Parking got worse (2/8)

mm121

Well-Known Member
You also didn't answer the question. If you haven't been there you don't know what a mess it is. And could be less of a mess if they did this in phases especially in the walking areas of DTD.

with the scope of the project if they phased it any more it would take a decade. even though its a mess right now with the amount of changes they seem to be going with the theory of lets get it done as fast as possible.

granted most of this could have been avoided if they would of chosen to upgrade DTD years ago rather than building practically nothing for years and years while at the same time destroying Pleasure Island.

and then there was the Hyperian Warf plan that came and went, though that plan in retrospect was small in comparison to what is happening now as that only involved re doing Pleasure Island.

Not always. There tends to be a tipping point where the benefits from doing a phased construction evaporate. Phased construction also tends to take considerably longer. Given the amount of work being done, I think they made the right decision. You will start to see gradual improvements as certain things get finished.

Construction phased or unphased is always going to be a mess so its good to see they are chosing to make itbe a mess for as short of time as possible. I know in Indy when they needed to redo the 65/70 stretch of highway they could of phased it and had it been a mess for 5 years, instead they chose to totally shut it down and get it done in 8 months... Unforunately as DTD is an active commerce center they can't do that so they are trying to make the best out of a bad situation.. to do some major construction that shall greatly enhance this area long into the future.

I don't think so. There is a serious financial incentive for Disney to get this project done yesterday. The same was not true for the mine train.

Definitely true, every day its a mess there's the possibility of lost sales to the vendors along with guest aggravation of people who are on vacation.. so the sooner its done the better.

and with the sheer scope of the project if they took things at the same FantasyLand Expansion / Avatar pace this project would take a decade or longer to complete.
 

jensenrick

Well-Known Member
This seems tangential, but - My friends from Tampa and I (from PSL) were supposed to meet at MegaCon on Saturday. They get to Orlando quicker than I, and call me to say that two hours in traffic on I-Drive they are no closer to the con. So they head over to Downtown Disney.

They are directed from one lot to the other by CMs while marveling at how much is closed off. When they get to the last lot by Cirque, Victoria specifically recalls a CM gesturing them forward and then giving a cheery little "have a magical day" wave as they are directed back out onto the road. After an hour of driving and several more hours in traffic, they were in no mood to be bussed from another lot.

So we ending up spending our day (and our money) at the Orlando Premium Outlet Mall on Vineland. I was mostly glad to see my friends again, so it didn't matter. But it would have been nice to see DTD, as I haven't been there in over a year, but if there is no place to park . . .
 

mm121

Well-Known Member
This seems tangential, but - My friends from Tampa and I (from PSL) were supposed to meet at MegaCon on Saturday. They get to Orlando quicker than I, and call me to say that two hours in traffic on I-Drive they are no closer to the con. So they head over to Downtown Disney.

They are directed from one lot to the other by CMs while marveling at how much is closed off. When they get to the last lot by Cirque, Victoria specifically recalls a CM gesturing them forward and then giving a cheery little "have a magical day" wave as they are directed back out onto the road. After an hour of driving and several more hours in traffic, they were in no mood to be bussed from another lot.

So we ending up spending our day (and our money) at the Orlando Premium Outlet Mall on Vineland. I was mostly glad to see my friends again, so it didn't matter. But it would have been nice to see DTD, as I haven't been there in over a year, but if there is no place to park . . .
yikes!!! that sounds like the worst system ever being directed from lot to lot.. the CM's really should have someway to know theres space available before just directing people all over the place.

but they've destroyed so much!! of it theres not much left
 

MOXOMUMD

Well-Known Member
This seems tangential, but - My friends from Tampa and I (from PSL) were supposed to meet at MegaCon on Saturday. They get to Orlando quicker than I, and call me to say that two hours in traffic on I-Drive they are no closer to the con. So they head over to Downtown Disney.

They are directed from one lot to the other by CMs while marveling at how much is closed off. When they get to the last lot by Cirque, Victoria specifically recalls a CM gesturing them forward and then giving a cheery little "have a magical day" wave as they are directed back out onto the road. After an hour of driving and several more hours in traffic, they were in no mood to be bussed from another lot.

So we ending up spending our day (and our money) at the Orlando Premium Outlet Mall on Vineland. I was mostly glad to see my friends again, so it didn't matter. But it would have been nice to see DTD, as I haven't been there in over a year, but if there is no place to park . . .
That is a crazy story! I will not drive to DTD until all this work is done. Sorry about your friends "adventure". I'm sure touring the DTD lots was not on their agenda for the day.
 

TimeTrip

Well-Known Member
Traffic around the convention center on Saturday was truly a mess due to Megacon. We headed there from Longwood, and were parked within an hour. Someone we know that lives only 10 minutes away took 90 minutes to accomplish the same. We knew the best way to go (John Young Parkway to Destination Parkway to Universal Blvd), others didn't :-(.

That really stinks to have piled DTD problems on top of it. I share your friends frustration.
 

bhg469

Well-Known Member
No one goes to Downtown Disney anymore. It's too crowded.
Truthfully aside from the parking, there is very little room to walk around so yes, too many people in a very tight space. I was there a few days before pollo campero closed. It was bad then. This project is causing a lot of headaches for people that don't know whats going on there.
 

71jason

Well-Known Member
Traffic around the convention center on Saturday was truly a mess due to Megacon. We headed there from Longwood, and were parked within an hour. Someone we know that lives only 10 minutes away took 90 minutes to accomplish the same.

Yeah, had friends who live in my old place on Westwood take 90 minutes to drive there--could have walked faster.

It was a perfect storm weekend: MegaCon, PlayList Live (12k people, were expecting 8k), Bay Hill,NCAA downtown--and a light Spring Break week transitioning into a huge Spring Break week. All of Orlando felt like DTD. ;)
 

PhotoDave219

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
This seems tangential, but - My friends from Tampa and I (from PSL) were supposed to meet at MegaCon on Saturday. They get to Orlando quicker than I, and call me to say that two hours in traffic on I-Drive they are no closer to the con. So they head over to Downtown Disney.

They are directed from one lot to the other by CMs while marveling at how much is closed off. When they get to the last lot by Cirque, Victoria specifically recalls a CM gesturing them forward and then giving a cheery little "have a magical day" wave as they are directed back out onto the road. After an hour of driving and several more hours in traffic, they were in no mood to be bussed from another lot.

So we ending up spending our day (and our money) at the Orlando Premium Outlet Mall on Vineland. I was mostly glad to see my friends again, so it didn't matter. But it would have been nice to see DTD, as I haven't been there in over a year, but if there is no place to park . . .

I worked the NCAA tourney that day up at Amway. Holy crap.. the I-4 traffic was insane. Backed up 7-8 miles at 930 AM to get to 528. Just a nightmare....
 

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