Magical Express - no seats?

[maxiesmom]

First of all, everyone is so quick to send off emails and complain. Before sitting on the floor, did the OP notify the bus driver of the situation? Maybe he just wasn't aware. And I'm pretty sure, if he knew, he wouldn't have allowed it or his license would be on the line! I would never just sit on a bus floor, without asking what is happening here and give the CM's working the front end the opportunity to grab me a taxi on their dime. What gives OP, did you just give up and sit?

It would be pretty impossible for the driver not to notice. If they were truly keen on doing their job the bus wouldn't have been overfilled to begin with. The driver messed up someplace.

 

[Jillpie]

It would be pretty impossible for the driver not to notice. If they were truly keen on doing their job the bus wouldn't have been overfilled to begin with. The driver messed up someplace.

Disagree. The OP had some personal responsibility, to notify the bus driver there are no more seats. He is plenty busy when boarding everyone and their luggage. If she is sitting at the very back of the bus, there is a very good chance, he missed seeing her on the floor. She needed to speak up, easy.

 

[Pkltm]

Are you for real?? DME is a free service, there is no compensation here! This is what gives the Dis a bad name sometimes. I'll give you an inside scoop. My son used to work for Disney Guest Comm. office. You know where this request would go? Straight to the trash. Trust me, I've heard it all from him. He has heard many, many requests and problems. And these types? Seriously, he'd tell me exactly where it would go. The OP needed to speak up, period. She needed to let the bus driver know! Taxis are sitting right there, they would have let her take one, simple as that. This is ridiculous.

It is really not free, you pay for it, they advertise as a perk of staying on site. Even though it is contracted to Mears Disney is still responsible, it is their service.

I would not of sat on the floor, and I certainly would never ask for compensation for the incident. Just a safe clean ride to the airport. I find too many people expect too much.

 

[maxiesmom]

Disagree. The OP had some personal responsibility, to notify the bus driver there are no more seats. He is plenty busy when boarding everyone and their luggage. If she is sitting at the very back of the bus, there is a very good chance, he missed seeing her on the floor. She needed to speak up, easy.

Disagree. If the driver was doing their job there would have been seating for everyone. They slacked or messed up.

 

[Jillpie]

Disagree. If the driver was doing their job there would have been seating for everyone. They slacked or messed up.

I agree, there was something missing that the driver had his numbers off. But as an adult, the OP certainly should have spoken up to him. I don't understand why she didn't? I get not wanting to miss your flight, but taxis are readily available 24/7 outside each resort.

 

[sam_gordon]

First of all, everyone is so quick to send off emails and complain. Before sitting on the floor, did the OP notify the bus driver of the situation? Maybe he just wasn't aware. And I'm pretty sure, if he knew, he wouldn't have allowed it or his license would be on the line! I would never just sit on a bus floor, without asking what is happening here and give the CM's working the front end the opportunity to grab me a taxi on their dime. What gives OP, did you just give up and sit?

Well, the second response (which has six 'likes', so people agree with it) says " if this happens to anyone else, take some quick pictures showing no empty seats, immediately get off the bus, get your luggage, and go to the front desk of your resort and insist they provide safe transportation to MCO." That would be the correct thing to do.

The point of emailing is because that's all that could be done by the time we were notified. I do think management should be notified so the bus driver can be trained correctly. Maybe he miscounted somewhere, but I do think it needs to be pointed out.

Asking for compensation is too much, but notifying management of a problem that can be corrected in the future is the right thing to do.

 

[sam_gordon]

OT: The aforementioned $100. represents park admission for 2 days of a typical future vacation for a family of 4, which could be satisfied by a gift of a retail (upgradable) day ticket but not comp (non-upgradable) tickets except in large numbers

No, it doesn't. To step from a 5 day to a 7 day pass (for example) would cost $40pp. Multiply that by four people and it totals $160. And why does it matter whether the ticket is upgradable or not? It's two additional days.

 

[CarrieR]

First of all, everyone is so quick to send off emails and complain. Before sitting on the floor, did the OP notify the bus driver of the situation? Maybe he just wasn't aware. And I'm pretty sure, if he knew, he wouldn't have allowed it or his license would be on the line! I would never just sit on a bus floor, without asking what is happening here and give the CM's working the front end the opportunity to grab me a taxi on their dime. What gives OP, did you just give up and sit?

I thought I'd included this in my replies, but I guess not.

Driver pulled up, informed us that he had a "pretty full bus," and that if we couldn't find a seat, to just sit in the aisle and he'd get us there safely.

I honestly thought he was joking.

He wasn't.

So by the time those ahead of me boarded, there were no seats left. Which I didn't discover until getting to the back of the bus (with my travel companion and another solo traveler.) At that point - it was kind of a what can you do? The driver was aware, he's the one that told us to sit in the aisles. And it's been drilled into my head that if you miss your DME, they won't put you on the next one. So we sat. And by the time we had a moment to process, "No, this seriously isn't right," the bus was in motion and on its way.

In hindsight, it's obvious that there were better options. But in that moment, given that we were *instructed* to sit in the aisles, and given that this was our ride to the airport, it did not feel like we had other options. (I'm sure we've all made a snap judgement that we later realized wasn't the best, right?)

(And for the record, I neither requested nor received any sort of compensation. My emails to both Disney and Mears both 1) expressed my concern and 2) requested 'next steps' if this were to happen again.)

 

[Lothlórien]

Are you for real?? DME is a free service, there is no compensation here!

Complimentary means free. I assure you, NOTHING is free in Disney. The guest is indeed paying for it, regardless if they use it or not. It is bundled into the cost of rooms, tickets, food, etc. NOTHING is free. Disney is paying Mears, therefore somebody is paying Disney!

But, I am not saying Disney should compensate the guest. They just need to be aware because we live in a sue-happy nation. If there was an accident involved here, this would not turn out well for Disney Corporation.

 

[Lothlórien]

Nobody is required to wear a seat belt, but it should be available to them for sure.

Kind of off-topic, but this made me remember.....We don't use ME that often, but last time we did, the driver checked the passengers twice and refused to drive unless they were wearing seatbelts.
He also would not allow people to carry a bag on to hold in their lap any larger than a small backpack (child-sized).

 

[Lothlórien]

IDK. We used to ride busses that had extra seats. Now we ride busses that are overfull. If those are Mears operating procedures, then perhaps Disney should look at their contract and see what's changed.

It is probably another cost-cutting measure. Less buses and drivers equals less money Disney has to pay out to Mears. When I am in the airport, the lines for the Values are always insane. The buses do not seem to come fast enough for them.

 

[scrapquitler]

It is probably another cost-cutting measure. Less buses and drivers equals less money Disney has to pay out to Mears. When I am in the airport, the lines for the Values are always insane. The buses do not seem to come fast enough for them.

That's probably due to the sheer size of the values compared to the Deluxes. Poly has 800 something rooms. The contemporary has about 750 rooms. All Star Sports has 1900, Music has 1600. Movies has 1900. Lots more people.

 

[Lothlórien]

That's probably due to the sheer size of the values compared to the Deluxes. Poly has 800 something rooms. The contemporary has about 750 rooms. All Star Sports has 1900, Music has 1600. Movies has 1900. Lots more people.

Yes of course that is the reason. But the point is, they should be sending more buses.

 

[goofy4tink]

I thought I'd included this in my replies, but I guess not.

Driver pulled up, informed us that he had a "pretty full bus," and that if we couldn't find a seat, to just sit in the aisle and he'd get us there safely.

I honestly thought he was joking.

He wasn't.

So by the time those ahead of me boarded, there were no seats left. Which I didn't discover until getting to the back of the bus (with my travel companion and another solo traveler.) At that point - it was kind of a what can you do? The driver was aware, he's the one that told us to sit in the aisles. And it's been drilled into my head that if you miss your DME, they won't put you on the next one. So we sat. And by the time we had a moment to process, "No, this seriously isn't right," the bus was in motion and on its way.

In hindsight, it's obvious that there were better options. But in that moment, given that we were *instructed* to sit in the aisles, and given that this was our ride to the airport, it did not feel like we had other options. (I'm sure we've all made a snap judgement that we later realized wasn't the best, right?)

(And for the record, I neither requested nor received any sort of compensation. My emails to both Disney and Mears both 1) expressed my concern and 2) requested 'next steps' if this were to happen again.)

Sadly, I can see this happening...it is very understandable. We all would like to think that we would have reacted differently, but I would imagine we wouldn't. By the time they boarded the bus and realized there were no more seats, the bus was on its' way! The driver was wrong...period. Sure, it would be nice if we could all quickly process what is going on, but heading back to MCO, at the end of your vacation, is a crazy time. I can easily see how it could happen.

Kind of off-topic, but this made me remember.....We don't use ME that often, but last time we did, the driver checked the passengers twice and refused to drive unless they were wearing seatbelts.
He also would not allow people to carry a bag on to hold in their lap any larger than a small backpack (child-sized).

I've been using DME since it started. Sometimes I use it 4 times a year, but at least twice. I have always been able to have my large tote bag (much larger than a child's backpack) on my lap. The only time I have handed my carry on bag to the driver was when it was a wheeled bag. And seat belts? Nope, never used one. Your driver was really picky!!!


And the All Star resorts DME buses? I've used them several times in the past few years.....they actually had better times than the deluxe resorts. Buses came more frequently. And the times I stood in other resort lines, and watched the value resort buses coming in? I used to get a bit peeved that they had so many buses, while we stood and watched, waiting for up to 20 mins for one bus to come for us, while in that time All Stars buses came several times!

 

[HarperLeigh]

Are you for real?? DME is a free service, there is no compensation here! This is what gives the Dis a bad name sometimes. I'll give you an inside scoop. My son used to work for Disney Guest Comm. office. You know where this request would go? Straight to the trash. Trust me, I've heard it all from him. He has heard many, many requests and problems. And these types? Seriously, he'd tell me exactly where it would go. The OP needed to speak up, period. She needed to let the bus driver know! Taxis are sitting right there, they would have let her take one, simple as that. This is ridiculous.

DME is not free. The driver is supposed to keep count (hence the clicker in his hand) for the number of people getting on the bus. The driver screwed up.

 

[Jimsig]

It is probably another cost-cutting measure. Less buses and drivers equals less money Disney has to pay out to Mears.

And if it's a fixed cost contract then for each bus that get's cancelled Mears makes more of a profit

 

[manning]

I have Disney main phone number on my iphone. I would be on the phone with two choices. Pay for a taxi or plane fare.

You hand a ticket to the driver with the bus time. With CM asisitance I would demand the driver go thru the tickets and get the unauthorized person off the bus. Everone has to have ID to board the plane. Have them show ID. I

Especially since sitting on the floor of a bus is a choice an individual makes.

For safety reasons I doubt the driver would move the bus.

 

[manning]

Complimentary means free. I assure you, NOTHING is free in Disney. The guest is indeed paying for it, regardless if they use it or not. It is bundled into the cost of rooms, tickets, food, etc. NOTHING is free. Disney is paying Mears, therefore somebody is paying Disney!

But, I am not saying Disney should compensate the guest. They just need to be aware because we live in a sue-happy nation. If there was an accident involved here, this would not turn out well for Disney Corporation.

EXACTLY!! Perks are factor into the price of everything you pay for.

FREE. Amazing how people fall for it.

 

[manning]

Complimentary means free. I assure you, NOTHING is free in Disney. The guest is indeed paying for it, regardless if they use it or not. It is bundled into the cost of rooms, tickets, food, etc. NOTHING is free. Disney is paying Mears, therefore somebody is paying Disney!

But, I am not saying Disney should compensate the guest. They just need to be aware because we live in a sue-happy nation. If there was an accident involved here, this would not turn out well for Disney Corporation.

To quote the line from "My Fair Lady" " I believe you've got it!"

 

[elaine amj]

My husband often meets us in DW due to work obligations and ends up on very late or very early flights. Due to this all 5 times he has signed up to take ME as a single person they have called a cab or service for him. He's never had the pleasure of the Magical Express....

My father was scheduled for a very late DME (I think it worked out to be a bit over 2 hours before his flight). He had an international flight with some complications and just wasn't happy with the time. We went to concierge and they set him up with DME an hour earlier (around 10ish in the morning). Turned out he was the only one on the bus the whole way to MCO. That was a big bus!