The world of Walkways

[Goofyuk]

I saw a rumour on another board that Disney are considering increasing the number of walkways and connecting them up to make it possible to walk from pretty much any resort or park to any other resort or park. I'm assuming assuming bridges would have to be involved at various points.

Anyone heard anything about this or have any opinions, I'm all for it personally.

 

[rteetz]

I saw a rumour on another board that Disney are considering increasing the number of walkways and connecting them up to make it possible to walk from pretty much any resort or park to any other resort or park. I'm assuming assuming bridges would have to be involved at various points.

Anyone heard anything about this or have any opinions, I'm all for it personally.

i doubt that. Maybe they would add a walkway from the GF but every resort is quite a stretch. They would also be very long walks from a place like DTD to MK or AKL to MK etc. BC and YC, S and D, and BWI all have walkways to epcot and to DHS because they are so close but to do others to other parks would be 30+ minute walks. I'd much rather take the buses.

 

[patsal]

This would not be practical in many instances. Imagine a walk form AKL to MK! You'd be exhausted before you even hit the park!

 

[OKW Lover]

I'd agree that this isn't practical everywhere.

However, I can think of a few places where it might work.

1. AKL to AK?
2. CBR to DHS?
3. OKW to DTD? (yes, I know about the current trail, but it needs improvement)

 

[bdoyledimou]

it's Disney! They would put in magical moving sidewalks and teleports.

 

[beer dave]

Not going to happen--From AKL to MK on almost a straight line is over 5 miles. average walking speed is about 3 mph. Thats an 1 hour 40 minutes. People would be dropping on the trail. They would have to put rest stations along the way.

 

[charmed59]

Five miles is the perfect length for a bike ride. They could add those bikes you see around cities that you rent in one direction. Some people would take them just to do resort hopping.

I think they need to do something. When you need to budget an hour to get to your reservations within Disney World resort you know there is a problem. Walking, or bike riding, gets you somewhere is a known amount of time. Waiting for buses is a gamble.

 

[TheRustyScupper]

. . . Anyone heard anything about this or have any opinions, I'm all for it personally.

1) A terrible idea
. . . due to cost
. . . due to safety
2) Disney could expend a lot of money
. . . would have no return-on-investment (and, Disney does nothing without a return!)
. . . would not generate more guests
3) Navigating cross-streets, even with crosswalks would be dangerous
. . . people would cross against the lights
. . . buses might not see them
. . . Florida would not always look for them
. . . out-of-state drivers don't look, as they are busy finding their own way
4) I can see a lot of ugly results from walking or bike paths.

 

[charmed59]

1) A terrible idea . . . due to cost . . . due to safety 2) Disney could expend a lot of money . . . would have no return-on-investment (and, Disney does nothing without a return!) . . . would not generate more guests 3) Navigating cross-streets, even with crosswalks would be dangerous . . . people would cross against the lights . . . buses might not see them . . . Florida would not always look for them . . . out-of-state drivers don't look, as they are busy finding their own way 4) I can see a lot of ugly results from walking or bike paths.

It would cost money, some of which could be offset by federal grants for walkability/bikeability. Cities and towns with much less money than Disney have spent tons on bike trails and greenways. These municipalities don't seem to have any safety fears, and I'm not sure why the Lake Buena Vista would be any different.

It would generate a few more guests. I know I won't return to Disney in an area where my choice for transportation is limited to the bus system. I'd much rather walk or bike than wait 30 minutes for a bus. And yes, I've waited much more than that for a bus at Disney world to get in between parks and resort hotels. Would it generate a ton of guests? Maybe. Those 20 somethings tend to have a thing about being green. Walking and biking vs buses or driving are high on their priority list. As they move into the key demographic for Disney, with small children, they might consider Disney as green a vacation as beach towns.

As for crosswalks, if you've taken a wander on your local modern greenway, you'll note crosswalks are things to be avoided. These poor towns have gotten federal funding for over and underpasses. Pedestrians and cars/buses are not on the same plane.

I've seen lots of great results from walking paths and bike paths. Much better health, family time, and nature experiences to name a few.

 

[jon18uk]

Although it wouldn't be possible to link everything by footpath it may be nice to add pathways between some areas. You can already walk from Boardwalk to Disney Studios, from Contempory to MK and from Saratoga Spring to DTD.
Maybe they could add a pathway from Grand Floridian to MK or from Animal Kingdom Lodge to Animal Kingdom. In theory this would mean fewer buses needed but in reality how many people would walk 30mins from AK to AKL? I might walk for 30minutes, but definitely no longer.

 

[Andrew015]

1) A terrible idea
. . . due to cost
. . . due to safety
2) Disney could expend a lot of money
. . . would have no return-on-investment (and, Disney does nothing without a return)!
. . . would not generate more guests
3) Navigating cross-streets, even with crosswalks would be dangerous
. . . people would cross against the lights
. . . buses might not see them
. . . Florida would not always look for them
. . . out-of-state drivers don't look, as they are busy finding their own way
4) I can see a lot of ugly results from walking or bike paths.

You could stop the list right here...

 

[rteetz]

You could stop the list right here...

Ain't that the truth

 

[Castle2Castle]

As somebody who has paid good money to run all across the property for the WDW Marathon in January (2013 and upcoming 2015), I don't think it would be a good use of resources for them to invest in a broader network of walkways that the vast majority of guests wouldn't use. Walkways already exist where the distance is more manageable -- Contemorary to Magic Kingdom, Boardwalk resorts to EPCOT and Hollywood Studios and, by extension, EPCOT to Hollywood Studios.

That last one is the longest at around 1.25 miles and would take roughly 20-25 minutes to walk for the average adult who isn't toting any children, strollers, diaper bags, etc. It's certainly a doable distance, but it's been a pretty lonely walk the few times we've taken it. On average you might save 15-30 minutes over the bus or friendship boats, but it's still more physical effort and exposure to Florida heat/humidity than taking either of those, and most guests don't tend to be physically active and childless.

EPCOT is closer to Magic Kingdom than Hollywood Studios at about 5 miles, give or take. Animal Kingdom is about 5 miles from Hollywood Studios (6.25 from EPCOT) and about 7 miles from Magic Kingdom. The moderate and value resorts are spaced around and between these, but most would be looking at longer walks than that of EPCOT-Hollywood Studios just to get to the closest park, let alone those farther away.

Just speaking personally, as a pair of physically active and childless adults, we would still likely use the existing transportation system in place over walking if the option to walk existed at the resorts which currently lack such options. As regular WDW vacationers, we know how much we already stand and walk inside the parks and just aren't looking to add too much more when we're vacationing. Those who are less physically active, those with disabilities and those with children would tend to have even less motivation than us to utilize such a network of walkways.

 

[KYMickey]

I think the basic idea that Charmed mentioned would be a great idea and would be used by many. It also has the potential to bring in some money if the bicycles are rented out like those in NYC (CitiBike). That system is set up so you can rent on a daily basis or pay an annual fee. I think bicycling around Disney would be a relaxing method of travel, it's obviously very green and could be extremely beneficial.

 

[JoWiJo]

[sarcasm] Oh sure! I would just love to do more walking. I feel like I need to start off my day by walking a few miles before I get to the park, then after walking 10 or more miles and standing a couple of hours in a few lines at the park, I need to wind things down with another leisurely walk back to my hotel. Kids would love it too! [/sarcasm]

As one PP mentioned, in some instances, more connectivity would be ok and even make perfect sense. But as a systematic walkway? Uh, no.

If I rode bikes, I don't know that I'd pay to rent one when I can get to my destination without the extra cost. Yes, bike rentals are common in some areas, and some people would certainly be willing to rent a bike. But even if money weren't a consideration or if I brought my own bike instead, exhaustion would still remain an issue at the end of the day.

On the surface, the bike thing does sound good, but I just can't imagine many people wanting to put in all that extra exertion after a full day in the park. On the other hand, I can see someone who declares a day a non-park day on their Disney trip wanting to take a safe bike ride for excersize. But would the bike rentals be enough for maintenance of the paths (and bikes)? I doubt it.

 

[Andrew015]

I wouldn't even go so far as to call this a "rumor", but rather, feel it is better classified as "wishful thinking" by the OP. Disney's network of walkways around the World is already quite extensive. EPCOT and HS are surrounded by five resorts all within walking Distance. SSR and OKW have (or will have) walking access to DTD. FW to WL walking trails. GF to Poly to TTC. CR/BLT to MK... and so on and so forth. Not to mention all of the extensive transportation options (most of these resorts that have walkways also have boat, bus or even monorails servicing the walking locations, too).

There have always been conversations about adding more walkways, some of which may come to fruition at some point in the future (i.e GF to MK or a better trail from OKW to DTD as OKW Lover has already mentioned). However, I really feel that if Disney wanted guests to have the ability to walk from MK to GF - and by "want", I mean that Disney felt strongly enough that by adding such a walkway, the end result would lead to additional revenue - then a bridge spanning the EWP canal would have been constructed years ago. I feel strongly that there is a good reason why Disney has chosen not to build such a bridge/walkway. Most likely, I don't believe they want the MK crowd of "non guests" spilling over to their flagship resort (my opinion only), and more importantly, they do not feel that connecting the two destinations by "foot train" would provide much of a financial return on investment.

Disney is a master at controlling their guests movements, and it's not very difficult to figure out where the next path might be constructed next (look at where the most $$$ could be found...). You have to have a better argument than "by constructing a $2M walkway, Disney will sell another 300 Dolewhips per year, thus bringing the payback period to 225 years...". That kind of math just doesn't work out.