Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer Gotcha. Indeed, ALL my fault. All of WDW's transportation errors stem from my involvement in this website. It's actually funny... every time I have been in WDW for the past few trips, the MK loop is always down, much to a friend's delight who was once a Watercraft CM and wants me to take the ferry. He gets his wish. LOL.
Originally Posted By bobbelee9 Taking the ferry toward the MK and watching the castle get bigger and bigger. Yeah I like that view.
Originally Posted By Manfried I used to like taking the monorail, but I find the ferry much preferable now. Maybe its my aging age.
Originally Posted By Autopia Deb I gotta admit, if I saw a ginormous line for the mono and saw a herd of people walking to TTC via the 'Temp, I'd start walking, "mooo". And I consider myself a human of reasonable intelligence and common sense. If a crowd of people are allowed to walk in, around or through an area, the implication to those behind is it's OK and "safe". It was Disney's responsibility to divert that crowd of pedestrians immediately.
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 Again, just to repeat it IS/WAS/ALWAYS WILL BE Disney's fault. You need to have a Plan B and a Plan C and a Plan D etc when you run an operation like WDW. You don't have enough buses than you bring in someone from the outside. I know about two years ago, Disney had Mears motorcoaches (MUCH better than Disney buses) doing pickups at Disney-MGM at closing. There is no excuse for what transpired here other than bad management that counts on things always going according to plan and can't react (let alone plan) when things don't. Oh well, I sense after TDR and HKDL that it may be time to venture to O-Town early in 2011 ... at the very least I can cross Harry Potter off my list, see friends and deliver 'gifts' and Spirited holiday joy.
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer >>>Taking the ferry toward the MK and watching the castle get bigger and bigger. Yeah I like that view.<<< I do too. But there's nothing like the Monorail. ;-) But the thematic "glide" of the ferry, and the vista is VERY nice.
Originally Posted By SuperDry <<< One of the problems is how to react when something goes down. Where do you get more buses from? ... On a busy night like that every bus and driver is already assigned to other routes that are also very busy. >>> As far as drivers go, how many CM's does it take to operate each ferry? At least 3? If the TTC-MK ferries are down due to wind, there's at least 6 extra bus drivers for you that are already on-property and scheduled, assuming that you cross-train the ferry CM's to also be able to drive a bus in the situation where the ferries are down.
Originally Posted By Kennesaw Tom <<As far as drivers go, how many CM's does it take to operate each ferry? At least 3? If the TTC-MK ferries are down due to wind, there's at least 6 extra bus drivers for you that are already on-property and scheduled, assuming that you cross-train the ferry CM's to also be able to drive a bus in the situation where the ferries are down.>> Valid point SuperDry. You just want to keep in mind that in order to drive a bus my law on has to have a class B driver's license. If I were an employee cross trained in both and having a class B driver's license I would expect a greater pay than a conventional bus driver or ferry pilot. Hense why Spirit stated that in the past Disney has pulled in Mears buses.
Originally Posted By standor If they bring in more bus drivers then their payroll would get bigger and there would be less money for bonuses to the bigwigs.
Originally Posted By sjhym333 I believe that the bus drivers and boat skippers have two different contracts. I know that bus drivers begin at a higher pay rate and as stated above requires a Class B license. I dont see cross training in the ferry CM's future.
Originally Posted By CaptainMichael <<It's actually funny... every time I have been in WDW for the past few trips, the MK loop is always down, much to a friend's delight who was once a Watercraft CM and wants me to take the ferry. He gets his wish. LOL>> BOOM! Love it!!!! All part of my master plan <<As far as drivers go, how many CM's does it take to operate each ferry? At least 3? If the TTC-MK ferries are down due to wind, there's at least 6 extra bus drivers for you that are already on-property and scheduled, assuming that you cross-train the ferry CM's to also be able to drive a bus in the situation where the ferries are down.>> Worst case scenario? 2 But SOP requires 3. A pilot for each side and a deckhand. In reality, you just need 1 pilot and a deckhand.
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer >>>BOOM! Love it!!!! All part of my master plan <<< I was wondering when you'd see that, Mr. I Don't Post. ;-) But yeah, the Ferry is definitely under appreciated. People go on it begrudgingly, and even then, don't take advantage of the great views the upper deck provides. They all get herded (like sheep?!) to the first level, leaving the second one virtually empty, and a spectacular view of the MK Skyline free for the taking. Definitely a much more thematic entrance to the park than, the traditional "all hype" monorail.
Originally Posted By Christi22222 I've never taken the ferry TO the park, only away. I will be sure to take it TO the park next time. I hope to be a convert, because I'll take all the magic I can get! And my family never rides inside or around the crowds - whether boats, trains, or whatever - if we can help it. So we will aim for the best views offered.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo although having the Lagoon is one of the many things that annoys me about WDW, the ferries offer some fantastic views.
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer ^ Don't get the annoyance that comes from having something unique to the resort. It adds a layer of beauty and charm to the place.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo I like to be able to walk around a resort. WDW is too spread out, and having to allow an hour commute from a non monorail hotel to the MK for a substandard park experience is not for me.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo I love how at Disneyland, the two parks are across from each other and the Grand Californian is in the middle of it. Or how in Disneyland Paris, the two parks are next to each other and the 6 main hotels are all in walking distance. I imagine I would enjoy the layout of the Asian resorts too. At WDW nowehere is convenient. In my normal life i have 1 - 4 hour commutes, I don't want that on vacation.
Originally Posted By Kennesaw Tom Having visited Disneyland I can appreciate the "flow" between parks, hotels and Downtown Disney. I believe for the most part WDW does a fairly descent job with guest transportation. I would however like to see WDW more pedistrian friendly. This came to mind to me on my most recent trip when myself and my party was dinning at the Big River Grill and Brewing Works. My nephew was not feeling well and my brother and his wife thougth they would have to immediately return to Pop Century where they were staying. Geographically speaking Pop Century is right accross the street from Boardwalk, but there are no sidewalks. Their only way to getting back to their home resort was to either get a cab. Or take a Boardwalk bus to Downtown Disney and then transfer to a Pop Century bus ( which they untimately did). You have to admit that getting around "The World" can often be overly complex and redundant. I like the fact that WDW is as spread out as it is. But, I do believe that some sidewalks really would be helpful.
Originally Posted By Christi22222 ^^^Totally agree with this. Especially since so much of the grounds are quite beautiful. I guess they want to limit access to some areas, but it still seems as though it should be possible to walk more. I would love to walk around the lake as someone mentioned earlier. And while the boat to DTD from POR/FQ is great, I'd love to be able to stroll it as well. I did the marathon a couple years back, and we all wanted to warm up by walking to the start. Of course, no go. Had to take a bus and were sternly warned against walking since it would be along streets. Just seemed odd to ride a bus a mile or so to the start of running 26.2 miles! (of course at the end I felt VERY differently, lol!)
