Universal Orlando's New Gillig Electric Buses On A Closed Road (North)

ORLANDO, FLORIDA (February 14, 2025): Universal Orlando Resort's new Gillig Advantage electric bus running from the equally brand new Stella Nova Resort up to Universal City Walk, the transit hub for Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure and the Volcano Bay waterpark.

Stella Nova recently opened, though the spectacular Epic Universe has a ways to go before it's ready for its big day (hopefully by this Memorial Day).

So, for the time being, the bus is navigating closed roads inside Epic property before emerging to public traffic at Kirkman Road, south of International Drive.

These are all publicly-accessible areas (as long as you're traveling on a Universal bus), so I'm not giving away any secrets here.

I'm surprised how well these buses hold their charge, even using air conditioning in Florida. I leave the yard at around 6 in the morning with a 100% charge, by the time 1:30pm rolls around and the next driver takes over, it still has a 90% - 93% charge. My experience with them has been a reliable one. Hopefully it stays that way.

I work for a charter bus operator who provides Universal's bus services. I came down from GO Transit in Ontario back in 2017 and have been driving (mostly) Universal buses since. My wife works inside Islands of Adventure, where she cooks at one of the restaurants. I took a big pay cut so she could move down here for the benefit of her health. On the upside, my pay cut was more than made up for by her being able to work full-time, year-'round; back in Niagara Falls, she could only get full-time hours a few months out of the year.

So, long story short, I do my best to look like I'm happy being on the job because I am. It's a damn sight better than driving the GO bus in and around Toronto. Particularly this time of year (February).

There's not a lot I'm allowed to say about Epic, beyond what Universal itself has released. I wish I could put videos up about what I've seen inside the park because the public is going to be blown away. It's going to give that OTHER place, down by I-4 and Highway 192, a real run for its money.

I'm really happy that Universal has chosen to focus on the business of entertaining the public and keeping the park-goers happy without the political nonsense. As Philip Fry said in a Futurama episode (and, later, a popular meme), just "shut up and take my money!" That's all we ask as paying customers.

Sorry about the radio chatter. But we have to stay in contact with each other, and management.

See the southbound (City Walk to Stella Nova) video at: https://youtu.be/il7lEo66tck