Appalling state of the monorail cabins

[CDavid]

By automation system do you mean automated platform gates?

I believe he is referring to the upcoming automated train operation.

 

[Cesar R M]

I believe he is referring to the upcoming automated train operation.

correct, last time I was there at MK (last year) there were 2 installed panels and the older one was disconnected.
so I suppose they where installing the new "thingies".

 

[articos]

The cabins are certainly bad show right now.... but.... patience grasshopper.

 

[Kman101]

So I'm taking it to mean the cabins will get a re-do at some point in the next few months/years?

 

[marni1971]

Does anyone know about how long the upgrade from Mark IV to Mark VI took?

IIRC 2 1/2 - 3 years.

 

[MonorailMan]

I haven't heard too much about the automation, but I believe that it is so the monorails can drive themselves and the pilot only has to open and close the doors... Is this correct or is there more than just this?

 

[dstrawn9889]

IIRC 2 1/2 - 3 years.

also one train at a time, IIRC.

 

[Mike730]

The cabins are certainly bad show right now.... but.... patience grasshopper.

The cabins are certainly bad show right now.... but.... patience grasshopper.

 

[MonorailMan]

also one train at a time, IIRC.

It may be a stupid question, but what does IIRC stand for?

 

[jensenrick]

IIRC = If I Recall Correctly

 

[marni1971]

also one train at a time, IIRC.

Yep. Staggered delivery meant MkIV and MK VI ran at the same time. Some interesting photos knocking around of that:

http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/monorail-purple-being-retired.464321/page-7#post-3633471

 

[MonorailMan]

And IIRC, the monorails go through a testing period right after they are delivered before they are considered safe/able to carry passengers.

 

[articos]

And IIRC, the monorails go through a testing period right after they are delivered before they are considered safe/able to carry passengers.

Correct.

 

[xdan0920]

Correct.

I feel like you have been delivering goodish news about upcoming refurbs lately. Garden Grill, MS wheel, now monorails.

Are any of these projects likely to get moving soon?

 

[articos]

I feel like you have been delivering goodish news about upcoming refurbs lately. Garden Grill, MS wheel, now monorails.

Are any of these projects likely to get moving soon?

Er, soon is relative when it comes to Disney. And more talking about repairs than actual refurbishments. I casually mentioned a few projects being in the pipeline over a year ago in past posts, including monorails. That's a long term project due to the way it's dealt with. Is it happening? Yes. Is it soon? Kinda. Garden Grill and MS are more repairs than refurbs, and with Grill I just confirmed what '71 mentioned. That should be completed soon, yes. Mission Space I didn't mention a refurb, just that the broken Gravity Wheel should be getting repaired, but it may take until a scheduled downtime refurb to get to it. That said, considering the age of MS, I'd say it's a good bet it will get some attention in 2015/16.

 

[Jake Wilson]

I would be very happy to see some love to the monorail system. It reminds me of Disney more than anything, all I have to do is listen to the recording from the cabin shut my eyes and I am magically in the happiest place on earth!

 

[MonorailMan]

I am one of those people that counts the monorail as my first ride at Disney, and it *slightly* ruins the magic that the monorail is neglected and unloved.

 

[Monorail_Red]

This is actually very common, been going on for a long long time and not as bad as it sounds. Trash and various other items falls down there all the time anyway. The troughs are cleaned on a regular basis, this has varied over the years but usually been at least once week. For the fast paced work environment in monorails it's usually faster and more efficient to just kick trash in there rather than pick it up and walk over to a trash can. I'm sure Disney would prefer the CM's pick it up and throw it away, but ultimately it's better in the trough than on the platform.

Yes it is common - I've done it myself many of times with a spilled bucket of popcorn. Just get the broom and sweep it into the trough. Doing this is really the only practical option when you have to move trains quickly.

My hope is that Disney is planning on a monorail fleet upgrade in the next 5-7 years. The original Mark 4 monorails lasted roughly 19 years which was a really long life span (for constantly and daily run monorails). The "new" Mark 6 monorails are going into their late 20s, and are starting to become not worth maintaining. This is evident by how Disney is starting to not care about maintaining the monorails.

Big difference between the Mark IV's and the Mark VI's as far as capacity goes. The Mark IV's were constructed with sheet metal, compared to the Mark VI's which have fiberglass bodies. The car layout of the Mark VI's allow for much more capacity than the Mark IV's would ever had based on the modifications over the years. I believe the system is pretty much at weight capacity, as the Mark VI's had a greater passenger capacity in exchange for the trains themselves weighing a lot less. Replacing the trains will only get you new trains at this point, no real additional capacity. Whether you have new trains or old trains, parts are parts and they do break so within a few years you can potentially replace one of everything.

 

[Rasvar]

I was on monorail Black yesterday. First time I've been in the modified cabin with no carpet. That seems to be the way to go. That was about as clean I've seen a monorail cabin in years.

 

[Bairstow]

I was on monorail Black yesterday. First time I've been in the modified cabin with no carpet. That seems to be the way to go. That was about as clean I've seen a monorail cabin in years.

How was the noise? Louder?