This should be good once it is all rolled out. Because we often stay off property we get the monorail to a resort and then change to bus to DTD to get a taxi back to I-Drive (saves around $10). Sometimes the buses take ages to arrive and often we just get picked up by a driver who has an empty bus and asks where we want to go. They radio in and take us their without stopping anywhere else. With the new control boxes at the stops and cameras they will be able to ensure people are not waiting for ages at stops that are not serviced often in the evenings.
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New bus enhancements up and runing
- Thread starter Fantasia freak
- Start date
the-reason14
Well-Known Member
All of these sound good, cant wait for them to take effect.
rdour@techminds
New Member
Selecting your destination and party count.
This all sounds wonderful. However, I sure hope they don't use touch screen technology for the keosks. If I swipe my room key and can't select my party and destination using an alternative interface and audio I'll be soooooo sad. Touch screens are also difficult for kids if they are not tall enough, and the size of the print needed and the contrasting colors differ for most people. I see more people having difficulty with those self check-out machines at Walmart and other places than I would have thought. Even though they speak, the amount of visual actions needed to be assumed by the user is a bit too much.
Do me a favor, I'd gladly code them up a phone based alternative. You would simply tie the ticket to a cellular phone using a guest relations rep over the phone itself. Using caller ID, they talk with you and verify your info. Then you simply call something like 407-WDW-GOGO and use that to bypass the normal system. This like anything else would be a trust relation between WDW and the person holding the guest assistance pass. The honors system sometimes works, especially if this isn't heavily publicized. The best part, it would be very, very easy to write this app using Asterisk. Bring something up like this FantasiaFreak if you could. There is no reason to abandon the touch screens, but this would let WDW have a wonderful alternative that is, well, inexpensive and very effective.
Ryan
This all sounds wonderful. However, I sure hope they don't use touch screen technology for the keosks. If I swipe my room key and can't select my party and destination using an alternative interface and audio I'll be soooooo sad. Touch screens are also difficult for kids if they are not tall enough, and the size of the print needed and the contrasting colors differ for most people. I see more people having difficulty with those self check-out machines at Walmart and other places than I would have thought. Even though they speak, the amount of visual actions needed to be assumed by the user is a bit too much.
Do me a favor, I'd gladly code them up a phone based alternative. You would simply tie the ticket to a cellular phone using a guest relations rep over the phone itself. Using caller ID, they talk with you and verify your info. Then you simply call something like 407-WDW-GOGO and use that to bypass the normal system. This like anything else would be a trust relation between WDW and the person holding the guest assistance pass. The honors system sometimes works, especially if this isn't heavily publicized. The best part, it would be very, very easy to write this app using Asterisk. Bring something up like this FantasiaFreak if you could. There is no reason to abandon the touch screens, but this would let WDW have a wonderful alternative that is, well, inexpensive and very effective.
Ryan
Scar Junior
Active Member
I hate having to use resort busses to go between DTD and the parks. I've never done this to avoid paying for parking, but I have had to go to Sarasota Springs and other resorts several times. It was usually as a CP (without a car). When on vacation it was due to not being old enough to rent a car... or due to the parents having the rental car and doing something else that day.
Not everyone who does this is trying to get away with something. Sometimes it is out of necessity.
disneypearl
Well-Known Member
This sounds very nice! I like how it all ties into the way the monorail is. Keeping the same Disney magic on the bus is perfect! :sohappy:
The new music sounds very nice...although I wonder if an overflow busload of guests leaving MK at 11pm (after 14 hours in the park) will feel the same way. Perhaps they should keep the music and spiels running during the day (when everything is exciting and everyone has energy), but cut it off for late park closings (when everyone just wants quiet and dark).
DisneyChik17
Well-Known Member
I think the music will be nice, maybe they should switch to a more lullaby-ish song. Like a slow instrumental version on the Mickey Mouse Club ending.
Not everyone is American or has a mobile (cell) phone - I`d never consider taking my mobile phone to the US :wave:
What`s wrong with touch screens? They are the most intuitive system available until voice recognition is 100% accurate (ahem)
They worked for WorldKey
bhg469
Well-Known Member
To make me cry and not want to go home.
mkepcotmgmak
Well-Known Member
Attention to detail on Disney transportation!
Thanks for sharing all the new info!
Thanks for sharing all the new info!
Anything Disney
New Member
:ROFLOL: To think I thought the bus rides would be boring.........
epcotfan
Active Member
Not everyone is American or has a mobile (cell) phone - I`d never consider taking my mobile phone to the US :wave:
What`s wrong with touch screens? They are the most intuitive system available until voice recognition is 100% accurate (ahem)
They worked for WorldKey
DITTO! I rarely bring my Canadian cell to the US anymore as my service is spotty in Orlando and the roaming is ridiculously expensive.
rdour@techminds
New Member
Ah, then how about a phone handset that can take outdoor abuse posted next to the keosk? USe mobile services so a phone line doesn't complicate the installation or VOIP over WiFi. As you know blind people like myself just can't use touch screen technology. The only other, and much more expensive option is to use text to speech or pre-recorded prompts and a keypad or regions on the touch screen. This would be much more expensive, as the added audio technology per keosk is expensive. The ATM model may also work, but again, expensive. The ATM model is where you still have your keypad, but upon insertion of headphones into an industrial strength audio jack, the screen goes blank and the user uses audio for guidence. Multiple language support is possible, even complicated speaking languages.
The nice part about VOIP is that identification of the device being used can be associated with the keosk. A card could therefore still be swiped for authentication. I know I'm getting technical, but if anyone else has any ideas please post them. Many elderly people with bad vision visit WDW, and rely on Disney Transportation. Touch screen technology just won't work for this group. But you are right, cell would only be useful for a blind user. The issue is, finding the keyosk in the first place. A blind person carrying a cellular phone just needs to be in the general bus stop area. If nobody is around to ask, finding the keyosk could be difficult unless it emits some sort of unique audio. Also, most blind travelers will carry a cellular phone today. Those who don't just put themselves in bad situations if they get lost. I know that I've pulled my phone out on many occasions when I'm not sure which door on a street matches the exact address of the person I'm meeting. I'll ask them to tell me some identifying factors or to simply come out and see if I'm nearby. Once I've identified a door or location once, I'm in great shape for future returns.
Ryan
The nice part about VOIP is that identification of the device being used can be associated with the keosk. A card could therefore still be swiped for authentication. I know I'm getting technical, but if anyone else has any ideas please post them. Many elderly people with bad vision visit WDW, and rely on Disney Transportation. Touch screen technology just won't work for this group. But you are right, cell would only be useful for a blind user. The issue is, finding the keyosk in the first place. A blind person carrying a cellular phone just needs to be in the general bus stop area. If nobody is around to ask, finding the keyosk could be difficult unless it emits some sort of unique audio. Also, most blind travelers will carry a cellular phone today. Those who don't just put themselves in bad situations if they get lost. I know that I've pulled my phone out on many occasions when I'm not sure which door on a street matches the exact address of the person I'm meeting. I'll ask them to tell me some identifying factors or to simply come out and see if I'm nearby. Once I've identified a door or location once, I'm in great shape for future returns.
Ryan
yes, the busses do have GPS on them, and once our central dispatch center is setup (phase 2). it will know the exact location of every bus. the spiels are triggered when the GPS recognizes the bus has passed a certain point. it's accurate to within 57 ft is what they told us.
ThumpersThought
New Member
I have to nip something in the bud here:
There are not guest kiosks being installed in or near any bus stops during any of the phases. So, don't worry about touchscreen vs. phones... There are cast kiosks for bus drivers that will be off-stage, but obviously, they have a different purpose.
There are not guest kiosks being installed in or near any bus stops during any of the phases. So, don't worry about touchscreen vs. phones... There are cast kiosks for bus drivers that will be off-stage, but obviously, they have a different purpose.