News DeSantis moves to bring state safety oversight of the Walt Disney World Monorail including suspending the service for inspections

[celluloid]

Please put that stuff in prospective. The numbers of miles used on the equipment, the numbers of people that daily safely ride the monorail, the fact that all mechanical things can and will break down and so on. You are making it sound like this is a daily problem and happens pretty much everytime they move one of the trains. I'd be willing to bet that the vehicle you drive to work everyday has more hidden problems and things that are about ready to fall off then the Monorails do. I don't believe that we should be giving that Jack Wad in Tallahassee more false or distorted problems for him to throw around and Disney has to prove wrong. Who's side are you on?

I can put it in perspective by saying all of these very concerning incidents happened in the last 6 years. Not in the majority of the system's lifetime.

The trains operating now are so far outdated and the EPCOT Beam was ill designed in comparison and has its challenges catching up to it.

 

[donsullivan]

The last few years have been wild. Pieces of vehicles, track beams and entire doors falling off or being stuck on open durring a ride.

If that keeps up or gets worse, you have evidence the concern was more than valid.

The last few years have been in the era of social media, when everything spreads across the globe in real time. That does not automatically mean things are better or worse than they were for the 45+ years before that- it only means that it's easier to learn about things that happen than it was for decades before that.

 

[celluloid]

The last few years have been in the era of social media, when everything spreads across the globe in real time. That does not automatically mean things are better or worse than they were for the 45+ years before that- it only means that it's easier to learn about things that happen than it was for decades before that.

It does. Social Media spreads faster for sure. But people have this concept that things were not documented in any way when major things like doors off a monorail happened. We know crazy things that happened all over WDW prior to the internet.

Regardless of all of this. Track beams falling off, doors being stuck open, and falling off completely and wheel guards falling off over guest areas are not things that should happen at the frequency they have in the last six years. You know that to be true.

Breakdowns alone are more common and operations have gotten worse. These trains are decades past their intended service life.


I assure you, it should not be expected that a door will fall off or be stuck open a few times a year. Or that the pieces of the track beam or monorail wheel guards should fall off in guest areas a couple times every few years.

 

[tissandtully]

Track beams falling off, doors being stuck open, and falling off completely and wheel guards falling off over guest areas are not things that should happen at the frequency they have in the last six years

What frequency? lol

 

[tissandtully]

These trains are decades past their intended service life.

True. But once again, I don’t think state is gonna help that at all.

 

[celluloid]

What frequency? lol

I say one of each of those for the last six years is enough don't you? Like, this actually happened.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

In all reality - this is a major mass transit system that probably should be regulated by the state.

 

[LittleBuford]

Now they’re paying the price for their anti family and woke posturing.

Queer people have families too.

 

[JoeCamel]

So… monorails and state inspections.

The state knows how to do monorail inspections??

 

[donsullivan]

In an effort to try and drag this thing back to the subject at hand and the news from today. If this had been brought up as a standalone initiative due to the number of people riding on the monorail, especially after the accident that resulted in the monorail pilot's death, I would not likely have had any concerns with it. Having the NTSB involved in that investigation gave the investigation into the cause significant credibility that was to everyones advantage.

In normal times, having an external party watching out for safety isn't by its very nature a bad thing. A separate pair of eyes is rarely a bad thing, if only just to highlight gaps in procedures. Unfortunately, we are not currently in normal times with the relationship between Disney and the state, and this effort was not done to resolve a safety issue (perceived or otherwise).

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

The state knows how to do monorail inspections??

Jacksonville FL does have one of the larger monorail systems in this country. Not sure if the state is in charge of it or not.

 

[HauntedPirate]

I can put it in perspective by saying all of these very concerning incidents happened in the last 6 years. Not in the majority of the system's lifetime.

The trains operating now are so far outdated and the EPCOT Beam was ill designed in comparison and has its challenges catching up to it.

Please describe how Epcot’s monorail line was “ill designed”.

 

[celluloid]

Please describe how Epcot’s monorail line was “ill designed”.

The concrete specifically was a different situation than the original process used for MK. This is why it has aged quicker and looks worse, even though it is much younger It set differently.

This is why it is also more prone to shifting and crumbling including the situation of the cracks and chunks falling off not too long ago.

 

[HauntedPirate]

The cement specifically was a different situation than the original. This is why it has aged quicker and looks worse, even though it is much younger It set differently.

This is why it is also more prone to shifting and crumbling including the situation of the chunks falling off not too long ago.

That’s not an example of “ill designed”. That’s a materials problem (and I knew that’s where you were going to try to go). The original beams were constructed elsewhere (in Washington, I think?) vs Epcot’s being done in Florida. Different water, slightly different raw material (I thought, but I may be completely wrong about that and just misremembering), different curing times, and this is the result. At the time, it was the process the Imagineers decided to use to accomplish their goals within the timeframe needed, but hindsight is 20/20. Look at ancient Roman concrete - It’s amazingly resilient, and scientists have finally figured out why. Processes change. But… There’s nothing at all wrong with the design of the Epcot monorail line.

 

[celluloid]

.

That’s not an example of “ill designed”. That’s a materials problem (and I knew that’s where you were going to try to go). The original beams were constructed elsewhere (in Washington, I think?) vs Epcot’s being done in Florida. Different water, slightly different raw material (I thought, but I may be completely wrong about that and just misremembering), different curing times, and this is the result. At the time, it was the process the Imagineers decided to use to accomplish their goals within the timeframe needed, but hindsight is 20/20. Look at ancient Roman concrete - It’s amazingly resilient, and scientists have finally figured out why. Processes change. But… There’s nothing at all wrong with the design of the Epcot monorail line.

You don't have to do a gotcha, you just have a semantically different take on design because you were thinking of it through the lense of WED designing the layout.

Design is an aspect throughout the manufacturing process. By design(choice) the cement was made differently. Even in hindsight, something can be ill design. I was not trying to go anywhere.

That concrete is going to continue to have more problems. It is not just the beams, but the Pylons too.

The EPCOT Line is not ancient rome(and possibly a good thing as it has less toxic situations)
but the fact remains, it is going to need to have more repairs and attention than the MK line is likely to endure in the near future.

It is lesser designed, so that is why in my opinion, I would define it as ill, becuase the same company had done it better before.

 

[RETLAW]

The state knows how to do monorail inspections??

They had to get the inspectors from the MCO system to come help.

 

[muddyrivers]

Taking out the politics aspect of this story, I do wonder if bringing in outside engineers with oversight authority will help make improvements to the monorail system. It's like how management at companies sometimes won't listen to their own employees but then when hired consultants come in and make the same recommendations, suddenly management jumps to attention and starts implementing what's recommended.

Fingers crossed this results in a better monorail system for guests!

 

[monothingie]

Taking out the politics aspect of this story, I do wonder if bringing in outside engineers with oversight authority will help make improvements to the monorail system. It's like how management at companies sometimes won't listen to their own employees but then when hired consultants come in and make the same recommendations, suddenly management jumps to attention and starts implementing what's recommended.

Fingers crossed this results in a better monorail system for guests!

Exactly, the partisan blowhards here seem to think that FDOT is simply a group of the governor’s storm troopers ready willing and able to be part of the Disney war. They are nonpartisan professionals that have significant experience with mass transit systems and are completely independent and apolitical.

I’d also like to know why @wdwmagic in his article put “Safety Inspections” in quotes. Do you have specific information that these are not legitimate inspections not being handled in a professional manner? Your bias is clearly showing and it’s a poor look.

 

[Goofyernmost]

I can put it in perspective by saying all of these very concerning incidents happened in the last 6 years. Not in the majority of the system's lifetime.

The trains operating now are so far outdated and the EPCOT Beam was ill designed in comparison and has its challenges catching up to it.

Might I add that we don't know what or how many were happening before it became a thing for everyone with a cell phone could become a cub reporter. If something is happening we are sure to hear about it now. And no, many things happened before the last 6 years it's just that we knew that crap happens and didn't act like someone kidnapped our grandmother every time a door sticks open or we simply just didn't hear about it. It gets fixed and we moved on. I worked in transportation for many years and I can tell you that new equipment breaks down more often than older stuff. Look how long CoP has been moving an entire ring of theaters around in a circle. When they do new technology how often does it break down until they fix the bugs that human made objects tend to have. It takes time and we don't have a good reason for it having problems so we just ignore it. The gondolas had more problems when they were new, all the attractions have a situational time of adjustment to get them working properly.

That isn't to say that the equipment isn't new, but outdated? Since there are not many places running monorails at this point they are the update. Equipment gets old and do you really believe that after millions of miles all those trains haven't been completely rebuilt over the years to the point where buying new is just throwing away money. No one is having any need to update them because except for a few locations they are not being used. Know what is being updated and used more and more around the world? Gondola's! So right now the monorails are being kept at Disney locations just because they have always been there and if Disney is given a scapegoat for completely replacing them with Gondola's, like some vengeance move by the Florida band of crazies, they will do it in a heartbeat.

 

[mkt]

Exactly, the partisan blowhards here seem to think that FDOT is simply a group of the governor’s storm troopers ready willing and able to be part of the Disney war. They are nonpartisan professionals that have significant experience with mass transit systems and are completely independent and apolitical.

I’d also like to know why @wdwmagic in his article put “Safety Inspections” in quotes. Do you have specific information that these are not legitimate inspections not being handled in a professional manner? Your bias is clearly showing and it’s a poor look.

I have no issue with the FDOT professionals.h.

And as I've asked before, does FDOT have staff experienced in monorails who would be considered competent enough to inspect them?