Disney Parks Transportation

[_caleb]

Most of the time, Parks fans draw a pretty clear line between rides and transportation.

But some of us? We’re fans of the transportation itself: trains, monorails, boats, PeopleMovers, Skyliners, trams, moving walkways, etc.

To me, these are quintessential Disney. It’s not just how you get from point A to point B, it’s part of the experience.

Which is why I’ve been surprised to see so many posts lately praising WDW’s bus system.

From an operational standpoint, buses are incredibly practical:

• Flexible: no fixed infrastructure
• Scalable: just add more buses
• Cost-effective: off-the-shelf solutions

But from a guest experience standpoint?

• Slow (loading, traffic, unpredictability)
• Uninspiring (most of us ride buses at home)
• And honestly… kind of the least “Disney” option imaginable

Walt was obsessed with transportation. He built Disneyland around a railroad. His E.P.C.O.T. vision centered on a fully integrated, multi-modal system designed to move people beautifully AND efficiently.

I would love to see a network of all sorts of transportation across the parks and resorts. I love the motion, the sounds, and the kinetic energy these bring to the experience.

So I'm starting this thread to discuss this.

Have we just accepted buses as "good enough" in a place that's supposed to be anything but? How would you like to see the Parks develop the transportation system?

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

It’s always funny how some people will say “it’s too expensive and complicated to build and operate monorails and boats all over the place” - and then look around at all the monorails and boats that have been built and are operating.

“it’s kind of fun to do the impossible”

 

[_caleb]

It’s always funny how some people will say “it’s too expensive and complicated to build and operate monorails and boats all over the place” - and then look around at all the monorails and boats that have been built and are operating.

“it’s kind of fun to do the impossible”

I agree! I’ve been looking for statistics about how many people Disney moves using the monorails. The best I can find indicates over 150,000 guests per day and more than 50,000,000 per year!

To me a ride on the monorail is an essential part of the Disney (especially MK) experience.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

To me a ride on the monorail is an essential part of the Disney (especially MK) experience.

Yes! It’s one of the few things missing from Paris that makes me sad :-/

 

[Ayla]

I don't ride buses at home. Don't assume your experience is universal.

 

[dmc493]

I love my buses. Sounds weird but you sink in late at night, frigid AC, lights get turned off and you can kind of zone out and drift off after an amazing day. Sure we've all had a rough time at a bus stop one time or another, but otherwise they're reliable, they're a direct stop, and relatively quick

 

[_caleb]

I don't ride buses at home. Don't assume your experience is universal.

Not assuming it’s universal at all. But don’t you think that school buses, parking buses, city buses, airport buses, tour buses, etc. are pretty common?

 

[_caleb]

I love my buses. Sounds weird but you sink in late at night, frigid AC, lights get turned off and you can kind of zone out and drift off after an amazing day. Sure we've all had a rough time at a bus stop one time or another, but otherwise they're reliable, they're a direct stop, and relatively quick

Do you prefer the bus to, say, the monorail? (Obviously not direct for most destinations on property.)

 

[_caleb]

Some of my favorite spots in the parks are places where multiple modes of transportation intersect or pass one another.

I’ve been trying to think specific examples. Anyone have any favorites?

 

[moonrqys]

Some of my favorite spots in the parks are places where multiple modes of transportation intersect or pass one another.

I’ve been trying to think specific examples. Anyone have any favorites?

Not quite “transportation” on both sides, but where the Monorail passes Autopia is one of my favorites!

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

Not quite “transportation” on both sides, but where the Monorail passes Autopia is one of my favorites!

Ah! There we go!!

Originally that spot had monorail, steam train, skyway, peoplemover, submarine, and autopia all crossing paths!!!! I was never around for all that of course.

But it’s still a really incredible place.

 

[nickys]

Some of my favorite spots in the parks are places where multiple modes of transportation intersect or pass one another.

I’ve been trying to think specific examples. Anyone have any favorites?

If they’re your favourite places, how are you unable to think of even one?

 

[nickys]

However, I did think of the following:

At DLP

- the Molly Brown passing a BTM train as it passes through the splash zone

- Casey Jnr train passing over the canal boats

At MK

- the People Mover as it passes Space Mountain (back when you could see it properly)

- the MK railroad passing the Liberty Belle (RIP)

At WDW

- monorails passing each other (I know it’s the same transport system)

- the boats from MK to Bay Lake passing over the aqueduct

 

[Baron Von Capybara]

My favourite places are anywhere the skyliner passes over the road network.

 

[dmc493]

Do you prefer the bus to, say, the monorail? (Obviously not direct for most destinations on property.)

My preferred resorts as an adult do not result in me taking the monorail often, if ever (POFQ, Wilderness Lodge, Caribbean Beach)

That being said, my favorite transportation has to be watercraft, I love being on the water, and that's based on a long childhood of trips where we stayed at Fort Wilderness cabins. Crescent Lake transportation's not quite the same but I still enjoy it

 

[marni1971]

Rivers of America.

Oh….

 

[dmc493]

Rivers of America.

Oh….

man you really had to go there huh

 

[nickys]

Rivers of America.

Oh….

Thank Mickey for Paris.

 

[Ayla]

Not assuming it’s universal at all. But don’t you think that school buses, parking buses, city buses, airport buses, tour buses, etc. are pretty common?

Just because they are common doesn't mean everyone rides them. As a 51 year old empty nester who lives in a relatively rural area, my last ride on any kind of bus was a private coach bus in Amsterdam about 18 months ago. Public transportation is non-existent across most of the country, unfortunately.

I love the buses at Disney. I marvel every trip at their efficiency and the amount of people they seamlessly move literally every single day of the year.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

I love the buses at Disney. I marvel every trip at their efficiency and the amount of people they seamlessly move literally every single day of the year.

It is a very impressive system!

Thank Mickey for Paris.

And Anaheim!