Troubling issue with MK parking lot trams

[yulilin3]

Just wanted to pop in and remind everyone of the Disboard Guidelines:
You can debate and opinion and share your own but no name calling, belittling of other posters. Thank you

 

[housetomouse]

My mobility problems are new-ish and not to the extreme of needing an ECV or a wheelchair. Walking = pain, so I'd rather not do the walking in the parking lot and save it for the park. I would totally FP the tram ride .

 

[housetomouse]

Does anyone truly believe they would remove the trams to save money? Anyone? I feel ridiculous even typing that. Need a parachute for that jump to conclusion.

Probably there was an issue with the trams. Disney isn't going to tell guests if they are broken. I'm not understanding why it is even a huge deal. It would suck to have to walk in from the parking lot, but not the end of the world drama.

I was actually wondering how they're powered. Would they need to be charged up after the morning rush?

 

[housetomouse]

This would have been a problem for me. I have a bad left leg.. it's not enough to warrant a wheel chair or scooter but, that extra walking adds up for me.
A WDW vacation is possible for me but, does push my limits. What seems like no big deal to some is actually sort of a big deal to others.

Not everyone is super healthy and those who would have an issue with this aren't just lazy and complainers. It sure feels there's a real lack of empathy or understanding from some. Walk a mile in another's shoes

This is true. I didn't get it until I had an issue. I'd so much rather be walking, or running, rather than calculating how much walking from point A to point B is going to hurt.

 

[ArwenMarie]

Sounds like a test to see how many people they can convert to walking by shouting out that (erroneous) message? Because the MK parking lot is already so magical

Other theme parks were mentioned...other theme parks do have trams and shuttles. Just wanted to add that

 

[Klayfish]

I was actually wondering how they're powered. Would they need to be charged up after the morning rush?

Being a car/truck nut, the trams have always fascinated me. I don't know for 100% certain, but in looking at them and listening to them, I believe they're diesel engines, and have very short transmission gears so that they can pull a lot from a dead stop and have a very low top speed. They sure take a beating.

As someone who stays off site, this is certainly relevant to me. I have seen it before where they encourage guests to walk. I don't know why, I'm not a WDW insider or high level executive. Yes, I'm a Disney defender and not ashamed to admit it. In this situation, I don't know either way if it's a cost cutting measure or some other explanation. As many others have said, not enough info. Just in my hundreds of times of experiences of using the tram, my guess as to why they have people encouraging walking is that in peak morning rush, the wait for the tram can be a few minutes. I've never seen it more than 5 or 10 minutes tops, as WDW does a great job rolling tram after tram. However, even that 5 minutes is enough to get some guests hot under the collar and be mad that a chariot wasn't waiting for them at their car. So they complain. As a result, they now have CMs encouraging people to walk, so that they don't complain about waiting for the tram. I'm the first to admit I have no evidence to back this up, as I said, I don't work at WDW. That's just my observation. The tram can also take longer now because you have moron guests who ignore CM instructions and jump on the tram after they call for no more loading, so they have to start the safety message again.

As for the safety issue in walking the parking lots, that's an individual perspective. I've never felt the lots to be unsafe to walk through and know exactly where to go. I suppose if you're a first timer, you could get confused, but that could go for any parking lot.

 

[housetomouse]

Being a car/truck nut, the trams have always fascinated me. I don't know for 100% certain, but in looking at them and listening to them, I believe they're diesel engines, and have very short transmission gears so that they can pull a lot from a dead stop and have a very low top speed. They sure take a beating.

Thanks!

 

[Ellwood970]

Cost cutting squeezing every cent out of everything they can consider 5 dollar Mickey ice cream bars. It's very sad. They have the money.

 

[sweetmama17]

When I was at MK in February they were definitely encouraging people to walk, especially people with strollers. There were lots of trams running.

My take on it at the time was that they want to get the trams in and out as fast as possible. Folding strollers is cumbersome and time consuming and holds trams up (which is why we walk with our double stroller). And sometimes when there are that many guests it is not always a time saver to wait for a tram (when you have to wait for the 3rd one because there are so many people) as to just walking it (however, the trams always beat me walking at MK).

 

[TimR573]

I was there week before easter up until easter, and the two days we went to MK (thursday the 13th , and easter sunday) we did not experience this. The thursday before easter, we parked in Zurg, so I decided to walk anyway but they were still running trams and all the cast member was saying was "another tram will be along right behind this one, there's no rush" just like always. On easter sunday we parked in Peter Pan, and again, constant running tram service.

 

[snowwhitenyc]

Thanks for the maps. It does illustrate the safety thing much more clearly!


Something I was wondering about, OP:

Do you only go on Saturdays? Have you seen this pattern at other times during the week?
My thought is that the "no tram" was a fluke- and the other times the CMs tell people to walk it's because otherwise they have to put up with people complaining about the wait for the tram. That wouldn't excuse them lying about the distance, but I could definitely see that being the case. And in the case of no trams- you didn't ask for assistance to to park elsewhere or have anyone with you who visibly needed assistance. So you don't know if they had a protocol in place for that- maybe they had golf carts on call or something.

Also: I'm not sure if you said, but were there teams running at the end of the night?


Anyway, I'm not a "Disney can do no wrong" type but I kind of agree with the folks who say you just don't have enough information to draw the conclusion that this is some kind of cost cutting measure. There ARE a finite number of trams, after all.

I don't only go on Saturdays, but that's just a routine I've been doing for about 3 years, so I feel like it's a good "control" scenario to use as a comparison. I'd say at least 3 Saturdays a month over that time I've been arriving at the MK between 9:30-10:30 in the morning and spending a few hours. I have done this in almost all seasons and all weather situations, and so it all feels pretty familiar. I can tell how busy the park is based on which section I park in, I can usually gauge which lane to be in (right or left) to avoid being the car that gets to start a new row, etc. And for most of that time, the tram situation has been the same. There's usually one loading, and then as soon as everyone has boarded, they send it off and another pulls in. As others have said, they have always seemed to be lined up and ready to keep loading, especially during peak seasons. And CMs would sometimes make an announcement about the walking option, but it was more like, "if you don't want to wait, you can walk to the gate" and now what I'm hearing (repeatedly) is "you don't need to wait, it's just a 5 minute walk". To me, it's really a noticeable change.

And yes, trams were running all morning while I was there. I left after just about 2 hours (I'll admit, I was mostly there to buy a glowing rose cup for friend's daughter and stop at the Emporium) and was able to take a tram back to Hook. So I didn't get any sense that there was a tram shortage or any problems with the trams...just that they were not offering service to everyone.

It's true, can't say for sure this is a cost-saving situation...it's just a feeling I have, and I have been paying attention to this over the past few months. I'm pretty observant, so I feel like I would have noticed if it is was something like a mechanical issue or some unexpected problem (CMs acting a little frenzied or stressed, whispering to each other, etc. -- I've seen that plenty of times when there are monorail problems, and that's my cue to head to the ferry), and that wasn't the vibe at all.

When I was at MK in February they were definitely encouraging people to walk, especially people with strollers. There were lots of trams running.

My take on it at the time was that they want to get the trams in and out as fast as possible. Folding strollers is cumbersome and time consuming and holds trams up (which is why we walk with our double stroller). And sometimes when there are that many guests it is not always a time saver to wait for a tram (when you have to wait for the 3rd one because there are so many people) as to just walking it (however, the trams always beat me walking at MK).

True, that's a good point. And I know there are people who find walking more enjoyable than tramming (me, usually), so I think it's fine that they let people know walking is an option. I just think Disney can and should provide plenty of tram service so that people who don't mind waiting and/or can't or don't want to walk can feel comfortable that a ride is an option.

 

[BK2014]

The bummer is that if you wait in line that day at that park it's an immediate thing. Now with the email you're getting someone offsite who isn't there and wasn't there that day, and it's not immediate.

And all you have is this now. You don't have a "the rest of the story" yet. And having the full info from the CMs there that day would have been amazing.

Sure would've been nice to have the answers from the CMs that day.

The "full story from CMs there that day" would have been whatever canned response they were told to give. The CMs weren't going to tell the OP the actual reason for the Trams not running from their lot, or why they were quoting a less than truthful walk time. The OP may have been given an answer that sounded satisfactory, but it likely wouldn't have been the whole story, or the truth.

 

[whiporee]

I dom't know whether it's a cost saving measure (and I don't think there's anything wrong if it is) but I think the tram service provides an interesting quandary for WDw. it was designed and put in place with the vast vast vast majority of visitors came by car. Now that there are 30,000 hotel rooms and extensive bus service throughout all of WDW, those giant parking lots that required trams seems antiquated and wasteful. I'm sure they still get use on the busiest days, but I've been amazed at how empty they all look whenever I've been to the park in the last half-dozen years.

So, with that being the case, the need for trams has diminished because there aren't as many people parking as far away anymore. Add into it the new plethora of strollers and ECVs that slow down boarding time (and the doors, which weren't always there) -- not to mention they are big diesel spewing engines that a lot of folks take offense at now when they didn't used to be the case -- and I can see why WDW would start to limit the number of trams and the resources they put into them.

I also think there's a difference between suggesting that guests walk instead of taking trams and having no tram service. One of -- if not the -- biggest complaints about WDW is waiting time, and if a CM knows there's likely to be a 5-minute wait for the tram to arrive, then a 2-minute boarding time at each stop, they might think suggesting guests walk is preferable to them having to wait. Not having service at all is a different story, but if there are signs posted saying there's no tram service to a specific lot, then I'm sure a guest could ask to go to one where tram service exists.

 

[Westcoastwild]

I dom't know whether it's a cost saving measure (and I don't think there's anything wrong if it is) but I think the tram service provides an interesting quandary for WDw. it was deigned and put in place with the vast vast vast majority of visitors came by car. Now that there are 30,000 hotel rooms and extensive bus service throughout all of WDW, those giant parking lots that required trams seems antiquated and wasteful. I'm sure they still get use on the busiest days, but I've been amazed at how empty they all look whenever I've been to the park in the last half-dozen years.

So, with that being the case, the need for trams has diminished because there aren't as many people parking as far away anymore. Add into it the new plethora of strollers and ECVs that slow down boarding time (and the doors, which weren't always there) -- not to mention they are big diesel spewing engines that a lot of folks take offense at now when they didn't used to be the case -- and I can see why WDW would start to limit the number of trams and the resources they put into them.

I also think there's a difference between suggesting that guests walk instead of taking trams and having no tram service. One of -- if not the -- biggest complaints about WDW is waiting time, and if a CM knows there's likely to be a 5-minute wait for the tram to arrive, then a 2-minute boarding time at each stop, they might think suggesting guests walk is preferable to them having to wait. Not having service at all is a different story, but if there are signs posted saying there's no tram service to a specific lot, then I'm sure a guest could ask to go to one where tram service exists.

I agree with everything you've said, except many people still do come by car. I mean maybe more people stay onsite, but attendance has definitely gone up as well, so I'm not sure fewer people arrive by car. Locals and offsite folks still must make up an enormous portion of daily attendance, surely?

But I can definitely see CMs encouraging people to walk because of tram wait times. That's what I'm pretty sure is going on here. People complain all the time about waiting for buses and at least there's shade there. You can either stand in the hot parking lot or walk in the hot parking lot, and there is no reason to do the former if you're able bodied.

 

[maxiesmom]

I wish someone down there today could report back as to what is currently go on with the trams.

 

[grimley1968]

What could be more magical than a half mile, 10-15 minute unshaded, muggy, traffic-dodging walk through the TTC parking lot, after which you get to wait for your choice of ferry or monorail?

Seriously, OP, that is not a good situation, but I'm glad you are at least fully ambulatory. My wife and I both would have major issues with that walk to begin our day at WDW. I hope you're wrong about a trend, but given your frequency of park visits, you may not be.

Seems like Disney is finding yet another way to ask for more money in return for less offered to guests.

 

[DLM1980]

So if they would put in a canopy over the walking path great

I wonder if by getting more people to walk than take the tram that alleviates security backups because you don't have a tram full of people arriving at once as everyone has different walking speeds

 

[ShellieMimi]

Friends parked in Peter Pan today. Trams were running but there were constant announcements that it was a short walk & "there is no need to wait for the tram."

 

[snowwhitenyc]

So if they would put in a canopy over the walking path great

I wonder if by getting more people to walk than take the tram that alleviates security backups because you don't have a tram full of people arriving at once as everyone has different walking speeds

I did consider the security issue, and it's definitely possible. However, I know what Disney is capable of, and if this is the case, I would expect them to work a little harder at making sure the walking experience is a better and safer one for guests, and that they are a little more honest about walking times. I don't think it's fair for Disney to solve their problem (security lines backing up) by potentially creating problems for guests (people walking further than they're comfortable with, getting overheated, or worst case scenario, some kind of vehicle/pedestrian accident).

 

[snowwhitenyc]

Friends parked in Peter Pan today. Trams were running but there were constant announcements that it was a short walk & "there is no need to wait for the tram."

Interesting! On a Monday morning of what should be a fairly slow day (compared to past few weeks of heavy Spring Break crowds). Did your friends walk or tram? And did they mind the "recommendation" to walk or did they think it was just a helpful suggestion to avoid the wait?