Express Transportation starting Dec 7th

[LAKid53]

To make the express bus service actually work, they'd need to build special secure bus areas inside the secured perimeter. That would have gotten them past the backstage problem.

It's cheaper, and they'll get more ROI, if they just switched to Minnie Vans, though, that don't go into secure areas. Also, the van is IP based so it's a win-win with the current management. Buses were just buses.

We had to pass through security to board the monorail and then pass through security AGAIN when going into Epcot from the monorail. I don't remember going through security twice riding the monorail from Poly to MK. I agree, if special transportation means speeding through security when boarding, then when getting to a park, you should bypass it.

Never used the express bus service, but if it was such a great option as some have said, will it return once all the backstage construction is completed? Because, that's my issue, getting around the parks. And Disney really needs to rethink the park to park or DS buses not starting until 4 pm.

 

[Chef Mickey]

The service would have been great if it was just the standard bus between parks. Instead it was an extra cost, relatively unknown and was a naked cash grab.

They easily could have just moved the standard bus back there for resort guests and made it a sure fire hit and marketing point for resort guests. They lost it based solely on their desire to get more money.

You're totally wrong. Did you use the service? This was NOT a cash grab. The service offered exactly on time buses, convenient backstage load, and even better backstage unload with NO bag check. I would pay $100/person for it today.

Your assumption that regular buses could "easily" operate backstage is absolutely shortsighted and not feasible. Wheelchairs, the sheer number of people, and the logistics of loading many buses backstage make that impossible. If Disney tries to start loading 100 people on the bus, they lose control of people backstage and they lose the ability to leave ON TIME, negating all the benefits I mentioned. It has to be a limited number of people and has to be regulated through charging customers that elect to use the service. If too many people start using it and it crowds the system, prices have to be raised.

If they have the service, it absolutely has to be limited to just a few guests. If you've used this service, you'd understand why. The reason it was magical was because there was no drama. Bus left exactly as scheduled, people to the bus in an orderly fashion, and people respected backstage areas. This would not happen if this became a standard service for the masses.

 

[Brad Bishop]

You're totally wrong. Did you use the service? This was NOT a cash grab. The service offered exactly on time buses, convenient backstage load, and even better backstage unload with NO bag check. I would pay $100/person for it today.

Your soapbox about regular buses "easily" operating backstage is just not feasible. Wheelchairs, the sheer number of people, and the logistics of loading many buses backstage make that impossible. If Disney tries to start loading 100 people on the bus, they lose control of people backstage and they lose the ability to leave ON TIME, negating all the benefits I mentioned.

If they have the service, it absolutely has to be limited to just a few guests. If you've used this service, you'd understand why.

So what you're saying is that it's possible for them to build a bus terminal outside of the parks which handle a lot of park hoppers but impossible to build a secure terminal within the secured area inside each park which would benefit all park hoppers as well as alleviate the strain on security.

I'm not talking about a weird backstage dropoff in employee parking but a well done and small bus terminal (you're only concerned about the other parks so you only need 4 stops) and some minor theming so you don't feel backstage.

The only way this works is by them charging a small number of guests and dumping them off backstage in something like employee parking.

Pretty sure it was just another cash grab. This wasn't about "guest experience" but about pulling more money out of the guest's wallet with limited (zero?) expense. No effort to make it integrated, the only effort was to try to charge the guest for something that makes more sense to be doing all along.

 

[jt04]

The service would have been great if it was just the standard bus between parks. Instead it was an extra cost, relatively unknown and was a naked cash grab.

They easily could have just moved the standard bus back there for resort guests and made it a sure fire hit and marketing point for resort guests. They lost it based solely on their desire to get more money.

I doubt this is logistically possible. Basically you would have many of the busses currently serving the parks trying to navigate backstage. Traffic nightmare.

Light rail, monorail or gondola system or pay to ride busses are the only viable long term solution. IMO.

Oh, and possibly self driving "cars" on a dedicated track. Looking at you Epcot monorail beams.

 

[Chef Mickey]

So what you're saying is that it's possible for them to build a bus terminal outside of the parks which handle a lot of park hoppers but impossible to build a secure terminal within the secured area inside each park which would benefit all park hoppers as well as alleviate the strain on security.

I'm not talking about a weird backstage dropoff in employee parking but a well done and small bus terminal (you're only concerned about the other parks so you only need 4 stops) and some minor theming so you don't feel backstage.

The only way this works is by them charging a small number of guests and dumping them off backstage in something like employee parking.

Pretty sure it was just another cash grab. This wasn't about "guest experience" but about pulling more money out of the guest's wallet with limited (zero?) expense. No effort to make it integrated, the only effort was to try to charge the guest for something that makes more sense to be doing all along.

You're still talking about large scale changes that take time to plan, build, and implement. I'm talking about what they have now. Plus, the minute you make it "official" and free for the masses, it will not work, at least not in the same way.

It's not a cash grab when there is value created. Your time at Disney is extremely valuable and saving an hour is worth $29 for 7 days of perfect transportation. I would pay a lot more than $29 for it. It made the Park Hopper absolutely wonderful.

 

[abaker1975]

Is there any advantage of using Minnie vans say over Uber?

 

[djdan888]

Is there any advantage of using Minnie vans say over Uber?

In the Magic Kingdom, they can get you closer to the front. That is the only park they have that advantage though. I think for families with strollers and kids it might be nice. Uber costs extra for car seats.

 

[Brad Bishop]

You're still talking about large scale changes that take time to plan, build, and implement. I'm talking about what they have now. Plus, the minute you make it "official" and free for the masses, it will not work, at least not in the same way.

I'm pretty sure that they know how to build bus stops and they obviously know how to get buses into the secure area. Most of the bus traffic isn't park-to-park but between the resorts and parks.

It's not a cash grab when there is value created. Your time at Disney is extremely valuable and saving an hour is worth $29 for 7 days of perfect transportation. I would pay a lot more than $29 for it. It made the Park Hopper absolutely wonderful.

It was pretty obvious that it was a cash grab. It was even in the midsts of other pretty obvious cash grabs. The overall thought process at the time was, "What can we do that costs zero or near zero $$$ but which we can get a high payout?" They did:
- Express Bus Service
- MK After Dark
- Cabanas
- parking lot trucks w/ water and snacks
- Various ice cream parties
- Rumored resort fees (sounds like these are still coming)
- Special seating areas

All of it was based on:
1) little to no investment
2) anything to get another $dollar out of a guests pocket.

I think that the express bus service is a great idea but it makes far more sense to make it the standard service for park-hoppers who are already paying a premium to park hop.

For all of the other things I have mentioned above you can certainly find someone who'd say it was a valuable service but all of them are still based on the notion of: zero/little investment and high return (or hopes of high return - many of them failed).

Yes, to do the park-to-park bus service right would require an investment. They've shown that they're not interested in doing that and, at the same time, shown that they'll happily charge you to do it but where you get dropped off backstage in employee parking which I'd consider "bad show".

I could make the same argument as you have for, say, a streamlined check-in service at the resorts. No check in and you go straight to your room. Your magic band works to get you in and all previous material that they hand you is just in the My Disney Experience app. It would make perfect sense to do that for both sides of the equation:
1) customers get to go straight to their rooms without dealing with checking in
2) Disney doesn't have to pay as many people to check in.

Charge $75 for it and it's still a valuable service but it's also a money-grab. It could be a win-win but they'd prefer to make it a $$$-win. It's what they do, now. It doesn't mean that the service itself isn't valuable, it just means that they purposely set it up so you'll want to pay for it.

 

[flynnibus]

You're still talking about large scale changes that take time to plan, build, and implement. I'm talking about what they have now. Plus, the minute you make it "official" and free for the masses, it will not work, at least not in the same way.

You mean like building a transportation system that is integrated with the park's entrance needs? You mean the thing they should have built from the start?

The whole reason you see value in this system is because they gave everyone the finger when they shoehorned security screening into the parks. The entire express system has 'value' because of Disney's lack of effort to solve the problem correctly in the first place.

 

[Kamikaze]

I think the minnie vans will flop imo

I don't even know how that makes sense. Did cabs 'flop'? Did Lyft 'flop'? Did Uber 'flop'? No. They all exist at WDW, and they all do fine. This is Disney trying to get some of that money.

 

[Bender123]

I'm pretty sure that they know how to build bus stops and they obviously know how to get buses into the secure area. Most of the bus traffic isn't park-to-park but between the resorts and parks.



It was pretty obvious that it was a cash grab. It was even in the midsts of other pretty obvious cash grabs. The overall thought process at the time was, "What can we do that costs zero or near zero $$$ but which we can get a high payout?" They did:
- Express Bus Service
- MK After Dark
- Cabanas
- parking lot trucks w/ water and snacks
- Various ice cream parties
- Rumored resort fees (sounds like these are still coming)
- Special seating areas

All of it was based on:
1) little to no investment
2) anything to get another $dollar out of a guests pocket.

I think that the express bus service is a great idea but it makes far more sense to make it the standard service for park-hoppers who are already paying a premium to park hop.

For all of the other things I have mentioned above you can certainly find someone who'd say it was a valuable service but all of them are still based on the notion of: zero/little investment and high return (or hopes of high return - many of them failed).

Yes, to do the park-to-park bus service right would require an investment. They've shown that they're not interested in doing that and, at the same time, shown that they'll happily charge you to do it but where you get dropped off backstage in employee parking which I'd consider "bad show".

I could make the same argument as you have for, say, a $75 premium check-in service at the resorts. No check in and you go straight to your room. Your magic band works to get you in and all previous material that they hand you is just in the My Disney Experience app. It would make perfect sense to do that for both sides of the equation:
1) customers get to go straight to their rooms without dealing with checking in
2) Disney doesn't have to pay as many people to check in.

Charge $75 for it and it's still a valuable service but it's also a money-grab. It could be a win-win but they'd prefer to make it a $$$-win. It's what they do, now. It doesn't mean that the service itself isn't valuable, it just means that they purposely set it up so you'll want to pay for it.

This is basically my point. There is a very limited number of people that currently use the basic transport system (go sit at a park and the volume is very small at any given time....it may have high total numbers, but the current system is not swamped on a park to park route).

Based on this article, they had very little people actually paying to have a special service. What we had was two lightly utilized systems and the only value was one skipped the entrance plaza and security. Put touchstyles at the backstage bus stop, limit it to resort guests that also have park hopper options. Make it a benefit of staying on site and having a hopper or just from having a hopper pass/AP. You could literally do this without spending any extra money by moving the standard bus to the new "express" stops.

Its a naked cash grab for a service that they could easily add for almost nothing. I loved the service, but the price was just stupid and I would not spend $75 a day for myself, fiancée and kids to use this. Its Disney saying "we can do this with affordably, but we aren't going to."

 

[MisterPenguin]

Is there any advantage of using Minnie vans say over Uber?

They're totally cuter!

 

[Chef Mickey]

You mean like building a transportation system that is integrated with the park's entrance needs? You mean the thing they should have built from the start?

The whole reason you see value in this system is because they gave everyone the finger when they shoehorned security screening into the parks. The entire express system has 'value' because of Disney's lack of effort to solve the problem correctly in the first place.

I live in reality, not what "should" and "could" have been done. Disney should/could have kept Snow White, should/could have kept the Great Movie Ride, and they definitely should/could fix the Yeti.

The reality is, the Express Transportation service solved a problem and I was happy to pay for it. You people acting like the transportation issues would all be solved and the experience of Express Transportation would be the same if just the right infrastructure were in place I believe are incorrect. There are simply too many people that would use the service for it to be as good as a pay service that is kept to minimal guests utilizing it.

Disney has a great transportation service but the issues it has are mostly because too many people and too many variables mess it up at times. Wheelchairs, slow guests, traffic, etc are not going to be completely solved. What does solve it is allowing guests to pay a market price for a service that bypasses those issues by existing backstage and guaranteeing a predetermined schedule. This would be VERY difficult, if not impossible to do with the masses.

Could they completely build new "terminal" like features that allow "secure" guests to move between parks? Sure, but you're asking for a wholesale change to be built, implemented, and still will have time issues. The only upside to that would be not going through security again, which I agree is an issue. The great part about Express Transportation is that it's FAST, SCHEDULED, and picks you up/drops off INSIDE the park itself at specific times. Scaling that up gets you back to how it is today with strollers, lines, wheelchairs, and no pre determined schedule.

 

[Bender123]

I live in reality, not what "should" and "could" have been done. Disney should/could have kept Snow White, should/could have kept the Great Movie Ride, and they definitely should/could fix the Yeti.

The reality is, the Express Transportation service solved a problem and I was happy to pay for it. You people acting like the transportation issues would all be solved and the experience of Express Transportation would be the same if just the right infrastructure were in place I believe are incorrect. There are simply too many people that would use the service for it to be as good as a pay service that is kept to minimal guests utilizing it.

Disney has a great transportation service but the issues it has are mostly because too many people and too many variables mess it up at times. Wheelchairs, slow guests, traffic, etc are not going to be completely solved. What does solve it is allowing guests to pay a market price for a service that bypasses those issues by existing backstage and guaranteeing a predetermined schedule. This would be VERY difficult, if not impossible to do with the masses.

Could they completely build new "terminal" like features that allow "secure" guests to move between parks? Sure, but you're asking for a wholesale change to be built, implemented, and still will have time issues. The only upside to that would be not going through security again, which I agree is an issue. The great part about Express Transportation is that it's FAST, SCHEDULED, and picks you up/drops off INSIDE the park itself at specific times. Scaling that up gets you back to how it is today with strollers, lines, wheelchairs, and no pre determined schedule.

I think you are you are greatly overestimating the number of people that use direct park to park transport...

 

[flynnibus]

The reality is, the Express Transportation service solved a problem and I was happy to pay for it. You people acting like the transportation issues would all be solved and the experience of Express Transportation would be the same if just the right infrastructure were in place I believe are incorrect. There are simply too many people that would use the service for it to be as good as a pay service that is kept to minimal guests utilizing it.

It solved a problem that was **created** because Disney hasn't addressed the larger problems. You're paying for a bypass... a bypass you shouldn't need in the first place. That is reality.

Disney has a great transportation service but the issues it has are mostly because too many people and too many variables mess it up at times

It fails to deliver, at both peak and non-peak periods. "too many people" "too many variables" are just lame excuses... Excuses other far more complex transportation systems don't use as a crutch.

What does solve it is allowing guests to pay a market price for a service that bypasses those issues by existing backstage and guaranteeing a predetermined schedule. This would be VERY difficult, if not impossible to do with the masses.

It's difficult when Disney keeps multiplying the issues to address without addressing the problem holistically. The biggest issue people have is the multi-security passes... this is a problem that is not intrinsic, but because of the 'bolt-on' solution they've done.. instead of saying "we cant use this design because it screws everyone up"... they just did it anyways and then offered the willing the ability to buy their way out of Disney's shortcuts.

No the problems are not 'simple' - they also are not impossible. As covered many times before... reliable bus networks are not breaking new ground.

For the cost of one attraction, Disney could work with a transportation provider to adapt transports that fit Disney's "special" needs for it's ECV fleets... an investment that would pay out for decades. Disney could make changes to encourage LESS cars on property rather than keep building more... (something cities learned long ago.. yet the progressive WDW has forgotten how to lead in urban design). Park to park (or inside the boundary) transit could be handled differently. Disney doesn't need to handle moving 5,000 people between parks all the time... the park hopper traffic volumes are pretty low (and data Disney has).

I get it you liked being able to buy your way out of Disney's F-ups... but that doesn't change the reality that they are things worthy of buying yourself out of because of Disney's own shortcomings.

 

[TiggerDad]

Isn't the plan for the gondolas to connect two parks within the security perimeter, and for the Epcot security to be reworked so the monorail will connect MK also within the perimeter? That would allow you to do some of your park hopping without being re-screened. Once it's done.

 

[JoeCamel]

I doubt this is logistically possible. Basically you would have many of the busses currently serving the parks trying to navigate backstage. Traffic nightmare.

Light rail, monorail or gondola system or pay to ride busses are the only viable long term solution. IMO.

Oh, and possibly self driving "cars" on a dedicated track. Looking at you Epcot monorail beams.

Sounds like you and a lot of others are advocating building "The Hogwarts Express". Just charge a fee for hoppers and then you can use it. What a novel idea, wonder who did this already???

 

[MisterPenguin]

Isn't the plan for the gondolas to connect two parks within the security perimeter, and for the Epcot security to be reworked so the monorail will connect MK also within the perimeter? That would allow you to do some of your park hopping without being re-screened. Once it's done.

That's the plan as I've heard it told by those in the know.

 

[jt04]

Sounds like you and a lot of others are advocating building "The Hogwarts Express". Just charge a fee for hoppers and then you can use it. What a novel idea, wonder who did this already???

I would make the requirement for using non-bus transportation be magicbands.

Adds a layer of security and a revenue stream for maintenance costs.

It would certainly make magicbands a 'must have' item.

 

[jt04]

That's the plan as I've heard it told by those in the know.

That would be fantastic.