AK walk from bus stop to gate - in need of moving walkway?

[DisneyJunkie]

If you are worried about the distance... Wdw theme parks aren't really for you. Can't walk a quarter mile? You aren't going to last and need a scooter.

If you are worried about the environment a simple solution would be to make the path a wooded one so it would be shaded and in theme.

The suggestion of moving walkways just sets the wrong expectation.

That's a bit much. I'm talking about one park and one particular distance.....not walking in general. Suffice it to say, you walk a great deal in any of the parks. But after hours of walking and deciding to head off somewhere else, or just go back to the resort, it does seem a very long walk back to the buses at Animal Kingdom as opposed to the other parks.

 

[lazyboy97o]

it does seem a very long walk back to the buses at Animal Kingdom as opposed to the other parks.

As has already been shown to you, that is an incorrect matter of perception.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

I'm totally with the OP. Excellent thread.

MK and EPCOT, and to some extent DHS, were designed before busses were the standard mode of transport. They had no option but to squeeze in a large busstop years after opeing.

DAK by contrast was designed from day one with a large bus stop. The design is simply poor. The walk is far too long. Between the punishing climate and large parks, days at Disney are exhausting. Eight hours in DAK, then having to drag three kids for another quarter of a mile to the bus stop is exhausting. Needlessly exhausting. I'd wager to guess the bus stop was designed by fit men in their thirties. Not by people with four year old kids pulling on them, elderly, or people with physical limitations of whatever kind.

And yes - I am totally fit and have been known to go jogging after a long day in a Disney park.

 

[wm49rs]

The design is simply poor. The walk is far too long. .

Just FYI.....the distance from the furthest bus stop to the turnstiles at MK is only 6' shorter than the same distance (furthest bus stop to turnstiles) at AK. MK comes in at 1249' AK is 1255'. By comparison Epcot has the longest possible walk at roughly 1305' and DHS comes in as the lowest at 950'

But the walk actually isn't that long.....

 

[bertg]

You should see the mass of people 6 feet from the entrance who just can't make it. They look at the entrance, then where they are, then back at the entrance, and turn around and go home. So many of them just shake their fist in rage yelling, "If only there was a means of conveyance these last six feet! I could have enjoyed myself! Curse you TDO!"

It's really sad.

I just spit water all over my keyboard.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

A better design could've moved the bus load/unload area more to the top, to the left.

With better overall plan too. It's not that difficult to imagine a bus unload area at the same height of the tram unload area.

Have mercy on our poor soles!

 

[DisneyJunkie]

As has already been shown to you, that is an incorrect matter of perception.

No, it is not.

 

[wiigirl]

As has already been shown to you, that is an incorrect matter of perception.

lol....it always seems longer to leave than to get there.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

But the walk actually isn't that long.....

Yes. But then, it could so easily have been lessened by four hundred feet. That's eight hundred feet a visit, which does count for something.

 

[FettFan]

A better design could've moved the bus load/unload area more to the top, to the left.

With better overall plan too. It's not that difficult to imagine a bus unload area at the same height of the tram unload area.

Have mercy on our poor soles!

Okay then....add shade trees, and re-pave it with recycled rubber tire shred, the way they do with running tracks. This will provide a bit more cushion than the current hard concrete.

 

[wm49rs]

Yes. But then, it could so easily have been lessened by four hundred feet. That's eight hundred feet a visit, which does count for something.

Unfortunately, it's still all a matter of perception, and one that will probably never change. The walk is shorter than you see at EP, and only 6' longer than at MK, and the complaints about distance or the calls for a moving walkway at those parks have never been far and wide.

But, as you may agree, being at the parks entails some degree of mobility, and if you're unable to walk those distances, Disney and other sources provide means of transport. Which is (thankfully) another discussion altogether.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

Okay then....add shade trees, and re-pave it with recycled rubber tire shred, the way they do with running tracks. This will provide a bit more cushion than the current hard concrete.

I'm not expecting WDW to redo the area any time soon.

But shade trees would be a good idea! And quite pretty too! Have you ever been to Savannah, Georgia? they've got these beautiful walkways everywhere, covered by those trees they have in the South, what's-their-name. That would totally work in WDW.

 

[lazyboy97o]

No, it is not.

Then why don't you come up with your own numbers to prove your point?

 

[The Empress Lilly]

Unfortunately, it's still all a matter of perception, and one that will probably never change. The walk is shorter than you see at EP, and only 6' longer than at MK

But the MK was designed to be reached by boat or monorail - which both drop you off directly in front of the park. The bus stop was crammed in later, so had to be a quarter of a mile to the side.

DAK by contrast was designed with a bus stop as main mode of transport - which unlike the monorail doesn't thoughtfully drop you off directly in front of the park, but a quarter of a mile away.

It's simply poor design.

 

[Spikerdink]

I am not going to jump all over the OP, but I have to disagree about a moving sidewalk. The cost, the maintenance, the liability and the look are all negatives in my opinion.

I never found that walk to be any worse than other parks - actually I always dread the walk to EPCOT from the bus station as it seems endless before you get to the entrances.

There is so much walking to do inside all of the parks that the walk from the bus to the entrance does not seem so bad - but if you see your bus at the que when you are leaving the park - boy, does that distance seem endless as you sprint to catch it before it pulls away.

If it is the heat/sun that is more of a concern, I could see a nice line of trees to help shade the concourse.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

But, as you may agree, being at the parks entails some degree of mobility, and if you're unable to walk those distances, Disney and other sources provide means of transport. Which is (thankfully) another discussion altogether.

The solution to limited immobility is only secondly an ECV.

The first solution is the removal of obstacles. Such as height differences, pointless steps, and needlessly long distances to walk.

 

[lazyboy97o]

The solution to limited immobility is only secondly an ECV.

The first solution is the removal of obstacles. Such as height differences, pointless steps, and needlessly long distances to walk.

One could just walk less or rest more while inside of the park...

 

[wilkeliza]

No, it is not.

On page one @Master Yoda said: Just FYI.....the distance from the furthest bus stop to the turnstiles at MK is only 6' shorter than the same distance (furthest bus stop to turnstiles) at AK. MK comes in at 1249' AK is 1255'. By comparison Epcot has the longest possible walk at roughly 1305' and DHS comes in as the lowest at 950'

Even Epcot at the longest walk possible falls just short of 1/4 of a mile mark.

A better design could've moved the bus load/unload area more to the top, to the left.

With better overall plan too. It's not that difficult to imagine a bus unload area at the same height of the tram unload area.

Have mercy on our poor soles!

As you can see in the picture you posted above the trams have a shorter turning radius than the buses. Even if you put the buses sideways the tram and bus roads would have had to run parallell and the buses probably would have also had to go through the parking lot in that senario. Either the buses loose out and walk a few hundred more feet or the people driving loose out and have to walk a little more. Also the trams don't need big stops with lines and shade so they take up less space right by the entrances. Move the buses over there and everyone will complain that the first thing you see is a horrible bus depot at the front of the park.



Now I would like some shading especially when you travel in the summer but it still isn't the worst in my opinion. I just remember to keep hydrated especially at the AK. The worst when it comes to shade is hands down HS. Gosh that park can get very very hot in the summer and has little to no shading.

 

[FettFan]

I'm not expecting WDW to redo the area any time soon.

But shade trees would be a good idea! And quite pretty too! Have you ever been to Savannah, Georgia? they've got these beautiful walkways everywhere, covered by those trees they have in the South, what's-their-name. That would totally work in WDW.

White Oak. Even better than Savannah is the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans.

Here's a pic of their Sea Lion coliseum behind the trees.

 

[Master Yoda]

But the MK was designed to be reached by boat or monorail - which both drop you off directly in front of the park. The bus stop was crammed in later, so had to be a quarter of a mile to the side.

DAK by contrast was designed with a bus stop as main mode of transport - which unlike the monorail doesn't thoughtfully drop you off directly in front of the park, but a quarter of a mile away.

It's simply poor design.

Or maybe, just maybe, it was put in its location and configuration for a reason that is not apparent.