Resort Transportation System - The Time Has Come

[JayCT]

After just getting back from WDW and reading a number of other posts on these Boards, I believe that it is time for Disney to make a significant upgrade to its resort transportation system. The bus system is AWEFUL. It is unreliable, uncomfortable and smelly. It is by far the worst part of our trip. And there are many others who agree.

Ideally, Disney should extend the monorail system to run between all of the parks and the deluxe resorts. I know that is very expensive to do but it is part of the fun of WDW and it should be considered again. Even an extension to MGM and the Epcot resorts would be a good first step.

As for the bus system, it has all the charm of... well a bus. It is like any other bus in America, not very pleasant. As a transportation professional, I know that there are ways to improve the experience. New buses should be electric or use a cleaner burning fuel than the current diesel ones. New buses should be brightly decorated and interesting to look at. The current ones are anything but that. They could even provide entertainment like video presentations or clips of shows. Anything would be an improvement.

Finally Disney needs to bring the system into the 21st Century and install a GPS information system to inform guests of bus arrival and departure times. Message Boards would be installed at each bus stop informing guests of what time the next bus to their destination is coming. These systems are not anything unusual and are currently used in many major cities around the world. Why Disney, a major innovator, is not on the cutting edge with this type of system is beyond me. It certainly would help make guests happier.

So Disney, if you are reading these Boards, get hopping and help make all of WDW a truly magical place. Even its bus system. Jay

 

[jarestel]

Very interesting ideas, Jay! I'm sure someone will come up with theoretical reasons why each and every one would never work, but I'm with you. There are numerous ways Disney could improve the transportation system, be it buses, boats, monorails, or something entirely new. Here's hoping some enterprising Disney executive is reading these boards and decides to give your ideas some consideration.

 

[bgdiznee]

I totally agree. When we were there in June 2005 we stayed at the AKL. After lots of time on the Dis boards and other sites we decided to give the bus system a "try" having always used a rental car for betw park transportation. Never again! I don't know if the problem was the remoteness of AKL, bad karma or what. But every conceiveable diaster that can stike the bus system happened to us. From long waits to no shows, to bus breakdowns leaving us stranded, to bus drivers forgetting where they were going and delivering a load of totally confused passengers to the wrong park, you name it,it happened. This doesn't mean I won't ever use another bus, but it won't be my sole source of transportation. I know running this very complex bus system is like trying to feed a 2000 guest banquet in a timely manner, its just an impossible task. Its probably at its peak performance level.

 

[jenrose66]

While the bus system has it's problems; I don't think it's completely terrible. I'd still prefer a bus to having to drive myself around. However, I agree with you completely about the GPS thing. I also think that there should be queue lines at all bus stops. I go in July and most people are very rude about pushing their way onto the busses, personally, I don't like to participate in that stuff, so I usually stand off to the side, which sometimes results in having to wait for the next bus... It should be first come first on, and that would be accomplished by waiting in line.

 

[boomhauer]

I can't say I agree with you at all.

I'm curious as to where you stayed. I just got back from a week at All Star Movies, and I thought the bus system was fantastic. The buses were frequent to everywhere, always clean, drivers were always polite, smelled fine.

Although I love the monorail, I think the Disney Bus Fleet is part of the Magic of a Disney Vacation.

The older buses are a bit on the worn side. I think the new buses are very comfortable and very nice on the inside.

I also agree, as reliable as the All Star transportation is, a GPS system would work well, which leads me to my next point:

They should run a more adequate system for guests of certain resorts. Namely, Grande Floridian, Polynesian, Contemporary, Wilderness Lodge, Boardwalk, and Yacht and Beach Club. These are all deluxe resorts, and for the price people pay (I'm not one of them), they shouldn't have to share buses. I firmly believe Disney should, and certainly COULD, have a bus fleet servicing each individual Resort. To me, there is absolutely no excuse as to why Disney doesn't do this already.

 

[bcsmom]

I agree you have excellent ideas. We did not bring our car last trip, & I really missed it

 

[jarestel]

The buses were frequent to everywhere, always clean, drivers were always polite, smelled fine.

The drivers have always smelled fine on our trips too.

 

[Mickeycrazy]

I honestly have had very little problems with the bus system. No system would be flawless, there probably is room for improvement.

 

[pugdog]

Over on the rumors board this is talk of a current upgrade they are doing. They will be putting GPS in all the buses and placing cameras at ALL bus stops through out the world. They will then be able to send buses to which ever stop is building up with waiting people.
The wait time thing would also be a nice addtion.

 

[Quinn222]

I haven't had any problems with the buses. To tell the truth at the end of a long day I enjoy the bus ride back to my hotel (usually CSR.) Everyone on the bus is very quiet and subdued and it's a relaxing end to the day.

 

[Buzz2001]

Hey Jay! If they are going to spend that kind of money to build a monorail system, I'd rather see then switch to different bus technology first.

As a start, I would like to see Disney switch over to ultra low sulfer diesel (ULSD) with the particulate trap filters (PTF) on the buses. They run very clean. We are working on that for the buses in Hartford and New Haven, CT. Or switch to a hybrid electric bus with the aobe mentioned technology. Hartford has been running one for some time and was awarded Quality Improvement Award (CQIA) Silver Innovation Prize.

They can wrap the bus with just about any design. Look at this bus.

Then start to look at fuel cell buses. Hartford, CT is going to be a demonstration city for one and since the fuel cells are created in Connecticut, Hartford should get a crack at one too. They are quite costly but like with any new technology, the price should come down as they get more on the road.

 

[simzac]

I for one have no problem with the bus service. If I have an occaisional wait for a bus, no big deal. I'm on vacation, I'm not about to let that ruin my trip. Best solution I see is simply adding more buses, which then creates more traffic on the roads. The reason I feel that bus service is slower recently is due to the upturn in people visiting WDW, thus creating more passengers for the buses. Sounds like the kind of problem Disney likes. I'm sure they will keep working on it. JMO

 

[KristinU]

As a former bus commuter I always wondered why they didn't just have schedules like any city bus system...personally that would take a ton of the stress out of the WDW bus system for me - instead of walking up to the bus stop just as my bus is leaving (which seems to happen 75% of the time for us!) we'd be able to plan our schedule accordingly. Maybe some of you who are more knowledgeable in the transportation dept. know why they don't just use a schedule.

As far as the smell of the busses...have you ever noticed the "Monorail funk"??? Personally I think the interior of the busses smell better than the Monorails.

 

[bicker]

We used the busses extensively during our recent trip and didn't have much trouble or concern. The busses were generally clean, comfortable, plentiful, and timely. The only perturbation we experienced was when we sat for a full six minutes (I have it on videotape -- but that's another story) waiting to leave the WL; a guest was parked at the gate at the guard shack!

 

[goofy4tink]

While I have no issues with the bus system at all, the one thing I would do is try to manage the que areas within the resorts better. I have seen more pushing and shoving to get on a bus at the resorts than anyplace else. It's almost as if that particular bus is the last one and if you don't get on it, you'll be walking to the MK. People wait patiently in the line, only to have the bus come and others just walk past those who have been waiting and hop on board. Sheesh.

It would be nice to have the monorail be extended but it would be cost prohibitive from what I understand..both to put it in and then to maintain it. Sure the bus system isn't perfect, but you can always get a rental car. I really think that for the number of people that they move everyday...they do a terrific job.

 

[maddhatir]

I remember back in the day when the bus drivers would actually keep you amused with funny anecdotes and jokes--

does anyone remember this?? Or was that dream i had lastnight??

 

[Nik's Mom]

We loved the bus service at AKL. We rarely waited more than a few minutes and they were usually empty, or with very light crowds. I can only remember 1 time where it was standing room only, and that was right after the parade let our at MK. As for cleanliness, we found them to be clean. But then again, we are from L.A. County, where the public transportation is a nightmare!

 

[disneybelle]

Can't commit an opinion on changing the current bus system, but I must say that my DS and I had a refreshing trip just a few weeks ago...seamless transport and interactive drivers.

Many chatty bus drivers and boat "drivers" we had a boat trip from MGM where the "Captain" had us sing happy birthday to a young woman who in turn had to perform for us. It was a hoot.

A bus driver taking us from AK slowed to show us passengers a wild gator by a pond alongside the road.

Yet another bus driver provided WDW trivia while pointing out native critters along the way.

I'm guessing that cast members are less stressed and more "playful" during off-season when there are less tired and rude guests.

 

[cudworth]

We stayed at AKl this past Aug and the bus service was great. We stayed at Pop 2 easters ago and we that was very good as well.

 

[Chip 'n Dale Express]

As a former Disney Transport cast member, I shall chime in. For those of you who might not know, I spent 4 years in Disney Transport as both a Monorail Pilot and a Bus Driver.

Do I think it'd be a good idea to expand the monorail system? No. In fact, it would make things worse. Why you ask? Logistics! Property wasn't built to handle it. Traffic Flows are completely wrong for what a fixed guideway system does best.

Unlike most major cities, Disney has very unique transportation needs. It requires an extremely flexible and dynamic system, able to change at the drop of a hat. It also is required to be extremely simple to understand, and minimize all transfers.

-- Fixed guideway systems are NOT flexible. Disney Transport *REQUIRES* flexibility in transporting our guests. Fixed guideway systems may work GREAT in urban environments. Disney is not one of these places. We need a system that can expand and contract to current guest flow, and can be re-routed at the drop of a hat.

-- Expanding the monorail system would cost $600m to one Billion dollars. Not cheap. $65-$110 million per mile for track, not including switches or stations. $25m per train. It adds up quickly. Wouldn't we rather have a bunch of new e-ticket attractions?

-- Monorails are non-revenue generating. There would be zero return on this enormous investment. People do not come to Disney for the sole purpose of the monorail. No, really... they don't.

-- Guests want a DIRECT (and preferably NON-STOP) mode of transportation. Quite frankly, the majority could care less if it was monorail or a bus, as long as it was DIRECT. Transferring is really not an option. If you had expanded the monorail, guests would potentially have to transfer once, if not twice. That's the problem with a fixed guideway system. It works in an urban environment, because people live there, and have time to get used to and learn the system. Not at Disney. I can't begin to tell you how BAFFLING the transfer from the Resort monorail to the Epcot monorail is for many guests. They don't like it, and many would rather have the direct bus which would require no transfer, and would be much faster.

-- If one were to expand the monorail, one would want to service the highest of the congestion areas, ie: Value & Moderate Resorts. That would mean increasing the low priced rooms to a point where they would no longer serve as the great value they are currently. Park to Park travel is not great enough to warrant any expansion.

-- Walt Disney World properties are NOT designed with monorail expansion in mind. You can't just plunk down a monorail station just anywhere. And, you can't have stops as close together as you can with a bus, thus requiring guests to walk further than they already have to. Guests don't like that.

-- Diesel engines put out 80-90% less pollution than engines of just 5-10 years ago, and even newer diesel engines are even cleaner than natural gas burning engines. Newer engines get 4-5x the fuel economy as well. They are rock solid reliable, cheap to maintain, and last forever. Monorails are expensive to maintain (due to proprietary parts), and the pollution is just at a different site -- the Power Plant. (On a side note, Diesel/Electric hybrids are a great idea, but it is still in its infancy. In 5-10 years, I'm sure they will have been improved enough to be placed into heavy duty service)

--If a Monorail breaks down, the whole system is shut down. No one can pass the problem train. Hundreds of guests are inconvenienced. If a bus breaks down, it is quickly replaced by another bus. No other bus is inconvenienced. Oh, on a side note, on busy days, buses have to supplement the MK Express Monorail because it's so overcrowded.

The bottom line is this: YES, the monorail is cool. We know that. Is monorail expansion right for Walt Disney World? No. You may not like the bus, but they are currently the best way to get around Walt Disney World thanks to thier incredible flexibility. By the way, there are lots of folks out there that LOVE the bus, especially children. I used to get families on my bus all the time that just take a round trip on the bus, because thier kids want to go on one last bus ride before going home.