28 October 2010 by By Dewayne Bevil, Orlando Sentinel
Guests to Disney's Animal Kingdom or Disney's Hollywood Studios in recent weeks may have experienced a new twist in Walt Disney World transportation: doors on trams.
Walt Disney Co. is in the process of adding doors to all rows of all 23 of its trams, Disney World spokesman Bryan Malenius said. The vehicles, which haul thousands of guests from the parking lots to the park gates daily, have had open sides for years.
"We expect our work installing new doors on the trams to be complete by February of 2011," Malenius said.
The 16 trams at Disneyland Resort in California have been fitted with doors already. The work in Florida began with the Animal Kingdom's trams and now has moved to Hollywood Studios.
The doors are manually operated by guests, who simply turn a handle to open and close them when arriving at the tram or exiting it.
At first glance, the tram with all doors shut looks like a tram that's ready to take off. Guests should still listen to cast members for boarding instructions.
Historically, passengers have been instructed not to let small children sit on the outside of the rows. The doors, we'll assume, are designed to prevent people and possessions from flying (or jumping) off the vehicles, particularly on sharp turns.
The additions are a regular part of operations at Disney World, Malenius said.
"We simply identified an opportunity, and we are moving forward with the implementation," he said.
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