Next Gen Busses

[Goofyernmost]

Wraps, even at that size are fairly cheap and easy to put on and replace as needed. There's a reason most racing teams ( car and motorcycle) use them, it's easy to keep in stock, relatively easy and quicker to apply than a custom paint job. And they are rather durable to small road debris. More so than paint generally is.

OK, I'm not going to argue the difference between a motorcycle or car and a 42 foot bus. Or the need for a very quick turnaround.

 

[tonymu]

Watching the video and seeing the line of buses with all the different colors, especially lined up like that when you can't see the characters, just looks busy and messy. I like the uniform clean look of the gray and red buses.

 

[Tom Morrow]

Wait... is there literally just one wrapped bus per character? Or do they plan to roll out a bunch of these? If it's literally just those six buses, then I can tolerate that.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

Wait... is there literally just one wrapped bus per character? Or do they plan to roll out a bunch of these? If it's literally just those six buses, then I can tolerate that.

The guy on the video said he thinks this was just the first batch and that there would be 60 or 70 made (of the same 6 designs.)

If you think about it, there was a whole Aladdin wrapped bus just to promote the movie (in the same video) which I can’t imagine was designed to run for ten years like that so who knows what they’re thinking right now. Sometimes you just try out new things, not everything has to be a life or death decision, right? Everything is temporary. Even the potato wrapped snapper at Flying Fish.

 

[eddie104]

These buses are replacing the whole fleet right ?

 

[Goofyernmost]

These buses are replacing the whole fleet right ?

That could probably be classified as "Dependsif" Depends if you are talking about over an extended period of time or it depends if they will decided to continue on with that design or (and this is connected with the first one) Depends if these are just replacing all or part of those that are being phased out due to age and mileage. I can pretty much guarantee you that they will not be junking the fairly new buses acquired within the past 5 years or so quite yet.

 

[Driver]

And remember, it's not pure diesel...it's biodiesel. I'm not absolutely sure what the ratio is (50%-50%?), but the oil that's used for everyone's chicken nuggets and fries gets turned into the bio in the biodiesel. If I'm not mistaken (@Driver)? There is a plant on property that refines and purifies the oil. At least that is a step in the right direction and saves WDW a LOT of $$ on fuel.

It is not made on property, they have a vendor that picks up the used oil, processes it into bio then blends it with regular diesel. When we get it it's ready to use. As far as a savings, that would be a stretch to make that statement. When you calculate the cost of handling and processing it's more of a break even. But nonetheless there is the advantage of being environmentally friendly.

 

[Driver]

Has anyone heard whether they are going to extend the wraps to the existing fleet or will it be limited to only the new fleet? Or maybe just this particular order?

I'm not sure how I feel about the inconsistency, but I almost think it's better to have the wraps be limited to a subset of the fleet. That way it's not overwhelming at the bus depots at the parks. An added plus is that you would instantly be able to tell which buses have USB charging in case you need it.

Not all busses get wrapped, and no they will not wrap the whole fleet

 

[Driver]

These buses are replacing the whole fleet right ?

Not hardly, we currently have 380 busses. Some are Gilligs and some are Nova's. The plan is to eliminate a little more than half the Nova's as they are the oldest in the fleet. So that would be about 40 Nova's being retired. There are 76 new Gilligs coming in, after all is said and done that should put the fleet at about 422 busses +/- depending on wether anything unexpected happens like a collision that totals a bus that was intended to stay.

 

[Driver]

I can say that I am a lot more interested in how comfortable it will be to be a passenger on these new buses. How do they ride? And at a higher level, what are they going to do (or continue to do) to make the running of buses in general more efficient for guests? And if other modes and/or updates to transportation etc. are going to happen anytime soon to alleviate the stress put on buses (skyliner being a start).

The new busses are just more Gilligs, they are the proven workhorse used by many municipalities. And are identical to the Gilligs we are currently running in every way. However they do come equipped with new equipment for dispatching. Disney is in the process of bringing in a new system that will offer more accurate response to guest need and of course more efficient. It is currently being used in Fort Wilderness so we can work the bugs out. Then all drivers will receive training as the rest of the fleet gets the new equipment and the transition is completed. It will take about a year for this process to be done.

 

[GlacierGlacier]

This is one case where I absolutely trust the word of a Bus Driver

 

[larryz]

It is not made on property, they have a vendor that picks up the used oil, processes it into bio then blends it with regular diesel. When we get it it's ready to use. As far as a savings, that would be a stretch to make that statement. When you calculate the cost of handling and processing it's more of a break even. But nonetheless there is the advantage of being environmentally friendly.

Yeah, like making the bus exhaust smell like french fries?

 

[ImperfectPixie]

OK, I'm not going to argue the difference between a motorcycle or car and a 42 foot bus. Or the need for a very quick turnaround.

If Disney isn't able to produce these graphics on-demand in their own sign shop, then shame on them. Also, for someone who spends their work hours applying graphics, the only difference between doing a car and a bus is size. It's the same principles used in both cases...one just has more area to cover than the other (and it doesn't make as much of a difference time-wise as you'd think because you just put more people on the job).

 

[Missing20K]

Not all busses get wrapped, and no they will not wrap the whole fleet

If they aren't wrapping them all, or are not at least planning on phasing in the wraps as they get new buses, I understand this decision even less.

Queue response about how I'm not paid to understand DIS decisions.

 

[peter11435]

If they aren't wrapping them all, or are not at least planning on phasing in the wraps as they get new buses, I understand this decision even less.

Queue response about how I'm not paid to understand DIS decisions.

Especially since even before this they never finished changing the fleet to the new design. So there will now be 4 styles of buses not counting promotional wraps.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

Have the articulated busses been a success? Or not? Just wondering if the plan at one time was to expand their use.

 

[peter11435]

Have the articulated busses been a success? Or not? Just wondering if the plan at one time was to expand their use.

They’re limited to what routes can accommodate them.

 

[Unplugged]

Yeah, like making the bus exhaust smell like french fries?

And I would have thought that McDonald's had the rights to that and pulled them from Dis when they left the parks & Downtown. Nothing smells "better" than a bus that smells like McD's! The french fries, ok, but not McD's.) Though I have friends in Austin TX who have converted older diesel cars to run on pure veg oil that they pick up from local places and purify themselves. Ever smell a 40 year old Mercedes? Did you know they smell like Chimichangas?

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

They’re limited to what routes can accommodate them.

Which is why I asked if the plan was to expand their use.....

 

[Goofyernmost]

If Disney isn't able to produce these graphics on-demand in their own sign shop, then shame on them. Also, for someone who spends their work hours applying graphics, the only difference between doing a car and a bus is size. It's the same principles used in both cases...one just has more area to cover than the other (and it doesn't make as much of a difference time-wise as you'd think because you just put more people on the job).

OK, you win, it's a piece of cake. The people(s) that do it are grossly overpaid because it is a snap to do. Multi-colors are never a problem to line up and look the same and Disney is doing this on the cheap. Besides who wants to go to WDW and get excited about the fun aspect of it. Now they can b itch about how out of place the characters are on a bus on Disney Property. Time to end this discussion all the negative aspects about the buses are correct and whomever green lit those monsters should have his or her fingernails pulled out with rusty pliers.