Magical Express Not-so-Magical at the GF, December 11th

[Karlzmom]

Alluding to possible, un-Disneylike, behavior that could happen at the DME platform when buses are overloaded, and one thread here on The DIS some months ago documents some behavior that came close.

Although adding levity was the main intent.

FWIW, I got the humour of it.... It was a momentary visual that fit nicely into some of the recent threads on less than Disney-esque behavior...

 

[kcbedo]

to flee their country and become illegal aliens in ours?

I'm not sure what you have against foreigners, but after 1975, 900,000 Vietnamese refugees immigrated LEGALLY to the United States.

Just because someone doesn't look like you, doesn't make them illegal.

 

[seashoreCM]

Just because someone doesn't look like you, doesn't make them illegal.

If they don't follow the instructions to immigrate and also get the required approval then they would be illegal no matter what they looked like.

Too many DME problems happen because someone did not follow the instructions.

 

[ExPirateShopGirl]

If you were after levity surely you could have a chosen a cheerier analogy.. like detainees at Manzanar breaking through a perimeter fence or passengers on the Titanic rushing the lifeboats.

Alluding to possible, un-Disneylike, behavior that could happen at the DME platform when buses are overloaded, and one thread here on The DIS some months ago documents some behavior that came close.

Although adding levity was the main intent.

 

[ExPirateShopGirl]

See also: Indochina Migration and Refugee Assistance Act of 1975.

Vietnamese refugees were always here legally, whether they were naturalized or not. They also have the highest naturalization rate of all immigrants. But let's not let the facts get in the way of a moment of, what was that, levity?

If they don't follow the instructions to immigrate and also get the required approval then they would be illegal no matter what they looked like.

Too many DME problems happen because someone did not follow the instructions.

 

[goofy4tink]

Okay, okay guys...back to the subject at hand. Enough 'levity'.

 

[mountain man]

The Moral to the Story. This applies to the family that bumped the other family. Remember this is a vacation not a competition to see how much you can cram in. Whatever you missed this time gives you a reason to come back.

 

[Carole]

OP - You are really lucky you didn't ride with the sick person! Our October 2008 trip was full of puking people - twice on bus rides from the park and then on Magical Express. The poor person behind us was puked on (he was very calm). The smell made another young girl also throw up. It smelled so bad - we put our sleeves over our noses and mouths to try to cut down on the odor. I was never so happy to get off a bus. I felt so bad for the second girl.

 

[SueM in MN]

I just want to mention that there can be legitimate reasons for someone to not be on their original DME bus.
Our youngest DD uses a wheelchair and can't board the DME bus without having a lift bus. In the early days of DME , our appointed bus came but had no lift. This was even though a lift bus was specified on all our paperwork, we had verified the need when we checked in at the airport and reverified curing our stay. When our bus showed up without a lift, the driver verified it was the bus we were scheduled for, but without the lift that was on the paperwork. The driver called and a different bus was diverted to pick us up.
On another trip, our assigned bus did have a lift, but it became disabled on the stop before ours. So, another bus was diverted to pick us up again.
Because of that, our bus is now scheduled extra early.

On our last trip, we were at the bus area about 30-40 minutes before our bus departure time and we saw 3 buses arrive before ours
(we checked with each driver to make sure it wasnt ours).
We saw one group who missed their bus because they said they thought the departure time was the time they were supposed to get on the bus. That driver did let them on after checking his list and seeing he had extra room. Our actual bus was very full - like almost all seats taken. As he was loading DD, he told us that the reason his bus was so full was that people for the next bus had loaded their luggage on his bus while he was busy with the paperwork of another guest. By the time he checked their paperwork and found they belonged on the next bus, their luggage was buried behind other people who did belong on his bus. There was no way he could remove their luggage without doing a lot of unloading and reloading. He actually had another stop that he was supposed to make, but didn't have room for. So the bus scheduled to pick up the people who boarded an earlier bus was diverted to make his next stop.

 

[goofy4tink]

I just want to mention that there can be legitimate reasons for someone to not be on their original DME bus.
Our youngest DD uses a wheelchair and can't board the DME bus without having a lift bus. In the early days of DME , our appointed bus came but had no lift. This was even though a lift bus was specified on all our paperwork, we had verified the need when we checked in at the airport and reverified curing our stay. When our bus showed up without a lift, the driver verified it was the bus we were scheduled for, but without the lift that was on the paperwork. The driver called and a different bus was diverted to pick us up.
On another trip, our assigned bus did have a lift, but it became disabled on the stop before ours. So, another bus was diverted to pick us up again.
Because of that, our bus is now scheduled extra early.

On our last trip, we were at the bus area about 30-40 minutes before our bus departure time and we saw 3 buses arrive before ours
(we checked with each driver to make sure it wasnt ours).
We saw one group who missed their bus because they said they thought the departure time was the time they were supposed to get on the bus. That driver did let them on after checking his list and seeing he had extra room. Our actual bus was very full - like almost all seats taken. As he was loading DD, he told us that the reason his bus was so full was that people for the next bus had loaded their luggage on his bus while he was busy with the paperwork of another guest. By the time he checked their paperwork and found they belonged on the next bus, their luggage was buried behind other people who did belong on his bus. There was no way he could remove their luggage without doing a lot of unloading and reloading. He actually had another stop that he was supposed to make, but didn't have room for. So the bus scheduled to pick up the people who boarded an earlier bus was diverted to make his next stop.

Yep, there are always going to be exceptions that are perfectly valid. It must be a huge pain to have to travel at the whim of the bus drivers when you have any kind of special needs. I can't begin to imagine some of the stuff you have had to deal with.
I can't imagine anyone just loading up their own luggage..that really blows my mind. Talk about just taking over. I really wish people would inform themselves and become knowlegable about how things work. It sure would make life better for all involved. But the whole mentality of 'well, no one told me, I just assumed....' is going to be the death of us.

 

[seashoreCM]

... the reason his bus was so full was that people for the next bus had loaded their luggage on his bus while he was busy with the paperwork of another guest. ...

Another sleazy tactic, this one used by guests.

In this case it should be those guests' resort, not the bus driver or his operator Mears, that should initially absorb the cost of any taxi fares needed to re-accommodate everyone. This would require a post mortem, which would be facilitated with email testimony from eavesdroppers at the scene.

Maybe the DIS-documented case (thread long buried) where someone ended up standing on the bus all the way back to the airport had to do with this kind of baggage issue. The driver had to either delay the bus and pull the relevant bags, or risk being caught with standees, which is an infraction.

Sometimes, it was said, your DME bus time is 2:45 before plane time i.e. less than 3 hours. This is most likely to be at the last stop on the route. Meanwhile the last stop is the most likely place for irregularities to become visible. Perhaps the 2:45 time should be abolished and 3:15 (the previous bus if exactly 3 hours is not on the schedule) be the standard scheduling for the last stop.

OT: I have seen the baggage-on-one-bus-pax-on-another situation in an earlier lifetime, college days. The only way to resolve this is to have both buses (Greyhound had rolled out a second bus) re-rendezvous at every flag stop that either needed to stop at, if the riders could not be identified.

 

[Mkrop]

Maybe the bus drivers should get off the bus and make an announcement, like no loading lugguage until you are checked in, or if they are a cruise line bus, that for this route they are being utilized for DME, that you are not getting on this bus unless you are on the master sheet, things like that could avoid some confusion.

 

[maxiesmom]

Sometimes, it was said, your DME bus time is 2:45 before plane time i.e. less than 3 hours. This is most likely to be at the last stop on the route. Meanwhile the last stop is the most likely place for irregularities to become visible. Perhaps the 2:45 time should be abolished and 3:15 (the previous bus if exactly 3 hours is not on the schedule) be the standard scheduling for the last stop.

While the 2:45 may most likely be the last stop, that isn't always true. We were the 2:45 stop just a few weeks ago, and we made 2 mores stops. Granted, one was right next door, going from ASMu to ASSp, but it was still 2 more stops before we headed to the airport.

I agree, if they can't control the issue better, maybe they need to just schedule in more time. But I wonder if they worry if they do then more people will opt for a rental car or taxi. How far does Disney think they can push the guests before they decide that time is money and they don't want to waste hours on end driving around on an ME bus?

 

[SueM in MN]

While the 2:45 may most likely be the last stop, that isn't always true. We were the 2:45 stop just a few weeks ago, and we made 2 mores stops. Granted, one was right next door, going from ASMu to ASSp, but it was still 2 more stops before we headed to the airport.

I agree, if they can't control the issue better, maybe they need to just schedule in more time. But I wonder if they worry if they do then more people will opt for a rental car or taxi. How far does Disney think they can push the guests before they decide that time is money and they don't want to waste hours on end driving around on an ME bus?

I've also seen situations where the driver announces "This is the 2:45 bus for those guests scheduled for 2:45 departure" (or whatever time it was supposed to depart that resort). People come up and say that is their bus, but I know of several situations when I know their bus was supposed to be later because we heard them talking. If the bus driver doesn't check their paperwork carefully, those people could easily get on an earlier bus because the driver assumes that everyone checking in heard his time and only those who were scheduled get on.

 

[seashoreCM]

If the bus driver doesn't check their paperwork carefully, those people could easily get on an earlier bus because the driver assumes that everyone checking in heard his time and only those who were scheduled get on.

If the driver fails to check his paperwork and then is faced with an overload at the next stop, I feel quite sure that that driver won't let that happen again. Unless he never sees the consequences because his company or the resort absorbed them.

If your confirmed homebound DME bus time is 2:45 before your flight and the bus makes more stops, what is the bus time of a guest at the next stop? 2:30 before his flight?

I doubt that there would be much defection from DME if the realized and/or advertised travel times were just a little longer.

 

[toocherie]

when traveling with my Mom who uses a mobility device (scooter) on the DME bus, I usually will request when I check in (call to DME) to have my departure time changed to leave the resort 4 hours before the flight. We are "get to the gate early" type people and I would just as soon be relaxing, reading a book and having a snack at the gate then stressing about whether I am going to be on a bus or not, whether there will be a lift, etc. YMMV

 

[SueM in MN]

when traveling with my Mom who uses a mobility device (scooter) on the DME bus, I usually will request when I check in (call to DME) to have my departure time changed to leave the resort 4 hours before the flight. We are "get to the gate early" type people and I would just as soon be relaxing, reading a book and having a snack at the gate then stressing about whether I am going to be on a bus or not, whether there will be a lift, etc. YMMV

Agree
Because of the wheelchair, we check in for DME at the airport rather than just getting in the line to load. They make our return reservation at that time and we verify closer to our departure that they do have a wheelchair bus coming for us. With the extra time, we know we have some 'wiggle room' in case there are any problems.
Like you, we would rather do our waiting at the airport.