Vepp said:

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Good, shut down "Shades of green" as well. I'm now aware that our government is using our taxpayer money to fund amusement park adjacent facilities.

FWIW, I am a veteran.

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You could have spent the time you spent to post this to actually make yourself "aware" that taxpayer money is not being used.

InfantryAg said:

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Vepp said:

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Good, shut down "Shades of green" as well. I'm now aware that our government is using our taxpayer money to fund amusement park adjacent facilities.

FWIW, I am a veteran.

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You could have spent the time you spent to post this to actually make yourself "aware" that taxpayer money is not being used.

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But that would require reading the thread.

AGHouston11 said:

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aggie93 said:

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AGHouston11 said:

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aggie93 said:

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AGHouston11 said:

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bonfarr said:

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AGHouston11 said:

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The military already has a program for reduced costs to go to Disneyland and Disneyworld.

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Disney already has a program for reduced costs, the same as every other entity that offers military discounts. It is offered through MWR, not the military.

EVERY opinion you have posted on this thread has been factually incorrect.

Disney has a business to run. they still give a great discount to military families.

Do we know they did this to make it more inconvenient for the families, or is it just conjecture?

Besides the potentially bad PR move, IMO the issue is the lame duck board making a bunch of last minute decisions and trying to make them binding.

InfantryAg said:

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Disney already has a program for reduced costs, the same as every other entity that offers military discounts. It is offered through MWR, not the military.

EVERY opinion you have posted on this thread has been factually incorrect.

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To be completely technical, MWR is part of the Army and whilst some operations are self funding and others rely on community funding, some funding ultimately comes from taxpayers.

That said, I am perfectly happy if my tax dollars were being spent directly to provide R&R to our service members and their families. I went one year with my USAF cousin and family and since SoG was full we were accommodated in a nicer resort for the reduced rate.

I am actually surprised the walkway even became a topic outside of Disney forums. Its a lost benefit but there are several alternatives and SOG can make those more appealing if their guests demand it.

InfantryAg said:

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Disney has a business to run. they still give a great discount to military families.

Do we know they did this to make it more inconvenient for the families, or is it just conjecture?

Besides the potentially bad PR move, IMO the issue is the lame duck board making a bunch of last minute decisions and trying to make them binding.

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I don't think they did this to purposely make it more inconvenient. But I do think they know it will hurt SOG but don't really care because it won't affect their bottom line. There are enough adults obsessed with WDW that they can do a ton of things that hurt the guest experience but not their bottom line. Disney knows that.

Too many words, not enough maps...

aggie93 said:

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Not great timing for them from a PR perspective. Right before the end of Reedy Creek being taken over they approved a new plan that cut off Shades of Green from being able to walk to the Monorail and thus made it a bus resort. When they have done similar projects in the past they built new access such as a bridge to fix the problem but not in this case. Instead they just screwed over military families.

Disney blocks access to premier military resort

Quote:

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The resort in question, the Shades of Green Resort at Walt Disney World, is owned and operated by the U.S. military for the benefit of current and retired military personnel and their families. It is one of just four Armed Forces Recreation Center resorts worldwide and the only one on the U.S. mainland. Located about a half-mile from Disney's Polynesian Resort, Shades of Green enjoys a prime location that affords easy access, on foot, to Disney's monorail system.

Or, at least it did until Monday, when Disney abruptly cut off access.

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Quote:

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It's the land right next to the resort, however, that's in question. Guests have been able to walk the roughly half-mile from Shades of Green to the Polynesian Resort and its monorail station for decadesindeed, they have apparently done so for the past half-century, dating back to 1973 and the Golf Resort days. But to do so, they've had to cross Floridian Way, a two-lane road (one lane each direction) that has long had a crosswalk.

Well, Disney has now decided to widen that road to four lanes (two in each direction). Rather than keeping the crosswalk, adding a stop sign or stoplight, or building a walking bridge or tunnel, Disney has instead decided to close the crosswalk, as well as the path connecting the two resorts, and to prevent Shades of Green guests from crossing that street. Shades of Green says this change, dictated by Disney, is "permanent."

Thus, in one fell swoop, Shades of Green went from being a monorail resort to a bus resortgoing from the top of the heap to the bottom of the barrel in terms of transportation at Walt Disney World.

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Quote:

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Additional fundingto the tune of $74.5 millionfor the development in question was approved by the Reedy Creek Improvement District (RCID) on February 22, just five days before DeSantis and the Florida legislature replaced the RCID with the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District. RCID board chairman Laurence Hames said then that "the project will improve the guest experience." Tell that to Shades of Green guests.

During that same meeting, RCID administrator John Classe, in the words of the Orlando Business Journal, said that part of what necessitated the increased funding was "the need to 'cure' any disruptions that happen to nearby operations as the roadway work gets underway." Yet none of that $74.5 million is going toward making sure Shades of Green guests can continue to cross the street to the Polynesian Resort and from there have wide access to the rest of Walt Disney World.

Forcing Shades of Green guests to take buses to and from the parks is particularly unappealing for military families with children in strollers, and for the many older or disabled military veterans who use electric convenience vehicles (ECRs) to get around. The buses won't allow strollers on board with (often sleeping) kids in themthe child must be removed and the stroller folded. Meanwhile, only two electric scooters are allowed on each bus, and only six buses come per hour. The wait could obviously get quite long for veterans or retirees who rely on ECRs.

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Good lord……what can we get mad about now….? Everything going on in this country and THIS is even a topic of conversation?

zephyr88 said:

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Too many words, not enough maps...

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Specific area in question:


Dated drawing showing improvements. I assume the roundabouts have been abandoned in favor of divided 4 lane highway, but somehow they have to provide local access to Grand Floridian, Polynessian, SoG and other areas.



Area of work completed / substantially completed north of the subject area with 4 lane divided highway including new built bridge over creek.

redcrayon said:

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InfantryAg said:

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Disney has a business to run. they still give a great discount to military families.

Do we know they did this to make it more inconvenient for the families, or is it just conjecture?

Besides the potentially bad PR move, IMO the issue is the lame duck board making a bunch of last minute decisions and trying to make them binding.

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I don't think they did this to purposely make it more inconvenient. But I do think they know it will hurt SOG but don't really care because it won't affect their bottom line. There are enough adults obsessed with WDW that they can do a ton of things that hurt the guest experience but not their bottom line. Disney knows that.

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You effectively made an argument for the redistribution of wealth. Disney should spend their own resources for someone else's benefit

smothered said:

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i would love for conservatives to come up with a theme park that is better than disney world, good luck

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Looks like the roundabouts are still part of the plan based on what I can find, but they will be north of Grand Floridian, South of Polynesian and one in between the two resorts. Not sure how they will route traffic to Shades of Green.

Its quite possible they will find a way to restore access particularly if the outcry and demand is there. But I do not think its part of some grand plan to devalue SoG and target our military members.

But there are folks even nuttier than some on here who think its a move by Disney to get DoD to break the lease and hand the land back to Disney. I don't see that happening as the resort is reported to be a revenue generator for the MWR program.

ShotOver said:

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aggie93 said:

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Not great timing for them from a PR perspective. Right before the end of Reedy Creek being taken over they approved a new plan that cut off Shades of Green from being able to walk to the Monorail and thus made it a bus resort. When they have done similar projects in the past they built new access such as a bridge to fix the problem but not in this case. Instead they just screwed over military families.

Disney blocks access to premier military resort

Quote:

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The resort in question, the Shades of Green Resort at Walt Disney World, is owned and operated by the U.S. military for the benefit of current and retired military personnel and their families. It is one of just four Armed Forces Recreation Center resorts worldwide and the only one on the U.S. mainland. Located about a half-mile from Disney's Polynesian Resort, Shades of Green enjoys a prime location that affords easy access, on foot, to Disney's monorail system.

Or, at least it did until Monday, when Disney abruptly cut off access.

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Quote:

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It's the land right next to the resort, however, that's in question. Guests have been able to walk the roughly half-mile from Shades of Green to the Polynesian Resort and its monorail station for decadesindeed, they have apparently done so for the past half-century, dating back to 1973 and the Golf Resort days. But to do so, they've had to cross Floridian Way, a two-lane road (one lane each direction) that has long had a crosswalk.

Well, Disney has now decided to widen that road to four lanes (two in each direction). Rather than keeping the crosswalk, adding a stop sign or stoplight, or building a walking bridge or tunnel, Disney has instead decided to close the crosswalk, as well as the path connecting the two resorts, and to prevent Shades of Green guests from crossing that street. Shades of Green says this change, dictated by Disney, is "permanent."

Thus, in one fell swoop, Shades of Green went from being a monorail resort to a bus resortgoing from the top of the heap to the bottom of the barrel in terms of transportation at Walt Disney World.

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Quote:

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Additional fundingto the tune of $74.5 millionfor the development in question was approved by the Reedy Creek Improvement District (RCID) on February 22, just five days before DeSantis and the Florida legislature replaced the RCID with the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District. RCID board chairman Laurence Hames said then that "the project will improve the guest experience." Tell that to Shades of Green guests.

During that same meeting, RCID administrator John Classe, in the words of the Orlando Business Journal, said that part of what necessitated the increased funding was "the need to 'cure' any disruptions that happen to nearby operations as the roadway work gets underway." Yet none of that $74.5 million is going toward making sure Shades of Green guests can continue to cross the street to the Polynesian Resort and from there have wide access to the rest of Walt Disney World.

Forcing Shades of Green guests to take buses to and from the parks is particularly unappealing for military families with children in strollers, and for the many older or disabled military veterans who use electric convenience vehicles (ECRs) to get around. The buses won't allow strollers on board with (often sleeping) kids in themthe child must be removed and the stroller folded. Meanwhile, only two electric scooters are allowed on each bus, and only six buses come per hour. The wait could obviously get quite long for veterans or retirees who rely on ECRs.

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Good lord……what can we get mad about now….? Everything going on in this country and THIS is even a topic of conversation?

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We get mad about a LOT dumber things than this but ok.

JJxvi said:

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They didn't really "block access." They widened a road and declined to spend a bunch of extra money for either lights, bridges, or tunnels which would have the only purpose of improving property that someone else owns.

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If a pedestrian access was in active use, and Disney chose to take actions that eliminated that access, 'blocked access' is exactly what they did.

It's going to be funny when Disney announces the new path that was in the works all along providing better, safer access to the service members and their families who have exclusive use of the Shades of Green resort.

Add in that DeSantis will be the one who owns this when the road construction is complete and if no pathway is restored. I mean, its now his new board's responsibility, not Disney's.

Maybe RonnieD will build the new prison adjacent to Shades of Green.

AGHouston11 said:

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aggie93 said:

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AGHouston11 said:

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aggie93 said:

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AGHouston11 said:

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bonfarr said:

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AGHouston11 said:

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The military shouldn't be funding resorts in the first place!

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Why is that? It is in the Miltary's interest to keep the families of soldiers happy.

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First it's for retired military and their families.

Better to fund the VA and demand better care there.
Increase their pay and retirement benefits.

How about not charging an 18 year old soldier for their mandatory hair cut while they are getting paid next to nothing.

I could on on and on - but what the military should have zero business in is using funding for resorts - it's just ripe for abuse and special treatment!

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So are you opposed to MWR and the USO too? Morale and quality of life is definitely a valuable part of military readiness.

The point of the thread though is not whether or not the military should have the resort, the point is why Disney decided to block access to the resort and how much of a PR mistake that was at this time.

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The USO is a non profit which I support and yes I'm opposed to the military being in the RESORT business.

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The military spends a lot of money on a lot things dumber than offering a reduced cost vacation experience for families that makes going to Disney more affordable for members of the service. I mean you can only hire so many Drag Queens to do commercials for you.

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The military already has a program for reduced costs to go to Disneyland and Disneyworld.

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It's not a military program. It's a Disney program they generously offer.

JJxvi said:

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I doubt there will be any jaywalking. People will take the bus transportation that SOG will have to start providing. Im of the opinion like others earlier in this thread that the bus will likely be viewed as an upgraded option over "walk to the Polynesian to get somewhere" and if it does make it more of a hassle and complicated, I'm still pretty much "what do you expect" this is the hassle all of us civvies face when we book at a reort not owned by the Mouse.

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… and even most of the hotels that ARE owned by the Mouse.

SOG has been told by Disney that the closure is permanent.