Poll on Bus Scheduling

[Dwarful]

I think Disney Insider hit on something there! The only real waits we had were at the parks waiting to go back to the resorts. Our waits at All Star Movies were not long at all..of course we were going early in the morning..I don't know what the waits were...say mid afternoon. Of course after a long day in the parks waiting with your kids to go back to go to bed...time sort of seems to come to a slow crawl. But still we also did notice multiple busses for one or two resorts and others were still waiting for one. So maybe a dispatcher at the parks..esp. at closing time would be a great addition to an already GREAT system!

 

[goofyguy]

I think the current system if fine. And as someone mentioned earlier, there might be problems with having scheduled times if, for some reason, the bus couldn't arrive exactly as scheduled.

Originally posted by Fantasia Boi

Guests don't usually count the time they wait once ON a bus... So, if they had JUST missed the last bus... they wait 6 mins for the next bus, and then 6 mins sitting on the bus. So, even though they waited 12 minutes, they only think it was 6.

I realize you have much more experience in this matter than I do, but my wife and I agree that the wait on the bus is much more frustrating than the wait for the bus. Once I'm on board, I'm ready to go. I may look like I'm sitting happily, but in my head I'm screaming "Come on! Let's go! Let's go!" I also realize that the reason for the wait is to make sure the busses are evenly spaced, so there's really not much that can be done. But when you’re anxious to get to the park and you’re already on the bus, that wait can seem like an eternity.

Just my perspective

 

[Invero]

Originally posted by Dwarful
So maybe a dispatcher at the parks..esp. at closing time would be a great addition to an already GREAT system!

But see, with FLEX, now there is. Of course, it might not work as you would think. At the entrance to the MK, busses will stop, and the dispatcher will tell them what thier next run is. This run is mostly based upon the route intervals... however, it can be tweaked to provide an "extra" bus to a location if the demand warrants. (ie: more than 60 people waiting)

At park closing, we "Float"... This time, the Dispatcher is standing in the center of the load zones, constantly monitoring the crowds. As busses come through the gates, they are dispatched via radio to the load zones.

 

[Invero]

Originally posted by goofyguy
I realize you have much more experience in this matter than I do, but my wife and I agree that the wait on the bus is much more frustrating than the wait for the bus. Once I'm on board, I'm ready to go. I may look like I'm sitting happily, but in my head I'm screaming "Come on! Let's go! Let's go!" I also realize that the reason for the wait is to make sure the busses are evenly spaced, so there's really not much that can be done. But when you’re anxious to get to the park and you’re already on the bus, that wait can seem like an eternity.

Beleive me, I understand how time has a tendancy to slow down to a crawl... lol... I know this doesn't help much, but next time when the bus shows up and then sits for a few minutes... Just think... you're now sitting down in shaded air conditioning... versus standing in hot sweaty sunlight for that same amount of time... *shrug* It's not much, but hopefully it might help

 

[DisneyWorldGuru]

I am not going to say a word on wait times. All I will say is one time I waited at DTD at midnight for 45 minutes waiting for a bus to ASM while watching empty pus after empty bus drive past us. When the bus came only half of the people were able to get on. I fell bad for those who had to wait.

 

[TURKEY]

In my opinion, busing from Downtown Disney is the worst transportation area in all of WDW.

 

[DisneyWorldGuru]

That and anything to or from the All Star resorts.

Hey this is my 700th post !!!

 

[Invero]

Originally posted by turkey leg boy
In my opinion, busing from Downtown Disney is the worst transportation area in all of WDW.

I would tend to agree... and recent construction of that area isn't helping any, either. I haven't had a DTD shift in a long time, so I don't know what's been going on down there recently. What I do know is that they've been working feverishly to try and correct what is going wrong, and to make it work better.

 

[Invero]

Originally posted by DisneyWorldGuru
That and anything to or from the All Star resorts.

Personally, I would tend to disagreee... The All-Stars actually receive far better service than a lot of resorts. Busses are scheduled every 7-12 minutes, versus 12-19 minutes for some other destinations.

My mother stayed at the All Stars a few months back, and we used the busses to go where we wanted to. Never waited more than 7 minutes for a bus. Maybe we just lucked out... or maybe a few folks just weren't as lucky. I dont know. All I know is what I see on a daily basis.

 

[gjpjtj]

Originally posted by Fantasia Boi


Personally, I would tend to disagreee... The All-Stars actually receive far better service than a lot of resorts. Busses are scheduled every 7-12 minutes, versus 12-19 minutes for some other destinations.

I have to agree with Fantasia Boi, the busses to All Stars seem to run very frequently, you may end up standing however during peak times. But I'd assume it's like that everywhere.

 

[SilentRascal]

The current system definitely needs work. The wait for the buses is really inconvenient when it's so varied from place to place. You may wait 20-30 minutes for a bus at one resort and then 10-15 at another. Something needs to be done about it.

 

[jmewin]

No Trouble with the currant system for me either :hammer:

 

[Invero]

Originally posted by YankeeFan
The current system definitely needs work. The wait for the buses is really inconvenient when it's so varied from place to place. You may wait 20-30 minutes for a bus at one resort and then 10-15 at another. Something needs to be done about it.

Well... we are now converting our main hubs to Flex Dispatch, which is helping keep the busses ontime. As for varied times, they're like that for a reason.

All Disney Transport signs say that Transportation is provided approximatly every 20 minutes. However, most cases, we provide busses quicker than that...

For example... when we were back on routes, at the MK...

French Quarter - 30 min route, 2 busses. Bus comes every 15 minutes. Low demand.

Riverside - 35 minute route, 3 busses. Bus comes every 12 minutes. Medium demand.

All Star Movies - 36 minute route, 3 busses, increase to 4 busses early-afternoon. Bus comes every 9-12 minutes. High demand.

So, yes, the All Stars busses will come more frequent, but the reason for that is that they also have a higher demand. FQ might get 10-20 guests per 15 minutes, whereas the All Stars might get 30-50 guests in that same period.

Now of course, all times are subject to vary, as road conditions, traffic, and other random variables often times play roles.



Now... to get back to the original point... you said that you felt it was "Inconvenient" that some busses ran quicker than others. We post signs that say busses run every 20 minutes. Therefore, as a guest, you should expect a bus every 20 minutes. When we arrive early, I would expect you to be happy. If quick service isn't what you want... then I'm sorry, I can't help you.

 

[SilentRascal]

Originally posted by Fantasia Boi
If quick service isn't what you want... then I'm sorry, I can't help you.

Since quick service is what I'd like (and what we're not getting), maybe you would want to offer help. During my last stay at the Wilderness Lodge, the wait time for the bus varied, meaning you couldn't really count on the posted "20 minutes". Most of the time the wait was more around 30 and in less than a handful of times, 15 minutes. That's quite inconvenient for people who want to get from one place in the World to another and may be on somewhat of a time schedule. Quick service would involve actually getting the buses to each stop before or at the posted "20 minutes".

 

[tiggerlover1971]

no i wouldnt want a set time schedule because to me that is the fun of waiting for the bus not knowing when its going to get there and going ok abus is coming is it ours

 

[krm45]

I stayed at port orleans riverside last october and found that the busses seem to run on a pretty regular schedule and never had to wait more than 5 minutes for a bus. I think current system runs fine and no reason to fix it.

 

[Invero]

Originally posted by krm45
I stayed at port orleans riverside last october and found that the busses seem to run on a pretty regular schedule and never had to wait more than 5 minutes for a bus. I think current system runs fine and no reason to fix it.

95% of the time, things will run smoothly, and on time... However, there's always that 5% when things just run amuck... it's Murphy's Law...

As for being fine... I agree, it's fine... however, there is ALWAYS room for improvement.

 

[One Lil Spark]

If the buses were set on a schedule, then to me it would seem like there would be less room on each bus. Everyone would come at one time and there would be a large stream of people all at one time. If there were more buses randomly, then there would be more room on each bus, right? It's fine the way it is to me though as long as I don't have to wait long.