MiM phase 2.5 Heaven help us!

[Cranbiz]

OK,

Sunday we started the next phase of MiM implimentation, the Disruptive Recovery Mode (DRM).

I can tell you that is IS disruptive, No there is No recovery right now.

Now, our coordinator gives us a tour code that involves several legs. It is susposed to be what we will do if the system goes down. Well, one better hope the system never goes down. It was a disaster. I got my bus and my code. OK that went kinda of OK. The new codes have alpha numerics in them. All fine and good IF the driver can understand the difference from a B and a D, etc. Radio time was a premium as drivers ask the coordinator to repeat codes many times. Did anyone thing that a standardized phonetic alphabet would be nice? NO.

I go off on my first leg, PO to DAK, Ok I pickuped my guests and head for DAK. So far, so good. I get to DAK and now need to go to ASMu for Studios. I wait at DAK for 5 minutes for a plase to unload my guests and pickup for Mu. Of course, the bus in front of me is going to Mu for Studios! What! So much for no empty buses. I get to Studios and find that I'm third in line for Studios. Next leg is to CBR and then DTD. OK, I think that I may be the only bus in CBR at that time going to DTD. Good, I'm at least picking up guests, but wait. It's now almost 9am and should be picking up for Typhoon Lagoon. No, my box states Marketplace only. So, I leave the TL guests at CBR because the coordinator says follow the box. Get to marketplace and the buses are stacked up on BVD to past the aux. entrance to Saratoga. Get a new dispatch 10 minutes later. My guests are getting upset as I try to appease them. I hear on the radio that CO/PO and the Epcot resorts have been waiting over an hour for a pickup. That's not good. Next route starts CBR to DAK, Ok that one works until I get to DAK and wait for the AKL bus to pull out because I'm also going to AKL. Get to AKL and wait for the Studios bus to leave because, you guessed it, I'm also going to Studios. According to the box, I'm 8 minutes ahead of schedule. I'm not sure how that happened as I can't possibly need 8 minutes from DAK to AKL. I wait at AKL for 8 minutes and head for Studios. Get there and then sent to Coronado. Again I need to wait for the CSR load zone to be vacated and then head to CSR empty. Pickup for DTD and again wait for dispatch at the marketplace. but now, because I want to TL first, I'm waiting at the light at Hotel Plaza Blvd and BVD. Half the buses were going to TL first (like they should) and half are going to TL after MP and PI (not good but it's what the box said). I finally got my break 1.5 hours late.

When I finally went home, we were 1 to 2 hours behind on dispatches.

If this is a sign of things to come, please beware and rent a car when staying onsite.

[Whazzup]

OHMYGOSH!!! :mad:

Wallaby, I bet you are SO GLAD you're not driving buses anymore!

Cranbiz - Bless you for putting up with all that chaos. Can you imagine how the drivers who don't speaka gud Englis are dealing with this? That might be part of the problem - not understanding directions???

I sure hope they get the bugs worked out before the spring breakers arrive, or there's liable to be mutiny on the buses, although it will probably make for many good SG stories. ;)

[ktulu]

Sounds like there needs to be a bit more debugging before this is sent out into the real world for testing, unless they have decided that they can just do QA in a production environment!

[Cranbiz]

The QA phase went just as bad. In the last tabletop, 5 minutes into the excerise, DTD was 25 minutes behind and out of buses.

They did impliment a band of roving buses but even that did not work right.

[Princess Susi]

OH NO! This sounds like a nightmare. WHO thought up this ridiculous system? Maybe THEY should be required to drive the busses with this system for a week. Then you watch how FAST they get rid of it.

Who would one complain to if one has less than a stellar time (like waiting for busses LONGER than one should or not enjoying the lack of entertainment from the drivers) on the busses when they come in May? ;) :twisted:

If they get enough complaints from guests, they HAVE to change the system, right?

Poor, poor Cranbiz...maybe it is time to look into transferring to attractions or something else at WDW. YOu should not be unhappy in your job. Life sucks that way. You need to find something that makes you happy again. I am so sorry you have to deal with that. :(
sues

[vixen101485]

GOOD LORD, my head is dizzy from reading that, I cant imagine having to actually do it.

What I dont understand is why on earth they have you going from route to route to route. Can you imagine if city buses did that? Why cant they just assign you a route for the day like PO to MK and back. All that switching around has to be confusing for the drivers and a lot more work for the dispatchers. I can understand having to pulling a bus or 2 that is on a slower/less busy route to put it on a crowded stop, but GEEZ!

OH WAIT! That would make sense. Mustn't make sense and make things easier now can we?

ANNNNDDDDD...this is the reason we just drive from park to park. I rode the bus once while we were there in Sept. just from AK to AKL and back.

[GRUMPY PIRATE]

Thats just terrible!! I hope they fix it ..fast! The people that are ultimately going to suffer are the drivers! (the guests will be delayed a bit too!)

[Big Wallaby]

Wallaby, I bet you are SO GLAD you're not driving buses anymore!

You can say that again. I don't see myself ever going back to buses.

What I dont understand is why on earth they have you going from route to route to route. Can you imagine if city buses did that?

Well, actually, it's not bad being mixed around like that. If you went through the same training system Cranbiz and I did, you know property and it's nothing to say to one of us, "You're at AK, go to PO. When you get to PO, go to MK, and from there go to EC." Even knowing which way to go from A to B to C to D is fairly easy, just keep in mind which roads they want you to take and stay off of when possible. I have no problem with that part. Many city buses are actually set up so that you start on route 50, then you become route 72, then 26 and so on (granted, you always know all the routes you're going to do first thing when you start, but that's neither here nor there), but in Disney Transport you're not really working a transit style route (where you go from A to B to C to D with various possible stops, timepoints and scheduling along the way). Disney's bus system is quite different from most transit systems... much simpler. You just have to know where you are going next.


The part that bugs me is their very low estimation of the importance of pleasing their customers, who are our guests.

[Cheshire Figment]

Did anyone think that a standardized phonetic alphabet would be nice? NO.

Here you go for a standardized phonetic alphabet (for spies). There are a few letters which need fill-in.

Aesthete
Bdellium
Ctenoid
Djinn
Euphony
Fnese
Gnomon
Honor
Iatrogenic
Junker or Juarez
Knight
Llama
Mnemonics
N----
Oedipus
Ptarmigan
Quiche
R----
S----
Tsar
Urn
V----
Wraith
Xyster
Ypres
Zhmud

[Shorty82]

My word! I thought the main part of MiMs was to make the buses run more efficiently, not less efficient than ever. God I hope the get these major bugs worked out before spring break or you poor drivers will get an earful from all the pissed off guests.