connect the Animal Kingdom by monorail

[Ralphlaw]

I really don't think that you could move a susbtantial number of people with bikes to reduce volumes in other parks. I mean in the summer 95 degree heat biking that distance would be tough. It could be one option but there would need to be others. Even if you had a special dedicated direct TRAM path to the AK from the Transportation center would help.

Yeah, the closest I've been to the heat of summer was in May, and it was warm even then. I see bike trails as part of the adventure of going on vacation. Sometimes not as crowded, with turns and vistas without wall to wall people. A small journey into the "wilderness". I know it'll cost money, and there's no guarantee that people would actually use them. I also know that geography and obstructions might cause problems. But wouldn't it be great at several levels? I equate it to the mini golf courses. Nobody flies to Disney to play mini golf, but it's a nice diversion far from the maddening crowds.

 

[marni1971]

But as a real alternative for transportation? Nope.

 

[Brad Bishop]

I agree with this and the others who talk about the huge cost of building monorails. I highly doubt that they will ever build them to the other 2 parks but I agree that it would be very convenient.

A couple of things:

I never got the cost of the monorails until someone pointed out the footers (I think it was something like 16 piles driven into the earth for each). Up until then I thought, "Dig a hole, dump a pylon into it, and move on" - wasn't that the promise of the monorail - it's simplicity of building.

Next, I never understood why cities never adopted them and, more importantly, how a monorail could possibly cost more than a subway (you're burrowing into the earth or you have an elevated rail which to my naïve eye looks to have a lot more things to it than a single concrete rail and a line of supports which you'd have anyway with an elevated line. Even now, I still don't understand this.

Aside from all of that, there's a kind of logistics bit with how they've built the current system. How do you add to it without it taking a huge amount of time and being a complicated switching of trains to get from park to park or from park to Downtown Disney or resort to park? Every time I draw it out I think, "it would just be a PITA to get from AK to the MK and you'd still have at least one transfer with a number of stops."

With buses: You get on the bus at your resort and get off at the park. You *may* have a stop for a water park or a neighbor stop in the same or nearby resort but it's rare. With monorail, even with just stopping at HS and EP on your journey from AK to MK you'd still have to switch at TTC and it'd likely be a fairly long journey (like over an hour).

 

[French Quarter]

what could a bus driver possibly say that would mislead the guests?

News mostly. They say, "Next year, construction will begin on the monorail to AK." Things like that. I'm surprised you have never heard of this.

 

[rob0519]

I actually find Hollywood Studios to be extremely child friendly, second only to Magic Kingdom in fact. The problem with Hollywood Studios is the limited number of attractions that they have at the moment. But what they do have is extremely appealing to kids. Think of the Disney Junior stuff (character dining, the live stage show, etc.), the Muppets, Toy Story, Beauty and the Beast, etc. My kids love a lot at that park.

Agreed. There are a number of attractions for younger children, but certainly not as many as at the MK. When Disney runs commercials the main icon isn't something from HS, it's the Castle. To most people, MK is Disney World first and every other park a distant 2nd, 3rd, or 4th. Like it or not, the MK will be always be every first time visitor's and most repeat visitor's main destination.

 

[French Quarter]

I hate always feeling like I should answer one of your statements, but, as a past bus driver I would like to interject this. The idea that people seem to have that nothing bad will ever happen at WDW is fueling this type of thinking. Yes, the interaction with the bus drivers was fun, but, it was also dangerous. There are many drivers that are really good at driving, but, lack interpersonal skills. Driving a 40K pound vehicle around in heavy traffic is difficult enough without having to provide a stage show at the same time. The recorded stuff was added because it is impossible to expect a driver to remember all that they want to tell you and still maintain a much needed focus on the job at hand, which is getting you to your destination safely.

Yes, they used to do it, but, the volume of traffic was much less then and, like I said not everyone is stage ready. Skilled at driving, we can at least hope so, but, they shouldn't be required to be showmen as well. Some still do and to my knowledge Disney doesn't have a problem with drivers interacting as long as they are able to do their job safely, without performance anxiety. I trained many bus drivers in my time and the most difficult task that I had to enforce was using the mike and making necessary announcements. There is a real fear of public speaking even in that relaxed atmosphere.

I know the next thing you're going to say..."Well, only hire drivers that can do the performance thing...". Wonderful idea but bus driving requires a Commercial Drivers License which means that you have to know how to drive a bus and be licensed to do so. There are not that many people out there with multiple skills, both of which have to be working in unison. CDL drivers do not grow on trees.

Oops...didn't realize you were a bus driver. Forget I said anything.

 

[French Quarter]

You didn't work for Disney well it came off like you did? so could French quarter be correct? French quarter should be careful about spreading misinformation about the drivers.

It was just an off the cuff comment. I really wasn't meaning to turn it into a debate...or a conversation really. And it is completely OT. Sorry bus drivers... I was just making a little joke.

 

[French Quarter]

Thank you but I simply asked if anyone else remembered when the drivers interacted with the guest over the PA! Then French quarter responded they no longer do because they spewed misinformation. All I wanted to know did anyone remember those days.

That honestly wasn't meant to be a definitive, serious answer. You can let it go now.

 

[French Quarter]

I'm so glad they didn't expand the monorail everywhere for the reasons listed throughout the thread-- flexibility, mostly. Imagine the driverless, PRT-like vehicles that will be available in 20 years or so. I think the WDW of the future would be a great place for driverless vehicles sized maybe 20 or 25 feet long.

Peoplemover?

 

[Goofyernmost]

Oops...didn't realize you were a bus driver. Forget I said anything.

In all fairness, I didn't drive bus at Disney. However, I know enough about how this stuff operates that I feel pretty confident in what I was saying about it. There would be no reason for Disney to stop the free, to them, entertainment if there wasn't a really good reason for it. Also the fact that their promotional announcement were probably not being made in a consistent way that they would have liked it. The problem that they have is that many got to the point where they expected the driver to be entertaining, but, with or without the pre-recorded announcement, incorrect information still is being dispensed, so altering the procedure didn't do a thing to stop that.

 

[Master Yoda]

A couple of things:

I never got the cost of the monorails until someone pointed out the footers (I think it was something like 16 piles driven into the earth for each). Up until then I thought, "Dig a hole, dump a pylon into it, and move on" - wasn't that the promise of the monorail - it's simplicity of building.

Next, I never understood why cities never adopted them and, more importantly, how a monorail could possibly cost more than a subway (you're burrowing into the earth or you have an elevated rail which to my naïve eye looks to have a lot more things to it than a single concrete rail and a line of supports which you'd have anyway with an elevated line. Even now, I still don't understand this.

Aside from all of that, there's a kind of logistics bit with how they've built the current system. How do you add to it without it taking a huge amount of time and being a complicated switching of trains to get from park to park or from park to Downtown Disney or resort to park? Every time I draw it out I think, "it would just be a PITA to get from AK to the MK and you'd still have at least one transfer with a number of stops."

With buses: You get on the bus at your resort and get off at the park. You *may* have a stop for a water park or a neighbor stop in the same or nearby resort but it's rare. With monorail, even with just stopping at HS and EP on your journey from AK to MK you'd still have to switch at TTC and it'd likely be a fairly long journey (like over an hour).

Numerous factors go into the cost to build something, but in the case of the monorails vs. elevated or on grade rail it comes down to quantity.

Monorails are uncommon, a novelty. There simply are not enough demand for them them to warrant investing on the equipment it would take to mass produce them. Therefore, most components are made by hand. This is a slow, labor intensive and expense process.

Trains are everywhere with many of the parts being standardized making mass production a possibility as many subways use the exact same rail system, wheels, etc as regular cargo and passenger drains. Mass production drops the price dramatically.

 

[Brad Bishop]

Numerous factors go into the cost to build something, but in the case of the monorails vs. elevated or on grade rail it comes down to quantity.

Monorails are uncommon, a novelty. There simply are not enough demand for them them to warrant investing on the equipment it would take to mass produce them. Therefore, most components are made by hand. This is a slow, labor intensive and expense process.

Trains are everywhere with many of the parts being standardized making mass production a possibility as many subways use the exact same rail system, wheels, etc as regular cargo and passenger drains. Mass production drops the price dramatically.

I think that another thing happened, too: Disney, in his attempt to give us all a glimpse of the future, made monorails a theme park attraction and that's how people think of them. To a lot of people a subway is serious inner city transportation and a monorail would be something like building a rollercoaster downtown. It'd basically be an attraction and not mode of transportation.

 

[Macadamite85]

As an aesthetic opinion, I'm cool toward AK expansion in general, including the Pandora/Rivers of Light/Sunset Safari plans. I like the idea of quiet time for the animals in the evenings. A monorail fits the Tomorrowland/Epcot theme well, not so much the organic vibe of AK--fully realizing that buses aren't so organic, either. In general, I'm a trainiac, but AK just feels like a "not," IMO.

 

[Master Yoda]

I think that another thing happened, too: Disney, in his attempt to give us all a glimpse of the future, made monorails a theme park attraction and that's how people think of them. To a lot of people a subway is serious inner city transportation and a monorail would be something like building a rollercoaster downtown. It'd basically be an attraction and not mode of transportation.

That is part of it, but in the end most municipalities are going to go with the more economical option. Some do go for the more aesthetic option, but they tend to turn into money pits. (eg the Skyway in Jacksonville FL)

 

[Goofyernmost]

That is part of it, but in the end most municipalities are going to go with the more economical option. Some do go for the more aesthetic option, but they tend to turn into money pits. (eg the Skyway in Jacksonville FL)

Or Las Vegas!

 

[Master Yoda]

Or Las Vegas!

or Springfield!

 

[Ralphlaw]

Monorails don't seem to get built in cold climates. Could a monorail even run during an ice storm? And how would you heat the thing up there in the wind. I've also been on el platforms in Chicago in winter, and, believe me, many people up there would much rather have a dank but warm subway platform to stand on.

So, this eliminates many great cities north of, say, Atlanta or thereabouts. That sure doesn't leave a lot of cities in the world to get high production and economies of scale going in the monorail industry. Yeah, they look and sound great, but, like the concorde, their shortcomings continue to cripple them. (The concorde, due to sonic booms, only flew a very few trans-oceanic flights, thus making them a novelty instead of a worldwide workforce of a jet.)

 

[FettFan]

Only if Brad Bird does the DAK-line narration. #jurassicworld

 

[Timon]

FYI New mass transit Monorails are being built all around the world, just not in the USA.
Here's one of them.
This is where the Mark VI lineage is today, the Bombardier INNOVIA 300 in San Paulo, Brazil.
Line 17 - 24km, 17 stations,7 Cars, 1000 people max. per train, 54 trains when finished.
Enjoy

This station has transfers to a Subway Line and Major Bus Terminal at ground level.

Fully automated trains, walk thru design

Monorail Shop - So far the first dozen trains are here.

These trains can raise their nose covers to reveal a coupling device so the trains can couple together for towing.

They even have a Trainwash

 

[POLY LOVER]

Amazing what can be done when the will is there. Negativity seems to be our first answer to any idea nowadays.