Pop reducing bus service to 1/hour

[brockash]

Not in my experience, although that was 4 years ago. When boats or monorails went down unexpectedly, buses & drivers had to be drawn in from other routes, which sometimes took a half hour to get going, and affected service level on the other routes. Management kept driver schedules at the bare minimum that could get by, and local managers were dinged for having drivers hanging around but not driving.

This has been our experience as well, multiple times during monorail resort stays. Every time it went down it's been a huge mess, next to no communication and buses for the parks took a long time. On more than 1 occasion we had to get on a bus at CR, to TTC, to transfer to an Epcot bus...totally unacceptable for the price we pay for being on the monorail. I completely expect it to be just as long/disorganized when it happens with the skyliner.

 

[gatour]

As a point of reference, my wife and MIL was on the resort monorail last night. They were in a traffic hold for 10 minutes. Except for one extremely extended downtime most of the downtimes have been a minute or two (personal experience) or perhaps 10-15 minutes. There have been extended monorail outages over the years, where they have even had to rescue people from a train or two.

It didn't take rocket science to know that Disney intent with the skyliner system was to reduce the reliance on buses. Besides the cost savings, this means there are less vehicles on the road which will reduce congestion.

I find it amusing about people talking about getting to rope drops etc. in regards to utilizing the Skyliner. While on other threads people recommend allocating 1+ hours to get from a bus stop to rope drop. So people recommend getting a Uber/Lyft (cost) to guarantee the arrival time.

Let's see, I can walk up to a skyliner station and within a few minutes I am in a skyliner cab (personal experience) and get to the front of DHS within 20 minutes with no cost.

I understand about people having claustrophobic and afraid of height issues, they will just have to deal with doing some preplaning in regards using the bus system during non-park opening hours and perhaps closing hours.

In my life, there have been times when I have had to adjust to the "system". Not everyone can be accommodated for every issue/desire they may have.

 

[Disneylover99]

Let's see, I can walk up to a skyliner station and within a few minutes I am in a skyliner cab (personal experience) and get to the front of DHS within 20 minutes with no cost.

Except, as of right now, taking the skyliner to HS is not going to get you rope drop on time since the Skyliner opens at 7 or 7:30am and HS opens at 7am.

 

[serenitynow]

Sounds like a real mess waiting to happen. They're going to be funneling all the traffic for two parks from two resorts to one Skyliner station and everyone from both resorts will be jamming their bus stops for the ONE bus that will be coming along per hour. And if you can't fit on that bus, you'll have to wait an entire hour for the next one. Ugh.

Now think about how hard it’s going to be for guests using a wheelchair or ECV since there are only two reserved tie down spots for disabled guests on each bus!

 

[mdsouth]

Now think about how hard it’s going to be for guests using a wheelchair or ECV since there are only two reserved tie down spots for disabled guests on each bus!

This is a very valid point. The guests who use a wheelchair or ECV may have to wait for more than one bus to come and go or get their own transportation. And many times I have stayed at a Disney resort and have been in line to get on a bus and the bus fills to capacity before I can get on. So that would mean instead of having to wait for twenty or so minutes for the next bus to arrive it will be at least an hour later and then there will be more guests who have arrived that will not be able to get on a bus.

One of the main advantages to staying on property that Disney promotes is their free transportation to and from parks. But now many off site hotels will have that advantage over Disney because they too have free shuttles and their shuttles pick up and go to the parks every 20 to thirty minutes.

I for one and now rethinking my upcoming stay at POP. I need to go back and look at the options of off site hotels or Good Neighbor hotels again that have the free shuttles and also have the same 60 days Fastpass and early entry advantages that Pop does.

 

[NWOhiogal]

Let's see, I can walk up to a skyliner station and within a few minutes I am in a skyliner cab (personal experience) and get to the front of DHS within 20 minutes with no cost.

Optimally, yes. But lots of people have had experiences that go something like: Walk to a skyliner station, wait in a long line, have the Skyliner go down, wait half an hour while someone tries to figure out what's going on, wait another half hour for a backup bus to get there...OR...walk to a skyliner station, get on a skyliner, have the line get stuck and hang in midair for an hour with no way to get down.

There are a lot of variables here, and the Skyliner is unreliable. Disney is banking that it's going to work so well they can reduce the bus line by 2/3 and it won't impact guests' ability to get to and from the parks. IMO, they're being VERY optimistic.

 

[mom2rtk]

Thank you. This is what I'm hoping/assuming. Call me naive, but I can't believe Disney would leave us with no regular WDW transportation way to make it to DHS early enough for park open/ROTR BGs.

I don't think they will either. Not intentionally. But I am concerned about the "hiccups" that happen along the way. Like when the Skyliner stops and it takes 30 or 45 minutes to get an adequate number of buses to clear the backup.

 

[mom2rtk]

As a point of reference, my wife and MIL was on the resort monorail last night. They were in a traffic hold for 10 minutes. Except for one extremely extended downtime most of the downtimes have been a minute or two (personal experience) or perhaps 10-15 minutes. There have been extended monorail outages over the years, where they have even had to rescue people from a train or two.

It didn't take rocket science to know that Disney intent with the skyliner system was to reduce the reliance on buses. Besides the cost savings, this means there are less vehicles on the road which will reduce congestion.

I find it amusing about people talking about getting to rope drops etc. in regards to utilizing the Skyliner. While on other threads people recommend allocating 1+ hours to get from a bus stop to rope drop. So people recommend getting a Uber/Lyft (cost) to guarantee the arrival time.

Let's see, I can walk up to a skyliner station and within a few minutes I am in a skyliner cab (personal experience) and get to the front of DHS within 20 minutes with no cost.

I understand about people having claustrophobic and afraid of height issues, they will just have to deal with doing some preplaning in regards using the bus system during non-park opening hours and perhaps closing hours.

In my life, there have been times when I have had to adjust to the "system". Not everyone can be accommodated for every issue/desire they may have.

Sure you can get there in 20 minutes. When the system is working perfectly. If the Skyliner starts running in time for DHS rope drop, are you going to take the Skyliner? I can't even imagine how stressful it would be to get stopped en route and watch the minutes tick down to rope drop. And the system will be more taxed now than ever before, with lots more people feeling pushed to ride it.

 

[Wild4Walt]

Unfortuantely, it takes Pop and AoA out of our stay options. I have a heights issue and can't/won't do the Skyliner. Plenty of other resorts for me.

 

[Bjkandma]

I'm not sure how I feel about this whole situation. I am afraid of heights, an handicapped and will be in an ecv

With the down times of the skyliner, and the fact that it has broken down completely at least two times and has intermediate ly been stopped for minutes on end, I think my concerns are valid.

If a true emergency or evacuation were to occur, I would definitely need assistance from emergency personnel (firefighters \paramedics) to properly be evacuated. How long would I be waiting. I'm sure that personnel has this figured out, but it is a valid concern I have. Also, the fact that the ecv is heavy.

Also, if I know chose to ride the bus, it will come every hour? No problem, don't mind waiting. What happens if when I arrive at bus stop, there are already two or three mobility devices waiting to load. Currently a bus can only hold two mobility devices. I could potentially be waiting two hours or more to get to a park. I can't even think about how long, I'll be waiting at Park closing.

Getting an uber or lyft is not an option. The ecv does not break down. Using a handicap Minnie Van why, because I'm handicap should I be required to pay for transportation (more expensive, than regular uber or lyft) to get to a theme park. Part of the reason I chose to stay on site is for Disney's "free" transportation.

 

[snappy]

I'm not sure how I feel about this whole situation. I am afraid of heights, an handicapped and will be in an ecv

With the down times of the skyliner, and the fact that it has broken down completely at least two times and has intermediate ly been stopped for minutes on end, I think my concerns are valid.

If a true emergency or evacuation were to occur, I would definitely need assistance from emergency personnel (firefighters \paramedics) to properly be evacuated. How long would I be waiting. I'm sure that personnel has this figured out, but it is a valid concern I have. Also, the fact that the ecv is heavy.

Also, if I know chose to ride the bus, it will come every hour? No problem, don't mind waiting. What happens if when I arrive at bus stop, there are already two or three mobility devices waiting to load. Currently a bus can only hold two mobility devices. I could potentially be waiting two hours or more to get to a park. I can't even think about how long, I'll be waiting at Park closing.

Getting an uber or lyft is not an option. The ecv does not break down. Using a handicap Minnie Van why, because I'm handicap should I be required to pay for transportation (more expensive, than regular uber or lyft) to get to a theme park. Part of the reason I chose to stay on site is for Disney's "free" transportation.

Valid concerns here. I would certainly address these concerns with Disney. We find staying at an Epcot resort where walking is a good option if the friendship boats are down due to weather. When bad weather threatens there is enough chaos without hoping the system to quickly deploy busses is up and running. Thunder storms pop up frequently and sometimes unexpectedly during summer afternoons in central Florida

 

[sam_gordon]

Two things come to mind...

1) It makes sense to start this today because I'm sure while things don't truly "empty", the number of guests greatly drops.
2) I can't believe on the transportation board that people are actually arguing FOR the buses.

 

[DisLiss]

I 'm not going to get myself worked up over this at all. If it turns out that there are hundreds of people waiting out there for that bus each hour, Disney's going to add more buses back. And they may fluctuate based on the season, and the crowd levels. In the dead of winter, in a slow time, they may find this works just fine. But Disney's own signage tells people who have problems with enclosed spaces or who are afraid of heights not to use the Skyliner. So they're aware that they have to have some other method of transport and this is just them trying to be frugal about that other transportation method.

If I decide that I don't want to ride the Skyliner, than I can plan around that hourly bus just like I can plan 150 other things in regards to my WDW vacation.

 

[MickeyWaffles]

As a frequent MK monorail resort guest, some of the discussion above touches on situations we have occasionally dealt with getting to/from Epcot (where the only Disney transport option is monorail) and to/from MK (although the boats are usually an alternative other than in weather).

But we’ve definitely had situations where there is a delay or extended downtime and you end up in that weird / amorphous period between where they shut down one mode of transportation and mobilize bus service as the backup. It is not always pretty, it can be chaotic, and information is sometimes hard to come by. Getting from one mode to the other is usually not close/convenient. It can be a challenge understanding the best course of action as a guest if you’re there right when things are shifting.

Fortunately it is not all that common, but it has happened. I can imagine similar situations/dynamics with the Skyliner and the Skyliner served resorts under this new setup when the Skyliner experiences downtime sufficient enough to mobilize extra bus service.

Not meaning to dismiss any concerns for Pop guests - this is a sudden change for sure.

This is exactly what I have been thinking about — we often stay at monorail resorts with NO bus option to Epcot except for when there is monorail downtime. MK resorts are deluxe and don’t even have an hourly bus to Epcot. It’s usually fine, except if you’re the ones stuck ON the monorail. They deploy the buses swiftly during downtime (in our experience) and we’re on our merry way. I really think it makes sense for Pop to go this route (you’re lucky you’re even getting a regular hourly bus!)

Once we were on a Disney bus during an accident (a car turned into the bus), which delayed us significantly. Any delay can happen on any form of transportation.

 

[heidijanesmith]

Ugg, I have claustrophobia and height issues as other previous posters mentioned above. I can not take a chance on the Skyliner, nope, nope and nope.

I was thinking about taking a solo trip and staying at Pop, now.... it makes me rethink. I do not mind using Lyft and have done it several times during out stays, but it's mostly between resorts.

It's too bad they restricted to once an hour, that seems to be pretty extreme. I would think a minimum of x2 an hour would be much more helpful to those who need to take the bus.

 

[NWOhiogal]

If I decide that I don't want to ride the Skyliner, than I can plan around that hourly bus just like I can plan 150 other things in regards to my WDW vacation.

OK, just be aware that a lot of other people are also planning around the bus - and the bus only holds so many people. If it's only coming once an hour, you need to be pretty close to the front of the line to be guaranteed a seat. If you aren't...you're waiting another hour. As the day wears on, that line's going to get longer. And I sure hope Disney adds busses at the end of the day, because otherwise you might not be getting back to your hotel for a LONG time.

But from what I'm seeing, Disney's primary aim here is to save money by NOT running the busses - that's the whole point of the Skyliner in the first place, so they save money by not running the busses. So they're going to avoid adding busses until it's the absolutely last option, because otherwise they're 'wasting' money - they spent money on the Skyliner and still running as many busses as before.

I still think what they should have done was make the Skyliner a paid option - you buy a card pass for the length of your stay, swipe it at a turnstile, and ride the Skyliner that way. Thus the only people who are paying to ride the Skyliner are the ones who want to - and nobody who doesn't want to ride it is charged for it.

Keep the busses running and advertise the Skyliner as a fun alternative to getting to the park - NOT as the main mode of transportation that you'll be paying for even if you're not riding it, or it breaks down, or there's thunderstorms the whole week you're at Disney at it's never running (which is most of the summer in Orlando). You pay for so many trips, and at the end of your stay you're charged the number of rides you've actually taken. Disney makes money, and everybody's happy.

 

[DGsAtBLT]

OK, just be aware that a lot of other people are also planning around the bus - and the bus only holds so many people. If it's only coming once an hour, you need to be pretty close to the front of the line to be guaranteed a seat. If you aren't...you're waiting another hour. As the day wears on, that line's going to get longer. And I sure hope Disney adds busses at the end of the day, because otherwise you might not be getting back to your hotel for a LONG time.

But from what I'm seeing, Disney's primary aim here is to save money by NOT running the busses - that's the whole point of the Skyliner in the first place, so they save money by not running the busses. So they're going to avoid adding busses until it's the absolutely last option, because otherwise they're 'wasting' money - they spent money on the Skyliner and still running as many busses as before.

I still think what they should have done was make the Skyliner a paid option - you buy a card pass for the length of your stay, swipe it at a turnstile, and ride the Skyliner that way. Thus the only people who are paying to ride the Skyliner are the ones who want to - and nobody who doesn't want to ride it is charged for it.

Keep the busses running and advertise the Skyliner as a fun alternative to getting to the park - NOT as the main mode of transportation that you'll be paying for even if you're not riding it, or it breaks down, or there's thunderstorms the whole week you're at Disney at it's never running (which is most of the summer in Orlando). You pay for so many trips, and at the end of your stay you're charged the number of rides you've actually taken. Disney makes money, and everybody's happy.

The guests at the most expensive resort on property (the GF) arguably have the most time consuming route of all the resorts to a park, the trip from GF to Epcot. Epcot to CR would be similar.

If neither of those routes have been given alternatives unless there are breakdowns or planned outages, I don’t see why the Skyliner resorts would be given regular buses.

 

[ZJ5/9D47]

I'm not sure how I feel about this whole situation. I am afraid of heights, an handicapped and will be in an ecv

With the down times of the skyliner, and the fact that it has broken down completely at least two times and has intermediate ly been stopped for minutes on end, I think my concerns are valid.

If a true emergency or evacuation were to occur, I would definitely need assistance from emergency personnel (firefighters \paramedics) to properly be evacuated. How long would I be waiting. I'm sure that personnel has this figured out, but it is a valid concern I have. Also, the fact that the ecv is heavy.

Also, if I know chose to ride the bus, it will come every hour? No problem, don't mind waiting. What happens if when I arrive at bus stop, there are already two or three mobility devices waiting to load. Currently a bus can only hold two mobility devices. I could potentially be waiting two hours or more to get to a park. I can't even think about how long, I'll be waiting at Park closing.

Getting an uber or lyft is not an option. The ecv does not break down. Using a handicap Minnie Van why, because I'm handicap should I be required to pay for transportation (more expensive, than regular uber or lyft) to get to a theme park. Part of the reason I chose to stay on site is for Disney's "free" transportation.

In my experience it normally takes an hour to be Reedy Creek evacuated from an attraction and my group was the only one needing RC’s assistance each time. RC sets limits on the number of assist-evacuations they allow at any given time on each attraction. I read they were fighting Disney about getting more personal in case something happened on the Skyliner.

In my experience, do not expect your ecv to be evacuated with you. Heavy mobility devices get left behind and they provide an evacuation wheelchair or whatever they use.

We each received three fast passes instead of the usual one due to the extended wait since RC evacuations don’t begin until every other guest is removed. I’m guessing you would be compensated too for extra lost time but getting that compensation might take more time that what you would receive (in my experience at least).

Reedy Creek has been amazing each time I’ve dealt with them evacuating from a ride. I trust them completely and for me that is saying a lot. If something happens, you’ll be in good hands and those guys are strong!

If you are alone, you won’t have access to the emergency call button nor the emergency first aid kit likely. Easy solution is to have your park bag accessible. The chance of being evacuated is minuscule but it can be comforting to be prepared. I’m more concerned about needing to pee up there.

There were photos posted during the crash and also zip line photos over Epcot’s water earlier showing evacuation-related processes. I’ve posted a photo of the “boat” stored at AoA that might be for evacuation purposes but I’m not sure.

 

[cherylnj]

Not in my experience, although that was 4 years ago. When boats or monorails went down unexpectedly, buses & drivers had to be drawn in from other routes, which sometimes took a half hour to get going, and affected service level on the other routes. Management kept driver schedules at the bare minimum that could get by, and local managers were dinged for having drivers hanging around but not driving.

I'm currently a driver at Hollywood Studios. We have buses up and on the road within 5 minutes when the Skyliner or Boats go down. Standby drivers are being built into the schedule.

 

[Bing Showei]

I'm currently a driver at Hollywood Studios. We have buses up and on the road within 5 minutes when the Skyliner or Boats go down. Standby drivers are being built into the schedule.

... and this summer I had heard from two Disney Bus Drivers that bus services were actually going to be increased to gondola resorts after Skylner launch.

Just saying.