Just a fun little short interview I did with Don Helbig on one of the Diamondback Metro buses. We discuss Diamondback, Rivertown, new shows, and the 2009 season.

Nice interview I am really looking forward to seeing the opening day new look to River Town. Great Job KICentral team you guys always bring us fun informative information.

Great interview Ryan! I'm intrested in the new Rivertown he's been talking about. I can't wait to see it come opening day!

Don was looking good as always! Also i think Gordon and Bill walked around to the other side of the bus just so they could be in the video.

Kind of hard to hear with the busses running.

ya it was but overall a really good Interview!!!

Can someone post a recap for those of us that cant view videos?

Hey now! I did not even know they were filming in there! HAHA!

I'd ride a DB Metro bus anyday

I'm not one for getting on a bus unless I know where it is going. If you don't know where you are going, any bus will take you there. The definition of insanity is riding a ride and thinking the exit will be different than it was an hour before. Measure once, ride twice...or more.

Terpy, who has had way too many TQM classes

And there are many on here that likely do not even know what TQM stands for... To understand total quality bus systems, Cincinnati`s Metro is not a pristine example. Try riding the CTA buses on the Magnificent Mile. Now that is public transportation at its finest.

Or the Disney Bus system in Florida....

Or the Disney Bus system in Florida....

No kidding! I grew up in Florida riding those buses around to get between parks/water parks. Not only was it a complete and total mystery where you would end up next, or how long it would take you to get to your destination, every ride was like a miniature version of the "Guests say the darndest things"(Spelling?) thread we have here at KIC.

The Disney bus system at Walt Disney World is VERY nice. When I went down there in September, my sister and I utilized the bus system. All the bus stops are clearly marked with the final destination for the bus. The only drawback we found was that because we stayed at the All Star Sports (a value resort) and the fact that September was not peak season, we sometimes had to wait upwards of twenty minutes at the resort to catch a bus. Otherwise, the bus system is very efficient. Disney has the operation of moving massive amounts of people across its property down to an almost perfect science.

Can someone post a recap for those of us that cant view videos?

The three biggest highlights I heard:

1. Rivertown has some big makeovers (no surprise), BUT there are some details KI is keeping under wraps and has thus far successfully managed to keep secret! (as someone who's rarely intrigued, this intrigues me!)

2. You can BUY season passes in addition to processing them in the days the SP center is open pre-4/18...not breaking news, but still newer news.

3. Big emphasis on how good the most recently announced country show in Festhaus is supposed to be.

1. Rivertown has some big makeovers (no surprise), BUT there are some details KI is keeping under wraps and has thus far successfully managed to keep secret! (as someone who's rarely intrigued, this intrigues me!)

I'm intrigued too. Being secretive again, are they? I'm planning to find out their secret and unleash it.

Flyer, who didn't say when. (4-18 sounds good)

The Disney bus system at Walt Disney World is VERY nice. When I went down there in September, my sister and I utilized the bus system. All the bus stops are clearly marked with the final destination for the bus. The only drawback we found was that because we stayed at the All Star Sports (a value resort) and the fact that September was not peak season, we sometimes had to wait upwards of twenty minutes at the resort to catch a bus. Otherwise, the bus system is very efficient. Disney has the operation of moving massive amounts of people across its property down to an almost perfect science.

Well they may have improved it in recent years. I haven't been since the 90's...Lol.

I also suspect that the fact you were a much younger person then had more than a little something to do with it. Everything seems much more complex and difficult to fathom when one is a little tyke. Let's face it, in the 90's, you were barely in the double digits age-wise, if that!

Well, I can relate a recent story about the Disney bus system that I found a bit troubling. When my family was there this past Nov, we were staying at one of the Disney Resorts, so we eligible to participate in the extended park hours. On this particular day, Animal Kingdom had extended evening hours from 8-11 p.m. We were at Epcot, and left right around their closing time, and headed straight to the bus station for the direct route to Animal Kingdom. We arrived at this station a few minutes before 8, thinking a bus would surely be by quickly. We waited for over 30 minutes, and by the time we arrived at Animal Kingdom, it was pushing 9. It's a minor complaint, but I felt like their planning could have been better to accommodate those of us who wanted to take advantage of these extended hours. The time of year we went, the parks were very crowded, and the extended hours were those few windows of opportunity where we could enjoy some semblence of freedom of movement.

TQM: Total Quality Management !

I think it will be a couple trips before I notice any of the aesthetic changes to Rivertown. I'm going to be too busy taking in the view of DB!

Great interview, BoddaH!

I agree the Disney bus system is very good. Keep in mind that the WDW resort is over 42 sq miles (about the size of metro San Fransico!), so that's a lot of ground to cover. Again, from experience, I know that the busses are very clean, efficient and get you where you need to go as quickly as possible. At some point in the far distant future, I know the master planners at WDW want the monorail system to connect all the parks and major hotels, but that is a very costly undertaking and one that would ultimately be implememented over a number of years. Also keep in mind, however that Disney stipulated in his will that only 25% of the total area he purchased could be developed. The rest had to remain in its natural state. To date, the park has developed somewhere between 10-15% of the available land..which tells you just how massive the resort is.