Hollywood Studios and they shut down the boats to the hotels

[longboard55]

So we were at Hollywood Studios and the plan was to take a boat to the yacht club and do the back entrance to Epcot. But it starts raining, pretty hard, and the boats say they are not leaving. So we go to the buses and note there are no buses to the Yacht/ Beachwalk area. We ended up at an Epcot bus that took forever to get there like 45 minutes, meanwhile all these Walk Hotel people are trying to figure out what to do and no one from disney seems to know.
By the way its pouring rain the whole time, and when a bus finally does show half do not make it on

Doesn't it rain there all the time, don't they have a plan for this.

 

[AngiTN]

Yes, their plan for it is to run buses when the boats can't run. So there isn't a regular stop but they do have a plan for in case. It isn't instant. Takes time to route a bus. So if you aren't going to wait for the boat to run again you'll have to walk or wait on a bus. But it's not like they can send a bus before it starts raining.

By the way, it's the same when the monorail goes down unexpectedly and they have to scramble to route a bus to replace it. It's not instant then either.

 

[maxiesmom]

So we were at Hollywood Studios and the plan was to take a boat to the yacht club and do the back entrance to Epcot. But it starts raining, pretty hard, and the boats say they are not leaving. So we go to the buses and note there are no buses to the Yacht/ Beachwalk area. We ended up at an Epcot bus that took forever to get there like 45 minutes, meanwhile all these Walk Hotel people are trying to figure out what to do and no one from disney seems to know.
By the way its pouring rain the whole time, and when a bus finally does show half do not make it on

Doesn't it rain there all the time, don't they have a plan for this.

When was this exactly?

Stuff like this is why I keep a bit of emergency taxi money on me at all times.

 

[longboard55]

It started raining at 4:15, we were in the Beauty and the Beast show. I can say for sure that by 5:30 there was still no one from disney giving anyone any info for the beachwalk people on what to do. We did get on the Epcot bus, but that is a long walk in the rain. Meanwhile bus after bus cruised by empty or with very few people

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

Yes especially in summer months it rains daily.
Disney is prepared for the rain year round. Unfortunately seems like gusts are not and they should be.
Boats don't run when its really pouring.
In normal situations there is no need for a bus to the hotels you can walk to so it takes time to send them out when the situation does call for it.
If need be you just walk.

 

[Spunky946]

That’s when you hop into an Uber/lyft

 

[focusondisney]

I sympathize with the OP. We stay at YC a few times a year & know the ropes. However, we ran into the same problem in September. Leaving the Studios, it was lightening with a steady rain. As we approached the walk to the dock, the boat captain was on the loudspeaker, telling approaching guests to take the bus. Problem was, there was no sign for which stop to wait at. And no Disney personnel along the way to ask. This is a temporary bus stop remember, most guests haven’t dealt with it before. There should have been a security or transportation CM directing guests. We walked the whole first row looking for a designated stop & never found it. We ended up walking back to YC, in the rain with lightening in the area.

A few days later, the same thing happened. However this time, they had a stand up sign out telling you which stop was for the Epcot resorts. It was the opposite row than what we walked the first time & all the way at the end. No way would Epcot resort guest have just “found” it. As I said, we are YC regulars. I know there will be transportation changes. But it is on Disney to notify the guests of the alternate arrangements & how to access them

 

[joelkfla]

Yes, their plan for it is to run buses when the boats can't run. So there isn't a regular stop but they do have a plan for in case. It isn't instant. Takes time to route a bus. So if you aren't going to wait for the boat to run again you'll have to walk or wait on a bus. But it's not like they can send a bus before it starts raining.

By the way, it's the same when the monorail goes down unexpectedly and they have to scramble to route a bus to replace it. It's not instant then either.

IMO, Disney needs to stop sitting on their wallet and do the right thing. They know when threatening weather is approaching. There's no reason other than penuriousness that they can't get the first bus in place the instant the boats shut down. They're so focused on 100% resource utilization that they've tossed flexibility & Guest satisfaction in the trash. Leaving Guests wandering in the rain and lightning is inexcusable..

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

IMO, Disney needs to stop sitting on their wallet and do the right thing. They know when threatening weather is approaching. There's no reason other than penuriousness that they can't get the first bus in place the instant the boats shut down. They're so focused on 100% resource utilization that they've tossed flexibility & Guest satisfaction in the trash. Leaving Guests wandering in the rain and lightning is inexcusable..

If you are dissatisfied then let Disney know or speak with hour wallet.

 

[longboard55]

I sympathize with the OP. We stay at YC a few times a year & know the ropes. However, we ran into the same problem in September. Leaving the Studios, it was lightening with a steady rain. As we approached the walk to the dock, the boat captain was on the loudspeaker, telling approaching guests to take the bus. Problem was, there was no sign for which stop to wait at. And no Disney personnel along the way to ask. This is a temporary bus stop remember, most guests haven’t dealt with it before. There should have been a security or transportation CM directing guests. We walked the whole first row looking for a designated stop & never found it. We ended up walking back to YC, in the rain with lightening in the area.

A few days later, the same thing happened. However this time, they had a stand up sign out telling you which stop was for the Epcot resorts. It was the opposite row than what we walked the first time & all the way at the end. No way would Epcot resort guest have just “found” it. As I said, we are YC regulars. I know there will be transportation changes. But it is on Disney to notify the guests of the alternate arrangements & how to access them

That was my issue, we were there with several europeans who I assume were not park regulars, and had no idea what to do, they were asking other bus drivers and the few disney employees and no one seem to know anything, its like this never happens

 

[AngiTN]

I am curious when they stopped running the boats for just rain. We have ridden them during rain (heavy rain) many times, most recently on our trip in Oct, the bottom fell out while they boarded guests at Swan/Dolphin dock. No issues, they did not stop the boat or keep those guests from boarding. Now, if there is lightening or high winds yes but I've never seen them stop for rain alone. That is a new one for sure. Wonder why they made that change?

 

[PatMcDuck]

It happened us, years ago, we were staying at BCV. It was pouring, and lightning in the area. Friendship boats stopped running, my husband and I were on one, and I believe they paused under a bridge somewhere between Studios and the Y&B dock. But my daughter and I missed that boat, because we stopped to get an autograph or something.

We went to the boat dock in the rain because we had no idea the boats weren't running. No CM, no sign, nothing. Waited awhile. Then walked over back to the park guest relations window to ask for help. I cannot say enough how hard it was raining, and how soaked we were. Thankfully it was summer. We ran into security guard first, hehad no idea what was going on. Guest relations said they stopped running, but also had no idea how to get back to our resort. Finally suggested finding a taxi (pre-Uber year) or WALKING. I said if lightning makes it unsafe on the boats, is it safe to walk along a canal? At this point we have been walking around looking for help for 40 minutes at least. We had a dinner reservation back at our resort, and did not want to "wait it out", plus we were already soaked and very uncomfortable. FINALLY, after an hour, we banded together with a group of about 20 guests, from the various BW area hotels, and found another security person. And finally-- finally, we were pointed to a random bus, of course it was freezing inside, and we were returned to BCV.

My big issue was, no planning. Once boats cancelled, put up a sign with the information. Say a bus will be provided, and which stop, and warn it may be 30 -45 minutes until it arrives. Something. And tell the security guards what is happening too, so when we ask for help, they know the answers.

This was over 15 years ago. It STILL makes me nuts, remembering it. After this, I always drove to Studios. I avoid the Friendship boats as much as possible. We have since switched home resorts, so no more relying the Friendship boats.

 

[DebbieB]

I am curious when they stopped running the boats for just rain. We have ridden them during rain (heavy rain) many times, most recently on our trip in Oct, the bottom fell out while they boarded guests at Swan/Dolphin dock. No issues, they did not stop the boat or keep those guests from boarding. Now, if there is lightening or high winds yes but I've never seen them stop for rain alone. That is a new one for sure. Wonder why they made that change?

It's not just rain. It's lightning in the area. Same thing happened to us at Universal in April. The boats were not running even though it had stopped raining and the sun was out. The reason they said was there was lightning within so many miles. We had to go to the garage and find a bus stop, which also wasn't easy to find.

Another thing to keep in mind is busses don't drive themselves. They not only have to find an available bus, they have to find a driver.

 

[bumbershoot]

Now, if there is lightening or high winds yes but I've never seen them stop for rain alone.

It was likely bc of lightning inside of 5 miles.

We had to go to the garage and find a bus stop, which also wasn't easy to find.

Honestly by the time you’ve walked to the garage you move out in enough mileage that you might as well have just walked back to the uni hotel.

Know for the future.

We’ve been there done that, and that’s when they had shuttles just at the side edge of cityealk, not all the way out in the garage.

 

[joelkfla]

Another thing to keep in mind is busses don't drive themselves. They not only have to find an available bus, they have to find a driver.

Which was the point of my previous rant: that Disney has cut staffing to where there's no buffer to handle a situation which they know happens regularly. And if they do have an extra driver or two, they send them out on unneeded runs to make them look busy.

Not to mention the lack of planning and coordination that delays start-up of the alternate buses and leaves most cm's and Guests in the dark.

 

[PatMcDuck]

I was on that Universal trip mentioned above when boats stopped running and the sun was out. We were at Portofino, which is sort of far to walk. Definitely would have walked to Hard Rock or Royal Pacific. And we did not realize just how far the walk was to the bus area until we did it. The location of the bus stops is nuts, and resort guests there staying at their non-boat connected resorts, should not have to walk the same distance to the parks as the people using the parking garage. But that is another topic for another day, lol.

MY issue with the Disney Friendship boats, was the lack of information and poor communication. We just wanted to know where to go, and what was happening. A sign would have helped. Telling security too. Having a CM nearby to answer questions. Something.

 

[maxiesmom]

Which was the point of my previous rant: that Disney has cut staffing to where there's no buffer to handle a situation which they know happens regularly. And if they do have an extra driver or two, they send them out on unneeded runs to make them look busy.

Not to mention the lack of planning and coordination that delays start-up of the alternate buses and leaves most cm's and Guests in the dark.

I think it is harder to plan for lightning than what you seem to think. No way could or should Disney start to offer if it is raining and might have lightning. That would be an almost daily thing.

I do think they should have a sign set up and people offering directions.

 

[brockash]

Disney has shown time and time again that they CHOOSE to not communicate with their guests when it doesn't benefit them. Yes OP, it does rain A LOT and yes they should be MUCH better about being proactive and at the very least communicating, having signage up, a CM directing traffic etc., but they rarely do, because it doesn't matter to them or their bottom line to be helpful in those types of situations. We actually stopped staying at the monorail resorts due to the monorails being down so much and the complete lack of communication/knowledge and other acceptable transportation (having to search for a half hour of where and what bus to get on, just to transfer at a different location to get to Epcot is not reasonable in my mind.)

 

[joelkfla]

I think it is harder to plan for lightning than what you seem to think. No way could or should Disney start to offer if it is raining and might have lightning. That would be an almost daily thing.

That's exactly my point. It is an almost daily thing in the summer. That's why Disney should have a couple of extra drivers around during typical thunderstorm hours, and be ready go with signage in minutes. There are already extra buses parked during the day, and it only takes 10 minutes or so to get one powered up and into a load zone.

When the drivers aren't needed for storm service, they can be positioned for Guest assistance or help out with office work, and be ready to take a bus up in minutes.

Also, Florida's summer weather follows a pattern. Occasionally storms pop up unexpectedly, but most of the time they can be predicted at least 15 minutes ahead by watching prevailing winds and cloud patterns. When a line of storms is heading within the danger range, or when conditions indicate the likelihood of them popping up, that's when the plan should be activated, not waiting until immediate shutdown is mandated. There's no harm in having a bus idling ready to go for a half hour, and then just shut down if it's not needed.

 

[focusondisney]

When the drivers aren't needed for storm service, they can be positioned for Guest assistance or help out with office work, and be ready to take a bus up in minutes.

Or even, budget be darned, actually send them on a route somewhere. You know, so some lucky guests somewhere don’t have to wait the full 20 minutes for a ride.