Trumbo Ferry renamed and schedule

[disneycrazed139]

From the May Member Clubhouse...

Voyage to the Downtown Disney area
The Trumbo Ferry which provides service from Disney's Old Key West Resort to the Downtown Disney area has been renamed the Disney Vacation Club Ferry, with daily service to Downtown Disney every hour from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm, and every 30 minutes from 4:00 pm to 11:00 pm. When Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa opens May 17, service will be expanded to include a stop at the new resort before continuing onto the Downtown Disney area.

 

[tjkraz]

Cheezy name. Blech!

But I'm also confused. With reports of a larger boat that will make the rounds from Port Orleans to OKW, SSR and DD, does that mean that there are actually TWO boats?

 

[disneycrazed139]

Yes, I thought the name lacked originality. Maybe the report of a larger boat for all is wrong.
With the new name being what it is, it seems one route would would only serve OKW and SSR.

Another thought...maybe they named it "Disney Vacation Club Ferry" to deter DTD visitors who aren't resort guests, from boarding the ferry for a ride.

OR maybe they named it as they did to add as an enticement to would be owners.

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

Originally posted by tjkraz
Cheezy name. Blech!

But I'm also confused. With reports of a larger boat that will make the rounds from Port Orleans to OKW, SSR and DD, does that mean that there are actually TWO boats?

My best guess, since there was no mention of another schedule by the OP is there is one boat.
As to the name, it works for me.

 

[CarolMN]

I agree with Gail.

I personally never believed that there would only be one huge combined route for POR, POFQ, OKW & SSR. Looks like the rumors suggesting there would be, were wrong. I'm glad.

 

[dianeschlicht]

Yes, the name lacks originality, but I tend to agree with Disneycrazed that it is a PR move to call attention to ownership. I hope it truely is a "vacation club" ferry, so there isn't yet another stop at POR. I will miss our little pontoon!

 

[doubletrouble_vb]

I'm glad they added SSR...it seemed you couldn't count on the Ferry being available in the off-season ....now maybe it will be.

Too bad that they aren't including POR...I love hanging out over there.

 

[laceemouse]

Hope to stay at OKW summer 05, can't wait to ride the ferry!!!!!!!

 

[tjkraz]

OK, now I'm even more confused. (Not a rare occurrence, I admit)

Information in this post indicated that a new boat was being put in service which would run a route between POFQ, OKW, SSR and DD:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=552659&

But the way I read the info in the Member Clubhouse, it sounds like the ferry mentioned will still be the same 10-12 person pontoon boat (formerly Trumbo Ferry), which is been renamed Disney Vacation Club Ferry.

So, does that mean there are actually two boats making the rounds: One to POFQ, OKW, SSR and DD, and the other to OKW, SSR and DD. Or is the post quoted above just being discredited?

Anyone else interpreting this differently?

 

[Bexx]

Tjkraz - I remember that post well! Originally I thought - oh dear, but then considered it could be quite nice to be able to take the boat up to PO. But if it's called the Vacation Club Ferry then it sounds unlikely that it will include PO, which will certainly make it a bit easier to get a seat on the boat! It will be interesting to see what does happen.

As for the size of the boat itself, I think it is bigger than the Trumbo Ferry one (which, sadly I never got to go on) A recent poster mentioned that they had tried to keep to the same idea though, and that the seats were nice and soft!!

 

[DVC-Don]

Hope it's larger as we never got on the old one due to a long line every time we attempted it.

 

[MAC3]

I Love the name! Nothing beats Disney Vacation Club. It's named for the best of the best!

 

[paults]

As I posted last week when we got back we were told by 2 diff. CM both boat captains that the new boats are bigger 32/34 people. Just smaller than the POR/FQ boats. Yes we rode on one of them.
The Route they will use as told to us will be OKW to SSR (when it opens) to DD/west side to DD/Marketplace and then back in reverse order. I don't think the new Ferry named after the DVC will make stops at POR/FQ. They have there own boats.

 

[salvatorejrm]

I Love the name! Nothing beats Disney Vacation Club. It's named for the best of the best!

I agree with MAC3.

 

[kda]

Is the schedule a lot less frequent? Was the old ferry every 30 minutes or every 20 minutes? I'll miss it, too. We didn't ride on it last month and I'm sorry we didn't.

 

[Simba's Mom]

Originally posted by kda
Is the schedule a lot less frequent? Was the old ferry every 30 minutes or every 20 minutes?

In the afternoon at least, the new schedule is much less frequent. It used to be every 1/2 hour or so, even in the afternoon. But on the other hand it now starts earlier in the day. It seems that when we were there last year, the ferry didn't start until 1:00.

 

[kathleena]

The Trumbo Ferry which provides service from Disney's Old Key West Resort to the Downtown Disney area has been renamed the Disney Vacation Club Ferry

Where were the Imagineers on this one? I suppose they did this so it wouldn't be confused with a non-DVC ferry to POR and POFQ. If they had a name then folks might wonder "where/what is Trumbo and how do I get over there to SSR"?

I don't love it. I don't hate it. It's just that it's not imaginative, just functional.

 

[JimC]

Does anyone know if the new DVC Ferry is wheelchair accessible?

 

[tjkraz]

Originally posted by kathleena
Where were the Imagineers on this one?

(snip)

It's just that it's not imaginative, just functional.

That summarizes my feelings better than my original post. I don't have a problem with the "DVC" identifier, per se. But the new name just seems a little drab.

Someone made a comment about it being a marketing tool, and that's probably a valid point. I have to think that guests staying at OKW or SSR wouldn't have a hard time figuring out about the ferry service and how to use it. On the other hand, I'm sure it will be very easy for the DVC salespeople at Downtown Disney to steer people over to SSR simply by saying "hop on the Vacation Club Ferry and you'll be there in moments!"

For those who have questioned the schedule, I have a photo from the fall of '02 that has part of the ferry schedule in the background. At that time, trips started at 12 noon and ran every 20 minutes until at least 6pm. I can't see the other half of the photo to tell if that schedule changed later in the day. I never took the ferry, but 20 minutes, round-trip (including loading and unloading each direction) sounds like it would be about the maximum that boat would handle.

 

[jaysue]

Let's hope none of our dues went to pay for that name

thanks
jaysue