Was Magic Kingdom’s parking and transportation system a mistake?

[Goofyernmost]

If Disney didn't think it was a mistake, they would have repeated it at Disneyland Paris, where no expense was spared.

I usually like it, but leaving the park is a much bigger hassle here than at the other parks.

In place of the lagoon you have a hotel between you and the park entrance. That is from the train from Paris. I don't know where the car parking is located but I will bet that it isn't as highly used as it is in the states and if it has its own magical entrance.

 

[Married5Times]

That is from the train from Paris.

my memory must be off badly because I thought the train was noticeably further away. I did take the train and I don't remember it being so close.
the vantage point above looks like it's less than 275'

 

[Goofyernmost]

my memory must be off badly because I thought the train was noticeably further away. I did take the train and I don't remember it being so close.
the vantage point above looks like it's less than 275'

That was the entrance. I didn't intend to imply that it was next to the train station. It really wasn't terribly far away just a short walk, but it wasn't facing a car parking lot. The train wasn't operated by Disney either, that train was strictly transportation and not part of the show. I didn't word it properly, what I was saying is that I arrived by train from Paris, but that it did have a direct stop at Disneyland Paris basicly in direct alignment with the entrance.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

Romance and magic are never a mistake.


The monorail is not a transport to the park, it IS the park, it is Disney World. You are already there, or still there.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

This is pretty unequivocally the problem with egress now. More attendants than ever and less to do at night than 20 years ago. MK at peak summer crowds would, if I recall correctly, always run until 11pm-midnight. Spectromagic would run at 8 or 9, fireworks at 9 or 10, and then a squeeze in of a third Spectromagic at 10:30 if it all lined up. Now it's often fireworks -> end of show -> close in an hour. The park is not designed to get that many people out in an hour, but can handle it in 2 hours.

1am even.

Spot on. Back in the day. MK closing at 1am, nighttime parade at 9pm and 11pm, fireworks at 10pm, from memory. This was when the MK attracted half the amount of visitors, had longer operating hours, no upcharge event closures, more attractions, and more spaces open to the general public. Back when management focused on increasing your satisfaction level rather than increasing your dissatisfaction level to get you to fork out extra in despair.

 

[LittleMerman]

Yes. I understand the experience but it's really annoying to have to park and take their transportation just to get to the entrance of MK. If you're driving or getting dropped off, it takes a while before you can even get on a MK ride. I can't imagine how annoying it is for locals who just want an afternoon in the park.

 

[Goofyernmost]

Yes. I understand the experience but it's really annoying to have to park and take their transportation just to get to the entrance of MK. If you're driving or getting dropped off, it takes a while before you can even get on a MK ride. I can't imagine how annoying it is for locals who just want an afternoon in the park.

The trip takes 15 minutes. Without the lagoon you still have to park a car or take a bus to get there. It takes you far longer to wait on a bus then to park your car and get to the entrance. Besides once you get the tram to TTC you ARE at MK. As a show it is the lobby, the MK train station is the curtain and Main street is the start of the show. If you only go to WDW for the rides you are spending a whole lot more money than needed. MK is the entire package like no other park in the country. Try to smell the roses and soak up the entire program instead of just small parts of it. I have enjoyed the rides via Monorail and/or ferry as much as any other part. It totally baffles me how anyone can just get dropped off, via bus and not realize what they have missed. Sad!

 

[Married5Times]

I can't imagine how annoying it is for locals who just want an afternoon in the park.

a most worthy angle.

I've been both a fly in to MCO every 3rd year type guest and a 15 minute drive to the parking lot super user Anual Pass local guest: when I wore my local hat it got annoying fast to the point that we commonly would avoid that park out of the 4.

 

[cloudboy]

Are you asking is it a mistake, or are you asking is it something that needs to be fixed?

It wasn't a mistake. For the time that the park opened, for what they envisioned the park to be, it was the right thing.

Today, however, they never imagined there would 3 other parks, that there would be lots of resort spread all over, that they would have the kind of attendance that they have. The problem isn't really the placement of the parking lot - for Disney the whole idea is to get you to abandon your car. The problem is that they just have not built a transportation system capable of handling their current needs. The bus system just doesn't have enough capacity for peak crowds. They built;t themselves into a problem with the way they laid the TTC out and having to tram everyone to that and then to the park. The Skyliner is a quick stop gap measure that I don't think is very future proof. They need to rethink the whole parking and transportation system, but need to do it with operations as a primary concern and not positioning their resorts as the primary concern.

 

[HauntedPirate]

Before this gets out of hand - The train station at Marne la Vallée has nothing to do with the Disneyland Hotel or the parks. It's located off to the north side between Disney Village and the entrance way which leads to Disneyland Parc. Car parking is located beyond the train station, to the northeast.

The TTC was built for reasons. Those reasons are completely lost on 90% of modern guests and 100% of TWDC "leadership".

 

[BubbaisSleep]

Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't but overall I think it's a mistake. Especially as someone who's used to the west coast convenience. I'm sure many here don't visit during peak season but many of my trips I don't have a choice and the crowding ruins the magic.

One trip in particular was bad. Going from where I parked and into the parks took me at least 75 minutes. As were exiting, all of us guests were jammed up at the docks waiting for boats to come. Next to me were a few kids from Make a Wish and one of them in a wheel chair started having a serious panic attack which seem to be coming from the chaotic crowding. I was helping his caretaker get the attention of a CM but none showed up until they saw us trying to open the barricades. Wasn't a very magical day of transportation for many and I missed the days of being able to get to Toy Story parking lot in 10-20 minutes. But the boat ride was nice on other visits.

 

[some other guy]

yeah there's a def tradeoff of "oh wow the cool buildup" and "wait in line to flood the gates every x minutes"
iirc the main trick in my day was you hopped the resort line or you parked at Contemporary West Wing and walked

 

[marni1971]

In place of the lagoon you have a hotel between you and the park entrance. That is from the train from Paris. I don't know where the car parking is located but I will bet that it isn't as highly used as it is in the states and if it has its own magical entrance.

View attachment 633906

Here’s the day guest car park in DLP. As you can see it’s well used (you can’t tell anymore since it’s now roofed with a solar farm)

guests use covered speed ramps (the white strip in the middle) to get to and from the main plaza off to the camera left - something originally planned for EPCOT Center.

 

[LittleMerman]

The trip takes 15 minutes. Without the lagoon you still have to park a car or take a bus to get there. It takes you far longer to wait on a bus then to park your car and get to the entrance. Besides once you get the tram to TTC you ARE at MK. As a show it is the lobby, the MK train station is the curtain and Main street is the start of the show. If you only go to WDW for the rides you are spending a whole lot more money than needed. MK is the entire package like no other park in the country. Try to smell the roses and soak up the entire program instead of just small parts of it. I have enjoyed the rides via Monorail and/or ferry as much as any other part. It totally baffles me how anyone can just get dropped off, via bus and not realize what they have missed. Sad!

You're entitled to your opinion. For me, every minute counts at the parks. The TTC is just not necessary. Again, I get the immersion aspect but at the end of the day, Magic Kingdom is a theme park and sometimes you don't want to have to take extra steps just to get to a theme park. You just want to get out of your car and go.

 

[LittleMerman]

a most worthy angle.

I've been both a fly in to MCO every 3rd year type guest and a 15 minute drive to the parking lot super user Anual Pass local guest: when I wore my local hat it got annoying fast to the point that we commonly would avoid that park out of the 4.

I totally get that.

 

[Goofyernmost]

You're entitled to your opinion. For me, every minute counts at the parks. The TTC is just not necessary. Again, I get the immersion aspect but at the end of the day, Magic Kingdom is a theme park and sometimes you don't want to have to take extra steps just to get to a theme park. You just want to get out of your car and go.

I'm at the park when you are still waiting for the bus. I park in the parking lot, get a ride on the tram, take the ferry or Monorail to Main street USA in way less time then the average wait for the bus to pick you up. So which one of us spends more time in the park. You are also entitled to your opinion. At the actual end of the day I'd much rather spend my time looking at all the lights and things reflecting off the water in the lagoon then standing in a sweaty line waiting to get on a bus. I've been going there since 1983 and if I don't go through TTC and onto either the ferry or the Monorail, a huge part of the experience is missing. Not going there is like missing a couple of my favorite attractions. Like with anything else, our own attitude is what makes the magic. The value is in the detail.

 

[jloucks]

I liked the Ferry ride.

...or was it a Fairy ride?

The ferry is ginourmous, so not much of a wait.

It did that raining sideways thing when we were there last month, so we got soaked.

Also the restroom is sealed shut, so when you get stuck on the ferry and it will not dock due to weather concerns, you just have to hold it.

 

[mysto]

Lagoon transit was not a mistake when built. It is a mistake now. As usual the survey doesn't include my answer. I'm a freak.

Today the monorail needs to be some kind of high speed peoplemover. Add 2 more monorail tracks that stop at the back of the TTC lot, something, capacity. As many have said.

 

[matt9112]

It was an odd set up and truth be told, not really an enjoyable one at days end with two very tired and cranky kids.

Yet, all things being equal, its not something I've really thought about much since.

I carried my son on my shoulders asleep (at age 5) from NFL during the fireworks show to the bus....waited 3 busloads...than to our room at port orleans. I felt like I had just climbed a mountain. It was one of the worst experiences of my life but also one of the proudest.

 

[Robbiem]

Here’s the day guest car park in DLP. As you can see it’s well used (you can’t tell anymore since it’s now roofed with a solar farm)

View attachment 634547

guests use covered speed ramps (the white strip in the middle) to get to and from the main plaza off to the camera left - something originally planned for EPCOT Center.

Hong Kong is a hybrid set up. Car and bus parking is behind the MTR train station- if you arrive at the resort by public transport you never see the parking lots and can walk directly to the park and hotel areas but to get to the resort by public transport you have to get a Disney themed shuttle train one stop, its a nice ride though the countryside but not as convenient as Paris where you can get a direct train from the city centre, or even from London!