Horrible Transportation

[LAKid53]

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

Where is Uber allowed to deliver/pick up in the parks?

 

[I am Timmy]

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.

This is nice. This makes me feel special.

 

[I am Timmy]

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!

Can the bus drivers accept tips? I mean, if we're practically the last family leaving the park, making the bus driver work later, I would like to be able to show a little extra appreciation.

 

[ford91exploder]

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

Because thats one of the ways TDO extracts more profit at the expense of the guest experience.

 

[ford91exploder]

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.

Why should TDO stop with the cost cutting people like you keep visiting, if people stayed AWAY in large numbers this carp woud end post haste.

But as long as people keep coming TDO will keep cutting.

Ive stopped visiting because of carp like this

 

[Driver]

Can the bus drivers accept tips? I mean, if we're practically the last family leaving the park, making the bus driver work later, I would like to be able to show a little extra appreciation.

No tipping is not allowed (your very kind) and don't feel bad that's the job. You are not making the driver work late. That is all part of a shift. At the end of a drivers shift the bus goes for cleaning and they return with a fresh bus for the start of the next morning. Understand this is a 24/7 operation. I am a closer so my shift ends anywhere between 2:30-3:30 am. There are a few exceptions and variables to this but for the most part this is typical. "Showing appreciation " We appreciate you being there.... your our guest!

 

[Driver]

Where is Uber allowed to deliver/pick up in the parks?

Uber is supposed to report to the same areas as the taxis. If a Uber driver attempts to lure you to a non designated location you should question it. Reason being some drivers will pull into a bus queue etc. and put folks in harms way by making them walk thru bus traffic. Not safe!

 

[LAKid53]

Uber is supposed to report to the same areas as the taxis. If a Uber driver attempts to lure you to a non designated location you should question it. Reason being some drivers will pull into a bus queue etc. and put folks in harms way by making them walk thru bus traffic. Not safe!

Great, thanks! I thought that's where they would stop. I did Uber for the first time when we visited Atlanta a few months ago. Was really impressed with the service and drivers (well, other than the lady who got a little lost and turned on to a one way street ). One driver even felt sorry for me since I was going to head back to the hotel and nuke a pizza for dinner ( daughter and son in law were going to see a friend), he convinced all three of us to eat at this little Italian restaurant he knew of - and his recommendation was spot on, excellent restaurant.

We're staying at AKL next weekend and it may be faster to Uber to MK than wait for the bus in the AM.

 

[Driver]

Great, thanks! I thought that's where they would stop. I did Uber for the first time when we visited Atlanta a few months ago. Was really impressed with the service and drivers (well, other than the lady who got a little lost and turned on to a one way street ). One driver even felt sorry for me since I was going to head back to the hotel and nuke a pizza for dinner ( daughter and son in law were going to see a friend), he convinced all three of us to eat at this little Italian restaurant he knew of - and his recommendation was spot on, excellent restaurant.

We're staying at AKL next weekend and it may be faster to Uber to MK than wait for the bus in the AM.

Awesome so in your case you should be picked up in the taxi area of AKL and you should be dropped off in the bus/taxi area to the right of TTC. Enjoy!

 

[Goofyernmost]

Why should TDO stop with the cost cutting people like you keep visiting, if people stayed AWAY in large numbers this carp woud end post haste.

But as long as people keep coming TDO will keep cutting.

Ive stopped visiting because of carp like this

Yea, and we all know the massive negative affect that has had on the bottom line. There must be dozens of Disney executives losing sleep every night trying to figure out how to make up for the ford91exploder deficit. I preach the same thing, but, I also know that it would be an impossibility to happen under the best of conditions. So, basically it boils down to this is what Disney is currently offering for the amount they are charging. We then have a choice of deciding if it is worth it or not and go or not go. However, as long as a huge number of people are either unaware or don't care, it will change nothing. You may feel better about your personal decision to boycott, but, the gesture amounts to a grain of sand in the middle of a desert.

 

[LAKid53]

We have often stayed an hour past closing and left at closing and never really had a problem leaving. But it's been mentioned in this thread that the lack of nighttime entertainment looks like part of the problem. I remember up until 2 years ago the park was routinely opened to midnight sometimes 1 am with no extra magic hours. We loved this time just to walk around and enjoy the night in the parks and also much cooler at night for people that left in the afternoon and came back and also after spectromagic ended at 11:15 and the park cleared out you can almost walk on any ride which was awesome. But I still wonder why not running 3 ferry boats at closing? Why build the extra docks if your not going to use them? I'm sure TDO is aware of the problem

One has to account for other traffic on the Lagoon - boats coming from Ft. Wilderness, WL, GF & Poly, plus Disney staff cruising the Lagoon for other reasons...and the idiot guests who think the Lagoon is a great place to speed in a boat, not paying attention to other traffic. I've been on the boat from WL to MK and the pilot had to blow the horn several times to get the attention of a guest not paying attention to the boat/ferry traffic around them.

 

[ford91exploder]

Yea, and we all know the massive negative affect that has had on the bottom line. There must be dozens of Disney executives losing sleep every night trying to figure out how to make up for the ford91exploder deficit. I preach the same thing, but, I also know that it would be an impossibility to happen under the best of conditions. So, basically it boils down to this is what Disney is currently offering for the amount they are charging. We then have a choice of deciding if it is worth it or not and go or not go. However, as long as a huge number of people are either unaware or don't care, it will change nothing. You may feel better about your personal decision to boycott, but, the gesture amounts to a grain of sand in the middle of a desert.

In reality there ARE signs of panic, the huge discounts being added for rooms and dining, discounts added for AP/TiW. Blackouts being lifted, We know from the TEA numbers that overall attendance at WDW is down.

@WDW1974 has intimated that its been a bad summer in the swamps while overall tourism in MCO is up.

And the MK is closing at 10 During peak vacation season, tells me the profit margin is being squeezed hard i don't remember them closing this early unless we go back to 9/11 timeframe.

Is what im doing making a measurable difference no its not but the aggregate effect of like minded people IS making a difference

 

[Goofyernmost]

In reality there ARE signs of panic, the huge discounts being added for rooms and dining, discounts added for AP/TiW. Blackouts being lifted, We know from the TEA numbers that overall attendance at WDW is down.

@WDW1974 has intimated that its been a bad summer in the swamps while overall tourism in MCO is up.

And the MK is closing at 10 During peak vacation season, tells me the profit margin is being squeezed hard i don't remember them closing this early unless we go back to 9/11 timeframe.

Is what im doing making a measurable difference no its not but the aggregate effect of like minded people IS making a difference

Well, it is going to require the aggregate to make that difference. If they have finally started to enter the path downward, that could be a good thing and perhaps the reason for the massive expenditure scheduled over the next few years. No one has a way of reading the future, but, time will tell.

 

[ford91exploder]

Well, it is going to require the aggregate to make that difference. If they have finally started to enter the path downward, that could be a good thing and perhaps the reason for the massive expenditure scheduled over the next few years. No one has a way of reading the future, but, time will tell.

Correct Only time will tell but I can tell you from the 'normals' I know that have gone the feedback has not been 'That was amazing, cant wait to go again' but 'Too Crowded and I felt nickle and dimed' Yes there are some who can't wait and this is not a good trend as even 3 years ago the overwheming majority of 'Normals' could not wait to visit WDW again.

It seems the 'One and Done' strategy is working, perhaps a little too well.

 

[Stitch_Fan_NJ]

I was down this past December and we waited over an hour for a bus from Epcot to OKW while we watched at least 5 AOA buses come and go.

The only transportation that is reliable and on time is usually the boats.

 

[Goofyernmost]

I drive a shuttle bus, part time, at our local airport for a car rental company. Last Thursday, I had a guy get in my face that he wanted me to bring him to (competitor) because he had been waiting there for almost 40 minutes and no one from there had shown up. The thing was that we travel in basically a continuous loop. I had just been at that location 8 minutes previous to this point in time. When I was there at that time, the bus from the competitor was right in front of me, in fact, he had to move forward so I could get out. That was 8 minutes ago, not 40 minutes ago. My point is that one cannot really judge by what others say happened, because, well frankly, it has become a symbol of strength to lie through our teeth. It could have happened, because uncontrollable things do happen, however, the norm does not suggest that is the case very often. I find most all the transportation is quite reliable and if it takes a little longer then we expect then perhaps one of two things occurred. One would be that an accident or heavy traffic or mechanical problem or a belligerent guest held them up or two, we really do not have reasonable expectations of reality.

 

[IMFearless]

I think the problem is the early close and lack of entertainment options throughout the evening, which compress everyone's leaving time into a narrow window of time. With the shorter hours it's obvious people are going to stay until the Fireworks/Park Close and then leave - surely Park OP's know this by now?

Park close should always be at least a half hour after Fireworks, period. It makes much more sense to allow people to disperse from the hub and hop back onto a ride. In years gone by Disney were very good at managing crowds. Now they are funneling everyone down the bypass to nowhere - you just end up with 45,000 people standing in front of the park. No transport system can handle those crowds in such a short space of time, guest experience is the part that suffers of course.

 

[jaklgreen]

I drive a shuttle bus, part time, at our local airport for a car rental company. Last Thursday, I had a guy get in my face that he wanted me to bring him to (competitor) because he had been waiting there for almost 40 minutes and no one from there had shown up. The thing was that we travel in basically a continuous loop. I had just been at that location 8 minutes previous to this point in time. When I was there at that time, the bus from the competitor was right in front of me, in fact, he had to move forward so I could get out. That was 8 minutes ago, not 40 minutes ago. My point is that one cannot really judge by what others say happened, because, well frankly, it has become a symbol of strength to lie through our teeth. It could have happened, because uncontrollable things do happen, however, the norm does not suggest that is the case very often. I find most all the transportation is quite reliable and if it takes a little longer then we expect then perhaps one of two things occurred. One would be that an accident or heavy traffic or mechanical problem or a belligerent guest held them up or two, we really do not have reasonable expectations of reality.

LOL That reminds me of my job. It was when the Berkshire- Hathaway meeting was in town and we were pretty busy with the shareholders coming in. Anyway, this lady came up to me saying that she had been waiting over 20 minutes for her food and she was nasty about it. I asked to see her receipt so that I could check on the order. I looked at the time and it had been 3 minutes. I kid you not, only 3 minutes. I pointed that out to her and she took the receipt back and went and sit down without another word.

 

[elcheapo]

I think the problem is the early close and lack of entertainment options throughout the evening, which compress everyone's leaving time into a narrow window of time. With the shorter hours it's obvious people are going to stay until the Fireworks/Park Close and then leave - surely Park OP's know this by now?

Park close should always be at least a half hour after Fireworks, period. It makes much more sense to allow people to disperse from the hub and hop back onto a ride. In years gone by Disney were very good at managing crowds. Now they are funneling everyone down the bypass to nowhere - you just end up with 45,000 people standing in front of the park. No transport system can handle those crowds in such a short space of time, guest experience is the part that suffers of course.

Also when we were waiting for an hour to leave on the ferry the ferry had to wait also for the electrical water pageant to pass since it was also on the lagoon and was coming from the contemporary to be in front of MK by 10:30. It wasn't a long wait probably about 5 minutes to pass by but still when trying to move 50,000 people as efficiently as possible the suit that scheduled this should be fired

 

[ford91exploder]

Also when we were waiting for an hour to leave on the ferry the ferry had to wait also for the electrical water pageant to pass since it was also on the lagoon and was coming from the contemporary to be in front of MK by 10:30. It wasn't a long wait probably about 5 minutes to pass by but still when trying to move 50,000 people as efficiently as possible the suit that scheduled this should be fired

Yet instead he got a bonus for 'Minimizing Transport Costs at Park Closing'....