Which Main Street vehicles are still in use?

[steve2wdw]

While recently at the World (specifically the MK), I noticed a general lack of vehicular traffic on Main Street USA. I saw the horse drawn trolley once and I saw the fire truck (although there were no passengers on board). There was once the Omnibus and also a couple antique cars besides the fire truck and trolley in the fleet. Does anyone know what vehicles are still in use and when?

 

[googilycub]

On Saturday, 10/9, morning both the trolley and firetruck were in use.

 

[hpyhnt 1000]

I've been wondering about this too actually. I imagine with the multiple showings of MISICI, along with the CADCT parade, the vehicles must stop running pretty early in the day. But I must confess, I have only seen the trolley once in recent trips.

 

[joe80x86]

Personally I am surprised they still run any of them given the amount of foot traffic and the danger they pose to the guests. Plus they cost money to run and really provide no benefit.

 

[unkadug]

Personally I am surprised they still run any of them given the amount of foot traffic and the danger they pose to the guests. Plus they cost money to run and really provide no benefit.

People should learn not to walk in the middle of a street.

 

[thelookingglass]

I actually haven't seen any in years. I thought they were long gone.

 

[rct247]

Usually you can only catch them in the morning hours and even then, they only come out every so often. It really comes down to a few things:

-Entertainment - Between Move It Shake It, 3pm Parade, Trolley show, Daper Dans, Citizens of Main Street, and much more, there is so much going on that it is hard to bring them out. Also don't forget the balloon vendors and Photopass photographers.

-Crowds - Traffic on Main Street has increased since the park opened, but we are also seeing more wheelchairs, ECVs, strollers, and such. Those folks sometimes have a hard time just getting down Main Street themselves, imagine a large vehicle. It also depends on the time of year. For instance, during the busy holiday season the parks actually remove many benches and sometimes even props to free up areas where people can walk. Driving a vehicles during a busy day is much harder than during the off-season.

-Nightime - Obviously, the vehicles can't make the rounds at night because traffic on Main Street increases significantly with the nighttime parades and fireworks. It is also a safey concern as it can be harder to see at night.

-Attractions/Training - The Main Street Vehicles are part of Main Street Operations and are sometimes used by entertainment. Main Street Ops has a large portion of its staffing for the parades so those CMs work when those take place and are usually busy with those. The vehicles are also manual (not automatic) so in today's society, there are less people who actually know how to drive manual. Either way, extra training is involved and new hires usually have to wait a certain period before they can train to drive them. Keep in mind that a large portion of the Main Street Ops is also College Program participants who wont' be here long enough to train on them. Finally, if there is time and staffing to drive them, they are usually only out for a loop or two so many folks miss seeing them while they are in the other areas of the park. As for the horses, they are workers too and only spend mornings in the car barn on Main Street. They return to Fort Wilderness for the afternoon.

So, those are my thoughts on the situation. The time window is small, the time of year and crowds play a factor, staffing/training is another, and finally if they are out, you may miss them because it may only be for 7 minutes out of the entire day.

 

[CumulusIsobar]

While recently at the World (specifically the MK), I noticed a general lack of vehicular traffic on Main Street USA. I saw the horse drawn trolley once and I saw the fire truck (although there were no passengers on board). There was once the Omnibus and also a couple antique cars besides the fire truck and trolley in the fleet. Does anyone know what vehicles are still in use and when?

Some friends of ours were down recently and were the lucky family picked to open up the park in the morning ceremony. They showed us pictures which included a trip on the fire truck to transport them to the train station.

 

[steve2wdw]

Usually you can only catch them in the morning hours and even then, they only come out every so often. It really comes down to a few things:

-Entertainment - Between Move It Shake It, 3pm Parade, Trolley show, Daper Dans, Citizens of Main Street, and much more, there is so much going on that it is hard to bring them out. Also don't forget the balloon vendors and Photopass photographers.

-Crowds - Traffic on Main Street has increased since the park opened, but we are also seeing more wheelchairs, ECVs, strollers, and such. Those folks sometimes have a hard time just getting down Main Street themselves, imagine a large vehicle. It also depends on the time of year. For instance, during the busy holiday season the parks actually remove many benches and sometimes even props to free up areas where people can walk. Driving a vehicles during a busy day is much harder than during the off-season.

-Nightime - Obviously, the vehicles can't make the rounds at night because traffic on Main Street increases significantly with the nighttime parades and fireworks. It is also a safey concern as it can be harder to see at night.

-Attractions/Training - The Main Street Vehicles are part of Main Street Operations and are sometimes used by entertainment. Main Street Ops has a large portion of its staffing for the parades so those CMs work when those take place and are usually busy with those. The vehicles are also manual (not automatic) so in today's society, there are less people who actually know how to drive manual. Either way, extra training is involved and new hires usually have to wait a certain period before they can train to drive them. Keep in mind that a large portion of the Main Street Ops is also College Program participants who wont' be here long enough to train on them. Finally, if there is time and staffing to drive them, they are usually only out for a loop or two so many folks miss seeing them while they are in the other areas of the park. As for the horses, they are workers too and only spend mornings in the car barn on Main Street. They return to Fort Wilderness for the afternoon.

So, those are my thoughts on the situation. The time window is small, the time of year and crowds play a factor, staffing/training is another, and finally if they are out, you may miss them because it may only be for 7 minutes out of the entire day.

All of the above is exactly what I thought. It's almost too bad that the MK is so busy that the vehicular traffic has been limited. It added a great sense of time (the late 19th early 20th century) to Main Street. I loved hearing the horns honk for pedestrians to get out of the way. Just one more bit of atmosphere lost, kind of like the lack of traffic on the Rivers of America.

On a side note, I was looking at vintage pictures of Main Street at Disneyland and there were NO pedestrians walking on the street. They were all on the sidewalks....like Main Street was an actual street and foot traffic was prohibited. I wonder when things started to change and pedestrians started to use the actual street other than just the sidewalks.

 

[dreamfinder]

Recently we were told they only ran for an hour or so after park opening. Not sure if this is true, or just a bus driver story, so take it or leave it.

 

[Kamikaze]

Personally I am surprised they still run any of them given the amount of foot traffic and the danger they pose to the guests. Plus they cost money to run and really provide no benefit.

Ambience. Thats enough benefit. At least it should be.

 

[Phonedave]

Recently we were told they only ran for an hour or so after park opening. Not sure if this is true, or just a bus driver story, so take it or leave it.

Last Saturday the horse trolley was out for about 60 - 90 minutes after rope drop, then it was back into the car barn.

Like someone said, a loop or two up to the hub and that is all.

The Dapper Dan's were riding on the back.

So, does anybody know how they transport the horses between MK and the Campgrounds? I assume by horse trailer, but one never knows.

-dave

 

[Kamikaze]

Last Saturday the horse trolley was out for about 60 - 90 minutes after rope drop, then it was back into the car barn.

Like someone said, a loop or two up to the hub and that is all.

The Dapper Dan's were riding on the back.

So, does anybody know how they transport the horses between MK and the Campgrounds? I assume by horse trailer, but one never knows.

-dave

Pixie Dust.

 

[minniemickeyfan]

Personally I am surprised they still run any of them given the amount of foot traffic and the danger they pose to the guests. Plus they cost money to run and really provide no benefit.

Provide no benefit?? Have you asked the residents, the mayor and the fire chief this?? They may disagree and think they're very useful here on Main Street U.S.A.:animwink: