Disney contracting in-park bus service to mears?

[BenS]

I'm leaving DHS right now after waiting in the longest line I've ever seen for a bus (going to all-star music) and I noticed that a lot (1/4?) of the buses going to hotels right now are mears shuttles instead of Disney transport buses. I've never seen them do this before, does Disney now have some deal with mears to help with busing during high crowds?

 

[wdwmagic]

Yep this has been done in the past during high demand times.

 

[BenS]

Interesting. I've been here for Christmas a couple times, which was way more crowded than this, but they weren't doing it then (although it's quite possible I simply didn't notice). It feels sort of un-magical, but that really doesn't matter to me when the line for the bus extends well over a hundred feet out of the queue.

 

[wdwmagic]

Interesting. I've been here for Christmas a couple times, which was way more crowded than this, but they weren't doing it then (although it's quite possible I simply didn't notice). It feels sort of un-magical, but that really doesn't matter to me when the line for the bus extends well over a hundred feet out of the queue.

Yeah seems strange they are doing it tonight, as the parks shouldnt be that busy. I've certainly seen it first hand a few times, and equally I have seen very busy times with no Meers busses in sight. Maybe one of transportation members can fill us in on the circumstances for this to happen.

 

[mrerk]

Yeah seems strange they are doing it tonight, as the parks shouldnt be that busy. I've certainly seen it first hand a few times, and equally I have seen very busy times with no Meers busses in sight. Maybe one of transportation members can fill us in on the circumstances for this to happen.

The seasonal pass blackout ended a couple of days ago. Does that have a noticeable impact?

 

[farmgirl]

My husband and I were at WDW early November last year. It is pretty quiet then but one night we were at DHS and it was raining and cold the lines were long and they brought in the Mears busses too. The driver said they had to some nights in order to keep up.

 

[luckyeye13]

Maybe they are using this time to install the Magic on Demand system in the new Gillig buses (the ones with numbers ending in 08). When I left Florida back in May, none of those buses had the system in yet, so they were being used as much as possible on the Cast shuttles and Fort Wilderness routes, where there is only a set path to follow and the lack of spiel and background music is not too big of a deal. Since most of the time after I left was peak summer season when every bus would be needed and then some, the work was probably not done then.

 

[Fantasia freak]

The Mears busses are chartered 2 weeks in advance, if the forcast says we will have heaver crowds than we can handle ourselves at a certain park. If the crowds don't show, we still have to use them since we are already paying for them.

 

[uklad79]

Is this happening because the resorts are busier or because less people are using cars when they stay on site? Seems odd that over the years Disney has kept up with demand by expanding the number of buses it has but now it brings in an outside contractor. I wonder if anyone has a record of how many buses Disney has had each year since opening? Do they expand the number of buses every time a resort opens and buy non in between to keep up with greater demand?

 

[Montyboy]

Interesting. I've been here for Christmas a couple times, which was way more crowded than this, but they weren't doing it then (although it's quite possible I simply didn't notice). It feels sort of un-magical, but that really doesn't matter to me when the line for the bus extends well over a hundred feet out of the queue.

Do the Disney busses feel magical?

 

[krankenstein]

Do the Disney busses feel magical?

y thoughts exatly. I was picked up by a Mears bus in May, It sure was a lot nicer and more comfortable than the regular resort buses.

 

[Hurricane]

Is this happening because the resorts are busier or because less people are using cars when they stay on site? Seems odd that over the years Disney has kept up with demand by expanding the number of buses it has but now it brings in an outside contractor. I wonder if anyone has a record of how many buses Disney has had each year since opening? Do they expand the number of buses every time a resort opens and buy non in between to keep up with greater demand?

It wouldn't make sense to buy buses that aren't used routinely (eg a bus that is only needed at peak times). It makes far greater sense to charter them when they need them. Think of the car park at your average mall. It's built to handle the Christmas Eve crowds and the rest of the year is only partially filled.

 

[uklad79]

It wouldn't make sense to buy buses that aren't used routinely (eg a bus that is only needed at peak times). It makes far greater sense to charter them when they need them. Think of the car park at your average mall. It's built to handle the Christmas Eve crowds and the rest of the year is only partially filled.

Yes but the point of my post which you seem to have missed was why is this happening now is it due to lack of investment in expanding the bus fleet as they have in previous years, unexpected short term peaks or more people using the buses rather than cars.

 

[RiversideBunny]

....as the parks shouldnt be that busy. ....

?? It's August, Dude.

 

[Bronson55]

Disney buses

We just returned from WDW 8/5 - 8/14, POFQ. The wait for buses was the longest ever. One evening leaving EPOT, we had to wait for 11 buses to fill before finally getting on. The wait was 85 minutes. Another constant problem was waiting to get to the parks. One morning we waited 55 minutes at POFQ for a bus to AK. During that time 6 EPCOT buses arrived, 5 Magic Kingdom Busses and an assortment of other buses arrived and left empty. The Bus coordinator said the problem is the GPS system that was installed a few months back. It just isn't working. We also saw extensive use of Mears buses on most nights except Sunday. They can't accommodate ECVs. One pleasant suprise was the bus greeter apologized for the wait and asked us what room we were staying at. When we returned that evening we found a phone msg saying a credit of $25.00 was added to out account for we could enjoy a snack on her. Quite unexpected nor solicited. My only complaint in general is not the wait for the buses but the amount of disinformation given to the guests by many of the cast members. They tell you whatever they feel will get them out of the situation. Ask 5 cast members the same question and you will most likely get 5 different reasons or operational rules as to why there was a problem.