I heard about the new stuff thanks to ***** and Inside the Magic. In fact, if you look back, you'll see I recently updated my post about Fantasmic to include it.
Good idea, man! It would be nice to see John and Sarah out on Main Street, and possibly L.C. Clench nearby Alien Encounter.
I forgot about them for a reason, my friend. I find that the hotels are perfect as is. And besides, out of all the hotels at WDW, I've only stayed at four--the Contemporary, the All-Star Movies, the Caribbean Beach and Port Orleans French Quarter. I also won't discuss Disney Springs, because I''d like to see what it will be like before I can make any judgements. But, however, I do have plans to discuss transportation. Let's do that right now!
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Transportation at Walt Disney World
Walt Disney World is a very big place. And you can bet that there's tons of ways to get around from park to park.
Let's start things off with the monorail.
"Please stand clear of the doors. Por favor mantenganse alejado de las puertas." The Walt Disney World Monorail is as old as the resort itself, taking guests on a relaxing trip to various stops.
People have often complained that the current fleet of Mk VI monorails is deteriorating, resorting to shorter and shorter operating hours due to their old age and unreliability.
These issues will be solved with an all new fleet of Mk VIII monorails. These new monorails will still retain the iconic style of its predecessors (the famed white body with the identifying-color stripe running across it). There will be 14 of these monorails, and every single color in the current fleet will be used: Red, Coral, Orange, Peach, Gold, Yellow, Lime, Green, Teal, Blue, Silver and Black. But what of the other two? In honor of the new fleet, I'd like to bring back two retired members back into service: Monorail Purple...
and Monorail Pink.
Both Pink and Purple were retired from service due to the infamous crash of 2009. But I say, we should welcome these two back to the fleet, bringing the total up to 14 monorails (trust us, we're gonna need 'em come peak season).
The new monorails will be six cars long, with a wrap around sunroof on each car, connecting the two side windows with a smooth, circular curve of glass.
The first and last cars will have the pilot’s cabins, along with a passenger compartment; the second and fifth cars will be open and spacious to accommodate wheelchairs and strollers more easily, with benches on each end of the cabin, and on the side walls.
Finally, the two middle cars will adopt a similar style to the current monorails, split into two compartments, each containing two facing benches and enough room for more passengers to stand.
Now, we all know that the monorail currently has three major routes:
- Express: From the Transportation and Ticket Center to the Magic Kingdom. Travels counter-clockwise on the outer loop.
- Resort: From the Transportation and Ticket Center to the Polynesian, to the Grand Floridian, to the Magic Kingdom and to the Contemporary. Goes clockwise on the inner loop.
- Epcot: From the Transportation and Ticket Center to EPCOT Center.
As we all know, the monorails are able to run on all these tracks due to the spurs/switches nearby the TTC.
With that said, I'd construct two more spurs/switches--one to the left of the TTC and another to the right.
The left one will serve two different loops. The first is known as the
Hollywoodland loop. This will go from the Transportation and Ticket Center, to the Yacht and Beach Club, to the Swan and Dolphin and to Disney's Hollywoodland.
The second left one is the
Animal loop, which goes from the TTC to Disney's Animal Kingdom and to Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge.
The spur on the right will serve the
Mythica loop, which goes from the TTC to a specially created monorail station that serves Saratoga Springs, Disney Springs and Mythica.
The
boats will stay roughly the same. The Sassagoula Boats that run between Port Orleans Riverside and Downtown Disney, as well as the ferries and small boats that run between the TTC and the Magic Kingdom, will receive only a paint touch up, and a basic refurb while the boats that run between EPCOT Center and Disney's Hollywoodland, and the bigger boats that run between the TTC and Magic Kingdom, will be completely repainted to drop their dated pastel color scheme and instead will feature deeper colors. The interiors will also be updated to fit more guests safely and comfortably.
The
buses will go through quite a few changes, dropping their terrible early-'90s look, instead featuring a color scheme similar to the color scheme rolled out on a few buses about two years ago.
The iconic bus spiel that plays as guests enter each park will also be updated. Half of the updated bus fleet will also be articulated, allowing twice the amount of guests to board.
Finally, I'd like to discuss the hub for the monorails: the Transportation and Ticket Center. Don't hate me for this, but I personally think that the area doesn't look warm and inviting. So, what I'd do is turn the area into something called
Disney Square.
Guests enter Disney Square through one of 5 different arches (each one representing a different park--Magic Kingdom, EPCOT Center, Disney's Hollywoodland, Disney's Animal Kingdom and Mythica), and find themselves in a beautiful garden area. In the center of the garden lies a fountain featuring the whales from
Fantasia 2000, and above them, Sorcerer Mickey, making waves appear. Surrounding them are golden versions of Minnie, Donald, Goofy, Pluto, Winnie the Pooh, Pinocchio and Dumbo. At night, the true majesty of the fountain shows, with beautiful colors and music.
A lush golden building marks the new
Transportation Station. Here, guests can board one of Disney's many forms of transportation--be it an elegant ferry boat, the majestic, stylish Monorail or-an ever so handy bus--and journey to wherever their day's adventure lies in store. The inside of the Transportation Station is inspired by Disneyland Paris' Disneyland Hotel. Inside lies a fantastically designed atrium where travelers scale flights upon flights of stairs and lushly decorated elevators all leading to loading platforms.
To the far-right of the building, guests will find
Mickey's Gift Station, offering various goods and wares. Nearby, you'll find a small kiosk selling coffee, soft drinks and pastries (perfect to give you that zip that gets you through the morning).
Surrounding the area are the lovely
Central Station Gardens and a bay-walk which features a lovely view of the Seven Seas Lagoon. The gardens, littered with millions of colorful blossoms, are divided in five sections each representing the 5 corners of Walt Disney World.
So, there we have it--the new and improved Monorail System and the new Disney Square. Any thoughts or critiques?
In the next post, I'll introduce you to a whole new experience at WDW. See ya then!
