Bullet Train to Disney World?

[AliciaG]

Looks like there is a proposed high speed rail system that would run between WDW resort, MCO, and then on to Tampa. It would be bypassing the convention center in lieu of WDW, where many more people would make their way from the airport. Details here...Bullet Train (http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-florida-bullet-train,0,4061342.story?coll=sns-ap-nation-headlines)

Now we'll just have to see if all the politicians can agree, and if they can get the price right. :D

[Perla]

I did see this announcement on Fox news tonight. Gee, I wonder if they will do a grocery stop! LOL I like my towncar service for that little perk.

[Tagrel]

I'm with Perla on this one. I want my rental car or direct service with grocery stop.

So you have to get all your luggage on a train, ride to the WDW station, gather luggage (again), find MORE transportation to your resort, load luggage again, ride to resort, get luggage again, and THEN check-in?

I don't think so! I don't know how cheap the per person cost is going to be, but the loss of convenience doesn't sound too appealing to me! This sounds like a good poll to me...

[AliciaG]

But....we are a minority "in the know". Think of how many people use Mears, not because they choose to for the price, but because they don't do the research to know there is something else.

I don't think towncar or rental services will be affected, because I'd say most of their customers are folks like us who do a little research. I do think Disney will fill those trains with folks who just follow the crowd when they hop off their plane.

[Tagrel]

Yup, that will definitely be the case Alicia. I'll bet Mears isn't too happy about this though... :)

Now, if Disney had you TAG the luggage, and it just showed up at your resort I could see this being a more workable solution. Then you could arrive, and head right for the parks, dinner, pool - whatever. Not having to collect luggage would be a nice perk, but a bit troublesome if some of your bags disappeared! :shock:

Guess I have a few years before its any kind of decision to make! :)

[Perla]

I like the luggage tagging idea. It's gonna have to save me quite a few disney dollars to change though. I'm still waiting for the monorail to run to ALL the parks and resorts. Now that would be magic!

[Kylara]

I think the train would be very popular with the people who come to WDW for the conventions/conferences. Often, these people bring only one bag (specially if family isn't able to join them or will join them later) and it would be more economical than taxi or towncar...making companies happier.

[cshore]

I just love taking a towncar. The convenience and personalized service is great. It would be interesting to see how the train thing would work.

[WillCAD]

I usually travel to WDW solo, so the train would be a great option for me (except that I'd have to take a taxi to get to Universal or off-site for shopping), but I'm not sure it will ever come to pass.

People have been talking about some sort of direct connection between WDW and MCO for years. Monorail, light rail, and now a bullet-train, have all been proposed, but one big factor has always stopped them from happining: every person who goes to WDW direct is one fewer person to spend money at Orlando area shops, restaurants, and hotels.

The tourism industry is the single largest employer in central Florida. If a direct rail link were built between WDW and MCO, many more people would stay on Disney property at the value resorts, hurting

-The rental car companies
-The town car companies, cab companies, and Mears
-Universal's two parks and three hotels
-Off-site hotels
-Off-site shopping venues
-Off-site water parks
-Off-site restaurants
-Off-site night clubs and bars
-Off-site gas stations and cenvenience stores

All of the owners of these businesses, as well as thier employees and thier unions, stand to lose big revenues if a direct rail link were built. All the tourist money would go right into Disney's coffers; thousands of jobs in the Orlando area could be lost by building this one large publicly-funded project. The only true winner would be Disney itself.

Much as I love the Mouse, I don't want to see him squash all of his Orlando area competition likea bug. I like Universal, I like shopping in Lake Buena Vista and Kissimmee, and I like eating at Sonny's and Medeival Times (and I might try Dixie Stampede next time). So I'm not really in favor of this project; I think it would hurt too many people who have already suffered enough in the economic downturn for the last few years.

[Kylara]

Willcad, the bullet train from MCO to WDW is just the first phase. It is then suppose to go out to the Daytona area and also over to Tampa. The idea of for some time (probably a long time to come) the bullet train will connect the major cities of Florida allowing for fast travel between them.

The hope is that these major cities will build some kind of local mass transit to connect all the major attractions in the cities.

[3princesses]

I agree with the majority, Towncar service is the way to go. I love the grocery store stop and the convenience of being dropped off right at your resort and being picked up there too. My husband is all about convenience and comfort, so I'd be surprised if he would ever want to use something like this.
I think it's a great idea for people who commute between the cities (once they connect them).

Wanda