Originally Posted By davewasbaloo But Marriotts do, as does the Peabody and I believe the Ritz Carlton. Nope - WDW really does offer a subpar transportation infrastructure compared to the vision Walt painted in the 60's.
Originally Posted By RoadTrip <<WDW really does offer a subpar transportation infrastructure compared to the vision Walt painted in the 60's.>> At all of the Deluxe resorts, with the exception of the AKL and the WL, you can get to two of the four parks without getting on a dreaded Disney Bus. You can get to three of the four if you are willing to walk from the International Gateway to the front of Epcot to catch a monorail (assuming you have a hopper or an AP so you don't need to worry about using up an admission).
Originally Posted By A Happy Haunt <<The fact that people are largely sheep doesn't need a political example ...>> Did you mean cheap or sheep? baa
Originally Posted By bobbelee9 <<When has riding a bus ever been a fun experience?>> One night, everyone was dead tired dragging, the bus driver had us all singing and laughing, "The wheels on the bus go..." She was fun. If you can sit near the driver, some of them can be very informative.
Originally Posted By SuperDry <<< At all of the Deluxe resorts, with the exception of the AKL and the WL, you can get to two of the four parks without getting on a dreaded Disney Bus. >>> Actually, can't you do the same from WL? Take the boat to MK, then the monorail to Epcot.
Originally Posted By RoadTrip <<Actually, can't you do the same from WL? Take the boat to MK, then the monorail to Epcot.>> Yes, you are correct. And in fact that is a very easy (not much walking) transfer. Thanks for the correction.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo >>>You can get to three of the four if you are willing to walk from the International Gateway to the front of Epcot to catch a monorail (assuming you have a hopper or an AP so you don't need to worry about using up an admission).<< Ah yes, those wonderful choices near Epcot - either share a bus with multiple resorts, or go through security, a trunstyle queue, walk a mile or so (albeit a pretty one), through a gate, queue for a monorail, then change and queue for another monorail, to get into the MK. Real convenient ;-) I much prefer the layout of DL and DLP, everything is a 5-10 min journey tops! ;-)
Originally Posted By bobbelee9 <<Actually, can't you do the same from WL? Take the boat to MK, then the monorail to Epcot.>> Take the boat to MK, monorail to T&T, (or take the ferry) switch monorails. The boat at WL runs more frequently than the buses do. Nice little boat ride.
Originally Posted By MPierce >> Ah yes, those wonderful choices near Epcot - either share a bus with multiple resorts, or go through security, a trunstyle queue, walk a mile or so (albeit a pretty one), through a gate, queue for a monorail, then change and queue for another monorail, to get into the MK. Real convenient ;-) << Don't be such a Big Wuss Dave!
Originally Posted By MPierce >> I much prefer the layout of DL and DLP, everything is a 5-10 min journey tops! ;-) << That would have been great if they built WDW like that. You could have had a very effective transportation system then.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo Although Paris had it's problems, I really do think WDW taught them some great lessons on resort design. The mastplan blueprint has three parks and one water park in walking distance with the hotels, Disney Village and the Train Station as a hub in the middle. The 27 holes of golf, shopping and new town, and camping are on the edges of the resort about 2-3 miles from the hub e.g. all the places where people are more likely to have cars. And then they have buses for those that do not want to walk (though I would prefer boats, peoplemovers, monorails).
Originally Posted By MPierce That was kind of what I was thinking Dave. Have the four main Parks as the central hub with the Hotels around them. You could effectively have a combination of transportation modes that would all interconnect in an efficent manner. You could save tons of time in travel over your vacation.
Originally Posted By MPierce >> One night, everyone was dead tired dragging, the bus driver had us all singing and laughing, "The wheels on the bus go..." She was fun. If you can sit near the driver, some of them can be very informative. << I try to get my wife to sing that with me everytime we get on a bus at WDW. She just looks at me, and gives me the chicken eye.
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 <<I much prefer the layout of DL and DLP, everything is a 5-10 min journey tops! ;-)>> I actually don't. I've always loved the expansive way WDW (used to anywhere) appear to go on and on forever amidst a sea of greenery. The problem was when Eisner and Wells delayed the monorail loop from EPCOT to the Park Formerly Known as The Disney-MGM Studios and the EPCOT Resorts. They really intended to expand in the mid-90s, but we all know what happened and instead we have buses everywhere and traffic and signals and ... all the crap Walt wanted to avoid in Florida. I don't need/want my parks on top of each other. But I do want a quick, easy and COMFORTABLE way to travel between them. At WDW, it usually means hopping in my car and driving from one place to another.
Originally Posted By Sport Goofy If you pay attention to the early promotional videos for WDW when Walt Disney was alive, it was actually a much more compact development. The hotels at LBV were the only real outlier in the original 1971 plan. I think they strayed from that concept when they expanded to include EPCOT because there was a lack of confidence in how that park would ultimately go over. If it was far enough away from the MK, they could feasibly shutter it and continue to operate the signature Disney attractions with minimal impact from a failed EPCOT. Or they could sell off the EPCOT piece to another company and continue to operate MK in a buffer zone. Of course, that didn't happen and now you end up with far flung parks across the whole property. I still think some of the resorts have been developed with the idea that a third party could buy/operate them at some point while Disney essentially broke ties with the facilities and maintain the buffer zone between their parks and some of the resorts.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo >>><<I much prefer the layout of DL and DLP, everything is a 5-10 min journey tops! ;-)>> I actually don't.<<< Different strokes. I think growing up with DL, this is also my problem with the MK. I love the way DL is cleverly compact and some of the buildings are more toy like. This is where I think a part of the "magic" comes from. The MK just feels wrong to me as a result, to where I get a little grumpy in that park because it is not DL. DLP seems to be a wonderful hybrid of what is right with DL and the MK and plusses it with OTT detail (shame about the maintenance - even though it is getting better). I think a lot of it has to do with where you are raised. Although I don't know what Sarah's excuse is, she was not raised on DL and it was her 3rd resort, but her fav. I love flopping out of bed, into the shower and into the parks. And park hopping with ease. Staying at the Grand Californian or the Disneyland Hotel Paris offers this, and I love it (especially as I travel ALOT for work).
Originally Posted By danyoung >If it was far enough away from the MK, they could feasibly shutter it and continue to operate the signature Disney attractions with minimal impact from a failed EPCOT.< You've brought up this argument before, & I've never come even close to buying it. There was simply no way EPCOT was going to fail. Disney knew enough about park construction by that time to be assured that EPCOT was going to be a success. And it was built where it was because that was Walt's original site for E.P.C.O.T. the city. I strongly doubt that there was ever even discussion about the possibility of closing EPCOT and just running the MK. Simply doesn't make sense.
Originally Posted By Mr X I agree with Spirit, with respectful nods to Dave's thoughts which make a lot of sense. I love WDW just the way it is. I love just gawking at the grandeur of it all. It truly is the Disney flagship resort in terms of scope if nothing else. BUT...I hate the fact that such a wonderful place has crappy old buses as the main source for dragging folks along. Most cheap and unimaginative, to say the least (and sadder still since that's not at ALL the way the place was for its' first two decades in existence).
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo >>>(and sadder still since that's not at ALL the way the place was for its' first two decades in existence).<<< This is my chief complaint. Yes, some of the new hotels are wonderful, as is DAK, but at a huge cost. At the risk of sounding aweful, I wish they never opened the value resorts or started the Disney Dining Plan - I think these are two key factors in the degradation (along with fastpass).
