New bus procedure at resorts???

[Tonka's Skipper]

The OP has been on these boards for years. Yes, they have a low post count, but they are not new. They are not a troll.

We all need to be more careful at throwing that word around.

It is my opinion.....I beleive there is free opinions still in this country......Just my opinion!

AKK

 

[BridgetBordeaux]

Will be at POP soon, will look high and low for any new equipment and report our experiences after we return on June 18th.

 

[Lewisc]

I don't think 20 minutes is a rule. I've waited more then 20 minutes for a bus to DTD and more then 20 minutes for a bus to another park. I agree the wait is less then 20 minutes between resort and parks during peak periods.

The 1 1/2 wait mentioned by the OP doesn't sound right. The entire family took a bathroom break and missed the bus.

I wouldn't be surprised, given the price of fuel, if Disney continues to cut back on off peak bus service.

This doesn't read like a troll thread to me.

 

[clanmcculloch]

Everything you guys are saying is exactly why I didn't believe it. I just don't see how it would work. DH's co-worker must have gotten his signals crossed somewhere. Jestocost, It makes me happy to hear that you were there last week too and didn't witness this change. I don't know why he would say a bus driver told him that they were making a change though. I am going to have DH try to get more info. I know they were staying at the cabins at Fort Wilderness...maybe they were just testing it out there? Who knows. I am going to get to the bottom of this!

I wonder if maybe this is something they're trying out for the FW internal bus? Rather than continuing the loop with nobody at the stops they're watching to see if anybody is actually at any of the stops before sending the bus out? The internal bus doesn't leave FW property so no back and forth to parks. It's the only explaination I can think of.

 

[Sandi]

I wonder if maybe this is something they're trying out for the FW internal bus? Rather than continuing the loop with nobody at the stops they're watching to see if anybody is actually at any of the stops before sending the bus out? The internal bus doesn't leave FW property so no back and forth to parks. It's the only explaination I can think of.

We were at FW in April and saw no evidence of this. I know they have cameras all over the place, but I don't think they're monitoring how many people are waiting for a particular park's bus. In fact, at FW (and several other resorts) it would be impossible to tell which park a guest wanted to go to by just looking. On the internal bus for FW, I really don't remember seeing cameras. I saw lots of busses going around with few passengers, but felt that the internal and external bus systems at FW were operated very efficiently. The longest I ever waited for a bus was from the main stop for an internal bus after midnight -- waited 24 minutes. NBD.

 

[clanmcculloch]

We were at FW in April and saw no evidence of this. I know they have cameras all over the place, but I don't think they're monitoring how many people are waiting for a particular park's bus. In fact, at FW (and several other resorts) it would be impossible to tell which park a guest wanted to go to by just looking. On the internal bus for FW, I really don't remember seeing cameras. I saw lots of busses going around with few passengers, but felt that the internal and external bus systems at FW were operated very efficiently. The longest I ever waited for a bus was from the main stop for an internal bus after midnight -- waited 24 minutes. NBD.

Please correct me if I'm wrong (since I genuinely could be) but I thought that the internal bus at FW was for everybody regardless of which park you're going to. Don't you hop on the internal bus to get to the front of the resort where you catch the park specific bus? Doesn't everybody at the internal stop get on the same bus?

I'm not saying this is what was definitely going on, but it's all I could think of to possibly explain what the OP was told. OP's DH was told by his coworked that this was brand new so it wouldn't have been in effect in April when you were there. Again, this may not be what was going on but I can't think of any other explaination other than the person being completely confused which of course is also a distinct possibility.

 

[joelkfla]

I wonder if maybe this is something they're trying out for the FW internal bus? Rather than continuing the loop with nobody at the stops they're watching to see if anybody is actually at any of the stops before sending the bus out? The internal bus doesn't leave FW property so no back and forth to parks. It's the only explaination I can think of.

At FW, there are 3 routes, and each route has 2 buses that shuttle back & forth on a schedule. They are supposed to be about 15 minutes apart, but there is very little slack time in the schedule. So if there are some wheelchairs to handle, or a driver needs a bathroom break, or it just gets very busy, one of the 2 buses can easily fall behind schedule. If it gets too far behind, it may even skip a run, as that is the only way to catch up. But normally, the buses keep going 'round and 'round, whether there are guests or not.

That's different from the parks, where each bus coming in that's based at that park is just sent out on the next scheduled run, to whatever resort that happens to be. But there can still be gaps, like when a bus on a long run is delayed near the start of it's run, or buses at multi-stop resorts are consistently filling up, or just out of randomness there's a dry spell with no buses coming in for several minutes. (I've heard dispatchers on the radio, "Anybody ready for a dispatch? PLEASE ... anybody need a dispatch?! )

 

[camac517]

I have a friend who is there right now. I left her a message on Facebook to see if she has heard anything about it from any CMs or bus drivers. I hope she says no!

 

[WINTER]

probably a non-disney resort

 

[goofy4tink]

I don't think 20 minutes is a rule. I've waited more then 20 minutes for a bus to DTD and more then 20 minutes for a bus to another park. I agree the wait is less then 20 minutes between resort and parks during peak periods.

The 1 1/2 wait mentioned by the OP doesn't sound right. The entire family took a bathroom break and missed the bus.

I wouldn't be surprised, given the price of fuel, if Disney continues to cut back on off peak bus service.

This doesn't read like a troll thread to me.

Have to agree with pretty much everything you've said.

 

[Sandi]

Please correct me if I'm wrong (since I genuinely could be) but I thought that the internal bus at FW was for everybody regardless of which park you're going to. Don't you hop on the internal bus to get to the front of the resort where you catch the park specific bus? Doesn't everybody at the internal stop get on the same bus?

I'm not saying this is what was definitely going on, but it's all I could think of to possibly explain what the OP was told. OP's DH was told by his coworked that this was brand new so it wouldn't have been in effect in April when you were there. Again, this may not be what was going on but I can't think of any other explaination other than the person being completely confused which of course is also a distinct possibility.

I wasn't saying you were wrong, I was just saying that I didn't notice anything different going on at FW than I've seen at all the other resorts we've stayed at (Pop, ASM, all the moderates, BW, WL, Poly). There are three internal bus routes at FW (orange, purple, and yellow) that cover different geographic areas of the resort -- it's huge. Yes, you do get an internal bus to the front of the resort to then catch a bus to a specific park.

And your point about the April versus "just back" is well taken. I was thinking of the poster who mentioned December and mixed up the times.

In the end, I think the OP's DH's co-worker was confused and that there hasn't been a change in procedure like this.

 

[camac517]

I just heard back from my friend who is a WDW right now. This was her response:

Nope...looks like the buses are going in a continuous loop...the longest we had to wait was 20 mins or so and that was downtown Disney..earlier in the week we were the only people picked up at some of the stops..

I don't know what DH's co-worker was talking about but I am leaning toward the idea that it was the internal FW bus. The friend above is at AKL. I am going to assume that this is not a new procedure and put this to rest. Thanks everyone!

 

[SueM in MN]

I have a friend who is there right now. I left her a message on Facebook to see if she has heard anything about it from any CMs or bus drivers. I hope she says no!

just to let you know, joelkfla, is a bus driver.
He has posted several explanations on this thread about how thing work and says there have been no changes.

 

[joelkfla]

just to let you know, joelkfla, is a bus driver.
He has posted several explanations on this thread about how thing work and says there have been no changes.

Thank you for your support ....

But I don't think I said there have been no changes.

I did say the 20 minute service standard hasn't changed, that buses in Ft. Wilderness continue to go around in circles whether there are passengers or not, and that 1 guest waiting at a park in the a.m. is enough to send a bus.

But things are always changing:

More buses are being added to the fleet. I think there were about 10 put into service this week, and there will be more soon. (Some of the oldest are also being retired, but the net change will be positive.)

Disney is making progress on dispatching thru the on-board computers instead of by radio calls. The latest iteration has been running well for a couple of months now.

Service reliability from DHS should see a significant boost in the coming weeks.

And bus tracking has progressed to where the dispatchers have much better info about where a bus is located, and when the next bus will arrive at a stop.

I don't know where this will all lead ... hopefully, to better, more reliable, more guest-centric service.

 

[goofy4tink]

Thank you for your support ....

But I don't think I said there have been no changes.

I did say the 20 minute service standard hasn't changed, that buses in Ft. Wilderness continue to go around in circles whether there are passengers or not, and that 1 guest waiting at a park in the a.m. is enough to send a bus.

But things are always changing:

More buses are being added to the fleet. I think there were about 10 put into service this week, and there will be more soon. (Some of the oldest are also being retired, but the net change will be positive.)

Disney is making progress on dispatching thru the on-board computers instead of by radio calls. The latest iteration has been running well for a couple of months now.

Service reliability from DHS should see a significant boost in the coming weeks.

And bus tracking has progressed to where the dispatchers have much better info about where a bus is located, and when the next bus will arrive at a stop.

I don't know where this will all lead ... hopefully, to better, more reliable, more guest-centric service.

I'm a huge proponant of being more 'guest-centric'!!!! Thanks.

 

[Sandi]

Thank you for your support ....

But I don't think I said there have been no changes.

I did say the 20 minute service standard hasn't changed, that buses in Ft. Wilderness continue to go around in circles whether there are passengers or not, and that 1 guest waiting at a park in the a.m. is enough to send a bus.

But things are always changing:

More buses are being added to the fleet. I think there were about 10 put into service this week, and there will be more soon. (Some of the oldest are also being retired, but the net change will be positive.)

Disney is making progress on dispatching thru the on-board computers instead of by radio calls. The latest iteration has been running well for a couple of months now.

Service reliability from DHS should see a significant boost in the coming weeks.

And bus tracking has progressed to where the dispatchers have much better info about where a bus is located, and when the next bus will arrive at a stop.

I don't know where this will all lead ... hopefully, to better, more reliable, more guest-centric service.

I'm amazed at how well WDW manages the bus system -- even when there are occasional glitches. Thanks for your report. We'll be back in a couple of months and love to leave the driving to WDW!

 

[BridgetBordeaux]

Just got back. Promised I share an update. Have not read the last few days of posts. Returned earlier than planned due to a family issue.......

We stayed at POP and used buses to all the land parks. I saw no extra cameras near the bus stops. The buses seemed to be running in their traditional way. We had to wait from 2 to 20 minutes for a bus. We were pleased overall with our bus experience. (note- we did rope drop each day but did not stay after dark)

 

[pugdog]

Just got back. Promised I share an update. Have not read the last few days of posts. Returned earlier than planned due to a family issue.......

We stayed at POP and used buses to all the land parks. I saw no extra cameras near the bus stops. The buses seemed to be running in their traditional way. We had to wait from 2 to 20 minutes for a bus. We were pleased overall with our bus experience. (note- we did rope drop each day but did not stay after dark)

There are extra camaras at POP. Look at the top of the light poles across from the stops. They have one looking at each of the stops. But these are used to send extra buses if needed. Or to reroute an incoming bus to a different park if the need is more for a certain park. They are not used to wait and send a bus when the lines are completly full.

 

[disneychic2]

Thank you for your support ....

But I don't think I said there have been no changes.

I did say the 20 minute service standard hasn't changed, that buses in Ft. Wilderness continue to go around in circles whether there are passengers or not, and that 1 guest waiting at a park in the a.m. is enough to send a bus.

But things are always changing:

More buses are being added to the fleet. I think there were about 10 put into service this week, and there will be more soon. (Some of the oldest are also being retired, but the net change will be positive.)

Disney is making progress on dispatching thru the on-board computers instead of by radio calls. The latest iteration has been running well for a couple of months now.

Service reliability from DHS should see a significant boost in the coming weeks.

And bus tracking has progressed to where the dispatchers have much better info about where a bus is located, and when the next bus will arrive at a stop.

I don't know where this will all lead ... hopefully, to better, more reliable, more guest-centric service.

Just wanted to say DH and I love riding the buses and think you all do a great job over all! There will always be glitches in any system, but our experiences over the years have been quite good. DH usually loves to drive anywhere we go, but says that riding the Disney buses is part of his vacation. Keep up the good work!

 

[dzneelvr]

Guests have options for action rather than a wait of 1 1/2 hoursWe once had to let the front desk know that a bus from ASMo to AK hadn't stopped in 15 minutes--they got on the "horn" and a few minutes later one showed up. Any effective customer service program allows the customers a way to improve the service and Disney certainly does it very well. Let's hope this doesn't become one of those urban legends with a long shelf life; we find the bus system to be very efficient.