Chape19714 said:
Here's a simple question with no easy solution except BUSSES!!! Disney's resorts are SO spread out, Monorails would have to stop up to 20 times after a theme park just to get everyone home. The cost of montorail trains and stations is NOT included in the 1mil per mile stat. Also, Monorails do NOT even begin to fit with the theming in many Disney resorts or Theme parks. When Walt Disney built the Monorail at Disneyland, he put it in Tomorrowland, and it was an Attraction, not method of transportation, like it is now, thanks to the Disneyland Hotel/Dowtown Disney station.
It would definately not fit with Animal Kingdom, and definately not at MGM, not to mention I wouldn't want a futuristic monorail running through Fort Wilderness!
First things first, I find this statement totally and utterly ridiculous. My opinion is that theming isn't a problem, especially because they wouldn't fit with the theming at Fort Wilderness, Disney/MGM Studios, etc., any less than they would at a small Pacific-Asian village or turn of the 20th Century America (Victorian or small-town). And just as a friendly reminder, Mr. Bus Driver, that your boxy behemoths are a much uglier eye-sore against these beautiful locales than our sleek trains could ever be. It seems to me, in fact, that the design of the Downtown Disney station for the Mark Vs (and soon, Mark VIIs) at Disneyland would look right at home at Animal Kingdom.
The cost for the stations would be spread around according to who is getting a station. The Magic Kingdom "owns" its station (as well as TTC), the Polynesian "owns", so whatever station was built, it would come out of that locations' budget, e.g. the money for the Disney/MGM Studios station would come out of their budget.
You also have to realize that one giant loop would not be built (if anything, it'd just be between the four Parks and Downtown Disney), but a series of smaller loops. The most imminent possibility for expansion wouldn't be anywhere near all-inclusive, just the other two Parks, and maybe a few Resorts on the way. So that whole twenty stop loop thing is just silly.
What is most amusing to me about this post is that it is apparently posted by a bus driver. I hear more and more from Guests every day that they just simply drive their own cars than ride those God-awful accident-causing buses. (I cannot begin to tell you how many times I have almost been run off the road, or run over completely, by those death machines.) I will concede, however, that the buses would make a good back-up in the event of catastrophic Monorail and Watercraft failure.
What this bus fan also neglected to mention is that fact that in 2000/2001, there was a solid expansion plan for transportation via a combination of Monorail and light rail. This isn't fantasy, they actually had a map of this system backstage. The only thing that prevented this from going through was the dramatic decline of attendance after September 11th. According to the Imagineers that visit us every once in a while, there are still completed designs in place, our Company just has to sign the check. This is further evidenced for some of you Disney Vacation Club members, if you read your contract carefully, it informs you (as is legally required) that there is Monorail easement running through your property. It also warms my heart that our WDW President, Al Weiss, said that buses are a temporary solution to WDW's transportation needs.)
Woody13 said:
When thunderstorms threaten, the monorail, boats, parking lot shuttles, etc. shut down (i.e. suspend operations until the threat passes). The buses continue to run. The bus system is the only serious transportation system at WDW.
This is completely wrong. As far as lightening is concerned, we don't shut down unless the beamway is struck and power is lost, which is rare and easily fixed by just restoring power, or, even more rarely, a TRAIN ITSELF is struck by lightening, which I don't believe has even ever happened during my entire tenure at Monorails. We also shut down for hurricanes, which really is a moot point, because the parks are shut down, too, and no one will wanting to go anywhere, anyways. :wave:
GaryT977 said:
No, it would require the construction of a new monorail shop, for one thing. I just don't ever see this happening.
Supposedly, I don't know if this is anywhere near being true or not, but there might a building at DAK already built that would become a new Monorail Shop. But that is just what I have heard word-of-mouth.
A couple of people have commented on Guests paying for the Monorail, I don't know about park admission, I wouldn't think that would contribute to the price of your tickets, just because if you buy a one-day ticket and just go to Disney/MGM Studios, you shouldn't be paying for transportation you're not using. I could be wrong, though. I do know that you are paying for Monorail service with your room reservations at the Polynesian, Grand Floridian, and Contemporary. That is why they are more expensive than the Resorts that are just as nice such as AK Lodge or Yacht & Beach Club.
My suggestion to everyone would be that if you wanted to see Monorail expansion of any kind, write to those in charge. If you want to see it here at WDW or even out at Disneyland, write letters and e-mails to our upper management. If you want it in your own home town, write to your Senators, Representatives, and other assorted politicians. If, somehow, you get a kick out of riding around on those buses and want to see more, write about that, too. Our Company takes into account that for every person that writes a letter, there are at least another 100 people or so that have the same opinion that aren't writing to the Company. If you write in and say you would be more likely to take a vacation to WDW if there were more Monorails, buses, jet packs, catapults, pogo sticks, whatever, the Company will consider that as another 100 vacations they can sell. All because of the one letter YOU sent in.
Sorry, I didn't mean for this to turn into a novel, thanks for sticking with me.
