I think most of the ones not liking this don't believe for one moment that Disney is going to buy more buses and pay more staff to run this new program. They are afraid that like things in the past (FP kiosks???) they will pull staff from other areas (like the other bus system) and that service will get even worse.
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Express Transportation starting Dec 7th
- Thread starter imkrazy182
- Start date
I think most of the ones not liking this don't believe for one moment that Disney is going to buy more buses and pay more staff to run this new program. They are afraid that like things in the past (FP kiosks???) they will pull staff from other areas (like the other bus system) and that service will get even worse.
DisneyDreamer08
Well-Known Member
I may have just been crazy enough to pay for this this past September if it could have taken us to Disney Springs. Getting there from a theme park (prior to 4pm so no bus service) was ridiculous and more time consuming than it should be. We did it twice, once for a planned shopping outing and once for a BBB appointment. Both times we were going from Epcot. We did the International Gateway route once and the bus route once, transferring from a resort. In both instances, the travel to and from took longer than the time we actually spent there 
I may have just paid for a direct van route!
I may have just paid for a direct van route!Based on the buses coming every 30 minutes, this may require more time than using the regular buses and going through security again.
I might agree with you, but WDW is announcing new up charges before the dust settles on the last up charge. Also, the negative press the company is receiving is overwhelming. Most bloggers who used to be upbeat about the Disney experience are becoming increasingly critical of the current management style. The Unofficial Guide to WDW now recommends skipping DHS altogether.
Look no further than the forums whose members snort pixie dust. Even these sites are becoming increasingly hostile toward Disney. That's pretty bad. These upsells appear to be acts of desperation, not a test to see how high they can go.
PhotoDave219
Well-Known Member
Well, this is a date that will go down in infamy.
Disneyhead'71
Well-Known Member
Dec. 7th will always be remembered as the day WDW started charging for transportation.
peter11435
Well-Known Member
Technically they started that in 1971..
ford91exploder
Resident Curmudgeon
Disney is not going to shell out a few million extra for additional buses for this service I can tell you that right now. So where are the buses (and drivers) for this service going to come from, Oh that's right the REGULAR bus service.
Then we'll say December 7th was the day they started double charging for it.
ford91exploder
Resident Curmudgeon
Iger is trying to position DIS as a 'Growth Stock' to do this you need constantly increasing margins and ESPN is increasingly becoming an anchor dragging DIS down (losing 2 million subs in 2 months) instead of the profit rocket engine it USED to be. Now it's up to P&R as the remaining cash engine to both offset the losses at ESPN and contribute themselves. Since the parks operations cannot be outsourced to a lower cost country you need upcharges to boost the margins, Disney is trading on decades of customer goodwill and nostalgia, This will eventually run out and with the upcharges it will happen sooner than later.
Before anyone gets excited about the studio side of the business please remember that DIS itself only sees about 1/4 of the box office revenue as the movie theaters and film distributors (who pay for the advertising) get the remainder. So while the studios are a good business they do not reliably generate billions in revenue every quarter for Iger to spend on stock buybacks.
The increasingly negative views on 'Pixie Dust' forums should be a large blinking billboard to Disney management that they have already gone too far, But the reality is you have a cadre of executives whose careers are tied to Iger and they are getting their last few feedings at the Disney hog trough before Iger retires so these are indeed desperation moves to vacuum up as much cash as possible before the music stops playing.
Fox&Hound
Well-Known Member
I get that Disney is a business but I kind of wish they would get some bad publicity on all of these upcharge events that reek of desperation. Imagine if a national paper or news media ran an article discussing the new Disney and all of the countless ways they are squeezing money out of customers. Something that could sweep social media. Would it change their tune or is the almighty dollar king?
The Empress Lilly
Well-Known Member
Quite right, I think. The actual number of guests hasn't increased. So the regular buses will be emptier. No reason for TWDC not to pull a few buses out. (Apart from their busing system being fit for Medellin or Karachi, but we digress)
In effect, this is selling priority bus seating to the highest bidder.
ford91exploder
Resident Curmudgeon
I suspect the regular busses will be more crowded as Disney is not going to leave the 'Priority' customers standing at the stops as that will generate bad word of mouth and kill this little revenue enhancer, So the regular busses will probably be running at 25-30 minute schedules instead of the 20 minute schedules we have become accustomed to over the years and that's because Disney only has what 500 or so buses and you can figure probably 20% are out for maintenance/cleaning/driver break at any given time of the day and I doubt that except for park closing times Disney has anywhere near 100% of the available buses on the road.
Perhaps a Transportation CM can provide some color here.
21stamps
Well-Known Member
I've been here for 8 nights. I've used the monorail and launch several times, a bus 1 time, taxi 1 time, Uber 4 times.
I think a lot of people are using Uber and/or a taxi to get to or leave a park quickly, this is what I have seen anyway. Disney probably realizes this and wants a piece of the pie too. We aren't park hopping so it doesn't benefit me right now, but for the people who do it will definitely save them money over a taxi, and even with Uber.
I think a lot of people are using Uber and/or a taxi to get to or leave a park quickly, this is what I have seen anyway. Disney probably realizes this and wants a piece of the pie too. We aren't park hopping so it doesn't benefit me right now, but for the people who do it will definitely save them money over a taxi, and even with Uber.
21stamps
Well-Known Member
We loved DHS!!! I wish we had time for a second day there. I have a Touring Plans subscription and purchased the Unofficial Guide. Where does it say to skip DHS? I must have missed that part, it would make me very sad if they are advising travelers to skip DHS, there's absolutely no reason to do that.
jaklgreen
Well-Known Member
I don't get this attitude. Its not an extra fee that they added to your ticket like airlines do. It is an OPTIONAL service. You do not have to use it. Keep using the free transportation all you like. They are offering a service for those who want to pay a bit extra for it. You would think that a person would be happy to have more options. You can't win here. If they didn't have services, you all would be complaining that Disney does not offer enough. What's the real issue here? Is it that you can't afford it and so you are jealous? I would be willing to pay for this, we park hop all the time. I would love a faster way of getting to Epcot for our dinner reservation instead of leaving MK over an hour before our reservation.
Disneyhead'71
Well-Known Member
You don't understand why people are upset that Disney intentionally created a problem and are charging people an up charge to avoid the issues Disney created? Really? Why doesn't Disney just fix their current broken transportation system?
Answer: "Because if they did, no one would pay for this."
Creathir
Well-Known Member
Exactly.
This entitled attitude some folks have is disgusting.
Ya know what, Disney is just OFFERING a service. They are not slighting you.
Additional busses can easily be leased.
Ya don't like the idea of paying $15 for inter park transport behind security, then don't partake in it.
Stand in line with everyone else.
Good grief.
Sure additional buses can be leased. But I think the difference is that many of us don't believe Disney will actually do that.
Creathir
Well-Known Member
They have not intentionally created a problem. There have always been lines to get in the parks and wait for the bus. Always.
Security is/will be tightening up.
That's a fact of our modern life.
Them offering the ability to skip that mess is a godsend. Don't like it? Don't do it. No one is making you.
Really childish to whine about a new optional service they are offering.
I for one will be partaking in it on our next trip.