Appalling state of the monorail cabins

[SoupBone]

Great points Lilly! It's a shame that I haven't been to WDW since 2011, mostly because in the last several trips, the magic of Disney has been lost to me and my family. I love Disney, but if something isn't done, it will be too late to turn back as Disney becomes a place that the movie Idiocracy depicted.

Here's my question though. I always hear people complaining about how expensive it is to take a Disney vacation, so how are these trashy people affording it?

Either way, those monorail pics are disgusting, saddening, and even moreso disturbing because it indicates a much larger issue with WDW that even fanatics cannot defend. Something is seriously wrong at the Mouse House.

Absolutely.

But trash has become a 'chicken or egg - which came first' question. Disney is positioning itself ever lower on the cultural ladder, so low that it by now attracts the trash from three continents while normal people flee the place. Trash begets trash. Disney and its clientèle are stuck in a morbid embrace, a race to the bottom. WDW by now is about getting drunk and eating 4000 calorie desserts and tarting up your little honeybooboo princess for her picture with Belle. So it attracts people who enjoy that. Who in turn reply to the guest polling how insulted they are that their little Ricardo at Epcot was subjected to material that could be considered educational. So Disney removes that, further alienating more sophisticated audiences. Etc.

A second chicken-or-egg mechanism is the well-studied phenomenon that clean spaces tend to be treated with respect, and dirty plaes with contempt. That is, commuters wouldn't even put their feet up on the seats in a pristine monorail or underground wagon, but will trash a dirty one.

 

[MaryJaneP]

I seem to recall Walt Disney himself saying the justification for creating the very first park bearing his name, Disneyland, was that he wanted a CLEAN place families could visit together. Come on TDO!

 

[SoupBone]

Just because I post with my introduction that "I'm not defending Disney" doesn't automatically define the rest of my post. Anyone that read what I posted should be able to clearly see where I'm coming from if you've spent any amount of time there. Disney has little to no defense on the state of these attractions (if you can call the monorail that). And Lilly's post expanded on that very topic, just like yours did.

It's broken window theory--you allow a broken window in your neighborhood, crimes goes up, because it shows potential criminals no one in the area cares.

You keep monorails (or parks) spotless--guests are more likely to find a bin to toss their trash away. Walt got it back in the 50s--I'd argue he was promoting a proto-broken window theory decades before sociologists found it.

And for what WDW charges for tickets and monorail hotel rooms, they can afford more minimum wage personnel to clean up.

It's telling that everyone defending TDO on this thread (not just SoupBone) feels the need to begin with "I'm not defending Disney...".

 

[emh1960]

I totally agree with OP. I noticed how crummy they looked in July. I do think standards are slipping.

 

[emh1960]

Why is it that Disneyland has FANTASTIC management while Disney World is falling to pieces?!

OT, but why does DL management ignore the falling down mess (abandoned Peoplemover for one) that is Tomorrowland in DL?

 

[Disneyhead'71]

Disney theme parks were founded on being surgically clean. Walt was fanatical about cleanliness and using that as a differentiating factor for the Disney experience.

The Disney Difference these days is $700/night (grand flo) vs $287/night (Portofino) for deluxe resorts.

 

[michmousefan]

It's sorta cathartic on some level when you realize that a great portion of the fan community has awakened from its Pixie Dusted stupor and finally sees what you've been seeing since the late 90s.
...

The problem is the people running the parks and the company are not worthy. As we mourn the loss of Walt's daughter, that should hit home. Iger and his trained monkeys are not worthy of the titles nor the salaries they command.

I just sit back and think George Kalogridis is President of WDW?!??! Such an absolutely unremarkable individual. And he's far better than many others ...

When do you think the last time Kalogridis, or Staggs, Iger, etc ever rode the monorail? No doubt they are swept to the parks in their private transport and back... rarely if ever would they take the same "public" transport as their "guests." Or -- even worse, is it a case of them noticing but not caring?

 

[earnedmyears2000]

really disapointing...Bad Show! I hope your pictures get attention!!!

 

[Acolli18]

I noticed this in June. It was to the point where I refused to touch the hand rails and just balanced myself to the best of my ability. It was pretty nasty, sticky, smelly.

 

[officeboy]

Disney theme parks were founded on being surgically clean. Walt was fanatical about cleanliness and using that as a differentiating factor for the Disney experience.

There is no doubt Walt liked a clean park. It was indeed necessary as you said to differentiate his vision from others.

Walt no longer visits the parks.

 

[officeboy]

The monorails cosmetic issues this thread address are important, no doubt.

But have you ever stopped to consider that if they maintain the cosmetic stuff this way the monorail mechanical systems, which you can't see, are possibly even worse? I can't wait to see what happens when they try to turn up the automated system.

 

[WDWFan_Boston]

For prices that have risen well beyond inflation over the past 20 years, there are zero excuses here. The money is there for proper cleaning/maintenance.

There are many T cars (Boston's subway) that are cleaner and better maintained than the monorail.

 

[azox]

For prices that have risen well beyond inflation over the past 20 years, there are zero excuses here. The money is there for proper cleaning/maintenance.

There are many T cars (Boston's subway) that are cleaner and better maintained than the monorail.

And don't forget all of the income that is supposed to be coming in specifically for this maintenance from the parking fees people pay when they are off property or staying at the swan and dolphin. I bet there is plenty of money, it's just being redirected somewhere else.

 

[Soarin' Over Pgh]

For prices that have risen well beyond inflation over the past 20 years, there are zero excuses here. The money is there for proper cleaning/maintenance.

There are many T cars (Boston's subway) that are cleaner and better maintained than the monorail.

Ditto. Pittsburgh has a similar T line and I take it twice a day. They handle thousands of people a day and aren't as beat up looking. Ac works too.

 

[magicallactose]

I noticed this in June. It was to the point where I refused to touch the hand rails and just balanced myself to the best of my ability. It was pretty nasty, sticky, smelly.

Lol. I did the same thing when I was there recently. I am a germ-o-phobe, so I'm always acutely aware of stains and mold. That said, the subway trains here in Toronto are kept in a much better state than what I experienced on the WDW monorails. It should be noted that our transit system here is notoriously under-funded. Also the average daily ridership of our subways is 2.76 million passengers.

 

[Bairstow]

Idea: If Disney World fanatics are the only ones that actually care about the condition of the monorail interiors, what if they all showed up one day with clorox wipes, scouring pads, and carpet shampoo and attempted to clean a car themselves? I would imagine they would all get trespassed but it would be an interesting stunt.

 

[ford91exploder]

Honestly Disney does not need a 'Potter Swatter'...unless they keep maintenance the way it is now. What kept and on occasion still keeps people coming back to Disney is the quality of the parks, it's easy accessibility, and the name. So if TDO and the Disney Corporation can get their act together and clean the parks, get new monorails, update future world, take out the alcohol, and make Disney a family friendly place again along with periodically adding something new a 'Potter Swatter' is not needed.

Until the miracle happens Disney World will probably be sold off in pieces until very little if anything remains.
(I'm calling Disney's Wide World of Sports and Disney Springs to be the first areas sold off)

Just a matter of time - before parks are closed and sold and Epcot becomes Central FL's destination casino.

 

[wdisney9000]

"When I started on Disneyland, my wife used to say, ‘But why do you want to build an amusement park? They’re so dirty.’ I told her that was just the point, mine wouldn’t be." -Walt Disney

 

[LondonGopher]

I must be lucky, but I have been on many subway trains in NYC that are in amazing condition, as is the Sky Train from JFK, as are many of the tube trains in London.

That's London, England?

I get on and off the tube at C*ckfosters (the end of the line) and oh, my sweet Lord, you should SEE the stuff they pull off the trains (half-eaten kebabs, nappies and - just this Monday - a bottle of pee). But occasional kebab notwithstanding, the Underground smells better than the WDW monorails did on our visit last year (in December). And that can't be right.

This is probably my age showing but I always saw the monorails as a bit of the future when we visited Florida. A public transport to which our towns and cities could (and should) aspire. And now (more buses!?) it seems like we're going backwards.. for me, the monorails help sell the overall experience - the idea that WDW is somewhere SPECIAL - a place like no other.

I DID wonder, though, whether or not MK monorail transportation might be limited to the resort loop in future. It is quite clearly overcrowded -perhaps lots more buses from the TTC hauling hoi polloi to the park entrance, and the monorail reserved for the Bay Lake hotel guests...?

I've been following Englanddg's (hope that's right!) latest TR and between his PO food court cockroach and the OP's monorail pictures - I'm going to go take a shower. Ick.

 

[CDavid]

Idea: If Disney World fanatics are the only ones that actually care about the condition of the monorail interiors, what if they all showed up one day with clorox wipes, scouring pads, and carpet shampoo and attempted to clean a car themselves? I would imagine they would all get trespassed but it would be an interesting stunt.

Just for the sake of argument, scouring pads wouldn't be nearly as effective as a TV news crew.