All Monorail service to Epcot is out of service

[unkadug]

I agree. The system is nice but I think there is enough evidence monorails do not provide enough flexibility. I do know a way the current WDW system could operate in a much more efficient and guest friendly way. I'll be adding it to the Blue Sky/Imagineering forum soon.

Please fix the grammar in your signature...it makes you appear uneducated. And the lord only knows we don't want THAT.

The Armchair Imagineer is GONE FISHING

"Has gone" or "is going"...either will suffice.

 

[Tom]

Please fix the grammar in your signature...it makes you appear uneducated. And the lord only knows we don't want THAT.


"Has gone" or "is going"...either will suffice.

Or add [sic] after it, but the entire things would need to be in quotation marks then, to indicate that it's someone else's quote.

 

[flavious27]

I really don't know if I would be surprised if in another 20 years there is no monorail in WDW.

Eventually the Mark VI's will need to either be completely replaced or go through a serious overhaul. I'm not sure what the per train cost would be now to completely replace the fleet, but I believe the Mark VI was somewhere around 6 million per train. That was over 20 years ago. I just don't know if i see TDO paying 72 million for a new fleet in this day and age, let alone however much it would cost now.

Being a HUGE monorail fan, I hope I'm wrong, but I have a feeling that when the time comes, if WDW can get away with just using buses and boats exclusively and if it would be cheaper than buying a new monorail fleet, they'll just tear it down. All they would need is more buses and boats to make up for the lost monorail capacity. Then again, I'm sure Disney loves the fact that they can charge more for hotels on the monorail line, but I'm sure they'd still be able to justify those prices with just boat service and proximity to MK alone.

Also, those concrete beams aren't going to last forever. If there is ever a situation where they would need to be replaced, I doubt they would want to spend that money to replace or fix the beams if they can get away with using another, cheaper, mode of transportation.

I really never thought eliminating the monorail at WDW was a possibly, but with the way the company operates these days, I just don't know where they draw the line. Like I said, I hope I'm just being crazy and overreacting and that I'm way wrong on this one. Please let that be the case....haha.

edwardtc, what are your thoughts? You seem to have a pretty good handle on stuff like this, especially with regard to concrete, more specifically the lifespan of something like a monorail beam.

I highly doubt that disney would want the bad PR and the tons of hate mails that they would receive if they tried this.

 

[flavious27]

Having the monorails run past the African savanna might present a minor visual intrusion.

But yes, lots of dreams and lots of threads covering possible monorail expansions, but the unfortunate truth is that it's not going to happen.

It is an unfortunate realization but yeah the cost of adding a DHS extension would probably be a 500 million dollar project, no clue on how much it would be to run a line to dak.

 

[BalooChicago]

Isn't it made of limestone?

The Pantheon? Nope. Brick and concrete (The columns are granite).

You may be thinking of the Parthenon.

 

[Tom]

The Pantheon? Nope. Brick and concrete (The columns are granite).

You may be thinking of the Parthenon.

I often get my EONs and ENONs confused

 

[lazyboy97o]

The Pantheon? Nope. Brick and concrete (The columns are granite).

You may be thinking of the Parthenon.

I often get my EONs and ENONs confused

Roman concrete used lime, made from limestone, instead of portland cement.

 

[BalooChicago]

Roman concrete used lime, made from limestone, instead of portland cement.

Portland Cement is also made from limestone.

Hard to believe it's been over a decade since I was at the Easter Vigil in the Pantheon - it is still one of the most memorable experiences of my life.

 

[Goofnut1980]

Does anyone know how much they spend annually in fuel for the buses? With the rising costs of fuel and everyone trying to be more green, wouldn't it be in their best interests to spend the $500 million to expand?

 

[flavious27]

Does anyone know how much they spend annually in fuel for the buses? With the rising costs of fuel and everyone trying to be more green, wouldn't it be in their best interests to spend the $500 million to expand?

You won't like the answer to that. What the accountants will look at will be the amount of buses and volume of riders from MK, the TTC, and EPCOT.

There is a figure that all of the buses travel 15 million miles a year. If they have a mpg of 9, they use 1.67 million gallons of diesel a year. With a mpg of 6, the buses will use 2.5 million gallons of diesel a year. With a price of say $4 per gallon, WDW spends $6.67 to $10 million in diesel a year.

Disney has a fleet of about 263 buses, if there are 44 buses that just run from DHS to EPCOT, MK, and TTC, the highest savings annually in diesel would be $1.67 million.

 

[s8film40]

I agree. The system is nice but I think there is enough evidence monorails do not provide enough flexibility.

What evidence? Monorails can be just as flexible as any other transit system.

 

[unkadug]

What evidence? Monorails can be just as flexible as another transit system.

I'm a huge monorail fan, but what did you just say?

A bus can take a sudden detour to anyplace it needs to go. A monorail ...pretty much a fixed route.

 

[s8film40]

You won't like the answer to that. What the accountants will look at will be the amount of buses and volume of riders from MK, the TTC, and EPCOT.

There is a figure that all of the buses travel 15 million miles a year. If they have a mpg of 9, they use 1.67 million gallons of diesel a year. With a mpg of 6, the buses will use 2.5 million gallons of diesel a year. With a price of say $4 per gallon, WDW spends $6.67 to $10 million in diesel a year.

Disney has a fleet of about 263 buses, if there are 44 buses that just run from DHS to EPCOT, MK, and TTC, the highest savings annually in diesel would be $1.67 million.

Don't forget to also factor in labor savings. Looking at it very conservatively, even if they only managed to cut 500 full time positions they would create an annual savings of $10 million per year. They probably could save even more though.

 

[s8film40]

I'm a huge monorail fan, but what did you just say?

A bus can take a sudden detour to anyplace it needs to go. A monorail ...pretty much a fixed route.

A modern well planned monorail system can be just as flexible. Buses are really no different than monorails they just have more track (roads).

I have seen many times were buses were essentially shut down because of a road being blocked by something.

 

[jt04]

Don't forget to also factor in labor savings. Looking at it very conservatively, even if they only managed to cut 500 full time positions they would create an annual savings of $10 million per year. They probably could save even more though.

Exactly. And I am not insensitive to the bus drivers but there is a way to have a better mix of transportation systems without anyone losing their jobs. The system they have now needs to be made a bit more 21st century.

 

[jt04]

Please fix the grammar in your signature...it makes you appear uneducated. And the lord only knows we don't want THAT.


"Has gone" or "is going"...either will suffice.

Or add [sic] after it, but the entire things would need to be in quotation marks then, to indicate that it's someone else's quote.

I am very disappointed neither of you gets the joke.

 

[unkadug]

I am very disappointed neither of you gets the joke.

Still don't...:shrug::veryconfu

 

[jt04]

Still don't...:shrug::veryconfu

Haven't you ever seen the signs on people's offices where they can change the ending to fit the situation? Depending on if they are in the office, out of the office, in a meeting, away etc, they just hand a different ending on the sign. Sometimes grammer takes a back seat to the process.

I can't believe you made me explain that. :brick:

 

[SeaCastle]

Haven't you ever seen the signs on people's offices where they can change the ending to fit the situation? Depending on if they are in the office, out of the office, in a meeting, away etc, they just hand a different ending on the sign. Sometimes grammer takes a back seat to the process.

I can't believe you made me explain that. :brick:

You might need to draw some arrows.

 

[unkadug]

Haven't you ever seen the signs on people's offices where they can change the ending to fit the situation? Depending on if they are in the office, out of the office, in a meeting, away etc, they just hand a different ending on the sign. Sometimes grammer takes a back seat to the process.

I can't believe you made me explain that. :brick:

:lol: gotcha!

You might need to draw some arrows.

Perhaps a sign would have been more appropriate.