Hearing news of a monorail crash today.

[flynnibus]

I guess the question you should be asking then is why the bar failed. Ya know. Because we already know it did.

"The fuselage's structural integrity failed when it hit the ground..." could be a truthful description of why a plane is in bits after a crash... but it avoids discussing the more critical point which is.. how did we get to that point. The tow bar is not intended to fail... so it failing is a failure of operation, another component failure combined, a maintenance failure, or a process failure. Typically these systems are designed to not be a single point of failure, so there are layers that failed here. That's why people with any background in the sciences or systems aren't simply satisfied and closing the book with 'the towbar failed' answer and press on further.

 

[boufa]

I would imagine, that given the cost, and the limited capacity, they would dump the entire monorail system.

Its expensive, its always over loaded, it cannot be expanded (either new routes, which would make the system even more over loaded, or added capacity on the existing routes). However, its a huge symbol, and it very much is tied to the image of Disney. More than almost anything else, it what people think about when they think WDW. It has been 3 trips in a row, and I have not stepped onto it even once. But I actually feel about skipping it sort of like if I skipped soarin or splash. This mentality makes anything other than keeping it running the best they can a PR nightmare. For me, driving down the road towards the toll plaza for the MK, paralleling the Epcot line, is more of a Disney moment than driving under the archway at the edge of property.

 

[ford91exploder]

Only because I hadn't seen this pic in the thread yet, figured they'd cover it and move it after dark.

Holy Crap - they just LEFT Coral at the TTC for a whole DAY!!!!, Does something called 'Show' even exist in the keys to the kingdom today or has it been replaced by some other value.

 

[ford91exploder]

I would imagine, that given the cost, and the limited capacity, they would dump the entire monorail system.

Its expensive, its always over loaded, it cannot be expanded (either new routes, which would make the system even more over loaded, or added capacity on the existing routes). However, its a huge symbol, and it very much is tied to the image of Disney. More than almost anything else, it what people think about when they think WDW. It has been 3 trips in a row, and I have not stepped onto it even once. But I actually feel about skipping it sort of like if I skipped soarin or splash. This mentality makes anything other than keeping it running the best they can a PR nightmare. For me, driving down the road towards the toll plaza for the MK, paralleling the Epcot line, is more of a Disney moment than driving under the archway at the edge of property.

If the Igerbots and accountaineers had not severely cut back the maintenance on the monorails we would not even be having this discussion. But they did and deferred maintenance is the most expensive maintenance of all.

 

[MaryJaneP]

If they keep "automating" the monorail system, there doesn't seem to be much hope that there will be any system left. Perhaps this is the creation of an excuse to eliminate it.

 

[Tom]

I would imagine, that given the cost, and the limited capacity, they would dump the entire monorail system.

Its expensive, its always over loaded, it cannot be expanded (either new routes, which would make the system even more over loaded, or added capacity on the existing routes). However, its a huge symbol, and it very much is tied to the image of Disney. More than almost anything else, it what people think about when they think WDW. It has been 3 trips in a row, and I have not stepped onto it even once. But I actually feel about skipping it sort of like if I skipped soarin or splash. This mentality makes anything other than keeping it running the best they can a PR nightmare. For me, driving down the road towards the toll plaza for the MK, paralleling the Epcot line, is more of a Disney moment than driving under the archway at the edge of property.

We were there a couple days last week, then Monday and Tuesday this week. On monday week we got in line for Epcot monorail after taking resort from GF. The resort trip had too many holdings for our liking, and with the 1-year old getting a little cranky, we bailed before boarding Epcot.

On Tuesday we walked to the Poly from GF for lunch, and since it got hot, we took our chances with the monorail taking us back one stop to GF we had our DME pick up soon.

It's sad that when staying at a monorail resort, we have serious internal debates over whether it's worth the risk to use.

 

[ford91exploder]

If they keep "automating" the monorail system, there doesn't seem to be much hope that there will be any system left. Perhaps this is the creation of an excuse to eliminate it.

Exactly what i've been saying all along.

 

[Master Yoda]

If they keep "automating" the monorail system, there doesn't seem to be much hope that there will be any system left. Perhaps this is the creation of an excuse to eliminate it.

I doubt there is anything that diabolical going on.

They keep trying to keep the system running at the lowest cost possible vs just spending the money and fixing it correctly. We have seen the same thing all over property.

 

[Andrew C]

"The fuselage's structural integrity failed when it hit the ground..." could be a truthful description of why a plane is in bits after a crash... but it avoids discussing the more critical point which is.. how did we get to that point. The tow bar is not intended to fail... so it failing is a failure of operation, another component failure combined, a maintenance failure, or a process failure. Typically these systems are designed to not be a single point of failure, so there are layers that failed here. That's why people with any background in the sciences or systems aren't simply satisfied and closing the book with 'the towbar failed' answer and press on further.

Yes, I understand that. I too would like to know why it failed and what they are going to do to prevent it from happening again in the future.

Because I believe that the tow bar failed as they reported, doesn't mean I don't want to know why it occurred.

 

[Andrew C]

Because I know Disney is a business - not my friend or family. The company's interests supercede our desire to know and understand everything about the company's operations and decisions. Disney will only disclose what it feels is necessary to make the noise go away and will put spin on things.

That isn't some agenda from me... that's f'ing common sense when dealing with corporate public relations.

Fair enough. While I have a very different perspective on this matter, I appreciate your explanation.

 

[Horizons1]

Ya know, I remember a time when the monorails actually worked without breaking down all the time or crashing. Guess I'm just being nostalgic now.

 

[monothingie]

Ya know, I remember a time when the monorails actually worked without breaking down all the time or crashing. Guess I'm just being nostalgic now.

I remember a time when every hiccup, quirk, interruption, or breakdown wasn't instantly tweeted. Everything looks better in the past when you didn't know it was happening.

 

[GhostHost1000]

just make some really big TTA vehicles enclosed and magnetize the monorail track...lol

 

[s8film40]

Yes, I understand that. I too would like to know why it failed and what they are going to do to prevent it from happening again in the future.

Because I believe that the tow bar failed as they reported, doesn't mean I don't want to know why it occurred.

Don't expect to ever get an answer to this.

 

[Horizons '83]

Holy Crap - they just LEFT Coral at the TTC for a whole DAY!!!!, Does something called 'Show' even exist in the keys to the kingdom today or has it been replaced by some other value.

Yikes! Couldn't they have moved this backstage? Looks terrible...

 

[s8film40]

just make some really big TTA vehicles enclosed and magnetize the monorail track...lol

Not to get too far off topic but as for a solution to not having to rely on the monorails, I've always thought they should build a parking garage to the west of MK. They could run the trams along the path by the lake. Then the Express and Epcot monorail lines could be combined to create a MK/Epcot line. This way monorails are still there but not relied on nearly as heavily, they would still provide transportation to/from the resorts and would connect MK to Epcot but wouldn't be required to transport the tens of thousand of guests who visit MK everyday.

 

[s8film40]

Yikes! Couldn't they have moved this backstage? Looks terrible...

This is when it was being moved back stage. It looks like they removed some loose pieces and covered it up before moving it.

 

[monothingie]

Show quality is of little interest in today's Disney

Not for anything, I'm not going to harping on Disney for leaving Coral out there all day. It was an accident that involved a multi-million dollar piece of equipment that took place in public view. There has to be a first responder response and assessment, an accident and or criminal investigation, interviews, photos, etc. Not even to mention a inspection of the beam way to make sure there was no structural damage. This stuff doesn't happen in a vacuum and takes time. The fact that it was cleared and cleaned up by dusk actually seems pretty quick.

 

[Horizons '83]

Not for anything, I'm not going to harping on Disney for leaving Coral out there all day. It was an accident that involved a multi-million dollar piece of equipment that took place in public view. There has to be a first responder response and assessment, an accident and or criminal investigation, interviews, photos, etc. This stuff doesn't happen in a vacuum and takes time. The fact that it was cleared and cleaned up by dusk actually seems pretty quick.

Fair enough.

 

[Lucky]

@raven, it might help avoid confusion - especially if this thread gets bumped In the future - if you added the date to the thread title.