Peoplemover as a viable alternative to horrendous Disney World Bus Service???

[goofy donald]

Three of the moderate resorts should be improved with small trains to their nearest park.
1. From Coronado Springs to the AK.
2. From Port Orleans to EPCOT.
3. From the Caribbean Beach Resort to Disney's Hollywood Studios.

And WDW should build an extensive system of bike paths & bridges to and from most resorts & parks with a convenient drop off system for bikes owned by the parks. And, Disney, you could CHARGE FOR THIS!

Honestly I love the paths when their available. Whenever I'm there i take the path from DHS to Epcot and if I hustle a little bit I can easily make better time then the boats. I can see how this wouldn't be very popular though. first the vast majority of Disney going americans aren't exactly the exercising type to put it lightly and secondly it is a pretty long day walking the parks for many people it would be tough for some to handle all that in one day comfortably. On a personal note though i would be all for it.

[swampymarsh]

People don't want to stay at some of your hotels because they lack a nice transportation system!

Are you sure about that? Disney charges higher rates than hotels offsite and one reason is because it includes transportation to the parks, which is more often than not by bus.

Why Stay at a Disney Resort Hotel?

Convenience
Skip the hassle of baggage claim! Enjoy complimentary transportation for you and your bags between Orlando International Airport and your Disney Resort hotel, then back again at the end of your vacation.

Make your way around Walt Disney World Resort with complimentary transportation like monorails, ferryboats and motorcoaches throughout, as well as complimentary Theme Park parking if you're driving.

And many of your shopping purchases can be delivered straight to your Disney Resort hotel so that you don't miss a minute of fun!

[swampymarsh]

secondly it is a pretty long day walking the parks for many people it would be tough for some to handle all that in one day comfortably. On a personal note though i would be all for it.

Right, bikes would end up all over the parks entrance area and have to be trucked back to the resorts.

While a lot of people might say great let's ride to the park today. Many people who probably can't ride a bike after 20 year and 200 pounds but would try , which would be unsafe for many.

[jcruise86]

Honestly I love the paths when their available. Whenever I'm there i take the path from DHS to Epcot and if I hustle a little bit I can easily make better time then the boats. I can see how this wouldn't be very popular though. first the vast majority of Disney going americans aren't exactly the exercising type to put it lightly and secondly it is a pretty long day walking the parks for many people it would be tough for some to handle all that in one day comfortably. On a personal note though i would be all for it.

Maybe one reason some sedentary Americans enjoy Disney parks is that they walk over a mile more than they normally do and this makes them feel better. Even more exercise (going for a couple of 2 or 5 mile bike rides) might make their vacations more invigorating. Riding your bike back to the hotel for a swim would cause guests to return to work from vacation feeling rejuvenated

An extensive bike path and rental system would fight the perception of WDW guests you tactfully mentioned that was also ridiculed on last year's SNL parody of Clint Eastwood's Chrystler commercial. Even Chuck E Cheese & McDonald's try to associate themselves with fitness these days. And some guests who opt to ride the busses instead of riding bikes might feel a little bit of guilty pleasure in doing so.

With a drop-off system, a family could ride bikes to a park and take a bus back. Or a couple could spontaneously opt for a romantic bike ride back at night, if bikes were available.

[PBandJ]

.

And WDW should build an extensive system of bike paths & bridges to and from most resorts & parks with a convenient drop off system for bikes owned by the parks. And, Disney, you could CHARGE FOR THIS!

This is a fantastic idea! I love it! I saw a bike rental system in place in Washington DC last time I visited there (Capital Bikeshare) where you could swipe a credit card and take a bike from a rack, ride it a few blocks, and then return it to another rack. Disney should add helmets to the rental

I certainly wouldn't ride a bike from, say, Pop Century all the way to the Magic Kingdom, but riding from Pop Century to DHS would be fun! If bike rental racks at any location started to get too full, it would be easy for Disney to add bike racks to the buses, and employees could have bikes moved to other locations that need them that way.

I agree that part of the reason why going to WDW is such a great experience is because it is one of the few times that I get to be outside, in the sun, walking around all day. My work and the climate in which I live keep me inside and sitting down most of the time. So yes, my legs get pretty tired from the walking at WDW, but biking uses the muscles differently, so that wouldn't deter me from using bikes at WDW.

I think a lot of WDW guests who are in reasonably good shape and aren't too old or young would take advantage of a bike system.

[goofy donald]

Maybe one reason some sedentary Americans enjoy Disney parks is that they walk over a mile more than they normally do and this makes them feel better. Even more exercise (going for a couple of 2 or 5 mile bike rides) might make their vacations more invigorating. Riding your bike back to the hotel for a swim would cause guests to return to work from vacation feeling rejuvenated

An extensive bike path and rental system would fight the perception of WDW guests you tactfully mentioned that was also ridiculed on last year's SNL parody of Clint Eastwood's Chrystler commercial. Even Chuck E Cheese & McDonald's try to associate themselves with fitness these days. And some guests who opt to ride the busses instead of riding bikes might feel a little bit of guilty pleasure in doing so.

With a drop-off system, a family could ride bikes to a park and take a bus back. Or a couple could spontaneously opt for a romantic bike ride back at night, if bikes were available.

Like i said, i would personally love for this to be available, just unfortunately i don't think a large majority of wdw guests would participate and that would be the doom of the system. as we see throughout the 'world' if lots of people don't utilize it, it goes into disrepair or is removed to save costs.

[wsiirola]

Sorry to bring this thread back, but I would like to share my experience riding the bus from the Swan to Downtown Disney on Saturday night (March 16th). It was horrendous! It took us 40 minutes to get to Downtown Disney. Our driver drove us the longest way possible (via Vista Blvd which is where Fort Wilderness Lodge is). Why would we drive that far North to go to Downtown Disney? Also, coming back, we had to wait almost a half an hour for our bus to pick us up. There were probably 50 of us in line waiting. Old Key West shared our bus stop and there were 3 buses for Old Key West that came while we were waiting. There was nobody from Old Key West when the 3rd bus game and it left EMPTY leaving us to wait. When our bus finally came, they crammed all of us into the bus. There were at least 20 people standing in the aisle. Right as we puled out, another Swan and Dolphin bus pulled into the station right behind us. It left EMPTY. Then, they sent our full bus over to the Pleasure Island stop so they could change drivers and then crammed a few more waiting passengers into the front. This is unacceptable, especially for Disney. So yes....I still think the bus service is horrendous and needs to be replaced or greatly enhanced. That is all.

[PBandJ]

Sorry you had a bad night! The system could always be improved, but no matter what, there are still going to be those unlucky instances when things don't go perfectly. Even the monorail (which many people suggest should go resort-wide and would solve so many problems) has its hiccups.

I haven't gone to Downtown Disney in a long time, partly because the bus stops there are so inconveniently located and I never feel like it is worth the trip. Maybe the rumored redesign of DD will mitigate those problems...

[Trumpet]

Like the idea, but WDW management will tink that it is to expensive to happen

[wsiirola]

Like the idea, but WDW management will tink that it is to expensive to happen

Yet spending a billion dollars on MyMagic+ isn't too expensive... smh

[PecosBill]

PRT (Personal Rapid Transit) Pod
Personal Pod Transport Is Coming | Autopia | Wired.com

OK. Now that I’ve seen the Heathrow Airport Pod videos, I’m sold on the PRT (Personal Rapid Transit) Pod concept for WDW.
You could implement this system w/o major infrastructure changes. You could utilize lanes of existing surface level roadways (by simply adding guideways)where applicable, and create elevated track where/when needed to transverse existing roadways, waterways, and structures.

As the opponents stated this solution is better suited for an airport or corporate campus rather then a live urban/suburban environment. Well WDW is no different then a well planed air port or corporate campus- elementally it is a nothing more then a large corporate campus.

This concept could easily replace much of the existing bus system at WDW. Think about the bus stops at each resort hotel. As you approach there is one or more (depending on resort capacity and time of day) Pods waiting to transport the next family to the WDW destination of their choice (this could be internal to the resort, to a park, or to another resort for your ADR). No more need to wait for your given bus to arrive, no more watching 5 busses come and go empty while you sit and wait for that one for the Magic Kingdom. No more need to make transfers when trying to get to that resort hotel for your dinner reservation. And if they situated the curbs correctly, you could easily roll your wheelchair, scoter, or stroller (with sleeping child) right onboard. No more folding strollers!

This gives you the convenience of having your car on property with out the added hassle of parking at each destination. This is even better then the original EPCOT concept with multiple Monorail and WEDway lines. The Monorail and WEDway lines require you to make multiple transfers to ultimately get to your destination; the POD takes you directly to your destination, any destination on Property.

The only problem I haven’t figured out, is how do you handle the excessive capacity needed before park openings and at park closings? Perhaps this is the time when you concede to bus transportation and supplement all other transportation with busses.

One recommended improvement I would make to the system would be to eliminate the onboard electric motors and use linear induction motors (i.e. those used on the WEDway People Mover) imbedded in the guideway.

[PerrySimon]

Going to Walt Disney's ideas.

[wedwaypm]

Does anyone know how to start a thread???

[wsiirola]

Does anyone know how to start a thread???

Click on "Forum", then click on the specific resort that you are discussing. There should then be a red button in the top left that says "start new thread".