I'll start at the TTC. Did you know there is no Mickey Mouse parking lot? Nope. There's not a one. There are several different parking lots including six named after the seven drawfs. Which drawf doesn't have their own parking lot and why?
Anyway, as you may know, the TTC is where you can catch the monorail to the resorts on the line, an express monorail to the Magic Kingdom, one to Epcot, a ferryboat to the Magic Kingdom, or bus transportation to Disney's Hollywood Studios or Disney's Animal Kingdom. This is also where I went first almost every single day. I had to start at the TTC with both the monorail and the buses.
Know what's under your feet at the TTC? That's right. Underground rooms. These are mostly offices and meeting rooms for the different transportation people. This includes the bus operations room. I've never been in there, but it has the ability to track most buses and do some other cool stuff.
Let me explain the bus procedure when I was there at the resorts. The most time between buses for each park / DTD should only be 20 minutes. If it got to 18 minutes, I would contact the field supervisor. He would check the deployment of the next bus and we would confirm what buses had most recently passed. Occassionally, a bus would have the wrong marquee or be significantly early or late due to traffic. If it was apparent the bus would not arrive soon, an emergency bus in a nearby staging area would be deployed. If the original bus looks like it would probably be close to on time, we would wait for its arrival. If 22 minutes had passed, I would contact bus operations and ask for the ETA of my next bus to whereever.
The bus ops would look up the bus number and track it using GPS. If it appeared to still be in route, we would wait it out some more. If it was off course, an emergency bus would be deployed. Sometimes a bus would get the wrong deployment assignment or it would fill up at a previous stop and not contact the supervisor. There are any number of situations that can occur that would put a bus off course.
I would contact the supervisor if there were other unique situations in the bus load zone as well. Three wheelchairs for example (since a bus can only hold two). Or if it's only been 10 minutes since my last bus, but it appears that there are more people waiting than there is room for on the buses. If I got several buses to the same park back to back to back (it would have to be at least three), then I would call. It was likely one of them got the wrong assignment and should have gone to a different resort or one is significantly early putting a massive gap for the next one. If I was the first stop for one of the buses and it got pretty full, I would contact so people down the stream would not have a bus fill up before it got to them with no bus in sight.
How many people can fit on a bus? About 72. So if you ever hear a Signal 72, the bus has filled up and not accepting more guests.
It's not unusual to see some buses come back to back. For the most part, it is difficult to have the buses change their marquee and go somewhere else. In fact, the only time I know that is even possible is the floater (emergency) bus. That might happen if say an emergency bus is deployed for a park but a regular bus shows up at the same time and can handle the situation. If there is a wait or large crowd for somewhere else, it might possibly be changed.
See, the way the buses work is each park and Downtown Disney have their own bus fleet. Buses for say the Magic Kingdom would go to the Magic Kingdom and get their assignment through a computer, perhaps Saratoga Springs. It would pull into the Saratoga Springs load zone at the MK and then head off to the resort. After going through the resort, it would return to the Magic Kingdom. Once it hits a certain point, the GPS sends a new assignment that gives the driver their deployment and automatically changes the marquee. It will be a new resort, perhaps All Star Movies. The computer monitors how long it deploys buses to the various resorts, but there is a human operator that can override the deployment if necessary. GPS spot is normally further outside the resort.
That system kicks in around 10:00, maybe 11:00 as people are going to and from the resorts and parks. Before that, most people are just trying to get to the parks so buses will only drop off. They unload at the closer resort stops to the entrance and immediately depart for their next resort. However, there are guests that need to use the buses to get from the parks to the resorts. Each park has one or two buses specifically for those assignments. These buses are called upstreamers because it handles guests going against the flow of traffic. Most upstreamers have to return quickly to their park to get more guests, so they rarely pick anyone up at the resorts. These buses generally pull into an empty load zone to avoid confusion.
Ever seen a bus that says STITCH, ARIEL, or REMY? If asked by a guest, I would say there was either a little blue alien on the bus and the driver is calling for help; Ariel is on her way to breakfast with Prince Eric, but she has trouble walking; or Chef Remy is preparing a secret recipe. Basically, guests are not getting on that bus. What those signs really mean are the bus is on a special assignment and guests are not boarding that bus. These are your upstreamers or emergency floater buses before the driver manually enters the marquee code to change it.
How about a bus that says DHMU or DHGF, DHCB? These are deadhead buses. These buses have no guests in them. The last two letters indicate where they are going first to pick up guests. Most of these buses are on their first assignment of the day or after a break, perhaps going to a break.
Walt Disney World has three different types of buses. The Gilig, the Nova, and the RTS. The Gilig and Nova are very similar buses as far as the guest experience is concerned. Don't worry if one of these rolls in. You can tell them apart because the Gilig says GILIG right on the bumper. It's indented in there. The Nova is also a good one and you can tell it by its round headlights. Both of these are lowriding buses, so it means a smoother ride. RTS's are taller, so they tend to sway a little more. Plus, if you have a wheelchair catching your bus, you definately want a Gilig or Nova to roll up. They both have those ramps that come out. The RTS has a lift which can take FOREVER! And I normally don't speak bad about guests, but I'll just offer up a tip: If you are not used to driving those motorized chairs and the one you are on is rented, put the speed into a low setting when driving on the bus. I'm just saying you can control the chair a lot better and you probably won't hit everything on the bus and in the loadzone at the resort. Just a suggestion.
Now, let's look at the monorail operations (which I have the same recommendations for loading and unloading with a ECV).
The monorail uses a lot hand signs since there is no marquee. Really, its just five. The first is tapping the head. This is used by a platform cast member to a pilot to indicate a beacon on the monorail is incorrect. The monorails are all colored, but each monorail can travel on any of the three beams. Now, Monorail Tron is only suppose to travel on the Epcot line, but it is possible for it to transfer to another beam. The beacon on top of the monorail indicates where it is going. Green is the express line, amber for resort, and red is Epcot.
Monorail Tron?
Yes. Disney wrapped one of the monorails (I don't know which one) with this advertisement. I have mixed feelings, but generally don't like it. The monorail is iconic and doesn't need help looking sharp. The advertisement is not over the top though. Yes, it is the whole train, but it's not yelling WATCH THIS FILM! It's just the yellow and blue racers with the movie title. And I have to admit it's a little cool looking.
Know what else is cool looking?
That picture is actually on a bulletin board inside TTC.
Anyway, back to the hand signals. If you see a Monorail Host hold up his two hands and bump them together, don't bother running up the ramp. They've given the signal to the pilot that the platform is secure and the train is ready to close its doors and depart. Now, if they hold up a fist to the pilot, you are in luck. They are holding the train for some reason.
A circular motion with both hands means there is a wheelchair on board. You do not see this on the resort line, but you will more often with the express and especially with Epcot. These exit platforms do not have cast members on them and it is the responsibility of the pilot to assist with the ramp for guests with mobility issues. You won't see it on the resort line as much because there are cast members at the resort stations. After the train departs from loading the guest, the cast member will call the station where the guest is exiting. This doesn't always happen, so Monorail Hosts have to pay attention and look to see if there are guests in chairs and ask if they need assistance.
An important signal you'll generally never see is the T symbol (like timeout). This is an important safety symbol because it means the train must depart immediately. Why have such a signal? For safety purposes. See, every day when a train is first brough into operations, the entire train is check top to bottom. I don't know every bit of safety the pilot goes through, but I know that each car is inspected by a cast member, each phone is check to make sure it can be accessed, send and recieve a clear transmission. The fire extinguishers are checked to make sure their pressure is okay. The PA system is check in each car as well. The doors are also checked. Each car can have their doors opened individually seperate from the other cars. They can also be opened all at once. All doors do shut at the same time with the announcement. The doors are opened individually and seperately to check all systems.
So what about that T symbol? Well, there is an anti-collision system on each train and they are tested every time they come out into service. To do this, a train sits in a station with a pilot inside. The train is ready to take off quickly. A cast member stands on the platform outside the station where the pilot can easily see them. Another train is brought up from the rear and tries to get close to the other train. If it appears the approaching train is not going to stop, the symbol is given to depart to avoid a collision. The system on both trains indicates their proximity, gives warnings to the pilot, and will stop the train.
There was, of course, the accident involving Monorails Pink and Purple. I pretty much think I know what happened. I won't say exactly what, but there were a number of things that all happened at once. It is unlikely such an accident of this kind will happen again because pilots no longer change tracks in reverse (which is what one driver was doing). This is a new procedure that took effect immediately after the incident. At the time I was there, guests were also not allowed to ride in the front with the pilot to avoid distraction. Monorail cast members (like myself) were and I have to say it is an incredible and amazing view.
Beyond testing the monorail trains, the stations themselves were inspected each morning to ensure they were operating properly. This is relatively simple and mostly involves insuring a working PA system, telephone system, and power to the beam. The concrete beam itself if perfectly fine to walk on. In fact, in an extreme emergency situation, that is the procedure for getting to safety in the even a train is stranded on the beam away from a station and towing, train-to-train rescue or train-to-ground rescue are not possible or too timely. But, there is a trench in each station to catch loose items and it is possible a person would get in there. Granted, they would have to jump over the fence or do something incredibly stupid to get there, but it is possible. The fall into the trench would not likely be too harmful, but the electricity on the lower part of the beam down there would be.
Each station has at least two ways (I think maybe even three) to immediately cut the power to the beam inside the station. The train would not be able to enter and no one would be shocked inside the trench. Cast Members keep an eye out for people and if anyone even crosses the fence (say to pick up a lost item), the station is shut down right then. So if you drop your toddler's shoe, you can pick it up at lost and found the next day.
By the way, have you ever noticed on each beam holding up the monorail is a number? Those numbers are actually very significant. As a pilot, you have to know each number because the location of another train on the line will affect where the trains stop. Say you are on the express beam coming into the TTC from Magic Kingdom. But there is a delay in departure with the train currently in TTC so you know the anti-collition system will shut down the train if you get too close. That's everything shut down. Air, lights, you name it. And it takes a while to reboot. You don't want that, but you want to be as close as possible, where do you stop? Well, if you know your posts, you stop at the right number. No, I don't remember that number, but I do know it is right across from the tiki face on the Polynesian. That's why you will hear that announcement something like: "Ladies and gentlemen, we are currently holding for further traffic clearance. Once the monorail in front of us moves a safe distance away, we will resume our forward motion."
Do not blame the monorail pilots. Most often, its the hosts that hold up trains due to delay in getting guests on for one reason or another. Oh, FYI, the max speed for a monorail Mark VI train is 40 miles per hour on 600 DC Volts coming from the powerline on the beam. That top speed of 40 only occurs on the trip to and from Epcot. Post also mark speed limits. If you speed through a zone where it suppose to be a lesser speed, you get warnings and possible a system shut down.
As a monorail host, I was in charge of crowd management. I am very grateful I was not working there on New Year Eve, the busiest day of the entire year.
You may have heard me refer to the trains as females with their own personalities. They certainly do have their own ways. This is more apparent is you pilot one, but if you pay attention (and ride them as much as I did), you can pick up on them as well.
Monorail Blue
Monorail Teal
Monorail Green
Monorail Orange
Monorail Red
Monorail Black
Monorail Yellow
Monorail Gold
Monorail Silver
Monorail Coral
Monorail Lime
I don't remember everything about every one, but I do know some of them. My favorite was Teal. She was quick, clean, and slowed real easy. Black was great too. She got up speed quick and easy too. Red broke my arm, so I'll always have a grudge against this one. Coral was perhaps the worst. I didn't like her because she tended to shake a lot. Blue was patethic. She would break down a lot. It was more usual to see her in shop than on the line. I will forever avoid Monorail Orange and always love Monorail Green. During a drill, I had to stay in Orange for hours until Green came and picked us up.
Speaking of drills, I looked back at some of my earlier blogs and totally forgot about this, but I now remember it quite clearly. They intentionally shut the Monorail doors on my arm. It didn't feel great, but it didn't cut it off or anything. Lesson here, please stand clear of the doors or they will not shut. They won't hurt you, but they won't shut and you can't go anywhere until those doors shut.
I suppose that's about it. A look into the world of Walt Disney Transportation's Buses and Monorail. As a special bonus, let's revisit some photos of Monorail Teal during her first day on the line as well as me in my monorail costume.
Oh, and did you guess what drawf is missing their own parking lot?
It's Doc. Why? Because there is a lot of boat transportation in Walt Disney World and it could be confusing if there was something called doc because it's so very close to dock.
On Deck: Epcot's Japan
In The Hole: More Resort Secrets
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