Bigger Busses?

[GrumpyFan]

Rusty, I concede, you win! Tell him what he's won Rob!

Seriously, though, thanks for the info, it really sounds like you've got a lot more information than I do on the issue. While I agree mostly on your assessment, I still have to wonder if it would be worthwhile for them to do. The (cost) benefit/savings would appear to be fairly minimal, if any at all.

Something else to consider though. The Monorail was built with little or no payoff in mind. It was merely an "outside the park attraction", if you will. Sure, it served at one point to help draw people in because it was new and unique, but not so much anymore, it's just another form of transportation, as are the buses and boats, none of which I would figure, have any real payoff inherent. However, they all serve a purpose, which ultimately does lead to a payoff, and that's meeting/satisfying guest demand in a way that will hopefully lead to their returning some day and spending more money. So, while bigger buses might cost more, they could potentially have some future payoff, albeit hard to measure in a 12-month report filled with numbers.

I realize the problem with my way of thinking is that it's not how Disney management is geared to think. Blame Wall Street, and greedy investors who want to see instant results on investments. Having to wait 2, 5 or 10 years for what would be considered an intangible infrastructure upgrade to payoff is simply not allowed in this day and time. Which, sadly means, we're not likely to see bigger buses, monorail, or any other transportation improvements in the foreseeable future. However, I fear that their lack of upgrading the infrastructure, more specifically, the transportation system, is going to bite them, sooner rather than later.

With the additional rooms being added at the DVCs for AK and Contemporary, Four Seasons and Bonnet Creek, the roadways and parking lots at WDW will get more and more crowded in the next few years. I have to wonder though, what kind of transportation plans are they working on for Four Seasons, because I just don't see people paying $5000+ to stay at a 5 star hotel then ride a Disney bus.

[joelkfla]

Even if they only used them in the mornings and at closing times going to Pop and All Stars, the amount of guests they could move would be twice what they already do. I haven't seen the bus stops at All Stars, but I would assume they're pretty similar to Pop, which would seem to be big enough already to accommodate to handle an articulated bus.

Actually, the stops at Pop and AS (and all of the parks) are barely large enough for the current buses. If the driver in the load zone in front of us does not pull up all the way to the stop line, or pulls in at too much of an angle, we have a heck of a time getting around him without backing up.

Also, I don't know but I suspect articulated buses are considered tractor-trailers, which would require a class A CDL. Many WDW drivers have class B's.

[PeterPan]

Disney made a huge effort to try the bigger busses several years ago - am I the only one who remembers this? They had the bigger accordian busses running all over the place. Every bus driver told us it was an "experiment." Another driver (I know, not the best source of information) told us later that it was deemed not possible because of all the modifications it would take to accomodate the larger busses at the bus stops.

By the way, that did not stop them from going to a much larger Monorail a few years back. They modified all of the monorail stops to accomodate the larger vehicles - granted, there are far fewer monorail stops than bus stops!

Please tell me I am not the only one who saw (on multiple trips in one year) the large busses running all over WDW.

[Ed]

Please tell me I am not the only one who saw (on multiple trips in one year) the large busses running all over WDW.

Nope, you're not alone. As I posted a few days ago:

Maybe I'm hallucinating, but I seem to recall seeing a few experimental articulated WDW buses a few years back. The fact that they're no longer there tells me they didn't work too well in that environment.

[SgtTigger]

Disney just spent 5 million dollars on a new system to improve the busses......

I think I could do a much better job for a lot less money......

[zebradome17]

What year abouts did they have the big accordian buses?

[Aggie97]

I cannot speak to whether or not articulated buses would be feasible at WDW, but we did ride them to and from our resort at DL Paris in spring 2003. I have not visited DLP since then, so I don't know if it was a test program or if the buses are always in use there.

[Hull-onian]

Taking the bus to the park isn't too bad. But man, after the fireworks, leaving the park, your heel to toe with the other folks. Sometimes we opt for a taxi back to the hotel. Works great.

[Granny Jill A]

I'm sure Disney knows how many people ride which buses, at what times, during which season, and where. It would be easy enough to compile this information. I'll volunteer to ride buses and count heads

Seriously, they should have a pretty good idea of where the snafus occur. Park closings are always a nightmare, and buses taking folks to shows like Illuminations or MVMCP are also filled to capacity.

I have a couple of ideas to throw out --

Have someone monitor the bus stops, and dispatch more buses when the crowds start building. This actually happened a couple of times when we were leaving EPCOT. The drivers told those who were waiting that more buses were on their way. A little communication made all the difference in alleving the tension in the tired crowd .

Guests in wheelchairs could queue up at a special bus stop and be loaded quickly in buses already set up for them. Or perhaps they could assign one bus to handle two resorts that are close together?