Disney Tour Bus Catches Fire

[peter11435]

Article

 

[AndyP]

Thanks for the article, that was a really bad fire, I'm so glad everyone got off in time!

 

[Lauriebar]

YIKES!!! Thank goodness no one was harmed!! That's awful!

 

[Invero]

It should be noted that the bus is not actually a Disney bus, but rather a bus operated by Mears Destination Services, on a contract for Disney.

 

[wannab@dis]

It should be noted that the bus is not actually a Disney bus, but rather a bus operated by Mears Destination Services, on a contract for Disney.

I noticed that. Great reporting with the Headline of "Disney Tour Bus Catches Fire", huh? At least they made mention of Mears within the article, but I guess they needed a better headline to catch attention. No offense to any reporters around here, but that is indicative of our media today.

Tyler, does Disney have any contractual agreements with Mears concerning service of busses used for Disney purposes? Can you imagine if someone got hurt? I'm sure national news would have picked up the story of "Guests die / hurt on DISNEY bus".

 

[will_hsv]

Wow, a flat tire can do that?

 

[Invero]

I noticed that. Great reporting with the Headline of "Disney Tour Bus Catches Fire", huh? At least they made mention of Mears within the article, but I guess they needed a better headline to catch attention. No offense to any reporters around here, but that is indicative of our media today.

The original article made no mention of Mears -- it wasn't until the update that they added that. I think they saw "Disney Cruise Line" on the bus, and assumed that it was a Disney bus. That's why the headline is "Disney bus" -- then again, Disney Bus catches more eyes than Mears bus.

Tyler, does Disney have any contractual agreements with Mears concerning service of busses used for Disney purposes?QUOTE]Mears is on a contract with Disney until Disney can roll out thier Guest Express program.

Can you imagine if someone got hurt? I'm sure national news would have picked up the story of "Guests die / hurt on DISNEY bus".

If that happened, my mother would be freaking, and calling me every 5 minutes... lol

Compared to most of the other charter companies in the area, Mears does take good care of thier buses, especially the Disney Cruise Line ones. According to the article, the fire was caused by a flat tire, so it probably wasn't a maintenance issue. My guess is that it was either the tag axle, or one of the duallies...

 

[joel_maxwell]

wow, glad no injuries but that sucks that they lost thier gear. think of the personal things you travel with that you kind of need. some people may have stored some of that stuff in the lower compartments.

that is terrible.

 

[Invero]

wow, glad no injuries but that sucks that they lost thier gear. think of the personal things you travel with that you kind of need. some people may have stored some of that stuff in the lower compartments.

that is terrible.

Disney Cruise Line sends luggage seperatly from passengers, all most people would take with them would be carryons. Anything in the baggage compartments would most likely be strollers, or other bulky carryons, so thankfully, the loss was minimal.

 

[joel_maxwell]

oh, ok, well, good, i think that the tennis moms can carry junior if the stroller melted in the fire. i bet they got off that bus a lot quicker than passengers filing off a plane. man, that takes forever. might as well sit back and smoke em' if you got um' because you arent going anywhere.

 

[netenyahoo]

People may have lost their passports, purses and other things of great importance. Scary stuff!

 

[Invero]

Typically, those things would be carried in carryons, like a purse, or whatnot, and would not be in the baggage compartments. Of course, if someone did leave it in a bag that they put in the bays, then yeah, they would be gone.

 

[IlovyensiD]

Thank God everyone is OK. I am sure Disney will do all they can to help the people that lost belongings.

I'm going to have my tires checked. I didn't know a flat tire could do that!!!

 

[AndyP]

Why don't Disney run the cruise line buses themselves?

 

[Invero]

I'm going to have my tires checked. I didn't know a flat tire could do that!!!

Indeed, you should always make sure your tires have the proper tread, are in good condition, and are properly inflated to the right PSI.

However, there's a big difference between the tires on your car, and the tires on a coach. In the rear of the coach, there are 6 tires. 1 'Tag' on each side, and then two 'duallies' on each side in front of the Tag.

My GUESS is that one of the inside tires on the duallies blew, and the heat from the rubbing rubber caused the smoke, and then eventually fire. Thats why the driver was able to sense something was wrong, and stop the bus in time.

Some coaches have tire pressure monitors as options, but I guess that its an option that most operators don't get because it raises the cost of the coach.

 

[Invero]

Why don't Disney run the cruise line buses themselves?

It's cheaper to outsource. Disney only uses the buses on days when the DCL is in port. Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday. Those other four days, the buses would be useless. By having Mears operate them, they can lower thier bottom line because the buses would see revenue service 7 days a week, instead of 3.

 

[disneydummy125]

Luckily no one got hurt! That was a close one! I would have been terrified!

 

[se8472]

It's cheaper to outsource. Disney only uses the buses on days when the DCL is in port. Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday. Those other four days, the buses would be useless. By having Mears operate them, they can lower thier bottom line because the buses would see revenue service 7 days a week, instead of 3.

Also gives that friendly compition. Just like how the CM who sell the ballons on Main Street are not really Disney CM. Well they are but they arn't...something confusing like that.

 

[mwitkus]

We just saw the article and pictures from that. It was awful! What a horrifying way to start your vacation!!

We're just glad everyone got off the bus safely. Thank goodness that bus driver acted quickly and wisely!

 

[10 min. to wdw]

tire fires are one of the hardest fires to put out as well, the driver did a great job getting everyone off the bus in time. It should also be noted that alot of busses have a fire surpression system on board, they are almost failsafe when there is a fire. I have seen them fail with no fire and dentate but anytime there is a fire they always go off, I'm assuming this bus didn't have that system.