DHS parking lot tram pickup/dropoff now very far away from park entrance

sndral

Well-Known Member
Well, part of the problem is that it's such a dreary trudge through construction fencing. Walking .5 miles (total distance to & from) on a path through a garden or by a stream feels far different than marching through that straight, narrow, paved path boxed in by tall dreary construction fencing. And having the fencing covered in 'go away green' w/ a few posters doesn't help IMO.
How long is this 'temporary' path supposed to last?
 

beertiki

Well-Known Member
We were there twice last week. The walk seemed much longer than usual, and we never take the tram at DHS. Maybe it was just the boredom of green fence on both sides, and turns on each end so that there is nothing to see, but the whole thing seemed longer and bleaker than necessary. They really could have done better.
 

RonAnnArbor

Well-Known Member
Maybe this could be the complaint thread to isolate the complaints here rather than monitor the progress, much like @FlamingMonkey's I Don't Thing I'm Riding Those Gondolas thread?

OTOH, the parking lot remodel thread doesn't get as much action as the gondola thread so maybe joining them would be fine.

Or @roj2323 could link to this thread in his original post as part of the index of important topics.

Based on the following bioreconstruct aerial photo, it looks like the temporary parking tram dropoff is about the same distance from the park entrance as the new resort bus stops will be, and actually closer than some of the temporary resort bus stops and the charter bus stops. It's also about the same distance as the temporary medical parking. So at least temporarily, everyone going to the park has equal reason to complain about the arduousness of their trek to the park entrance.



Also, I used @MisterPenguin's Google Earth technique and measured the distance from the temporary parking tram drop-off to the park entrance and it's about a quarter mile, approximately the same as the distance from the park entrance to the ToT.



THIS PHOTO is a great example of how far away everything is now. That handicap parking is too far away from the entrance, and according to Title II if you look at ADA laws, its actually illegal how far away it is -- but this being Reedy Creek ID and considered private property and not Orlando they can probably get away with it. Also- the regular parking lot walkway is misleading because you do not go straight from the lot to the entrance -- you walk to the crossway which doubles back all the way to the gondola station and then joins the bus entrance line -- this in essence doubles the length of your walk to the entrance.

I heard many people complaining about "you just can't make people do this"...and I am going to suspect a lot of (at least the locals) will be staying away until this parking situation is improved. I know the local group-home that I am medical consultant for has cancelled their trip to DHS and are going to DAK instead on their outing this month. I know this is temporary, but that thought doesn't make it any more accessible.
 

Rumrunner

Well-Known Member
Visited DHS yesterday and the parking lot tram no longer drops off/picks up at the park entrance. Now the closest the tram takes you is to the front most area of the parking lot, which is still pretty far from the park entrance. They have put up construction walls that weave a long path to the park entrance. And of course this long walk is even worse when you are leaving at the end of the day, when you are tired with sore feet and cranky kids. CMs said this change was just made yesterday, but of course none of them could tell me when the trams were going to resume pickup/dropoff at the park entrance. It seems almost pointless to be running the trams with this new layout, they drive such a short distance it's laughable. My family actually did laugh, at first we thought is was a joke when they asked us to get off the tram after such a short drive. But it's no joke, so be prepared for a long walk to the park entrance, even if you do use the tram.
That has to be tough on parents with young children when leaving the park. Surely Disney has some empathy for parents with kids.
 

Timothy_Q

Well-Known Member
...and I am going to suspect a lot of (at least the locals) will be staying away until this parking situation is improved. I know the local group-home that I am medical consultant for has cancelled their trip to DHS and are going to DAK instead on their outing this month. I know this is temporary, but that thought doesn't make it any more accessible.
People have been staying away from DHS for a few years now ;)

I'm sure this won't change anything
 

peter11435

Well-Known Member
THIS PHOTO is a great example of how far away everything is now. That handicap parking is too far away from the entrance, and according to Title II if you look at ADA laws, its actually illegal how far away it is -- but this being Reedy Creek ID and considered private property and not Orlando they can probably get away with it. Also- the regular parking lot walkway is misleading because you do not go straight from the lot to the entrance -- you walk to the crossway which doubles back all the way to the gondola station and then joins the bus entrance line -- this in essence doubles the length of your walk to the entrance.

I heard many people complaining about "you just can't make people do this"...and I am going to suspect a lot of (at least the locals) will be staying away until this parking situation is improved. I know the local group-home that I am medical consultant for has cancelled their trip to DHS and are going to DAK instead on their outing this month. I know this is temporary, but that thought doesn't make it any more accessible.
I’m not sure anything about this is illegal.

RCID does not supersede ADA.
 

danlb_2000

Premium Member
THIS PHOTO is a great example of how far away everything is now. That handicap parking is too far away from the entrance, and according to Title II if you look at ADA laws, its actually illegal how far away it is -- but this being Reedy Creek ID and considered private property and not Orlando they can probably get away with it. Also- the regular parking lot walkway is misleading because you do not go straight from the lot to the entrance -- you walk to the crossway which doubles back all the way to the gondola station and then joins the bus entrance line -- this in essence doubles the length of your walk to the entrance.

I heard many people complaining about "you just can't make people do this"...and I am going to suspect a lot of (at least the locals) will be staying away until this parking situation is improved. I know the local group-home that I am medical consultant for has cancelled their trip to DHS and are going to DAK instead on their outing this month. I know this is temporary, but that thought doesn't make it any more accessible.

ADA is a federal law, Disney doesn't get to dis-regard just because of Reedy Creek.
 

Lensman

Well-Known Member
THIS PHOTO is a great example of how far away everything is now. That handicap parking is too far away from the entrance, and according to Title II if you look at ADA laws, its actually illegal how far away it is -- but this being Reedy Creek ID and considered private property and not Orlando they can probably get away with it.
What part of the ADA do you think this violates? As far as I can tell, "Accessible parking spaces must be located on the shortest accessible route of travel to an accessible facility entrance." is what the ADA says.

Also- the regular parking lot walkway is misleading because you do not go straight from the lot to the entrance -- you walk to the crossway which doubles back all the way to the gondola station and then joins the bus entrance line -- this in essence doubles the length of your walk to the entrance.
It certainly is, that's why I had to use the MisterPenguin Measuring Machination™ to add up the distances along the path to get to the total of 0.26 mile.

I heard many people complaining about "you just can't make people do this"...and I am going to suspect a lot of (at least the locals) will be staying away until this parking situation is improved. I know the local group-home that I am medical consultant for has cancelled their trip to DHS and are going to DAK instead on their outing this month. I know this is temporary, but that thought doesn't make it any more accessible.
I'm probably more concerned for the bus riders, some of whom will have to walk a quarter mile to their bus stop from the park entrance - permanently. And then they're only halfway to the ToT![/quote][/quote]
 

Lensman

Well-Known Member
The OP has a point. There is currently pretty much no point in running trams.
From the furthest tram pickup point to the tram dropoff point is another quarter of a mile, so the tram does cut the walking distance in half. Though the walk from the furthest parking space to the tram pickup is a tenth of a mile so the total walk from the furthest space to the park entrance is 0.85 mile.

What probably really seems stupid is if you're at the furthest space to the halfway stop of the tram. Then you have a 0.2 mile walk from your car to the tram, a 0.12 mile tram ride, and then a 0.26 mile walk from the tram dropoff to the park entrance. Pretty silly. And maddening!

Maybe they could get rid of the intermediate tram stops? But with current parking lot load averages, this might mean effectively not running the tram at all.
 

KRW101

Member
My daughter an I were there yesterday. Any day in a Disney Park is better than a day at work, but this walk is a bit much. The path is horrible looking, along with the not so magical construction noises, makes for a seemingly even longer walk. This is temporary, hopefully there will be significant improvement when finished.
 

Lensman

Well-Known Member
Some "coming soon" posters would ease the pain, certainly. They make it seem like you're suffering for a reason. :)

A drink cart might be nice too. Or maybe even free water? Nahhh, it'll never happen!
 

meyeet

Well-Known Member
Capture.JPG

OP may have a point about the drop off point being out of the way as illustrated above.
- Red X is Tram parking lot pickup point
- Blue X is the old Tram park drop off point
- Black circle is the NEW Tram park drop off point

This is in preparation for the opening of SW:GE next fall since the lines will extend all the way to World Showcase. Start getting your legs in shape for this trek now!



(original photo credit to bioreconstruct)
 

NYwdwfan

Well-Known Member
Some "coming soon" posters would ease the pain, certainly. They make it seem like you're suffering for a reason. :)

A drink cart might be nice too. Or maybe even free water? Nahhh, it'll never happen!
There's a "cooling bus" halfway through the temporary bus stop walk.

Slightly off topic: I clocked the walk from the AoA bus stop last week - it was .34 of a mile from the bus stop to bag check.
 
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