Thanks for the maps. It does illustrate the safety thing much more clearly!
Something I was wondering about, OP:
Do you only go on Saturdays? Have you seen this pattern at other times during the week?
My thought is that the "no tram" was a fluke- and the other times the CMs tell people to walk it's because otherwise they have to put up with people complaining about the wait for the tram. That wouldn't excuse them lying about the distance, but I could definitely see that being the case. And in the case of no trams- you didn't ask for assistance to to park elsewhere or have anyone with you who visibly needed assistance. So you don't know if they had a protocol in place for that- maybe they had golf carts on call or something.
Also: I'm not sure if you said, but were there teams running at the end of the night?
Anyway, I'm not a "Disney can do no wrong" type but I kind of agree with the folks who say you just don't have enough information to draw the conclusion that this is some kind of cost cutting measure. There ARE a finite number of trams, after all.
I don't only go on Saturdays, but that's just a routine I've been doing for about 3 years, so I feel like it's a good "control" scenario to use as a comparison. I'd say at least 3 Saturdays a month over that time I've been arriving at the MK between 9:30-10:30 in the morning and spending a few hours. I have done this in almost all seasons and all weather situations, and so it all feels pretty familiar. I can tell how busy the park is based on which section I park in, I can usually gauge which lane to be in (right or left) to avoid being the car that gets to start a new row, etc. And for most of that time, the tram situation has been the same. There's usually one loading, and then as soon as everyone has boarded, they send it off and another pulls in. As others have said, they have always seemed to be lined up and ready to keep loading, especially during peak seasons. And CMs would sometimes make an announcement about the walking option, but it was more like, "if you don't want to wait, you can walk to the gate" and now what I'm hearing (repeatedly) is "you don't need to wait, it's just a 5 minute walk". To me, it's really a noticeable change.
And yes, trams were running all morning while I was there. I left after just about 2 hours (I'll admit, I was mostly there to buy a glowing rose cup for friend's daughter and stop at the Emporium) and was able to take a tram back to Hook. So I didn't get any sense that there was a tram shortage or any problems with the trams...just that they were not offering service to everyone.
It's true, can't say for sure this is a cost-saving situation...it's just a feeling I have, and I have been paying attention to this over the past few months. I'm pretty observant, so I feel like I would have noticed if it is was something like a mechanical issue or some unexpected problem (CMs acting a little frenzied or stressed, whispering to each other, etc. -- I've seen that plenty of times when there are monorail problems, and that's my cue to head to the ferry), and that wasn't the vibe at all.
When I was at MK in February they were definitely encouraging people to walk, especially people with strollers. There were lots of trams running.
My take on it at the time was that they want to get the trams in and out as fast as possible. Folding strollers is cumbersome and time consuming and holds trams up (which is why we walk with our double stroller). And sometimes when there are that many guests it is not always a time saver to wait for a tram (when you have to wait for the 3rd one because there are so many people) as to just walking it (however, the trams always beat me walking at MK).
True, that's a good point. And I know there are people who find walking more enjoyable than tramming (me, usually), so I think it's fine that they let people know walking is an option. I just think Disney can and should provide plenty of tram service so that people who don't mind waiting and/or can't or don't want to walk can feel comfortable that a ride is an option.