Parking lot trams returning???

[bianca]

I can’t begin to express my appreciation for this video!

 

[zumfelde]

I can’t begin to express my appreciation for this video!

So sad but so true

 

[bsmcneil]

I can’t begin to express my appreciation for this video!

lol. And I can't begin to express how firmly it moved me into the "wow are some people really full of vitriol and need therapy" camp. Wow, wow, wow. What a clear "YMMV" moment ...

 

[EastYorkDisneyFan]

I had posted about this on the WDWinfo site too.

While the trams (at least at WDW) operate all on private property, I am only guessing here, they probably do not need any license at all. Even when I have seen them moving trams from park to park, it is always going to be on "Disney Roads". They are never leaving the property.

My wife is a school bus driver. I know that to operate a bus, you need a CDL, and you need a "P" (passenger) endorsement. To operate a school bus, you also need an "S" (school) endorsement. To operate an articulated bus (basically anything with a joint that combines separate vehicles/trailers), you need a Class B CDL.

While it is true that these are all on private property, from a liability point of view, I am thinking that if there was an accident (imagine someone getting hit by the tram), that Disney would probably prefer to show their drivers had the "Proper Training"...

I could see the lawsuits now. Not that they wouldn't happen anyway, but imagine the headline "Unlicensed Disney Tram Operator to Blame in Crash that Injured..."

I'm not suere what the rules are for the sate of florida but her in Toronto at our Zoo we have simalr vechels taht thy use to tour around the zoo and the drivres only need to have a regular drivers license to drive them around the zoo, typically they are usually college/university age students doing the job for the summer when they run them.

 

[Tigger's ally]

This next trip will be my 38th and the only place I have ever ridden one if these "tram" things was on the backlot tour in Studios. Glad we don't ride the PL trams. No need.

 

[AnnaKristoff2013]

Disney’s parking website still advises those with mobility issues to park in the regular lots and take the tram:

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/guest-services/parking/

Parking for Guests with Disabilities
Designated parking areas are available throughout Walt Disney World Resort for Guests with disabilities. A valid disability parking permit is required and standard parking rates apply.
Theme Park Parking
Guests with the ability to walk short distances and step onto courtesy trams should park in the main parking lots of Magic Kingdom park, Epcot, Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Disney's Animal Kingdom theme park. If necessary, Guests may ask for a space at the end of a row closest to the courtesy tram pick-up/drop-off location. Courtesy trams will then transport Guests to each theme park’s Main Entrance.

I hope they get hit with an ADA lawsuit.

 

[seashoreCM]

Are the trams actually not roadworthy as of now? Perhaps grandfathered up until the park closure early last year due to the pandemic but some major mechanical or structural upgrade is needed before they can be put back into service?

Several years prior, the trams were open sided and had side doors retrofitted for safety reasons. (Not sure whether the retrofitted trams were replaced with a new fleet (also with side doors) in the meantime before the pandemic.)

All along, a significant portion of handicapped guests could not use the trams, since non-folding wheelchairs, etc. were not allowed aboard. Also, the "handicapped parking" was not serviced by trams.

Some improvement in handicapped parking could be this:

before
A=preferred parking, H=handicapped, G=general parking, T=center lane

park entrance
HHHH T HHHH
AAAA T AAAA
GGGG T GGGG
GGGG T GGGG

after

park entrance
AAHH T HHAA
AAHH T HHAA
GGGG T GGGG
GGGG T GGGG