it's a small world

We (especially my husband) was fascinated with the business of Disney's operations. It was amazing how most of the people employed at the parks were friendly, courteous and helpful.  There were times when we were looking at maps, and next thing you know, am employee was there to help you guide your way.  The Disney Institute  teaches seminars to businesses on how to have work environments like Disney...that are the "happiest place on earth".

This was a construction sign where the new Fantasyland 2012 was being built.
Even construction signs were inspirational!

The Disney Corporation also clearly understood "customer satisfaction"...most specifically that the longer one must wait in line for anything (rides, dinner, shuttles back and forth to the airport), the less "happy" of a customer they will be.

Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Chairman Tom Staggs described a “version of Fastpass for an entire Disney vacation” during a speech at an investors conference last year and the Orlando Sentinel reported that future guests will be able to reserve specific ride times for popular attractions, secure seating for shows, make restaurant reservations and pre-book other experiences before they leave their homes on vacation." {source: Delvinia}


And for the most part, our experience at Disney did run quite efficiently.  There were various methods of transportation from our resort to Magic Kingdom and Epcot.  Monorail, ferry, resort launch boat (from The Polynesian, Grand Floridian and The Contemporary), as well as buses, all about ten minutes away from those two parks.

However, we did find that for a huge "world" that relied so heavily on transportation between the parks, that the scheduling of the buses (and communication of such schedules) was lacking.  Unlike city buses, there were no fixed bus stop schedules, so you'd have to guess when a bus will come by your hotel (and arrive at your destination) to go to Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, Downtown Disney or the Fort Wilderness Lodge (where the Hoop De Doo Revue show was held).  In other words, destinations that were NOT on the monorail system.  And the staff at these bus depots were equally confused.


As things get faster and faster with technology, one good thing is that the Fastpass has removed the beast of line ups, so we can enjoy the beauty of Disney inside the parks.  Hopefully they will incorporate better ways to get to these parks just as easy, and truly make it a small world, after all.