Transportation nightmare at MK (6/16)

[articos]

I loved that logo.. but what hotel is above the word "World" on the logo.. I dont remember seeing anything about that.

That's the unbuilt Persian-themed resort. It was to have a continuation of the monorail line that would connect it from the Contemporary, then run down through Tomorrowland, a la Disneyland's monorail, before heading to the station in front of the park.

 

[Goofnut1980]

That's the unbuilt Persian-themed resort. It was to have a continuation of the monorail line that would connect it from the Contemporary, then run down through Tomorrowland, a la Disneyland's monorail, before heading to the station in front of the park.

If we all pool our money, can we build that?

 

[articos]

If we all pool our money, can we build that?

Depends. How much do all of us have? Also, there's a chance the newly built Persian Resort may sink. Are you ok with that?

On the other hand, great view of abandoned River Country.

 

[EOD K9]

One doesn't have to drink a "fifth" to be legally drunk. One doesn't even have to "act" inebriated to be legally drunk.

I'm going to vaguely reference George Carlin. Legally drunk sounds like it is a state that is ok to be in. "Leave him alone officer, he is legally drunk"!

 

[Tim_4]

I was driving home from work the other day. It rained. Traffic sucked.

OUTRAGE!

 

[Goofnut1980]

Depends. How much do all of us have? Also, there's a chance the newly built Persian Resort may sink. Are you ok with that?

On the other hand, great view of abandoned River Country.

I bet it wouldnt sink.. and if it did.. we can say it was on quicksand.. like a real desert!

I wonder why they haven't they built on the BLT lake yet? They own all around it, correct??

 

[billDozer]

why not chill at caseys?

 

[NowInc]

..do you honestly think Disney is unaware of any potential "abuse of the system" with resort parking? Of course they are. Are they losing money? Not one bit. If you are there...eating..drinking..shopping...they are making money. If you decide to hop to the parks? Yep...more money! Making it more "Unofficially" convenient for AP holders or people there for dining will only indirectly incline them to spend more money. If you were at a resort for dinner and was told you would have to move your car to go to the parks, theres a good chance you will just leave...and thus loss revenue. AP passholders such as myself don't NEED to go the parks..we choose to. We go often enough already. (Not trying to sound like an AP snob..just read it as a literal statement). We wouldn't be paying for parking ANYWAY (as its included with your passes), and if we are going for any reason..be it a snack..a drink..a full meal..or a keychain..the OPTION to have us hop over to the park would ultimately lead to use spending more.

NOW..that all being said..they crack down on the parking a LOT more during busy seasons, and most of us wouldn't even consider going anywhere near the parks during those times anyway, but when we do...we know the resorts are stricter and then we do the normal lots.

The ones I can't stand are the bus-hoppers who park at DTD and transfer via resort routes to the parks.

 

[NowInc]

ALSO...I think a parking garage close to the MK is a horrid idea. Visually especially. It would also cause more of a traffic nightmare then it would solve. It "Works" at DLR because they have no choice (space is limited), and even then..from my past experiences..it can be very clustered at any rush as well.


And to the people who use the USO example.....you mean the parking garage that is no where NEAR the front gates/exits of their parks?...that you can get to only by going through their long outdoor bottle necking shopping district?

 

[bethymouse]

Anyone who's still there at MK this week- are the crowds still just awful?

 

[tissandtully]

After not actually parking in MK lot for the past few years, I finally did a few weeks ago and let me tell you, it is my least favorite part about going to MK. This is especially true if you have a stroller (which sometimes is unavoidable, even when we bring a baby carrier with us). The fact that you have to take two different types of crowded transportation just to get to the front gate is annoying. I'm never parking there again and will probably just park at one of the resorts. I guess it's cool for the first time, but after you've stayed on property, especially at the Contemporary, which is walking distance, you see how unnecessary that whole process is.

 

[RSoxNo1]

Just throwing this out there... I wonder if Disney would consider revisiting the Asian, Persian and Mediterranean resort concepts after they build the Poly DVC.

 

[TubaGeek]

Just throwing this out there... I wonder if Disney would consider revisiting the Asian, Persian and Mediterranean resort concepts after they build the Poly DVC.

All I heard from that was the "Poly D". Then I got scared.

 

[Cosmic Commando]

I bet it wouldnt sink.. and if it did.. we can say it was on quicksand.. like a real desert!

I wonder why they haven't they built on the BLT lake yet? They own all around it, correct??

Fine, but I call top bunk.

 

[Yankee Mouse]

The thing is and most people forget or don't know there is a reason for the ferry/monorail. You are supposed to park at the mk parking and take Disney transport. you are supposed to take this time to leave the real world behind and the magic builds. you get glimpse of the castle and the excitement it building even higher. Then you get off and walk up the hill and the castle view disappears behind the train station. Again anticipation builder. Then you come under the train and the magical view down main street happens. This is Walt's vision. To build parking right there would loose this.the parking closer would create even more headaches. The road structure there cannot handle more traffic. It would be a massive rebuild and design of everything. The problem is capacity is being increased and the base ideas are not being increased to meet capacity. Hopefully the new bus things being implemented will help. Hopefully the new routes watercraft is trying will help. Things are being done/worked on to address the issue. It take time and people need to be patient. Today's I want it immediately society needs to understand this and don't so the issue and complaints arise.

This is the 2nd time in the past couple of weeks I have read about some serious delays and issues concerning transportation to/from TTC/MK (in addition to experiencing some issues myself years ago) so I think it highlights a serious issue, despite Walt's original vision, something that I understand and appreciate. Times do change, increases in capacity, and more monorail breakdowns/precautions being big ones which could force changes to the original concept. So I hope you are right, I hope they are looking at other options for when the monorail is down and I hope these other options will help. I don't see how new buses (I assume you mean the larger connected buses which have been tested) would help though unless they will run those buses to/from TTC/MK or MK resorts when needed. And new watercraft routes wouldn't help if they aren't running due to weather.

Things I wouldn't mind seeing which might help:

1. Additional ferries (1-2). I have no idea if this is feasible, but it seems like it would help when the monorail is down.
2. Walkway to the GF, which would require some kind of moveable bridge where the electric water parade floats are stored.
3. Buses that run from between TTC/MK when needed. Probably the most difficult of the three to accomplish.

While Disney can't control the weather, I think they need to have a better plan in place to deal with issues when they arise. The lack of vision to anticipate and address the problem of everyone leaving the MK at the same time when the monorail is down is worrisome to me.

 

[tmstephe]

The ones I can't stand are the bus-hoppers who park at DTD and transfer via resort routes to the parks.

Not trying to fan this... honest question:
How is an AP parking at a resort, having a drink/meal or shopping, and heading to the park any different than a local (I assume that's who does this?) parking at DTD, having a meal/drink or shopping, and heading to a park?

 

[nepalostparks]

3. Buses that run from between TTC/MK when needed. Probably the most difficult of the three to accomplish.

I think you'll see this happen once the third loop of the bus depot is finished (which is currently under construction). Then it'll be the easiest of the three to accomplish in my opinion.

 

[JungleTrekFan]

These needed to be reposted:

Taken from the Tables in Wonderland website:
Resort valet services are complimentary to members, for the sole purpose of dining at one of the participating Resort restaurants. This privilege will only be extended to one vehicle per membership card. Present your membership card with a valid dining receipt from the participating Resort restaurant at the Valet Stand upon retrieving your vehicle. On Tables in Wonderland Block-Out dates, there will be a charge for parking and valet services.

I went to Disney's "Help" page, opened a chat with a CM, and wound up with this:
TubaGeek: Hello! I was wondering something regarding parking. If I am utilizing the Tables in Wonderland valet parking at Grand Floridian, can I then leave my car there while I go to the Magic Kingdom?
Artimas: Hello! I will be happy to assist you in any way I can! Your parking time at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa would only be for three hours. You would need to move your car to the Magic Kingdom® Park parking area if you plan on visiting the park after dining.

And now to add my insight. Answers in bold.

Things I wouldn't mind seeing which might help:

1. Additional ferries (1-2). I have no idea if this is feasible, but it seems like it would help when the monorail is down. Would need some infrastructure to be set up but i do believe this is the best solution.
2. Walkway to the GF, which would require some kind of moveable bridge where the electric water parade floats are stored. Not really worth the money for an expensive bridge, plus the walkway would be twice as long as the one for the Contemporary and i don’t think many Grand guests would choose this over a monorail or boat.
3. Buses that run from between TTC/MK when needed. Probably the most difficult of the three to accomplish. Already happens during busy days, holidays, etc. when they know it will be busy and this alternative will be needed. The only issue is a bus needs a driver, and they only staff so many cast members depending on projected attendance of parks and resort occupancy. Unfortunately these freak storms that occur can not be projected 3 weeks out when scheduling makes the cast members shifts.

 

[Yankee Mouse]

I think you'll see this happen once the third loop of the bus depot is finished (which is currently under construction). Then it'll be the easiest of the three to accomplish in my opinion.

I remember seeing that thread, but didn't realize it included buses between MK-TTC. I will have to go back and reread the whole thing. That is a good thing but, if they don't plan to run regular buses between MK-TTC, as suggested in the WDW magic news article, then when there is an issue with the monorail/ferry they would still need to find buses and drivers somewhere and send them to MK. This is why I think it would be the most difficult of the three. Extra buses are easy to keep on hand, extra drivers, not so much.

You could definitely reroute buses from other resorts/parks, but they didn't do it in this case or the other one that I read about from early June when the monorail broke down. In this case I can understand why they couldn't reroute buses, but it still raises the same issues, if you aren't running them full time you don't have the drivers to staff the extra buses sitting around.

Hopefully the new capacity buses will help, still wouldn't mind seeing another ferry ($$$) as well though, and a walking bridge to GF.

To be fair I am not a transportation engineer so I am just going based on my observations.

And now to add my insight. Answers in bold.

You posted your insight as I was typing my response. I agree with you on all three points. The third especially being why I thought it would be the most difficult.

 

[nepalostparks]

I remember seeing that thread, but didn't realize it included buses between MK-TTC. That is a good thing but, if they don't plan to run regular buses between MK-TTC, as suggested in the WDW magic news article, then when there is an issue with the monorail/ferry they would still need to find buses and drivers somewhere and send them to MK. This is why I think it would be the most difficult of the three. Extra buses are easy to keep on hand, extra drivers, not so much.

You could definitely reroute buses from other resorts/parks, but they didn't do it in this case or the other one that I read about from early June when the monorail broke down. In this case I can understand why they couldn't reroute buses, but it still raises the same issues, if you aren't running them full time you don't have the drivers to staff the extra buses sitting around.

Hopefully the new capacity buses will help, still wouldn't mind seeing another ferry ($$$) as well though, and a walking bridge to GF.

To be fair I am not a transportation engineer so I am just going based on my observations.

There will still certainly be issues with re-routing buses, as it won't be a perfect solution. However, with the additional bus stops, they'll now have extra bays to route the buses to (along with additional covered queue space to hold more guests waiting). And it's possible that with the expansion, perhaps they will add a permanent bus stop for the TTC.

We'll have to see what happens - at least with the expansion of the bus depot, there's the possibility of a better outcome in a situation like the OP described. Ultimately, there's only so much that can be done when that large of a crowd exits at the same time.