News Improvements coming to the entrances of all four Walt Disney World theme parks

MrPromey

Well-Known Member
So i was there the week after 911 .and they were all ready checking, bags etc looks like that will never change.

I guess after almost 18 years, they've accepted this is a permanent necessity. Sad that we live in a world where that has to be the case but good that they have finally begun work to streamline the process.

I hope more work can go into things like park-hopping where once you have gone through a check and are "in the system" you don't have to do it again if you move directly with Disney transportation.

I know that was supposed to be a feature of the up-charge transportation but since that's gone, it seems like it would be better for them and guests to make this happen and eliminate another bottleneck (and need for additional security staffing).

At the moment, they may be happy with a little more inconvenience when it comes to park hopping but as the three parks who have needed to, have begun to shape up and maybe, if they get evening hours more evenly spread across all four parks in coming years, this option will start to seem like a good thing to them, again. (fingers crossed)
 

I am Timmy

Well-Known Member
What exactly is this security screening on the walkway between MK and Contemporary? For example - say I take an Uber to the Contemporary for lunch, then walk to MK from there. What exactly will be different from now? Or, walking back to the resort after MK closes to catch an Uber. We did this quite a bit in Dec. and never saw any security, now I'm curious. Or possibly confused. We'll go with both. TIA!!
 

peter11435

Well-Known Member
What exactly is this security screening on the walkway between MK and Contemporary? For example - say I take an Uber to the Contemporary for lunch, then walk to MK from there. What exactly will be different from now? Or, walking back to the resort after MK closes to catch an Uber. We did this quite a bit in Dec. and never saw any security, now I'm curious. Or possibly confused. We'll go with both. TIA!!
This is a permanent location for bag check and metal detectors along that path. Replacing the temporary tent that has been in place. If you walked that path in Dec then you went through this security checkpoint already as it has been in place a while.
 

FullSailDan

Well-Known Member
I guess after almost 18 years, they've accepted this is a permanent necessity. Sad that we live in a world where that has to be the case but good that they have finally begun work to streamline the process.

I hope more work can go into things like park-hopping where once you have gone through a check and are "in the system" you don't have to do it again if you move directly with Disney transportation.

I know that was supposed to be a feature of the up-charge transportation but since that's gone, it seems like it would be better for them and guests to make this happen and eliminate another bottleneck (and need for additional security staffing).

At the moment, they may be happy with a little more inconvenience when it comes to park hopping but as the three parks who have needed to, have begun to shape up and maybe, if they get evening hours more evenly spread across all four parks in coming years, this option will start to seem like a good thing to them, again. (fingers crossed)

It's really not that bad to go through security, it takes us less than a few minutes usually even in early morning. By the time you'd be park hopping, the lines are usually really low. The bigger win for the backstage transport was not having to wait for buses and long walks to them. Ultimately the service was doomed to fail, it wasn't enough of a perk to justify the price, and if they priced it too much lower then it would have been overcrowded and defeated the purpose. I'd rather see the company invest in the parks then in trying to double the needed buses for those parkhopping vs not.
 

ABQ

Well-Known Member
Epcot main gate is the one that's still a horror show. The other 3 parks, though who knows once Star Wars opens what it'll be like at the Studios, aren't that bad. MK with all its pushing of bag checks back to the resorts and boat docks has made things much easier. But under that monorail station at Epcot can be quite a disaster.
 

tissandtully

Well-Known Member
Epcot main gate is the one that's still a horror show. The other 3 parks, though who knows once Star Wars opens what it'll be like at the Studios, aren't that bad. MK with all its pushing of bag checks back to the resorts and boat docks has made things much easier. But under that monorail station at Epcot can be quite a disaster.
I agree, Epcot is definitely the worst, especially since people coming off the monorail have already been through bag check, but they let bus riders mix with those and they have to check your bags again! It's very frustrating. Apparently this is being addressed in the redesign?
 

MrPromey

Well-Known Member
It's really not that bad to go through security, it takes us less than a few minutes usually even in early morning. By the time you'd be park hopping, the lines are usually really low. The bigger win for the backstage transport was not having to wait for buses and long walks to them. Ultimately the service was doomed to fail, it wasn't enough of a perk to justify the price, and if they priced it too much lower then it would have been overcrowded and defeated the purpose. I'd rather see the company invest in the parks then in trying to double the needed buses for those parkhopping vs not.

I'd rather them invest in the parks rather than double the needed buses, too, which is why I'm suggesting nothing like that, at all. I may have been a little unclear in my original post, though.

I'm not talking about adding transportation, just making it so you don't have to go through security a second time if you've already passed through it to enter another park and are staying within secured areas. So if you take the monorail from Ticket and Transportation to Epcot, you've already done security. Why have to do it again other than Disney logistics, (which shouldn't be the guest's problem) Same with park-to-park buses.

In the case of the Epcot monorail line, swapping the entrance and exit at the Monorail station would be one easy way to fix that. A slightly more involved way would be redoing the exit to finally eliminate that runway which was only put there there as the preview area for Epcot while it was still under construction when all you could really do was take the monorail out, look around there and then go back. The extra hike to go out and then come back at the bottom has been a waste of steps for decades, adding nothing to the guest experience.

I'm glad you've had mostly fast and easy times with security. That has not always been the case for me, traveling with young children with strollers and older family members that have mobility devices and the various accoutrements and supplies that come with them all.

Maybe I'm just bitter because I know by myself, I could just breeze through the no-bag entrance but my pack mule minded family aren't just an annoyance to me, they, and many others like them, are also a problem for everyone behind us in a security line.

Basically it comes down to this: Lines and waiting are what most of my day at Disney is. Lines to get into a parking lot, lines to get to a parking space, waiting for a tram, lines to go through security, lines to buy tickets/passes (okay, this one's only once a year for my pass), lines to get on a monorail or ferry or bus, lines to get into a park, lines to do just about anything in a park (even with fastpass), lines to eat quick-service food, lines to leave a park, lines to get on a tram back to a car, lines to get out of a parking lot at the end of the night... If I thought about it, I could probably give even more examples but I think you get my point.

Honestly, I spend more of my time in lines or waiting than doing anything else when I go there, these days and by an overwhelminly large margin as new attraction times seem to be getting shorter and shorter. As prices and waits both continue to go up with no apparent ceiling in sight for either, it becomes less and less of an enjoyable experience. I'd consider eliminating any of those lines or waits a win and this feels like it would be an easy win.

Until it maybe/eventually gets over-run and has its own problems, I love mobile ordering for this reason. Did they need to add that? No but I'm glad they did and I don't think we missed out on an e-ticket to get that space established at the counters or the mobile ordering functionality created for the app.

First-world problems? Perhaps but everything related to a Disney vacation that isn't ideal is, don't you think?

I don't think resolving this park-to-park transportation quirk would be a (relatively) expensive issue for Disney since it's just about entrances and exits for specific transportation routes that already exist, especially at a time that entrances are already being reconfigured, anyway.

Getting anyone out of a line makes things better for everyone in the line so I don't see who would be the losers in all this.

For the record, I'm not overly-passionate about this single issue and I realize there are plenty of other things more pressing for Disney to address but it's still something I'd like to see them address, at some point, anyway, none-the-less.
 
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pdude81

Well-Known Member
Can't just swap the ramps at Epcot. Then you're making thousands of people get in a security line to leave the park, which would be much more unpopular.
 

seascape

Well-Known Member
Once they finish the bridge being built from the monorail station into Epcot, the entire monorail system will be inside the security zone.
 

JohnD

Well-Known Member
Once they finish the bridge being built from the monorail station into Epcot, the entire monorail system will be inside the security zone.

I guess that would be true. You would either enter security at the TTC then board the Epcot monorail, go through security at the MK resorts then transfer to the Epcot monorail, or board the express or resort monorail from MK to the TTC and transfer to the Epcot monorail, having already gone through security to enter MK.

But into the Epcot security zone but outside the gate. Still need to check for valid entry.
 

MrPromey

Well-Known Member
Can't just swap the ramps at Epcot. Then you're making thousands of people get in a security line to leave the park, which would be much more unpopular.

Why would they need to get in a security line? Just put an exit gate over there on that side like they have to go to the parking lot by foot on the other. Could be done overnight.
 

pdude81

Well-Known Member
Why would they need to get in a security line? Just put an exit gate over there on that side like they have to go to the parking lot by foot on the other. Could be done overnight.

So you are saying that they have an easy solution to secure that area that they can implement overnight? But this solution requires that they change the traffic flow and not just secure the area?
 

jaklgreen

Well-Known Member
I guess that would be true. You would either enter security at the TTC then board the Epcot monorail, go through security at the MK resorts then transfer to the Epcot monorail, or board the express or resort monorail from MK to the TTC and transfer to the Epcot monorail, having already gone through security to enter MK.

But into the Epcot security zone but outside the gate. Still need to check for valid entry.

But those getting off of the monorail are not enclosed in a gated area. They are free to leave and go to the parking lot. So anyone can get off of the monorail, after going through security at the TTC, and then go out to a car and get whatever they want. They would have to make the ramp enclosed somehow. And right not that would hinder the people coming off of the buses and the trams.
 

MrPromey

Well-Known Member
So you are saying that they have an easy solution to secure that area that they can implement overnight? But this solution requires that they change the traffic flow and not just secure the area?

I’m saying if they reverse the traffic flow, the area is already secure. The ramp you go up to get on the monorail today is already behind the security area so reversing it would deposit guests coming from the ticket and transportation center beyond the security.

Of course, signs would need to be updated, monorail programming would need to be changed to reverse the order doors open and such but this isn’t a change that would require serious construction or detailed planning to implement.

My point is, unless I’m missing something (and I might be - feel free to set me straight if I am) this feels like low hanging fruit to me.
 

monothingie

Proxy War 2024: Never Forget
Premium Member
I’m saying if they reverse the traffic flow, the area is already secure. The ramp you go up to get on the monorail today is already behind the security area so reversing it would deposit guests coming from the ticket and transportation center beyond the security.

Of course, signs would need to be updated, monorail programming would need to be changed to reverse the order doors open and such but this isn’t a change that would require serious construction or detailed planning to implement.

My point is, unless I’m missing something (and I might be - feel free to set me straight if I am) this feels like low hanging fruit to me.

I brought this up a while ago and fully agree, the only potential problem is where the tram stop and current monorail exit basically share the same space. It could get pretty tight, but I don't think it can't be done.

349767
 

MrPromey

Well-Known Member
I brought this up a while ago and fully agree, the only potential problem is where the tram stop and current monorail exit basically share the same space. It could get pretty tight, but I don't think it can't be done.

View attachment 349767

The secure exit to monorail! That’s the part I wasn’t seeing. You’re absolutely right that there would also need to be a secure path back, otherwise, someone could board from Epcot and get into the TTC area without going through security!

Still a pretty easy fix with the move/addition of some fencing. Not sure they’d even need to reverse the flow in this scenario (thought i think it would still make sense to).
 

mmascari

Well-Known Member
My point is, unless I’m missing something (and I might be - feel free to set me straight if I am) this feels like low hanging fruit to me.

It only solves half a problem, that's what's missing.

If you reverse it, you can get from Monorail to EPCOT in the zone. But, now you can't get out and stay in the zone.

You could add security screening to the ramp going up. Guests exiting would mingle with outside and then be screened going up the the now entrance ramp.

You could have the exit from the EPCOT loop at the TTC be outside the bubble and screen them there. Now you have to make sure everyone gets off. Otherwise you could park at EPCOT, board, ride the full loop back to EPCOT and be inside the zone.

Or, you could change the ramp so that it's accessible inside the zone, making both sides in the zone and eliminating the need to reverse direction.

I kept thinking a reverse would solve it too, until I realized the problem isn't "get from monorail into EPCOT all inside the zone", it's really "get the entire monorail all inside the zone".
 

pdude81

Well-Known Member
And also not change the routes or drop off points for all traffic in that area (train/tram/bus). The easiest thing they could do would be to build a new exit ramp that crossed over the fence, but among other issues they'd have to figure out how the people would be able to exit the monorail while they were doing construction in that spot.
 

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