New Buses testing today at WDW

[joonyer]

Well....at least they are trying to solve the problem.

Something needs to be done.

My opinion....spend 10 billion dollars and come up with an underground Subway system for all the resorts.

(wink)

That would be cool, except that all of WDW is built on a swamp, so it would be practically impossible to keep subway tunnels there dry. They built the utilidors at MK above ground, then the park on top of that, but I think the extra expense kept them from doing the same with the other parks. Building monorails is also very expensive, but how about surface rail? Too many stops and destinations to make it practical, I guess. That's why the buses are probably the best solution.

[TheRustyScupper]

. . . It works like a trailer hitched to the back of a pickup truck. The trailer will follow the same path as the hauling vehicle . . .

1) I was VP at a bus manufacturer.
2) We made articulated buses, among others.
3) Turning Radius
. . . normal bus turning radii 44.0'
. . . most Disney-type buse radii 35.6'
. . . some "mid-size" bus radii at 31.0'
. . . usual articulated bus radii 42.6'
4) Tracking
. . . the articulated section follows like a trailer
. . . actually cuts a corner sharper than the front
. . . not like a 2-axle tram tracking almost exactly the same

NOTE: Articulated buses can be used in a lot of applications at WDW. I have doubts for use at Poly, OKW, SSR, and some Value resorts

[Polynesian Dweller]

Good info Rusty. I found the Novabus spec sheet for its LFX model which is the articulated version. It has a turning ratio of 44ft 8in or 4 ft 8 in wider than the 40 ft non-articulated LFS model. There may be some areas that could be problematic.

The LFX can carry upto 62 people seated and upto 112 seated and standing. That's compared to 41 seated and 80 seated and standing in the LFS. So the articulated would give an upto 40% increase in the passengers per hour which is fairly significant.

[DizneyFreak2002]

New info on these buses... The monorail will be seeing majorly reduce hours of operation as a crane moves into the Grand Floridian construction zone... These new buses will be put into use to accommodate guests who are affected by the reduced operating hours... 16 of those buses were either purchased or rented out for use during this time...

[Melanie]

Strangely enough, didn't see one of these buses over the weekend while we were there.

[DizneyFreak2002]

Strangely enough, didn't see one of these buses over the weekend while we were there.

Maybe they were training at night... I read Disney is outsourcing some of the bus drivers for these buses, but you cannot always believe what you read..

[waymickey]

sorry if this is oof topic sort of... Years ago we stayed at the MK till after closing and when we went out to the buses our bus was a double decker. I was very big and I think the CM called it some kind of Cattle bus.

I have never seen it again. But it was a really cool bus and held a ton of people.

[Polynesian Dweller]

New info on these buses... The monorail will be seeing majorly reduce hours of operation as a crane moves into the Grand Floridian construction zone... These new buses will be put into use to accommodate guests who are affected by the reduced operating hours... 16 of those buses were either purchased or rented out for use during this time...

Ah, it all starts to come together and make lots if sense. The increased capacity would go a long way to helping with transport problems during that disruption.

[CuteAsMinnie]

It's an accordion bus. I wonder how they're going to accomodate the longer length in the resort parking areas.

No kidding!!!

[MinnieMommie]

I'm in nyc today and they have these buses. Very cool. They will certainly help with capacity and we possibly will find less traffic on the road. I have to assume the drivers will know how to manage turns and that adjustments will be made for parking. Looking forward to hearing more from thoses of you who are in wdw.

[WDWdriver]

sorry if this is oof topic sort of... Years ago we stayed at the MK till after closing and when we went out to the buses our bus was a double decker. I was very big and I think the CM called it some kind of Cattle bus.

I have never seen it again. But it was a really cool bus and held a ton of people.

Yep. Disney had two of those that they were testing in the late 90s. They held a lot of people, but weren't good for guests with disabilities. They also couldn't be used in some of the tighter resort loading areas. So Disney got rid of them. CMs jokingly called them "cattle trucks".

[waymickey]

Yep. Disney had two of those that they were testing in the late 90s. They held a lot of people, but weren't good for guests with disabilities. They also couldn't be used in some of the tighter resort loading areas. So Disney got rid of them. CMs jokingly called them "cattle trucks".

I never forgot that Cattle Truck they were super cool. MY DD and I sat on top in the very front . It was lots of fun for my then 5 year old and me.

[goofygirl67]

I saw one at DTD last Sunday but it didn't look like Disney was the one running it, I thought it was a city bus.

[Ed]

I saw one at DTD last Sunday but it didn't look like Disney was the one running it, I thought it was a city bus.

What you saw was very likely a Lynx bus, the public transit service for the area. Lynx operates several of these buses throughout the area. Lynx does have stops at DTD.

This really isn't a "new" concept; they were widely used in Maryland for several years before we moved from there ten years ago. They didn't seem to have much trouble negotiating the tight streets in Baltimore.

[LudwigVonDrake]

I like the way they look and anything that increases occupancy on the buses is a good thing!

[SteveL]

Yep. Disney had two of those that they were testing in the late 90s. They held a lot of people, but weren't good for guests with disabilities. They also couldn't be used in some of the tighter resort loading areas. So Disney got rid of them. CMs jokingly called them "cattle trucks".

Are these the ones that were actually double decker trailers for people that were pulled buy a truck tractor?