Monorail problems, July 5 & 6

[Lisa F]

It's not my mission to personally attack you but I have to say that I agree with the posters you mention. First of all, isn't Stepharoonie's daughter like 5 years old? What the heck would she be doing at the MK alone at ANY time of day, let alone at 2am?

The point is that if your son is not capable of dealing with any possible glitches that might occur then he should not be allowed out without supervision at 2am. Disney is not at fault for not realizing that there might be unsupervised children who cannot find their way home if the primary transportation mode goes out of service at 2am. I just can't fathom allowing my child to be out at that time of night if they are not street savvy enough to know that if they are lost, they should find a castmember or security person (or policeman when out and about outside of WDW) and ask for help. I'm sure there were CM's and security at TTC at that time of night as there always have been when we came through. I'm sure if he said "I'm staying with my parents at the Poly and I'm lost, can you help me get back there?" that he would have been escorted back.

A friend of mine (adult) got stuck at downtown disney after the last bus left and she found a security person and said "I missed the last bus and I have no way of getting back to my resort" and they drove her and her husband over there. If he's not savvy enough to be able to tell who he can and cannot trust and when he should ask for help, there is no way he should be allowed out that late by himself... and if he is, there is no way it's Disney's fault for not recognizing that he might be anything but a responsible adult who can take care of himself.

Originally posted by ducklite
Stepharoonie attacked me by imlying I was lying about bus service from the MK to the TTC. Had it been her daughter I think she'd be equally upset.

Justthat implied I shouldn't have let my son go to e-night unescorted...he would have been fine had WDW provided the transportation they advertise. Would it have been OK if he had been a teenage GIRL left at the TTC in the middle of the night?

Bojangles implied that I sent him off with no way of getting help. Not the case. He has a cell phone. he asked how to get back and was told to take a bus to the TTC, which he did. The bus driver then told him to wlak to the Polynesian. I'm sure Bojangles would have been pleased to walk, alone, in the dark, from the TTC to the PR. NOT.

PoohandWendy put in a snide remark that I could have asked the concierge for help--great when I'm stranded at the MK. Duh.

Some of these people have made it their mission to thinly veil personal attacks against me for quite some time. This is exactly what's going on here.

 

[ducklite]

The point is, the bus driver should NOT have dropped him at the TTC and told him to walk to the Polynesian. End of story.

Anne

 

[disneyjunkie]

QUOTE]Originally posted by ducklite


This shouldn't have happened. Period. Guests paying that kind of cash to stay at one of Disney's three finest hotels should expect that if the monorail is broken, they would be clearly directed to another form of transportation which wouldn't have taken them a ridiculous amont of time to wait for. Even if it mean the night before they called in extra CM's for the next day and OVERSTAFFED for a few hours. That's what Walt would have done.

Anne [/QUOTE]

What difference does it make how much you (general you) pay for a room? We all expect to get clear information ASAP. We all expect quick service and for the CMs to point us in the right direction.

I understand why you're upset, but I don't think the amount of money one pays for a room should dictate the level of service they receive in the parks and from transportation.

 

[ducklite]

Originally posted by disneyjunkie

What difference does it make how much you (general you) pay for a room? We all expect to get clear information ASAP. We all expect quick service and for the CMs to point us in the right direction.

I understand why you're upset, but I don't think the amount of money one pays for a room should dictate the level of service they receive in the parks and from transportation.

You're right--it makes no difference.

Had it been a situation where someone was dropped at Sports and told they had to walk to Music, it would have been a comparable situation, and still unacceptable!

Anne

 

[poohandwendy]

I don't carry the phone numbers of the WDW resorts around with me. I doubt many do. We asked two transportation people how to get back to the Polynesian. Both told us to wait for a monorail or a boat. Neither mentioned a bus. We also asked security. They told us to ask the transportation people we had already asked.

Actually, I do carry the phone number to my resort (there are a thousand situations that could require my needing to contact my resort, like the fact that my room key, if lost could be used fraudulently) But also, every telephone at the parks has numbers listed for information (at least for dining and resort info, if I recall correctly). I think maybe that would be my suggestion to anyone else reading this thread, keep important telephone #'s with you.

LOL, that will be my tip for the day.

 

[skiwee1]

Originally posted by Emmaline Lola
Why is ducklite being so rude to the other posters in her responses?

It seems these posters are interested in your situation, and sympathize with you, but you continue to berate them in your responses.

Just my 2 cents, it bothered me, and I needed to say something.

Happy Sunday Everyone!

Emmaline Lola

It seems to me that there are posters being rude to Ducklite. Not the other way around. I hardly think some of these posters are really interested in her situation. It sounds like the usual pick a fight crap that goes on with certain folks, yours included.

 

[MOMTOMOOTOO]

I do not understand all the bashing. All ducklite posted is what happened to her son. She is not looking for parenting advice as far as I can see? I would imagine the reason that she let her son go alone is that she was sure he would be provided transportation DIRECTLY back to the resort, not some halfway point where he was left to figure out directions on foot at 2am.

Also, even though he had a cell, what good could would it have done if he called and didn't know where he was. I commend him for getting back without panicking the parents.

If this had happened to anyone of us, you could bet it would be posted. And I'm sure Anne was doing it also to provide a heads up to others.

 

[Lisa F]

Originally posted by poohandwendy
LOL, that will be my tip for the day.

zippidy doo dah, tip for today:

always carry your hotel number with you, you never know when the monorail might go down.

Anne, it's just unclear if you are bent because Disney dropped anyone off at the TTC and told them they could walk back to the Poly or if you feel like they should have somehow known that your son needed supervision under the circumstance. There's no way Disney could have our should have known that anyone remotely resembling an adult who is wandering around at 2am can't take care of themselves unless they approach security and let them know that they can't, although it sounds like your son did just fine. I just feel like your anger over that particuar point is misplaced.

 

[poohandwendy]

always carry your hotel number with you, you never know when the monorail might go down.

hey...I listed other reasons too...maybe I just overplan for Murphy's law..

 

[ducklite]

Originally posted by Lisa F
Anne, it's just unclear if you are bent because Disney dropped anyone off at the TTC and told them they could walk back to the Poly or if you feel like they should have somehow known that your son needed supervision under the circumstance.

I'm upset that they dropped him off there and told him to walk. That's unacceptable, even if he had been a 30 year old Navy SEAL.

It's salt in the wound that they would drop off someone who looks like a minor and tell them to walk.

Anne

 

[Bojangles]

Originally posted by ducklite

The bus driver then told him to wlak to the Polynesian. I'm sure Bojangles would have been pleased to walk, alone, in the dark, from the TTC to the PR. NOT.

I would have refused to get off the bus and insisted that the driver bring me to the Polynesian. Or I would have insisted that he call the hotel van.

If you are going to leave a child at MK until 2AM, they need to be able to deal with potential situations like this in an assertive, adult manner.

 

[gymnasticsmom68]

If you know your son does not have the maturity to deal with any situation that may come up, you really have no business leaving him at an amusement park alone until 2 am. JMHO

Next time I would suggest you have somebody go with him, or go with him yourself.

BTW

From Momtomootoo

Also, even though he had a cell, what good could would it have done if he called and didn't know where he was. I commend him for getting back without panicking the parents.

He wa at the TTC, I think we've all figured that out, I'm pretty sure he knew where he was.

 

[jarestel]

I don't see why Ducklite is getting all of this grief. She posted a situation and suddenly she's deluged with all of these "should have done this" or "should have done that" posts. Bottom line is, it's a 2 minute bus ride from the TTC to the front of the Polynesian. Given the circumstances, the bus driver should have dropped her son off at the Polynesian. Ducklite, please send a letter to Disney regarding this situation so lazy bus drivers will do the right thing in the future.

 

[justhat]

I have another suggestion for people stranded at a monorail resort (or the MK) while staying at another monorail resort. The buses that run to MGM from the monorail resorts stop at all the monorail resorts. Having stayed at the GF in May and June, we were on some very crowded MGM buses after Fantasmic ended and often elected to get off at the Contemporary and take the monorail back to the GF. This would work in reverse too, however, to avoid a cab like Ducklite had to do. When she got off the monorail at the Contemporary she could have gone to the bus stop and gotten on an MGM bus, which would have stopped at the Poly next and then the GF. Maybe this is even the bus she saw as she was pulling away in the cab. I'm sure any CM could direct you to the bus stop for this option. It would also work from the MK as you could walk to the Contemporary (no, not so great in the summer heat, but I did it in June after Chef Mickey's so it's still doable) and take the bus from there.

Also, is it possible that your son got on the wrong bus at the MK? I know a CM directed him to that bus when he said he was going to the Poly, but perhaps that was simply because the TTC bus was there and the CM assumed since it was so close to the Poly it would be easier to do that than wait for the Poly bus. There must have been a bus going to the Contemporary and the GF, so logically it would also go to the Poly. Since your son was the only Poly guest on that bus, it seems likely that maybe this is the case and that he was on a TTC only bus. Even when I've been the only family on a bus, if it's going to my resort it still stops there just for us, we don't have to get out and walk.

 

[BCV23]

Sorry to hear about your son's experience. It sounds as if he handled it well.

For what it's worth for anyone that might run into the situation that Anne did the following am, the ferries to the TTC drop off very close to the Polynesian....and that walkway is easier to find in the daylight!

 

[wdwdvcdad]

Originally posted by ducklite
The point is, the bus driver should NOT have dropped him at the TTC and told him to walk to the Polynesian. End of story.

Anne

No, the point is that if a person cannot handle him/herself alone late at night, he/she should not be without supervision. This is in no way directed at your child. I have a great deal of empathy for the situation that he was placed in. But, it was not WDW that put him in that situation, now, was it? The venom expressed at those who are pointing out the obvious is just sad.

 

[jarestel]

Originally posted by wdwdvcdad
No, the point is that if a person cannot handle him/herself alone late at night, he/she should not be without supervision. This is in no way directed at your child. I have a great deal of empathy for the situation that he was placed in. But, it was not WDW that put him in that situation, now, was it? The venom expressed at those who are pointing out the obvious is just sad.

Disagree, wdwdvcdad. Would you feel comfortable having your wife walk through the dark at 2:00 AM? I wouldn't and my wife can handle herself quite well, thank you. If I'd been on the bus, the driver would have driven the extra minute to the Polynesian to drop me off. We're not talking going an hour out of the way, it is literally less than 2 minutes away to the Polynesian. It's one thing if it's noon-time, quite another if it's the middle of the night.
If you had been driving the bus, would you have refused to go 2 minutes out of your way to insure a guest's safety?

 

[Micca]

I think a team of Navy seals trying to get from TTC to Poly at 2:15am would make a pretty good reality show

 

[sweet maxine]

Okay, I'm stepping in here, and if you want to bash me, go ahead.

My sister-in-law is 34 yrs. old, but has the mentality of a teenager, probably the emotional maturity of about a 13 or 14 y/o. She looks about that age physically, too. For most of her life we have tried to help her to learn to be independent as possible. We were told by the sheltered workshop she worked in years ago that fostering independence with her would be the best thing for her. She finished high school, and eventually got a driver's license.

We have taken her before to WDW when she was 22 yrs. old---same maturity level as described earlier. She can read the park map, and does pretty well finding her way around. At the time, we were staying in the fairway villas, so had access to WDW transportation. She went to the parks with my then 13 y/o daughter and her friend, and I put her "in charge". She was able to get them back and forth between the parks and our resort on the buses. I went over the routine with her several times to make sure she understood. The one thing I probably didn't prepare her for was if the buses broke down, but she knew the phone # of our villa.

If she had been in the same situation as the child of the OP, she would have done the exact same thing. She wouldn't have asked any questions, but would have followed the directions of the bus driver, for she would have been told that the he would have been a "trusted" resource for information. She would have also gotten off the bus as she was instructed to do, and wandered around looking for her room. I would have felt safe about letting her visit the parks at night. Isn't WDW supposed to be a pretty safe place? I know she would not have left the parks with anyone. She knows better than that. But she would have looked for the transportation home, just as she had been taught to do.

It is hard to understand this situation until you have some sort of experience with it. It was hard for us to let her drive herself to her sheltered workshop job, but we had to let her try. It is not always easy, but sometimes it is good for the person to have a little independence. When they accomplish each small task, they really grow.

I would never expected the monorail to break down, either. The boy probably knew to call if he needed help, but probably thought he could literally walk from the bus right to the resort without trouble. After all, the bus driver told him to do just that. What is inexcusable is for Disney to bring anyone to the TTC from the parks who is one of their paying resort guests. It makes no sense to me why the bus would stop short of the resort, and drop anyone off at the TTC.

My $.02..............................................

 

[bobcat]

First of all the bus driver did what he was supposed to do. His route was to the TTC not to the Poly. There is no way he could know that an 18yo adult needed help or was unsure of where he needed to go unless the adult asked for help. He is not a mind reader. Also there are many CMs working transportation around the buses late at night even if the transportation kiosk/window wasn't open. If he was in distress someone would have made sure he got where he needed to be. If the adult would have asked to be dropped at the Poly I am sure the bus driver would have done so that late at night. The bus driver wasn't lazy he was doing his job. Even if he does look like a minor the bus driver has a reasonable expectation that if they are out alone at 2am they can take care of themselves.

It's frustrating when transportation doesn't go as planned but that is one reason there are so many options available. If you plan on using Disney transportation make sure you know all your options.

If a bus driver dropped me off at ASSp and told me to walk to ASMu sure I'd be a little steamed but after all it's not like he was dropping me off in Times Square.