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This is safe?
- Thread starter Iteachwood
- Start date
R W B
Well-Known Member
This is what I was thinking, lol. The more packed the less I'll move in a crash...if it ever were to happen. Last year during 4th of July week it was pretty packed at closing time of the parks, I always had to stand. I'm 23yr but I have bad knees from sports injuries I didnt let heel right so although my knees can be killing me I always stand on a full bus because I dont wanna be "that guy" that didnt let the 70yr grandma or the women holding the sleeping child sit.
Larry Mondello
Well-Known Member
I heard that they are going to be putting handrails on the outside to increase capacity.
David Roberts
Member
I heard that they are going to be putting handrails on the outside to increase capacity.
For those who feel "squished" inside the bus:ROFLOL:
bmarkelon
Well-Known Member
Yeah, that makes sense. Have you ever calculated how much money you're burnin'? The gas to and from, and the price of parking - didn't they just raise it? Hey, that's cool money bags, if you have the cash, have at it! But for me (and the rest of everyone else I know), there's just something about hearing those announcements, and being welcomed 'home' by that voice after a long day in the parks. I like to get lost in the magic, escape reality, and like to hear the syncronized background music when I ride up to the park gate. I can't escape reality in a Ford Fusion. :wave:
:lol:Money bags, that's good. I definitely wouldn't give us that label. It's just a choice we've found works better for us while we have 3 young kids to take into the parks. They are 6, 4, and just over a year. We always shop around and end up with a pretty great deal, since we're only driving to AK and HS we don't use much gas. We get our "Welcome Home" too, either at the resort gate or in the lobby. The little ones have enough waiting for attractions and reservations to make them wait for a bus. But hey, everyone just does what works best for them right? I know lots of young families that also opt for the rental car. :wave:
dreamfinder
Well-Known Member
Things like this are the problem. The drivers have a limit, and stick to it, they don't cram any more in than the bus manufacturer/DOT say is safe. The problem is the people who bring on strollers not completely folder. Or who get a seat for one member of their party and the rest stops right next to them in the aisle instead of moving back. Or the people who stop by the back door instead of moving to the back of the bus. Things like that. You go to any major city, and they will cram you on the buses much tighter than at WDW. WDW is a breeze compared to what I have seen on subways and the like.
loveofamouse
Well-Known Member
:lol:Money bags, that's good. I definitely wouldn't give us that label. It's just a choice we've found works better for us while we have 3 young kids to take into the parks. They are 6, 4, and just over a year. We always shop around and end up with a pretty great deal, since we're only driving to AK and HS we don't use much gas. We get our "Welcome Home" too, either at the resort gate or in the lobby. The little ones have enough waiting for attractions and reservations to make them wait for a bus. But hey, everyone just does what works best for them right? I know lots of young families that also opt for the rental car. :wave:
We always drive our own car. Besides saving on air costs for a family of 5, it is just much easier to get their stuff in and out of a car than the bus. Last trip, we did use the busses but that's only cause my son's chair gets tied down so he was "holding" all of the bags. We still had to fold a stroller under the seats and hold a toddler and 6yr old. In the mornings or midday, it wasn't much of an issue. At night, though, we could have gotten back to the hotel easier by car. The main advantage of the busses for us was not having to do the parking lot fight at the hotels at the end of the night. I think it is so rude when when people take the top spots or handicap spots at the hotel when they know they are bussing the whole time. Frustrates me when I see the same 10 cars in the only 10 HC spots at the hotel that don't move for the entire week when 4 HC cars are circling the parking lot lol
goofntink
Member
Our RTS,Gillig,and Nova buses are all configured to hold 72 people standing and sitting. Next time you are on our buses and it is packed if you listen you will hear the driver call on the radio "Full Bus"or Signal 72" and how many he/she left behind at the resort or park load zone. And I know someone will ask this.The driver is told by the bus itself when it is full.There is a sensor beam as you enter the door that counts the number of people entering or exiting the bus. When the bus reachs 72 occupants a screen pops up on our Smart Device,(which is the little black box you see next to the driver that controls the speals on the bus among other things) and asks the driver to acknowledge the bus is full and how many guest are left behind.
goofntink
Member
I love when guests do this on the bus when I am out working the load zones for audience control and to dispatch in another bus. I LOVE to walk up and have the driver open the rear door for me. I than use my Disney point,single out those guests and than very loudly exclaim so everyone in the bus and the load zones can hear me and I say " Ladies and Gentleman introducing the strongest man/woman in the world. They are holding up the entire bus!!!!!. This never fails to get them to move then!!!
MansionGoer13z
Active Member
I love when guests do this on the bus when I am out working the load zones for audience control and to dispatch in another bus. I LOVE to walk up and have the driver open the rear door for me. I than use my Disney point,single out those guests and than very loudly exclaim so everyone in the bus and the load zones can hear me and I say " Ladies and Gentleman introducing the strongest man/woman in the world. They are holding up the entire bus!!!!!. This never fails to get them to move then!!!
LOL Awesome. I bet they give you a lot of crap about it, afterwards And you just Shrug it off like it was nothing. I wish I had patience like you.
Clever Name
Well-Known Member
It's not Disney, but it's the same buses they used of which you spoke. They were super nice IMO. :wave:
loveofamouse
Well-Known Member
Thanks. I think this was the original poster's answer she was looking for. Curious, though, does that 72 include when WCs are on the bus? Does it automatically know?
I love when guests do this on the bus when I am out working the load zones for audience control and to dispatch in another bus. I LOVE to walk up and have the driver open the rear door for me. I than use my Disney point,single out those guests and than very loudly exclaim so everyone in the bus and the load zones can hear me and I say " Ladies and Gentleman introducing the strongest man/woman in the world. They are holding up the entire bus!!!!!. This never fails to get them to move then!!!
Good one!
WDWRLD
Active Member
It's not Disney, but it's the same buses they used of which you spoke. They were super nice IMO. :wave:
Yea, alyhough I remember them being more "plain".....
the-reason14
Well-Known Member
It may not be safe, but I don't mind as I always have a seat. So squeeze as many people on as you can, I don't mind.
stuart
Well-Known Member
As Did Knee said on page 1 it is a culture thing. It is not uncommon for people to stand on public transport - happens here quite often on buses and trains at peak times and no one bothers too much. You see service buses passing with school kids standing the length of the bus.
If you are not used to having to stand then you will be unhappy about it / think its unsafe. The fact is, if it was unsafe, then buses / trains / metros etc would not be certified to allow people to stand.
I'm perfectly happy to stand on the buses.
What really annoys me when it comes to standing is that people refuse to move to the back of the bus. You wont be split from the rest of your party for long, or if you are standing there, wave people past you. When buses leave at night with a gap of 6 - 8 feet at the back there is nothing worse.
In addition, the Gillig and Nova buses are also configured to stand two abreast in the main part of the bus, and again when that doesnt happen and you are at the threshold waiting to come on, its not great. I believe when they were introduced they were to hold up to 82/84, but since reduced to the lower amount as on the RTS buses - 72.
At the end of the day, you can always decide not to board and get a seat on the next bus.
If you are not used to having to stand then you will be unhappy about it / think its unsafe. The fact is, if it was unsafe, then buses / trains / metros etc would not be certified to allow people to stand.
I'm perfectly happy to stand on the buses.
What really annoys me when it comes to standing is that people refuse to move to the back of the bus. You wont be split from the rest of your party for long, or if you are standing there, wave people past you. When buses leave at night with a gap of 6 - 8 feet at the back there is nothing worse.
In addition, the Gillig and Nova buses are also configured to stand two abreast in the main part of the bus, and again when that doesnt happen and you are at the threshold waiting to come on, its not great. I believe when they were introduced they were to hold up to 82/84, but since reduced to the lower amount as on the RTS buses - 72.
At the end of the day, you can always decide not to board and get a seat on the next bus.
bmarkelon
Well-Known Member
I hear ya, the DH gets a bit fired up about the parking too. I wish we weren't so far away so that we could drive too.
lbrad
Well-Known Member
How do you get a taxi?? And how much $$ does it cost??
AEfx
Well-Known Member
Yeah, that makes sense. Have you ever calculated how much money you're burnin'? The gas to and from, and the price of parking - didn't they just raise it? Hey, that's cool money bags, if you have the cash, have at it! But for me (and the rest of everyone else I know), there's just something about hearing those announcements, and being welcomed 'home' by that voice after a long day in the parks. I like to get lost in the magic, escape reality, and like to hear the syncronized background music when I ride up to the park gate. I can't escape reality in a Ford Fusion. :wave:
What you are missing, however, is the overall amount of money you are spending to be there. If you waste that time waiting for transportation, you are peeing your vacation away.
I get some people just love the buses. I do, I get it. Some people just hate driving on vacation. I get it.
However, my time is way too valuable, and I'm spending too much money to be there, to be at the whim of a non-scheduled bus system (I spent 2 hours one day waiting for a ride from the TTC to AK - one didn't come until I went and complained and they called one). I park hop quite a bit, and it's simply ridiculous how much time I used to spend on buses. I like to visit 2-3 parks in a day, and I'd look back and I'd spent 2-3 hours of the day waiting and sitting on buses.
Or, I can drive myself from anywhere in WDW to anywhere in WDW in just a few minutes. No wait time. And not have to be in an enclosed space with people coughing up their germs (yes you get germs all over WDW but not that special type enclosed, low-ventilated places does), to be able to control the climate as I see fit, to listen to what I want to for music (I get all the WDW fanfare I want - I have a cd of my own, LOL).
Not to mention I can quickly hop off-site to grab some snacks, a quick meal, some toothpaste. There is great stuff in Orlando past the WDW line, if you know where to look for it. Oh, and want to go check out WWOHP? Have fun getting there without your own vehicle - and a car service for that one day would cost you 1/2 what a car for your whole week would be.
Thing is, I don't have to rent a car. I started driving my own years ago, even though I live in New England. My last straw without having my own car was when Magical Express no longer allowed you to adjust the ride times. When it first started, I knew I didn't need 2.5-3 hours at the airport, so they'd let me bump it back. Again, I'm there to maximize the time I spend doing what I am there for. And Disney stopped letting you go later, you had to get on that bus 2.5-3 hours before.
I remember it clearly because I was sitting waiting for the bus back to my resort at Epcot. My plane left at 3:30. My ME reservation said my bus would get there at 12:15 and they wouldn't let me change it. So I went to Epcot in the morning, and had two hours - because I had to be on my way out by 11 so I could be at the bus stop by 11:15. Even that was cutting it close. (I have a little notebook I jot down things about my trip in, which is why I have all these little details, it was years ago.)
So I sat and figured. My day at Disney ended at 11AM. All told, adding up the extra wait I had to do for Disney, the plane, getting home from the airport (I live 90 min away), and spending that entire day on different buses and transportation and dealing with TSA and their nonsense, a pretty miserable and long day of about 10 hours before I'd actually be home. I can drive in just over 20 hours, and on my own time, my own schedule, my own vehicle, my own music, my own climate control. Or I can spend the day at the mercy of all the other garbage. It was a no-brainer for me, I drive my own car, have my own transport to and from Disney - and I was MUCH happier after being in control of my own vacation and the time I spent.
THAT SAID, it's all about what works for you. I'm just posting this as my experience and preference. People who drive their own, or rent, a car at WDW aren't just stupid and don't know any better, there can be very good reasons for it. I love driving in general, so it's not a problem for me. Others seem to hate it, so it's worth it for them to put up with irregular buses and the unpredictability. It's all in where your priorities lie.
Silver Figment
Active Member
I've never really seen a problem with the buses. :shrug:
stratman50th
Well-Known Member
I don't mind the buses at all, and we always drive. My car stays parked almost the entire trip, unless we go to DTD, to Fort Wilderness for dinner, or off property. That's actually the joy of the Disney transportation for me, I don't have to drive anyplace. It's relaxing. Let someone else deal, I'm stuck in rush hour traffic 5 days a week... Twice a day. I value my time as well and since it's my vacation, doing nothing at all can be as nice as playing park commando. We just normally stay long enough to fit in as much park time as we want and leisure pool do nothing time.
Yeah, props for Disney transportation!:sohappy:
Yeah, props for Disney transportation!:sohappy: