there. I went to the bus stop, the manager was gone. I went to the front desk and explained it to them. They took my name and room nummber and said a transportation manager would call me. I too don't tend to "expect" to be compenstated for these issues. Maybe you should read the post more closely instead of saying that I waited to get home and post it on the Dis boards to see what everyone else thinks I should do.

I guess you are not suppose to share experiences here.

 

[kmadams]

When the kids finally arrived back to the room at 11:30 that night my daughter burst into tears and was completely freaked out. It seems that the bus driver got lost on the way back to Pop Century. They went all over, left Disney property, the bus driver made U-turns everywhere and at one point stopped in a dark lot by a hotel, got off the bus and went to talk to someone in a truck. He never once came on the radio to make any sort of annoucements. At the point when he got off the bus in the dark parking lot my daughter thought they were going to be killed. She was seriously upset!!

Wow, what a lousy driver. I've never heard of anything like that, what a bummer. But... your adult daughter seriously thought a whole buss full of people were going to be killed by one man when he stopped in the parking lot?

Seriously, you people all take this way too seriously. She was freaked because this guy stopped in the middle of no where, got out without saying anything and started talking to a guy in a pickup truck. I don't think she was actually making out her will and saying her last good-byes when the bus driver got out, be she felt threatened. Do you think that because it's a large group there is no chance of danger???

I now wish I had not posted anything, I didn't think that people would began pysco-analyzing my daughter over this. I think I need to see a shrink just for posting this!

 

[Katems]

Kim, I don't blame you or your daughter for being upset. I'd have been terrified, too! The people on this board were NOT on that bus and did NOT expeience it, so I don't think anyone has the right to say your daughter was acting irrationally. It sounds pretty creepy to me. I'm sorry you didn't catch the transporation manager, but it wasn't your fault. Thank you for sharing your experience; I hope your family is feeling better now.

 

[kmadams]

Yeah, but getting into a discussion of the OP's daughter's psyche is way off topic. She just wanted to know if anyone had a similar experience, and if so, to get some advice on where to lodge a complaint - she wasn't looking for parenting tips.

Thank you, thank you, thank you. I'm glad someone sees my point. I just wanted some simple advice on what else to do. My experience with Disney based on this past trip is when you have a complaint they were very quick to pass the probelm on or tell me that someone would get back to me and then never followed through.

My daughter is not a frightened 19 year-old, and I'm very upset that many have implied that she has some terrible fears that we all now need to discuss. I'm sure she has given the issue little thought since that night.

 

[Mariposa]

Seriously, if the guy was refusing to give any info, went off property, stopped the bus, got off and began talking to another guy?? I'd be incredibly freaked out, too. I agree that the guy was probably just turned around, but if he wouldn't talk to anyone on the bus at all, that's not behavior I expect from people so I'd be upset by it, too.

 

[kmadams]

A bus of 40 or 50 people and not one offered to assist the obviously-lost driver? They almost deserved to be taken for a side trip. KIDDING! But, cmon, where is everyone's common sense?

And truly believing you'll be killed while in a bus full of people with a lost driver is not a rational fear for an adult. Cleo called that one.

Peace out!

Good point about a bus of 50 people not offering to help, except they did offer to help. By the time he turned into the wrong resort they were all screaming at him to go to the next turn and not turn there. Yep, they all deserved to be taken for a side trip, and I'm just rolling on the floor laughing at someone telling me that my daughter experienced a non-rational fear for a brief moment.

Come on, has no one here ever experienced a fear that later on you can look at and say "well, that was just not rational because look, nothing happened."

 

[Aroura]

Well, here's my humble opinion. As a Dis bord Mod, you cleo should have never thought yourself to be a dime-store psychologist to a new member. Excellent impression you have made on your forums by doing that. So, as you will call people crazy for thinking for one moment that something 'shady' was going on with the bus driver, I say it is pretty crazy for you to have a mod position on these boards because it was pretty unprofessional the way you said some things. As an Admin myself, it wouldn't be tolerated. Much like the Bus Driver, you are "staff' here, and expected to act as so.

To the op, I PERSONALLY don't find anything 'odd' about your daughter’s reaction. This is a much different age, and with the foiled terror plots that have happened recently, and all other scenarios that run through any SANE mind, (even if deep down we know they may be off) it was a natural reaction. She didn't know where she was being taken, etc.

I hope the reaction from some around here didn't taint you to the boards. I have often seen people complain about different aspects of the parks, and get sympathy instead of unwarranted assumptions. There are a ton of good and helpful people here.

EDIT: I see the op is not in fact 'new' just only had fifty or so posts, so I just thought you were fairly new.. *smiles* sorry.

 

[DisneyHokie]

Seriously, if the guy was refusing to give any info, went off property, stopped the bus, got off and began talking to another guy?? I'd be incredibly freaked out, too. I agree that the guy was probably just turned around, but if he wouldn't talk to anyone on the bus at all, that's not behavior I expect from people so I'd be upset by it, too.

Agreed. The bus driver should have definitely should have said something. I don't consider myself a "scared 23 year old" but I'd definitely be freaking if I was on a bus with strangers and a bus driver was driving me OFF PROPERTY. Things do happen. If I were on the bus and the driver admitted it was his first night and he was a little lost, everyone's nerves would have been calmed.

Who really knows how you would have reacted if placed in this scary situation?

I'm glad everything turned out alright

 

[kmadams]

Like others have said, sounds like the first day on the job or the first day out on his own. I agree it could be a little scary but to think that everyone was going to be killed?? And if people did think that why didn't they get off the bus?? You mentioned that the bus stopped at wrong resorts. If I felt like I was in that much danger I would have exited the bus and found another way back to my resort.

And yet another great idea. The next time this happens (the bus did not STOP at the resort) I'll tell her to somehow break open the door and jump off a moving bus.

The fact that she felt threated was a fleating thought at the moment when he stopped and got off the bus without saying anything. Really, she wasn't hiding under the seats screaming "We're all going to die, why didn't I go to Universal instead!!"

 

[BeckWhy]

I can't imagine why the bus driver got lost. I would have assumed those people were very well trained!

Anyways.. at least it wasn't like what happened to me and my mom.. we were in NYC on vacation and got on the wrong subway and ended up in one of the worst neighborhoods in Brooklyn!

 

[kmadams]

Well, here's my humble opinion. As a Dis bord Mod, you cleo should have never thought yourself to be a dime-store psychologist to a new member. Excellent impression you have made on your forums by doing that. So, as you will call people crazy for thinking for one moment that something 'shady' was going on with the bus driver, I say it is pretty crazy for you to have a mod position on these boards because it was pretty unprofessional the way you said some things. As an Admin myself, it wouldn't be tolerated. Much like the Bus Driver, you are "staff' here, and expected to act as so.

To the op, I PERSONALLY don't find anything 'odd' about your daughter’s reaction. This is a much different age, and with the foiled terror plots that have happened recently, and all other scenarios that run through any SANE mind, (even if deep down we know they may be off) it was a natural reaction. She didn't know where she was being taken, etc.

I hope the reaction from some around here didn't taint you to the boards. I have often seen people complain about different aspects of the parks, and get sympathy instead of unwarranted assumptions. There are a ton of good and helpful people here.

EDIT: I see the op is not in fact 'new' just only had fifty or so posts, so I just thought you were fairly new.. *smiles* sorry.

Thank you for your kind words, I'm so upset by all I've read that my hands are shaking! We've been to Disney lots and have never experienced this. For that matter, I've posted on the boards just a tiny bit, and never experienced comments like this either. Oh well, guess anything asked is wide open for speculation from random stangers.

On the positive side I do know that there are lots of great people on this board, it just freaked me out that even the moderator would chose to make comments on my daughter's state of mental health. Sigh...