Your Conversations Are Being Listened to on Disney Buses II
I’ve admitted it before, and I’ll repeat it. When I’m at Disney, I’m listening to you talk. If you’re loudly speaking with friends on a bus, I can hear you, and I’m curious about what you have to say. Here are a few of the most interesting conversation topics I heard during a recent trip.
What Do You Think of Star Wars Land?
When I visited Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge back in November, Disney’s Hollywood Studios wasn’t especially crowded. Oddly, during the last weekend in January, the place was mobbed. This difference in attendance impacted the perception of the situation, too.
One argumentative family sitting near me spent a lot of time debating whether the land had justified the effort. The grandmother clearly didn’t care for Star Wars and thought her son-in-law was a dork for loving it so much. His wife, her daughter, got pretty offended by her mother’s behavior and went off on a rant about all the ways that she loved Batuu.
Frankly, Disney should hire that woman for the marketing division. Without missing a beat, she listed many details about the themed land that elevate it over other places in Orlando. Her kids, both of whom were around five, looked on with awe as Momma tore into Granny right in front of a bus full of people.
After the woman was done talking about the greatness of her new Star Wars shirt, strangers in her area congratulated her on the argument. She won Debate Team that day. Still, I suspect that Easter dinner will include a few awkward moments for this family.
PS: The woman was right. Black Spire Outpost is incredible.
The Accuracy of Bus Wait Times
A while ago, Disney updated My Disney Experience to include estimated bus arrival times. The system isn’t ideal in that it only works for guests staying at official Disney resorts. Guests load the app, check the hotel page, and then select the bus estimates from this page.
Many frustrated guests have noticed inaccuracies with the system. For whatever reason, Disney’s bus information suffers a disparity in some instances. My family noticed it on three different occasions.
Once, the system wouldn’t show any bus estimates for Magic Kingdom. Then, after a reload, the page reloaded to indicate that a vehicle would arrive at our resort in six minutes. We had to sprint to the pick-up spot, which was inconvenient but not hugely problematic.
Disney Springs transportation demonstrated the situation the most. At one point, the bus arrived 13 minutes before the schedule said it would. Observers at the bus stop watched with interest as the monitor display showed a later time. It never updated, even as the bus pulled away.
After this irregularity, guests compared notes about the oddities of the app/monitor. Virtually everyone had a story to tell about inaccuracy readings. So, you should allow an extra few minutes for bus departures at Disney resorts. The system’s better than ever before, but it still has a few kinks to work out.
When New Stuff Will Arrive
Most of the Disney guests I encountered are passionate about the company. They know that park officials have committed to improving all phases of the Walt Disney World experience. These guests are understandably enthusiastic about upcoming attractions.
During more than one bus ride, I listened as guests speculated about when various attractions would debut. I’ve previously discussed estimates and confirmed dates for all of them, but that wasn’t what caught my attention here.
The thing that I noticed is that Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway has caused more excitement than Ratatouille, the Guardians of the Galaxy roller coaster, or Tron.
At least in my limited sample size, other riders sounded thrilled to experience a Disney cartoon in real life. Plus, they relished the thought of interacting with Mickey & Minnie in a new forum.
I suspect that this ride will prove remarkably popular for many years to come.
Oddly, I didn’t hear much interest in Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind or the Tron roller coaster. The Ratatouille ride definitely has some folks excited, though.
The Gusteau billboard has only recently appeared on the back of the building, leading to renewed excitement, particularly from people riding the Disney Skyliner. I suspect that guests are more focused on what they know will debut soon.
Is the Disney Skyliner Reliable?
Speaking of the Disney Skyliner, many guests debated the lingering concerns about this new form of transportation. People excitedly compared their experiences in traversing the Disney campus. In particular, kids LOVE talking about their rides through the sky.
Adults aren’t quite so convinced. The Skyliner didn’t struggle much during my party’s visit. I only sat through two momentary stoppages, and I used the service quite a bit since I was staying near the International Gateway.
However, I must acknowledge that the gondolas were frozen the first time I saw them during this trip. Guests became briefly stranded due to this glitch. Still, the overall uptime improved significantly from my November vacation. So, I was surprised by the amount of panic indicated on the buses.
Frankly, a lot of travelers just don’t want to get on a gondola. It mixes two prominent fears: heights and tight spaces. Now, in my experience, cast members will happily give you the entire tram to yourself as long as lines are reasonable. Somehow, that’s not enough for a few guests, though.
I listened with bemusement as one couple tried to pressure their female friend into taking the Skyliner back to the hotel. Even though she was several drinks in, she preferred the slower, more nausea-inducing method of taking a boat.
The entire situation is strange to me. Gondolas represent the proven form of transportation for traversing mountain resorts like ski lodges. Disney operates entirely safe ones, yet distrust runs high.
Have you heard any interesting conversations on Disney transportation lately? Let us know in the comments!