Will they add "Next Bus" monitors to other DVCs?

[wrighter]

This past year we finally stayed at our home resort - AKV. We stayed at Kidani, and one of the unexpected perks that we really loved was the monitor at the bus stop that told us when the next bus would be arriving for each of the parks. How nice to be standing there waiting and know exactly when to expect your bus! If we forgot something, we knew if we had time to go fetch it. Or sometimes the kids would run ahead and yell at us if we needed to speed things up. It wasn't a huge deal, but it was just nice not to wonder!

Any chance they might add this kind of thing at any of the other DVC resorts?

 

[guppy1013]

We liked that too. Until it changed from 8:15. To 8:17. To 8:23. To 8:29. Really really annoying.

 

[nalajms]

Really really annoying.

Agree, it's not very reliable and not worth it. Would not want to pay for that with my dues. If they played cartoons along with it, then I'd pay for it. Anything to keep the kids from asking "When's the bus going to be here?"

 

[hakepb]

I'm sure its information that transportation has seen for years...its just that someone finally made an interface.

I'm sure the screens will be more cost effective than the CM's that had to monitor bus stops each day.

 

[dvc_john]

They do have those monitors at GF/VGF bus stop.

 

[disneynutz]

I expect Disney to further implement bus routing using info from the MB's to determine the number of people waiting at the bus stops. Monitors will be added to all of the stops as time goes on.

Bill

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

They do have those monitors at GF/VGF bus stop.

We loved that feature at GF!
We were surprised that BW doesn't have the monitor, but hopefully they will be at all of the resorts soon.

 

[hakepb]

We loved that feature at GF!
We were surprised that BW doesn't have the monitor, but hopefully they will be at all of the resorts soon.

At BW they need bigger monitors to display all of the digits in the wait times

 

[lawgator]

It seems to me that with GPS technology there's really no reason not to have it. Our little city has GPS on all the buses and you can download an app and see where the bus is. It would be nice if they had that at Disney, or at a minimum the monitors at all the resort bus stops.

 

[disneynutz]

It seems to me that with GPS technology there's really no reason not to have it. Our little city has GPS on all the buses and you can download an app and see where the bus is. It would be nice if they had that at Disney, or at a minimum the monitors at all the resort bus stops.

Disney buses do have GPS and a location and dispatch system that was installed system wide a few years ago. That's how the announcements know when to announce and what music to play as you enter each resort.

With MB's they can determine how full a bus is, how full the bus stop is and route and schedule additional buses on the fly. Looking forward to the improvements.

Bill

 

[PoohsFan1]

They do have those monitors at GF/VGF bus stop.

We saw those at the GF bus stop on our last trip and thought how cool that was. I wasn't sure if it was a test thing that they are doing because I didn't see them at our resort at VWL.

 

[hcortesis]

Disney buses do have GPS and a location and dispatch system that was installed system wide a few years ago. That's how the announcements know when to announce and what music to play as you enter each resort.

With MB's they can determine how full a bus is, how full the bus stop is and route and schedule additional buses on the fly. Looking forward to the improvements.

Bill

Understanding the number of people at a bus stop wearing their magic bands is one thing. Figuring out where they are going might be another!

 

[disneynutz]

Understanding the number of people at a bus stop wearing their magic bands is one thing. Figuring out where they are going might be another!

True but it's a start. Some of the larger bus stops are split up in groups of 2 destinations and they can get a count as we enter the bus so the people left at the stop would be going to the other destination.

Bill

 

[hakepb]

Understanding the number of people at a bus stop wearing their magic bands is one thing. Figuring out where they are going might be another!

If only guests pre-booked ADRs or Fastpasses and had those attached to their magic bands...

 

[hakepb]

It seems to me that with GPS technology there's really no reason not to have it. Our little city has GPS on all the buses and you can download an app and see where the bus is. It would be nice if they had that at Disney, or at a minimum the monitors at all the resort bus stops.

They didn't need GPS to give good arrival estimates.

Just give me a good log of when busses arrive and leave the park (with their resort destination) and you know average round trip times. You can then project adjusted arrival times based on time of day, EMH, etc..
You can further adjust each arrival time based on each driver (some are faster than othets) and what bus model they are using.

 

[tjkraz]

It seems to me that with GPS technology there's really no reason not to have it. Our little city has GPS on all the buses and you can download an app and see where the bus is. It would be nice if they had that at Disney, or at a minimum the monitors at all the resort bus stops.

They didn't need GPS to give good arrival estimates.

Just give me a good log of when busses arrive and leave the park (with their resort destination) and you know average round trip times. You can then project adjusted arrival times based on time of day, EMH, etc..
You can further adjust each arrival time based on each driver (some are faster than othets) and what bus model they are using.

I'm not trying to start a scooter debate by any stretch of the imagination but that's one of the biggest factors which adds uncertainty to any bus route. Every Disney bus makes multiple stops--either several stops in the same resort or visiting several different resorts. And at each point the driver may have to unload 1-2 scooters and/or load 1-2 scooters. As we've all seen, it's a process which takes several minutes to complete.

Estimates are all well and good but if a SSR bus driver has to offload one scooter a The Grandstand and load another at Congress Park, that bus won't arrive at The Springs (last stop) until 8-12 minutes after an estimate.

And that's not taking into account traffic or other delays. One time I sat for 15 minutes on a motionless bus at Dolphin or Swan because a delivery truck had parked in the bus lane.

Understanding the number of people at a bus stop wearing their magic bands is one thing. Figuring out where they are going might be another!

True. One possibility would be to install terminals which allow guests to input their destination. Family of 4 arrives at bus stop--tap a screen indicating that 4 people are headed to Magic Kingdom.

But there's also danger involved in using manual input to drive bus dispatch. A small number of jerks could end up diverting resources from routes where there is a more pressing need.

 

[jo-jo]

If they played cartoons along with it, then I'd pay for it. Anything to keep the kids from asking "When's the bus going to be here?"[/QUOTE

That's a great idea. I haven't seen the screens, but could they show cartoons and have the bus info as a crawl line like on news stations.


We try to avoid buses as much as we can. Last trip we stayed at BLT/BCV. We took a bus coming and going to AK one day. A bus going to the water park one day and then a few trips on boats. We LOVE being able to walk to a park.

 

[BirdsOfPreyDave]

I didn't realize this was installed at any resorts, so I'm excited to hear it's coming. Even if the times are only estimates and subject to change based on scooter loading or traffic delays, it's better than nothing.

I also envision a day when there's some way to indicate where you're heading, either by some type FP+ posts like on the rides, or through a touch-screen monitor.

Now, what would be really helpful would be for this same information to be available on a TV channel in the room, or on the MDE app on our phones.

On a related note... During our last stay at SSR, someone at the bus stop complained to a driver that they'd been waiting forever for a bus to XYZ park. He pushed a few buttons on his console and told them there was one 6 minutes out. I didn't realize they had access to that type of information.