I never understood why Disney public transportation sucks s

[networkpro]

For a company that’s worth hundreds of billions why is it so hard for them to invest in a airport to theme park mono rail and likewise finish the last two parks with mono rails?

I get the argument, how would Disney make money? Charge 5 dollar per family and there you go, it paid for itself within 10 years.

Likewise have Disney pay for a network of trains within Orlando , call it the Disney transport authority, there you go - free advertising and revenue.

Just seems dumb that it’s almost 2025 and there is still no cohesion with their public transport authority.

From the options that were listed, I'm making the assumption (and please correct me if I'm wrong) that the poster is from either Europe or the UK. Public transportation in most of the US is seen and utilized as a last resort.

Disney does not own the land between MCO and the WDW resort. Acquiring the land would be prohibitively expensive as it would be at market price and each subsequent purchase of individual holdings would rise due to its known path and known buyer. Disney had the STOL port, but chose not to invest in or use it for transportation.

 

[JMcMahonEsq]

For a company that’s worth hundreds of billions why is it so hard for them to invest in a airport to theme park mono rail and likewise finish the last two parks with mono rails?

I get the argument, how would Disney make money? Charge 5 dollar per family and there you go, it paid for itself within 10 years.

Likewise have Disney pay for a network of trains within Orlando , call it the Disney transport authority, there you go - free advertising and revenue.

Just seems dumb that it’s almost 2025 and there is still no cohesion with their public transport authority.

Is this a serious post? I mean I understand some people don't have any real knowledge of construction, law, land use, common sense, but this is just plain dumb on like any level you look at it.

Assuming that this is not just so stupid as to have to be a troll (and if it is, you got me, but its lunch time and I am already hangry) lets look at the real world.

WDW is as you say a company...a company, not a government. It does not own the land between MCO and WDW, which is around 25M or 40KM (more on that later) and does not have eminent domain powers to take the land, either in fee simple or easements to build anything on them. So you want what, WDW to just show up at people houses, or storefronts, or across public roadways, and just start building whatever they want?

And assuming for sake of argument Mickey or Minnie can use their magic dust to just take control of a corridor of land between MCO and WDW, lets look at the cost. As mentioned, the distance between those two areas is 25Miles. As it happens we have for comparison sake the LA light rail project to build a 19.3Mile light rail to connect parts of LA to the outer communities. This was proposed as part of the ramp up for the 2028 Olympics. The budget for this project, which is over 20% shorter than the distance from MCO to WDW....8.5BILLION dollars. Thats the big number with the B in front of it. Now I won't even discuss that even with the LA Metropolitan Transporation Authority, and the State of California behind the project, it is being divided up into 2 phases because construction of the entire 19.3 miles, after getting all property rights, and other legal requirements to build the damn thing, is expected to take almost 20 years to complete.

Now as to money, looking past the craziness of any business looking to privately fund a 8.5Billion dollar transportation system, lets look at your great notion just charge people $5 and WDW will pay for it in 10 years. Just looking at $8.5Billion, which is building a SHORTER route, and doesn't have to pay for getting access to private land, AND not taking into account the costs of maintaining the system, buying the rolling stock for transportation, or paying people to operate the system, at $5 per passenger to make up $8.5Billion in 10 years, you are going to need 170Million riders per year. Just to put that in perspective, the entire population of the US as per census.gov is around 337Million people.

I don't really get where the barrier to doing this is all that hard to see

 

[Goofyernmost]

You can get anywhere on property for free.
I don’t think that is a system that sucks.

And why do Disney need to provide Orlando with a public transportation system? Should they do it at Anaheim & Paris too?

Actually they do, in a way. There is a train the runs from Paris to a stop right in front of Disneyland Paris. I'm sure that Disney donated a good sum of money to get that train stop right there. As far as the OP question, although the general population would benefit from a Disney paid train service from the Airport to WDW, it is a hard sell to get the public to foot the bill for a system that just serves one very large business and it really isn't Disney's problem about how people get to the parks. It worked for years before the Magic Bus and it works now without the magic bus. Paris has incorporated a line that I believe was there before they built the parks, or if it wasn't there are a lot of stops along the way and it goes further than just DLP. In Orlando a lot of the economy of the area comes from the businesses that surround WDW. A lot of people are employed and the area collects a lot of taxes from those service and lodging places that kind of horseshoe around the resort.

 

[AndyS2992]

Actually they do, in a way. There is a train the runs from Paris to a stop right in front of Disneyland Paris. I'm sure that Disney donated a good sum of money to get that train stop right there. As far as the OP question, although the general population would benefit from a Disney paid train service from the Airport to WDW, it is a hard sell to get the public to foot the bill for a system that just serves one very large business and it really isn't Disney's problem about how people get to the parks. It worked for years before the Magic Bus and it works now without the magic bus. Paris has incorporated a line that I believe was there before they built the parks, or if it wasn't there are a lot of stops along the way and it goes further than just DLP. In Orlando a lot of the economy of the area comes from the businesses that surround WDW. A lot of people are employed and the area collects a lot of taxes from those service and lodging places that kind of horseshoe around the resort.

The station at Disneyland Paris (MLV/Chessy) was an extension of the existing RER A line and was specifically extended to get people from Paris to Disney easily, and later high speed rail was added in 1994 to get people from London, Brussels, Amsterdam and Frankfurt to Disney directly. It cost €126.5 Million, Disney stumped up €38.1 Million to get it built. It opened April 1992 along with the resort.

 

[TalkToEthan]

…….And Hong Kong has a dedicated offshoot train line dropping riders at the footstep of Disneyland—--such a perfect drop off

Then there’s Tokyo’s Keiyo Line with its Maihama station servicing TDR.


US Disney transportation is abysmal because of US culture and huge geography

 

[Goofyernmost]

…….And Hong Kong has a dedicated offshoot train line dropping riders at the footstep of Disneyland—--such a perfect drop off

Then there’s Tokyo’s Keiyo Line with its Maihama station servicing TDR.


US Disney transportation is abysmal because of US culture and huge geography

That part is true. We are an automobile dependent society. We are one nation that covers millions of square miles and the population is spread out. The rail system that would be required to make it a profitable venture would be double the size of the interstate system because all those rails would need to be closely attached to each other. No one would build it if it couldn't be paid for by something unless, of course, we want to pay more taxes to have the government support it. Then we all have to pay and many would never get to use it. That kind of infrastructure would not even be affordable at this point. Maybe if it were done piecemeal it could happen but it would likely take 100 more years. Europe has been a rail dependent area for over 100 years already and their rail system makes ours look like a Lionel Train set. My experience using the rail service in Europe and Japan is much different than anything we have here. The train stations there are as big if not bigger than most of our Airport Terminals.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

It’s not public transportation…start there

 

[Lilofan]

A nice transportation is the train that you can get outside Hong Kong airport and stops at HKDL then downtown HK.

 

[JIMINYCR]

Les transports publics de Disney peuvent parfois sembler inefficaces en raison du nombre élevé de visiteurs et de l'ampleur des parcs. Les temps d'attente peuvent être longs, surtout pendant les périodes de forte affluence. De plus, la coordination entre différents types de transports (bus, monorails, bateaux) peut être complexe. Malgré leurs efforts pour améliorer l'expérience, la logistique de déplacement tant de personnes reste un défi constant.

Please redo your post in English so those of us who do not have foreign language capabilities can read and respond.

 

[bwr827]

Safari app translation:

Disney's public transport can sometimes seem ineffective due to the high number of visitors and the size of the parks.

Waiting times can be long, especially during busy periods. In addition, coordination between different types of transport (buses, monorails, boats) can be complex.

Despite their efforts to improve the experience, the logistics of moving so many people remains a constant challenge.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

The rail system that would be required to make it a profitable venture would be double the size of the interstate system because all those rails would need to be closely attached to each other. No one would build it if it couldn't be paid for by something unless, of course, we want to pay more taxes to have the government support it.

It would not need to be “double the size of the interstate” and of course the interstate is not profitable and requires more taxes and the government to support it as well.

But that’s gets into why the USA has bad public transportation and not Disney.

There is a ART bus that runs from the Amtrak Anaheim station to Disneyland - it’s a
Free transfer with your Amtrak ticket.

There is also a lynx bus that runs to WDW property - you can catch Lynx from Orlando airport or the Orlando Amtrak station.

 

[MerriwetherAdamPleasure]

I was so excited when they announced Brightline was getting stations at MCO, Disney and Universal, I thought this would be the simplest and fastest way to travel not just from the airport but between the Disney and Universal resorts as well as down to Miami should you want. But Disney being childish and petty pulled out just because the trains serviced Universal too and scuppered it

Right, as if the train would be why people may choose Universal. The biggest push factor in pushing people towards Universal are the direction and decisions of the WDC. Decisions like the one mentioned above.

 

[Ricky Spanish]

Aw, sounds like the OP had to wait for a bus

 

[Eric Graham]

For a company that’s worth hundreds of billions why is it so hard for them to invest in a airport to theme park mono rail and likewise finish the last two parks with mono rails?

I get the argument, how would Disney make money? Charge 5 dollar per family and there you go, it paid for itself within 10 years.

Likewise have Disney pay for a network of trains within Orlando , call it the Disney transport authority, there you go - free advertising and revenue.

Just seems dumb that it’s almost 2025 and there is still no cohesion with their public transport authority.

You're perfectly welcome to pay for Lyft or Uber if you're not satisfied with the buses and trains. I've found Lyft to be very nice and great too, but ultimately you'll end up paying a lot more for it than Disney transportation. I personally feel like Disney does a great job with their transportation and their drivers, be it buses or boats or skyliner people, are always so very friendly and so nice and really go out of their way daily to make people have a magical day. They really don't have to be that way. I've spoken to many of the drivers on many visits, and a lot of them are doing this job post retirement so they really don't have to do this job. They just do it out of the enjoyment of their life. Take care and happy visits to the Mouse!

 

[KDM31091]

I think the transportation is great. As a local, I ride the Skyliner for fun, as well as sometimes the monorail and even the busses.

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

As to OP's topic. It is a bit unclear if OP means transportation from MCO to WDW, or transportation within WDW.

Within WDW, transportation varies from excellent to not-so great. On my most recent visits, my transportation wait times were short, and the transportation CM's were overall great. I'd also like to add the transportation staff at Universal was also great. I'd say the Universal staff were exceptional. They were very friendly, welcoming, and kind. At WDW, a scooter user was forgotten at one of the stops. They can't exit unless the CM's bring a ramp, so the scooter user had to recruit strangers to get the attention of a CM, or else they would have had to gone around the entire monorail loop a second time. that's not a great system.

In the past, I have often experienced very long waits and monorail problems. I can't say if that is still a problem, because I didn't experience it. The new Skyliner is mostly great.

Regarding transportation between WDW/MCO and beyond, the country made the choice a long time ago to favor automobiles. We could change, but efforts aimed at improving public transit are often rejected. A cultural shift might be coming, but it will take time. Roads and other forms of transportation are expensive to maintain, so we need to agree/decide where to put our funding. In the last few days alone, I've also seen multiple nasty car accidents.

Younger generations are not as in love with cars as the older generations are. They may well decide to invest in alternatives.

 

[Vacationeer]

Cost. Charging a fee of $5 per family per run wouldnt come close in 10 years to paying for construction and afterwards upkeep of the monorail cars and line or trains. Bus service is the most efficient method of providing transportation.

That’s what my conscience said too

 

[Nubs70]

Which is a shame. We always took the direct Eurostar from St Pancras direct to Disneyland, super easy and always great service. Haven't been back since they discontinued the service, it's one of the factors why, but I'm sure changing at Lille isn't particularly complicated, just another added step I don't want or need. Might try flying to CDG and take the RER next time, depending how the price compares.

St Pancras is such a beautiful train station

 

[Nubs70]

Cost. Charging a fee of $5 per family per run wouldnt come close in 10 years to paying for construction and afterwards upkeep of the monorail cars and line or trains. Bus service is the most efficient method of providing transportation.

To restate from a previous reply, why would WDW want to subsidize anything that would increase attendance?

 

[JIMINYCR]

To restate from a previous reply, why would WDW want to subsidize anything that would increase attendance?

Of course Dis wants to do anything to increase attendance. Thats what drives profit, gives them more return visitors and continue to afford further projects. But as any business they need to weigh the outlay of money against return . And it’s important to know how long a time it will take to actualize a return of the money spent. A project of that size and of that immense cost, not even counting the headaches which would come with property purchase would not be viable. Yes Dis is a billion dollar company but that money isn’t just laying in a vault waiting to be spent. Attendance is what they want but not at the expense of doling out money that will not bring in enough people to pay back.