Next Gen Busses

Tony the Tigger

Well-Known Member
Why do so many new Disney movies not have the Disney characters kids already know in them? Don’t people expect Disney characters in a Disney movie?

Once they’re in a movie, they have movie taint, and any sequels, remakes, or attractions based on them are unoriginal and lazy. 🤣

First, the snark is totally uncalled for.

Second, it's not opinion, it's fact. The Pluto bus looks like a school bus with some decals slapped on - they even both have a white roof.

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I’m sorry to make you aware, but your “fact” is just an opinion. Just because there’s some yellow (Pluto’s color) on a bus does not make it look like a school bus. Maybe it just reminds you of a school bus, and that’s confusing you.

But you presented yourself as having a more informed opinion based on bus wrapping experience. I was looking for something drawn from that experience - a rule of thumb, perhaps. Something of substance.

For example, I can tell you that retail merchandising by category or brand, etc. is generally done up and down rather than from left to right; and one reason for that is you are more likely to see something from that category as you are walking down an aisle whether you are looking up or whether you are looking down.

That is an informed opinion based on experience and training.

Something like that.

🚌
 

ImperfectPixie

Well-Known Member
Once they’re in a movie, they have movie taint, and any sequels, remakes, or attractions based on them are unoriginal and lazy. 🤣



I’m sorry to make you aware, but your “fact” is just an opinion. Just because there’s some yellow (Pluto’s color) on a bus does not make it look like a school bus. Maybe it just reminds you of a school bus, and that’s confusing you.

But you presented yourself as having a more informed opinion based on bus wrapping experience. I was looking for something drawn from that experience - a rule of thumb, perhaps. Something of substance.

For example, I can tell you that retail merchandising by category or brand, etc. is generally done up and down rather than from left to right; and one reason for that is you are more likely to see something from that category as you are walking down an aisle whether you are looking up or whether you are looking down.

That is an informed opinion based on experience and training.

Something like that.

🚌
Um...I do have a more informed opinion. Over 20 years of training and experience in designing everything from small marketing materials to 8-foot tall 3-dimensional, interior lit letters and banners that cover the entire sides of buildings - and that includes vehicle graphics and wraps. Forgive me if I chose to use a visual example.

At a quick glance, the Pluto bus WILL look like a school bus to anyone who is or has a child (Edit: in the US) - which is one of Disney's big target demographics. The green stripe actually contributes to this problem because often, schools will use that area of the bus for a different color stripe to help the name of the school stand out. And where vehicles are very often moving, a quick look is all many people will get. Disney is an entertainment company, and Walt Disney World a vacation destination - with the aim of helping us to escape reality for the time we are there. A bus that brings to mind a school bus breaks that illusion - even if for only for a moment. The last thing a mother on vacation with her kids wants to think about is having to go home and get the kids ready for school. It's along the same reasoning as to why people avoid using large quantities of yellow and red in their marketing - because it almost immediately brings to mind McDonald's. Brand recognition can work both for and against you - in the case of the Pluto bus, it works against Disney.

Further, the fact that the white stripe that is above the green doesn't follow through across at least a couple of portions of the bus looks unfinished and unprofessional.

While we can tell that these buses belong to Disney, the lack of text and visual carry-through could make some guests think that these are "special" buses - similar to the Minnie Vans - rather than regular Disney on-property transport. People who are on vacation - especially in a place as busy and distracting as Disney World - don't tend to be good at reading or looking for signage. I think chances are very slim that many will think to look at the front of the buses to determine whether they are regular Disney transportation or not.

Another issue is that it's not a good idea to have a fleet of vehicles without some sort of prominent visual element that carries through. One of the biggest tenets in outdoor/vehicle advertising is that the message needs to be understood quickly and without much thought. If you look at the picture quoted below, the only two buses that are instantly recognizable as Disney buses are Donald and Micky. The rest could literally be buses from any other company. If you take the time to look closely - which most people don't - you can spot a smidge of Pluto and part of Goofy's hat, but that's pretty much it.

Without any common elements, the wraps make it look like they ordered some buses, then realized that they needed to put graphics on them, but couldn't settle on a design - or even worse, had a different person design each wrap. They look like an afterthought. In contrast to these buses, the Skyliner cars may be of varying colors and have different characters, but they all have the same white stripe and logo on them, plus all the characters were designed to look as if they're RIDING the Skyliner, rather than just being slapped onto them. The Skyliner proves that Disney is perfectly capable of having elements follow through differing designs and color schemes. These buses fail in that regard.

In order to achieve what they did with the Skyliner, they should have either used a logo that carried through or used one main color for the buses themselves, and then used the stripes to reflect each character's color, rather than the entire bus. The way they are, the fleet looks like a disjointed mess, and certainly doesn't reflect the world class reputation of Disney that they themselves seem to want so much to bank on these days.
 
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flynnibus

Premium Member
n order to achieve what they did with the Skyliner, they should have either used a logo that carried through or used one main color for the buses themselves, and then used the stripes to reflect each character's color, rather than the entire bus. The way they are, the fleet looks like a disjointed mess, and certainly doesn't reflect the world class reputation of Disney that they themselves seem to want so much to bank on these days.

So you are saying they should have used graphic designers.... ;)
 

ImperfectPixie

Well-Known Member
The UK doesn't have the same engrained childhood of big yellow buses either
There have been radio shows and even fundraising campaigns called "The Big Yellow School Bus". In some towns in the US - like where we live - the roads go on for miles and miles and people will bend over backwards to get where they need to before the schools get out so they don't get stuck behind a line of 10 yellow school buses.
 

Tom Morrow

Well-Known Member
Not saying I suddenly like the new designs, but the Pluto/school bus argument is reaching a bit, IMO. By simply being a bus it can evoke reminders of school buses and work commutes, regardless of what color it is.

I know I'm beating a dead horse, but...

wdwbus.jpg


These are tremendously classier and compliment the Magical Express designs nicely. For a brief moment they seemed to be pushing red and silver as a thematic theme across all Disney transport. It's annoying that these were rolled out only a few years ago and never fully took over and have already been replaced. To me this conveys that, yes, this is just a bus, but it's not a trashy city bus, it's a uniformly themed bus to take you around a world class resort full of vastly varying and unique experiences.

The new designs: Insert your Mickey enema, eat your Mickey waffles and hop on your Mickey bus to the Mickey theme park so you can meet Mickey and ride Mickey rides.
 

ImperfectPixie

Well-Known Member
wdwbus.jpg


These are tremendously classier and compliment the Magical Express designs nicely. For a brief moment they seemed to be pushing red and silver as a thematic theme across all Disney transport. It's annoying that these were rolled out only a few years ago and never fully took over and have already been replaced. To me this conveys that, yes, this is just a bus, but it's not a trashy city bus, it's a uniformly themed bus to take you around a world class resort full of vastly varying and unique experiences.

The new designs: Insert your Mickey enema, eat your Mickey waffles and hop on your Mickey bus to the Mickey theme park so you can meet Mickey and ride Mickey rides.
AMEN. The new designs lack any amount of class and style.
 

GhostHost1000

Premium Member
I personally like the silver and red ones but I get how they might look more city bus like and the Disney busses could be more artsy. With that being said, I don't necessarily like them looking like the All-Star, Pop, and AAA resorts had a wild night together and threw up on a bus

lots of good design options to make it look professional but also dare I say magical... but they chose a more child-like design IMO
 

Goofyernmost

Well-Known Member

Just a thought, for those that say that Disney does everything on the cheap. Buses that are that multicolored requires a whole lot of extra maintenance and cost of repair concerning the inevitable scrape and bump and them having to match the colors to make repairs. Trust me, it is an absolute nightmare for them. So, my opinion is to enjoy because they will be changed out before long.
I mean... why aren’t all transportation CMs just dressed up as the characters?

Then everyone would know it’s all Disney!
Just a question... At Christmas time do you turn green and spew anger in your attempt to ruin things for Cindy Lou Who? I'm never sure how you would get to enjoy Disney. You seem to have kicked your inner child completely under a rock. And yet, your responses are so childlike. Why not dress CM's up like characters so people know it's all Disney? Like that has any connection to anything to do with how the buses are decorated and the possible, god forbid, fun it might identify with a trip to a Disney theme park.

Seriously, there are many things that you say that I agree with, but, this useless negativity is a new high in lows.
 

ImperfectPixie

Well-Known Member
Just a thought, for those that say that Disney does everything on the cheap. Buses that are that multicolored requires a whole lot of extra maintenance and cost of repair concerning the inevitable scrape and bump and them having to match the colors to make repairs. Trust me, it is an absolute nightmare for them.
That is completely untrue. The stripes are either solid-color vinyl or printed, and the faces are definitely printed. Repairing the wraps is as easy as selecting the proper color or printing the graphics you need to replace. The most difficult part would be repairing any body damage, which they'd have to do regardless of what graphics are present.
 

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