Horrible Transportation

[BoarderPhreak]

I beg to differ, but that's not true the busses run till every last soul has left the park. I know this for a fact. Time is irrelevant. Getting people home is priority.

True, the "one hour" is more the official line, to get people to leave. They will get you home though, even if they have to turn the last bus around (saw it happen last week).

 

[Driver]

I have even been asked where we are staying to make sure buses are available to us if we were lingering a while. After a while they do gently shoe you out, but not too bad.

We now avoid park closing unless we can walk.

Um.... yeah.... that's what you are told but the fact is busses are on standby till there is an official "all clear". Even DS which closes at 2am has drivers on till after 3. Now there I would not push my luck! But it is the same mindset "get people home" when it gets that late there are only a few people and the busses are like private taxis. That's when you will see some Disney Magic. They honestly do want to get people home.

 

[Driver]

True, the "one hour" is more the official line, to get people to leave. They will get you home though, even if they have to turn the last bus around (saw it happen last week).

Yep there are things I can't say but I can tell you they will not leave you stranded..... that's a fact!

 

[correcaminos]

Um.... yeah.... that's what you are told but the fact is busses are on standby till there is an official "all clear". Even DS which closes at 2am has drivers on till after 3. Now there I would not push my luck! But it is the same mindset "get people home" when it gets that late there are only a few people and the busses are like private taxis. That's when you will see some Disney Magic. They honestly do want to get people home.

Um, I was agreeing with you. Saying that they make sure people get home by even asking where you are staying. We had a bus pretty much to ourselves when we left really late once. So yep, they do a great job of getting you home. They may gently try to push you out, but they don't leave you stranded ever.

 

[Sonconato]

I don't understand how there can be long lines for such an efficient transportation system as the Monorail...

 

[Driver]

Um, I was agreeing with you. Saying that they make sure people get home by even asking where you are staying. We had a bus pretty much to ourselves when we left really late once. So yep, they do a great job of getting you home. They may gently try to push you out, but they don't leave you stranded ever.

I'm sorry if I projected the wrong impression. I know you where agreeing. But as I said there are things I can't say so I try to choose my words. I guess I didn't do well (apologies)

 

[Driver]

I don't understand how there can be long lines for such an efficient transportation system as the Monorail...

The rail holds about 350 +/- depending on scooters and strollers. When it loads I think people see the queue having a mass movement and are attracted to that. But once it's loaded you wait! And there isn't always another one waiting. And for a few reasons one is whatever it takes for folks to get off and two they are controlled so they are never too close to each other for safety reasons

 

[danyoung56]

That closing bottleneck at the MK is a pain. Another solution to it is to walk over to the Contemporary and board the monorail from there. It takes a little more effort, but it's usually MUCH quicker than waiting 30 to 45 minutes for a MK monorail.

 

[Miceberg]

Yep there are things I can't say but I can tell you they will not leave you stranded..... that's a fact!

I beg to differ - there's at least one bus driver who I encountered that has no problem leaving you stranded. I was the last person at the bus stop at DHS (2 yrs ago) - just me - and there was one bus waiting at the load area with the doors closed. I knocked on the door, it opened and I stepped in and the female bus driver informed me she was out of service and wouldn't take me to my hotel. There were no other buses, it was late, I was alone and getting worried that this b*&%h was going to abandon me in the parking lot. I refused to exit the bus. She used the radio and called another out of service bus over and that driver had no problem taking me back to the hotel. If she hadn't opened the door to see what I wanted, I would have been left to fend for myself.

 

[HansGruber]

We had dinner reservations for RainForest, went to the Contemporary bus stop an hour early....
Arrived 15 minutes late.

I feel your pain.

And the 10pm closing time, absurd. The rinkydink amusement park around me closes at 10pm.

 

[Driver]

I beg to differ - there's at least one bus driver who I encountered that has no problem leaving you stranded. I was the last person at the bus stop at DHS (2 yrs ago) - just me - and there was one bus waiting at the load area with the doors closed. I knocked on the door, it opened and I stepped in and the female bus driver informed me she was out of service and wouldn't take me to my hotel. There were no other buses, it was late, I was alone and getting worried that this b*&%h was going to abandon me in the parking lot. I refused to exit the bus. She used the radio and called another out of service bus over and that driver had no problem taking me back to the hotel. If she hadn't opened the door to see what I wanted, I would have been left to fend for myself.

Sorry for your bad experience, but it does sound like she got you
A ride. Who knows why she was out of service but that's not a decision the driver makes. But in your circumstance she followed protocol by calling in another bus. One rule I will mention is if the door is closed and the bus is starting to leave the queue the driver is forbidden to stop and open the door.(safety) However they will call in that they left people behind so another bus can come p/u. I've had many run up and bang on the door as the bus is rolling (can't stop for p/u) you would not believe what some do!

 

[Andrew_Animatronic]

After visiting Magic Kingdom on July 28th I was rather appalled at the lack of transportation times. After leaving the park at 10:00 (closing time which is ridiculous in the summer months) we waited for an hour for a ferry boat. Monorail lines were just as long.

Its not just the special transportation. Shuttles and busses that have to pass through the Disney Springs area were bogged down by traffic and roadwork when I went a few weeks ago. Motor coaches also did not "depart every 20 minutes," as it took an hour of waiting before a buss arrived for our hotel at Epcot. Lets hope with the arrival Minnie Vans and the Skyway system will also be smoother and more predicable schedules for existing forms of transportation.

 

[rob0519]

Disney transportation does a phenomenal job. The new Express Transportstion is amazing and your issue is easily solvable. Just don't be in a rush to leave. If everyone leaves at close, it will clearly take longer to get home.

I would agree that under most circumstances Disney Transportation does an outstanding job. Unfortunately, in my opinion, the closing of MK in peak seasons is not one of them. There are simply too many people for the allocated resources to move that many people very quickly. A fully loaded bus, ferry, monorail, etc. can only move "x" number of people at a time, no matter when they leave.

As the overcrowding of transportation at MK closing gets worse and worse (if worse is even possible), more people may take the approach of staying longer in the park after close. What happens if the scales tip and more people use your solution and crowd Main St. to wait that hour than leave the park?

A fully loaded bus, ferry, monorail, etc. can only move "x" number of people at a time, no matter if they leave at 10:15 or 11:15. The only real difference is where you spend the first 30 minutes to and hour of your time trying to exit the park.

 

[rob0519]

Sorry if I missed this, but why is MK closing at 10 on Saturday nights in the summer?

Same reason Disney uses to make most operational decisions. Money. Two to three hours less operational expenses per night is good for profit.

 

[JIMINYCR]

When the parks are crowded and the resorts are packed of course theres going to be a massive strain on the ability to have transportation carrying that amount of guests throughout Disney property. Theres bound to be a back ups, especially when crowds pour out of the parks and head to their means of exit. Anyone thinking they are going to return to their resort quickly are crazy. Any other event emptying out, concerts, sporting events etc have similar traffic flow issues... Ive seen Disney improving but it will never have the ability to magically speed that number of guests through in short periods of time. People need to be patient and expect delays, more so at prime times when crowds back up.

 

[elcheapo]

When the parks are crowded and the resorts are packed of course theres going to be a massive strain on the ability to have transportation carrying that amount of guests throughout Disney property. Theres bound to be a back ups, especially when crowds pour out of the parks and head to their means of exit. Anyone thinking they are going to return to their resort quickly are crazy. Any other event emptying out, concerts, sporting events etc have similar traffic flow issues... Ive seen Disney improving but it will never have the ability to magically speed that number of guests through in short periods of time. People need to be patient and expect delays, more so at prime times when crowds back up.

I totally get just too many people at one time but I feel this regard Disney is not doing everything. They should have a 3rd ferry running at peak closing and they don't. So they are not doing everything they can. If they can move an extra 600 people every 10 minutes that's huge at exit time. Not causing no disrespect but TDO better stop all this cost cutting.

 

[IanDLBZF]

"The buses stop an hour after park close..." I wouldn't dawdle too long.

That's not true, buses run until park clear. The monorails run until 1 hour after the latest park closing (between MK & Epcot), unless PM EMH is being done at the park that the Resort or Epcot monorail serves, in which case the monorail (Resort or Epcot) would run until 30 minutes after PM EMH concludes. Hard ticket event nights (MNSSHP and MVMCP) the resort and express monorails run until park clear.

 

[Goofyernmost]

I know that this is probably not what anyone wants to hear, but the most foolish thing you can do is run up to a moving bus and pound on the door or the side of the bus. There are two major reasons for that. The first one is that it can and usually does startle the driver a lot. That instant rise in adrenaline could cause any number of negative actions including pulling over toward the sound just as a knee jerk reaction. Second if he/she didn't hear you and they are accelerating, with the loud sound of the engine, the Air systems and the people on board the noise level can get quite high. If you trip and fall, the last thing you may need is a ride back to the hotel. Unless you're lucky and you get to go back to the hotel after your ambulance ride to the hospital to get the bus tire marks removed from your face.

 

[LAKid53]

We usually left either just before or during Wishes. But we've never seen HEA, so we'll just hang around, get an ice cream or another hot dog, do some shopping until the crowds thin. If I could successfully hide somewhere, I would so I could sleep on a bench and watch the sun rise over the Castle.

 

[Disneydreamer23]

This is why uber will be my best friend next month.