New Express Transportation: $19/day or $29/week-SERVICE ENDING AUGUST 23RD 2017

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I was told they couldn't drop us off in the rain because it was a high voltage area. It was just raining though. No thunder & lightning that day. Just regular rain from about 11 am - 10pm.
I learned yesterday, at my CPR training (go figure) that most people who do get struck by lightning are struck after the storm because lightning can travel up to 6 miles away, therefore if there is a lightning storm in the area, but not right where you are, their policy would make sense.
 
We are going in July and expect a shower every afternoon....so we will have to decide what we want to do. I mean...we can still use it, but may not have access throughout the day. It may still help and I don't think the price is too bad, at least not for one person but if you are a family of five...it can be very pricey for some.
 
I learned yesterday, at my CPR training (go figure) that most people who do get struck by lightning are struck after the storm because lightning can travel up to 6 miles away, therefore if there is a lightning storm in the area, but not right where you are, their policy would make sense.

Lightning can travel much farther than that, but you've got to set the bar somewhere. In any case, it's not worth going into detail (and isn't the purpose of this thread).

Just take precautions when you hear thunder is another pretty easy to remember and reasonable protection.
 
We are going in July and expect a shower every afternoon....so we will have to decide what we want to do. I mean...we can still use it, but may not have access throughout the day. It may still help and I don't think the price is too bad, at least not for one person but if you are a family of five...it can be very pricey for some.

Yeah it's a pretty big gamble if you have a larger group. Hopefully if you do decide to use the service, it won't be too much of a hassle to get your value out of it. Maybe start and end your days at AK? I know I would :)
 


Yeah it's a pretty big gamble if you have a larger group. Hopefully if you do decide to use the service, it won't be too much of a hassle to get your value out of it. Maybe start and end your days at AK? I know I would :)
Was thinking the same thing about AK. It really all depends on our FP+ and what shows we want to see on what nights. Overall, I think it would be great to avoid having to go through security again or wait for the regular buses.
 
Has anyone in the last few weeks contacted disney about the rain situation? Curious what their response would be. We are traveling with family in Sept. Having to pay for 8 and then not being able to use it would really stink.

When we used the service in May I was unhappy with the wheelchair setup (or lack of in our case). We only used it a few times and both at MK and Epcot there was either no wheelchair or we were given the use of a courtesy wheelchair backstage but once in the park we had to give it back. Anyway, I wrote and got a phone call back and they basically said thanks for the input we are still in beta mode. But still it was a response.
 
I know nothing about the rain situation because we used the service back in December when it was still being tested. But from our experience then I could tell you that this is well worth it.

I think the most folks that we had on a bus, including ourselves, had been 10 to 12 people. The bus ride is on average 20-25 minutes long (just long enough to close your eyes and have a short nap
In order to be refreshed for the next Park). When you arrive at the Magic Kingdom you show up in the back corner of Tomorrowland. And it's amazing going from the silence of backstage and POOF! you're in the park.

The added convenience of not having to go on monorail or buses and then have to stand in a line behind people with diaper bags and backpacks that need to open every single pocket, while you miss the Festival of Fantasy parade, is so worth it.

After partaking once, this will be a must addition to every visit

Edited to add.... for those wondering, you use the public roads through the property...but at some point you switch to service roads to get into the back areas. But it isn't back roads the entire time.
 
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I agree, even though we only used it a few times for one trip, the concept is wonderful. My DS and crew had half a house pack for a day in the park, it was sooooo worth it not to have to deal with that again. We, as slightly older people (cough cough) like not having to wait for a bus with an unknown arrival time and saving the rides/gate/bus/gate/rides trek.
 
So I wrote to disney again asking about the rain issue. I said I was told it runs rain or shine but yet I am hearing stories from people of the service stopping or being dropped off outside the gates. Here was the response.....

Thank you for contacting the Walt Disney World® Resort.

The Express Transportation Option travels directly between each of the theme parks—with no other stops along the way. Weather would not change the course of the buses, unless they are inform of any safety hazards, they would drop you off inside the main gate, so you're in the middle of the park from the moment you arrive. If there are any changes, they would notify all guests in advance.

If you have questions or need further assistance, feel free to contact us.



So the possible safety hazard is mentioned but not saying what that could be.
 
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So I wrote to disney again asking about the rain issue. I said I was told it runs rain or shine but yet I am hearing stories from people of the service stopping or being dropped off outside the gates. Here was the response.....

Thank you for contacting the Walt Disney World® Resort.

The Express Transportation Option travels directly between each of the theme parks—with no other stops along the way. Weather would not change the course of the buses, unless they are inform of any safety hazards, they would drop you off inside the main gate, so you're in the middle of the park from the moment you arrive. If there are any changes, they would notify all guests in advance.

If you have questions or need further assistance, feel free to contact us.



So the possible safety hazard is mentioned but not saying it what that could be.

Sounds more like they don't quite know what they're doing. How would they notify all guests in advance???
 
I'm hoping by text , like they do when you need a new FP because a ride is down.

But how much "advance" notice to they really have? And then they also need to give notice when it's back in service. What do you do with people who are offsite and don't have MBs? I agree that a text message would get the majority of users, but it sounds like that isn't happening at the moment. Maybe you should reply to the CM who answered you with that suggestion. Some notice would be better than none.
 
Has anyone in the last few weeks contacted disney about the rain situation? Curious what their response would be. We are traveling with family in Sept. Having to pay for 8 and then not being able to use it would really stink.

When we used the service in May I was unhappy with the wheelchair setup (or lack of in our case). We only used it a few times and both at MK and Epcot there was either no wheelchair or we were given the use of a courtesy wheelchair backstage but once in the park we had to give it back. Anyway, I wrote and got a phone call back and they basically said thanks for the input we are still in beta mode. But still it was a response.

Since wheelchairs rented in park are for use only in that park, what are the issues you had with wheelchairs?

But how much "advance" notice to they really have? And then they also need to give notice when it's back in service. What do you do with people who are offsite and don't have MBs? I agree that a text message would get the majority of users, but it sounds like that isn't happening at the moment. Maybe you should reply to the CM who answered you with that suggestion. Some notice would be better than none.

What does having a MB have to do with getting a text message on your phone?
 
Since wheelchairs rented in park are for use only in that park, what are the issues you had with wheelchairs?



What does having a MB have to do with getting a text message on your phone?

Sorry, didn't really think that one through did I? I haven't had a FP+ issue, so wasn't aware they were texting people on their phones when they need to let them know things are down, and was thinking they somehow did it through the MB, but that doesn't make sense either.

So, how do they have phone numbers for everyone to send a text? When you purchase the express bus "pass" do you give them a phone number? Is it somehow attached to your MDE, and if so, what about people like me for whom the MDE app doesn't work on my android?
 
Since wheelchairs rented in park are for use only in that park, what are the issues you had with wheelchairs?

When you rent a wheelchair, you can get a replacement when you visit different parks. Prior to our trip, there were stories of people who used wheelchairs/scooters, there were replacements waiting at the next park. For the few times we used the bus service, we had no wheelchair waiting for us. Once there was a courtesy wheelchair to use until we got into the park, then we had to get our own from the rental spot. Once since while having to do the walking slowly, the group left us behind. For about 20 seconds we were "behind the scenes" all by ourselves.

I would have hated if we had hopped to AK and would had needed to walk all the way to the front of the park for a wheelchair.
 
Sorry, didn't really think that one through did I? I haven't had a FP+ issue, so wasn't aware they were texting people on their phones when they need to let them know things are down, and was thinking they somehow did it through the MB, but that doesn't make sense either.

So, how do they have phone numbers for everyone to send a text? When you purchase the express bus "pass" do you give them a phone number? Is it somehow attached to your MDE, and if so, what about people like me for whom the MDE app doesn't work on my android?

All they have to do is ask you for your phone number when you purchase the service. They can tell you it's simply so they can notify you when the service goes down and when it comes back online. If you don't want to provide a phone number, you won't get the notifications. Simple.
 
Here's my situation...

I have only one day in WDW (on July 4th) and I'm planning on purchasing this. It's expensive for one day, but I think it's worth it on our case.

We're driving to AK. We'll probably just hop to MK at 10:30 a.m. and stay there until after the fireworks, and take the 9:30 bus back to AK.

It's possible that we may hop to Epcot in between AK and MK that morning just for a couple of hours. I'm not worried about closures at MK (we have a hopper, a dinner reservation at MK, and with lower crowds than usual this summer and last, I'm just not worried about that).

My fear is spending the money and it not being in operation due to rain (as mentioned in previous posts). My most important hop of the day is going to be getting from MK back to AK that night. I figure I can walk to the Contemporary and take Uber if I had to (still not as good as Express, though), but then I wonder if I should just forgo Express altogether and just forget about Epcot -- and take the regular bus from AK to MK/TTC and then take Uber from the Contemporary back to AK.

Would you chance Express in my case? I don't mind spending the money if I feel like I'll be able to use the service, I'll just be annoyed if it fails me, LOL. If the weather is supposed to be more than the usual rain for a typical Florida summer day, I probably won't do it, but when I watch the weather forecast that morning and it's supposed to be typical with isolated/scattered thunderstorms, would you do it?
 
Rain isn't what stops the express transportation from running. It's lightning within the same sort of radius that shuts down the Friendship boats and all the outdoor attractions. The reason is that the Guest Relations CMs at the check-in locations that escort guests on and off stage are pulled indoors for their own safety when the "lightning call" is issued.

If guests are on a bus en route to a park when the GR CMs are pulled inside, they have to be dropped off "on stage" at the regular stops because no one will be at the backstage location to escort them.
 
I wouldn't let weather impact my decision on buying it. But, check to make sure they haven't put any changes in the operations for that day. They have done some alterations for other Holidays.
The hour you are talking about, after MK fireworks (provided it's operating) should be outside the times for thunderstorms in general. If there is something moving through the area then I'd just make a last minute change of plans.
 
but then I wonder if I should just forgo Express altogether and just forget about Epcot -- and take the regular bus from AK to MK/TTC and then take Uber from the Contemporary back to AK.

In case it matters to your deliberations, the bus from AK to MK drops off right outside MK, not at the TTC.
 
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