WDW Transportation Management Restructured

[Melanie]

Orlando Sentinel
Jason Garcia
Sentinel Staff Writer
1:54 p.m. EDT, September 21, 2009


Walt Disney World shakes up transportation management

Leadership shuffle follows a difficult summer that included a fatal monorail crash; Disney says the changes aren't related to the accident

Walt Disney World is shaking up its transportation leadership, after a turbulent summer that included the first fatal monorail accident in the resort's history.

Disney has appointed Jim Vendur, a vice president who had previously been in charge of transportation maintenance, to oversee both operations and maintenance of a system of that includes the 15-mile monorail, ferryboats and a fleet of about 300 buses. Vendur's responsibilities also include utilities and telecommunications at the resort.

Disney has also created a new vice president slot reporting to Vendur that will focus exclusively on transportation, though it has not yet filled the position. Below that, it has separated oversight of the bus system from monorails and watercraft and assigned them to separate executives.

Kevin Lansberry, a vice president who had previously been in charge of transportation operations, will no longer have a role in transportation. He remains the vice president in charge of Disney's Animal Kingdom. And Disney has moved a former director of transportation operations to Disney's Wilderness Lodge and Fort Wilderness Resort as general manager there.

The leadership changes were made late last week, though lower-level staff transitions will happen over the next few weeks.

Disney said the reshuffling is unrelated to the monorail accident and instead part of a broad corporate restructuring that began early this year, as it sought to cut costs amid the global recession. The Walt Disney Co. laid off more than 850 parks-and-resorts employees in Florida as part of the restructuring, with the vast majority of the cuts occurring in Orlando.

"We are in the midst of a companywide reorganization and it makes sense for us to integrate transportation maintenance and operations under one leader," Disney spokesman Kim Prunty said.

Still, the shakeup follows a difficult summer for Disney transportation. In July, two monorail trains collided on the resort's Epcot line, killing 21-year-old driver Austin Wuennenberg.

The July 5 crash, the first fatal accident in the 38-year history of the Disney World monorail, has sparked multiple investigations, including probes by the National Transportation Safety Board and the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration. While investigators believe human error is at least partially to blame, according to people familiar with the probes, they are also scrutinizing Disney's internal policies and procedures to determine whether they may have contributed.

One area investigators have zeroed in on: The practice of allowing monorail drivers to remain in the front cabin while they drive in reverse through track switches, rather than requiring them to drive from twin controls in the rear cabins of their trains. The crash that killed Wuennenberg occurred when another driver, who was driving from the front cabin, backed into Wuennenberg's train while mistakenly believing he was reversing through a track switch and off the Epcot line.

Former monorail pilots say Disney used to make drivers move to the rear cabin before reversing through switches but allowed the policy to change over the years to save time. Since the accident, Disney has reinstituted the rule requiring pilots to drive from the rear cabin when reversing through track switches.

Disney has also implemented a number of other changes, according to people familiar with the investigation, including requiring someone be stationed at a control grid with an emergency shut-down switch during track changes.

About two weeks after the monorail collision, two Disney buses crashed. A dozen people were sent to hospitals with minor injuries, though no one was seriously hurt.

And last week, Disney shut down its bus service completely for a few hours after a suspicious device was found mounted on one of the vehicles. Police ultimately determined that the device was harmless, though Disney workers inspected each of the resort's buses as a precaution.

[Imagineer1981]

Thanks Melanie! Glad to know they are trying to make improvements, however it is scary the amount of accidents within the last year at WDW

[TheRustyScupper]

1) Gosh.
2) You let monorails and buses crash, and you get transferred.
3) Other companies would send you packing.

[bouncer]

Not only do you get to keep your job after a crash they transfer you to running a resort with which it would seem they would have NO experience whatsoever! No wonder the guests have trouble getting their concerns met. UGH!

[Ian]

Originally Posted by bouncer

Not only do you get to keep your job after a crash they transfer you to running a resort with which it would seem they would have NO experience whatsoever! No wonder the guests have trouble getting their concerns met. UGH!

Actually this is a big problem in Disney World. There are way too many "managers" in slots for which they're unprepared.

Could be because of the union ... I don't really know, but I definitely know that it's an issue. Talk to some ex-cast ... they'll tell you that, most times, they're working for someone who knows far less about their operation than they do.

Remember ... this is the same Disney Company that moved Paul Pressler from running The Disney Stores into overseeing their entire theme park empire.

[lockedoutlogic]

Originally Posted by TheRustyScupper

1) Gosh.
2) You let monorails and buses crash, and you get transferred.
3) Other companies would send you packing.

BULLSEYE!!!

This is what is so completely frustrating about how things are run...one of two things actually:

1. blind loyalty is rewarded over experience, education, and just plain smarts

not that i don't value loyalty...i do....but it is just a part of the pie, not the lion's share...and their hiring/ promotions policies actually robs them of a more effective/ higher service operation.

2. and the the "censure" process of continually demoting/ sidegrading inneffective managers/ personnel is ludicrous...
what company with such a huge operation would permit this kind of institutionalized futility to continue?
Only one...other than the federal and state governments

[lockedoutlogic]

Originally Posted by Ian

Actually this is a big problem in Disney World. There are way too many "managers" in slots for which they're unprepared.

Could be because of the union ... I don't really know, but I definitely know that it's an issue. Talk to some ex-cast ... they'll tell you that, most times, they're working for someone who knows far less about their operation than they do.

Remember ... this is the same Disney Company that moved Paul Pressler from running The Disney Stores into overseeing their entire theme park empire.

you had to go pressler on me, didn't you?

it has nothing to do with unions....really the unions at WDW are a joke and really don't mean much to any management decisions....

Management personnel at WDW are subject to some antiquated rules:
1. Looks matter...appearances, how the clothing fits, right demographic mix - yes, i'm not exaggerating here
2. If you have a well regarded (sometimes by mere impression...not performance) "mentor" - i.e. the department manager who first hired you into the ranks - then you are insulated through a whole range of deficiencies and/or mistakes in your job performance.
3. and this is the kicker - they are remiss to get rid of "loyal" managment because let's face it: WDW does not pay it's managers well when compared to the industry standards. And their turnover in management is high - just like the hourlies...so retaining personnel who is willing to work in Central Florida for comparatively little money is important.
In laymans terms: if you want to work at WDW and not wear polyester, you are required to take a 15-30% (or more) mandatory paycut over the same job/responsibilities at a similar competitior (if there are any).
So it takes a certain "type" to be a manager at WDW...and believe it or not, they're harder to come by than you think

[iadarolas]

Well, I hope this is a change for the better! The Disney transportation absolutely needs to be revamped. The bus system is very broken. We were there in May and had nothing but problems with the buses, waiting more than 45-60 minutes for a bus is unacceptable, especially staying at a deluxe resort (Beach Club). Also, when a bus finally arrives, they are full and you are left with standing room only, which in my opinion is a huge safety risk, and again unacceptable! Buses should not be shared by other resorts. I wish they would just extend the monorail system and get rid of the buses anyway, but I am realistic and know it will never happen. If Disney wants to keep people staying at on site resorts and paying "Disney" rates, they need to improve on the on site transportation. You are better off renting a car!

[Duck1]

Although it's been a couple of years since we've been, the transportation at WDW has always been great. We stayed at other hotels on WDW property several times and experienced long wait times and delays. Since then we stay in resorts (POP) that use the Disney transportation exclusively with no problems. We have been always satisfied with the buses provided by Disney.