Originally Posted By u k fan I get that, but when you take into account the number of day guests using each system it's apples and oranges!!!
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo Funny that WDW never used to have these problems. Poor maintenance, poor management choices. I am not going to defend their poor practices in the swamps. Defending does nothing but support the lower level status quo. Who does that help indeed?
Originally Posted By HokieSkipper <<Defending does nothing but support the lower level status quo.>> It's something I've never understood. I understand defending creative decisions. That's fine. I may not agree, but it's understandable. But defending things like failing maintenance, falling food standards (which has improved), and less and less of the "little things" has never made any sense. And all of them happen all too often. I don't know if society has conditioned people to expect it or what, but I won't.
Originally Posted By Kennesaw Tom I was also visiting WDW while Dave and family were staying at AKL. I didn't have the bus experiences Dave and his family had but I know for a fact Dave certainly did and he's not exaggerating. Generally speaking I have found Disney buses to be reliable. Granted that is going to vary depending on which resort your staying at. I always thought the Boardwalk, Swan, Dolphin quests utilizing the same buses was crazy! Staying at POR I can recall waiting 45 minutes for the correct bus to get to one park ( I forget which park it was we were trying to get too). But it got to the point that multiple buses for the other parks and water parks had gone by. Actually as I recall that was fairly normal for the AKL buses. You would be waiting for a MK bus forever and meanwhile three buses for EPCOT would go by. I have no idea who on property is coordinating the buses at the resorts. Another big gripe I have is getting out of EPCOT and hundreds waiting forever for a bus back to their resort to show up with no where to sit down. Unreliable buses are one things but benches at the bus stations in the parks would go a long way.
Originally Posted By Kennesaw Tom Dave you need a rescue helicopter while at WDW to get you and your family to and fro.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo I think that is the thing Tom (and thanks for you guys and ukfan, doobekah and em joining US, that was a real highlight of the trip). There were plenty of buses at all, just never to the park we had adrs at.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo Lol. I just find it a real headscratcher. This year I have troubleshot 3 city's public transport issues and managed to make a 15% savings of cost at the same time. It is not difficult.
Originally Posted By Kennesaw Tom I have to admit that it did seem the AKL was weird with their buses. No coordination what so ever. And it wasn't just you. I also noticed that while staying there as well. Great resort... weird bus schedule.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo Ya, travelling with 2 toddlers and a grumpy mother in law with those problems, it made it the worst vacation yet. Thankfully our friends being there was so awesome, it gave some balance. Therefore, rule of thumb, have a car if staying at AKL
Originally Posted By Kennesaw Tom Oh course that is one of the reasons why I always stay at a DTD hotel. Since DTD is one of the WDW transportation junction points I can easily get anywhere on property via various transportation systems; ie Disney Transportation, personal vehicle, boats to POR/ OKW/ SSR, or DTD buses to anywhere on property in minutes! Oh and I can top it all off with a fudge sundae at Ghirardelli every night!
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo I would rather have personal people movers like the ones that just opened at Heathrow airport. See, our European trip this year, the longest we waited for any public transport was 6 minutes, 3 in Strassbourg (where the timetable for trams are every 3 minutes in peak time)
Originally Posted By Kennesaw Tom In WDW's defense they do have resorts far, far away from some of the parks. Which for logictically suck but works out so that some resorts are on water and others are more remote and secluded. I'm glad the resorts at WDW are not attached to the parks. Most are conviently located nearby. I agree additional monorails/ people movers would go a long way. But that was a decision Michael Eisner made a long time ago to build two parks ( MGM and DAK ) instead of putting in an additional monorail to tie in all the resorts. As much as I love the monorails and find the used diesel buses rudimentary at best, I agree with his conclusion; that the buses did an adequate job at transportation. The reason why guests visit WDW is for the parks not for the transportation system.
Originally Posted By leobloom I predict the next CEO will be discouraged when (s)he discovers how far the parks have fallen behind, how much they require to catch up, and how much cash has been dumped into NextGen. My other prediction: operation of the parks and resorts is turned over more and more to outside contractors. And, also, the parks might be sold.
Originally Posted By macnak81 In 2005 the buses were just awful, delayed, overcrowded,no schedule or just never showed up. We were told they were experimenting with a new GPS system.In 2010 they didn't seem any better, especially after any nighttime event/show when the crowds leave en-mass. Standing in 1 bus line for 3 or 4 buses would take 1 1/2 hours ! Here in Buffalo our snow plows are using GPS system so they can plow the snow more efficiently. Before that the driver woudl slack off at the bar for a few hours or plow the same couple of streets over and over, while skipping other streets. I would think mouse management would have mastered that by now.
