New Monitors - Contemporary Bus Stop

[hpyhnt 1000]

I'm not sure what "Magic in Motion" was... I just remember there being a big deal made about transportation upgrades happening in 07/08 (maybe earlier, @wdwmagic might remember, else dig thru the news page) wherein Monitors and when your bus was supposed to come being part of it..... yet it never seemed to come about.

Why? Because of the MDE app. Thats why.

As good an overview as any of MiM as I think very little about it was ever announced publicly. @wdwmagic or @marni1971 might be able to chime in a bit more.

http://articles.orlandosentinel.com...00416_1_bus-driver-fort-wilderness-campground

EDIT: think it is the same thing you were talking about in terms of upgrades in 07/08.

 

[PhotoDave219]

As good an overview as any of MiM as I think very little about it was ever announced publicly. @wdwmagic or @marni1971 might be able to chime in a bit more.

http://articles.orlandosentinel.com...00416_1_bus-driver-fort-wilderness-campground

EDIT: think it is the same thing you were talking about in terms of upgrades in 07/08.

Yes, same thing I was talking about.

Transportation is one of those departments that tends to run itself and does things its own way. Very intrenched in old-school culture. Doesn't adapt to change well. And generally managed by people who couldn't drive a bus to save their life.... Part of the problem is that it is essentially a public transit system for a small city and its not treated as such.

 

[dreamscometrue]

Thanks for posting this!

It's been a long time coming.

Maybe Steve could put a 'monitor' on wdwmagic, so we could watch the roll out in real time. You know, POP Century arrival time...2023 and so on.

 

[DisneyJunkie]

It's a terrific idea to have them at all of the resort bus stops....BUT....if they aren't able to give real-time information on when your bus will be there, then they aren't much more useful than the usual signs.

 

[RobbinsDad]

Along with touch-screen ordering kiosks at quick service restaurants, this is the one thing I've been saying WDW needed for years. Hopefully it transfers to all resorts soon.

 

[wdizneew]

We just returned from a 6 day stay at GF and expereinced this in action. First, they're not always accurate, however, the times will adjust accordingly if the bus is delayed. One night we were on our way to Downtown Disney and had just missed a bus pulling off. The monitor indicated that the next was 20 minutes away, so we decided to go back inside. But, no sooner than we walked into the lobby, we saw another bus for Downtown Disney.
Second, we spoke with a CM who was standing at the stop one day and asked why they weren't at each resort, his response was that it's up to the resort if they want to put them in. If true, I would guess the resort would have to pay for the installation and maybe even some kind of fee for the service, but that's just specullation on my part.

From my understanding, the bus stops that got the monitors installed was to quell the constant complaints of buses being delayed or having extended waits. It was especially true at GF where some of the guests were quite impatient because they were expecting buses every 5 min. Also, each resort separately pays the transportation department money to have bus service. Furthermore, buses are dispatched from different locations in WDW. Some of the main hubs include the Downtown Disney area, Epcot, and Magic Kingdom (TTC).

In the case where you missed that DTD bus and another one showed up shortly after (even though the monitor said 20mins), it was probably because a normal (scheduled) DTD bus was dispatched from MK to pick up guests at GF to go to DTD, and then another DTD bus that probably came directly from DTD was dropping guests at GF and was told to head back to DTD.

tl;dr Disney Transport bus system is complex lol

 

[Jeronimo Jimenez]

Not for nothing but disney is getting stuck back in time on this one.... In the world that we live on by now they should have an app that allows guest to know Bus arrival times, so people can just know instead of waiting there.

 

[GrumpyFan]

Not for nothing but disney is getting stuck back in time on this one.... In the world that we live on by now they should have an app that allows guest to know Bus arrival times, so people can just know instead of waiting there.

I'm pretty sure they are aware of this. Rumors were floating around awhile back about such an app being tested. I'm guessing it's one of many items on the list for enhancements to MDE, but probably not as high priority as fixing bugs first.

 

[Seth7721]

When I was at Disney last month, both All star Music and Movies already have the screens with the times. I know port Orleans has had the screens for awhile.

 

[ToTBellHop]

Along with touch-screen ordering kiosks at quick service restaurants, this is the one thing I've been saying WDW needed for years. Hopefully it transfers to all resorts soon.

They tried the touch screens at Pecos Bill and it was a complete failure. Turns out the average guest really is too dumb to function. But most of us knew that already. The average guest at the Contemporary can figure out touch screens, though. Just not in the MK.

 

[PhotoDave219]

They tried the touch screens at Pecos Bill and it was a complete failure. Turns out the average guest really is too dumb to function. But most of us knew that already. The average guest at the Contemporary can figure out touch screens, though. Just not in the MK.

Every time I went to Pecos to try and use them, the touch screen lines were closed.

It's like someone set it up to fail by not staffing them.

 

[PhotoDave219]

Not for nothing but disney is getting stuck back in time on this one.... In the world that we live on by now they should have an app that allows guest to know Bus arrival times, so people can just know instead of waiting there.

Apparently they're working on integrating that with MDE.

 

[chiefs11]

They tried the touch screens at Pecos Bill and it was a complete failure. Turns out the average guest really is too dumb to function. But most of us knew that already. The average guest at the Contemporary can figure out touch screens, though. Just not in the MK.

They also had them at the Poly quick service Captain Cook's, but then removed them in the latest refurb.

 

[MGMBoy]

Looks like they need to fix the bezel/frame the screen is in. Looks like there is info at the bottom regarding monorails/watercraft but it looks like it is being blocked by said frame.

 

[DisneyJayL]

I can't help but to drive everywhere I go. Took the boat from the Port Orleans Resort to DTD one time and lost my hearing. Luckily, I found it again. I hope these are helpful to others though. It seems like the wait would be lesser because of the expected arrival times.

 

[PorterRedkey]

I think this is an awesome update and it should be at every bus stop, but I am not impressed. Bloomington, IN has live tracking of buses (on a map) and wait times. Oh and it has for about 4 years. Way to be cutting edge Disney. Sigh.

 

[PhotoDave219]

I think this is an awesome update and it should be at every bus stop, but I am not impressed. Bloomington, IN has live tracking of buses (on a map) and wait times. Oh and it has for about 4 years. Way to be cutting edge Disney. Sigh.

As cutting edge as the budget allows.

 

[PorterRedkey]

As cutting edge as the budget allows.

As always...

 

[PhotoDave219]

As always...

Thankfully, the budget allows for these new fangled horseless carriages, like a huffmobile. So similar to those snap on electric lights.

What will they think of next?

 

[Wags14]

Not sure if anyone mentioned this, but Port Orleans Riverside bus stop near the lobby has this in place as of a few weeks ago.