Large Piece Falls off Monorail - Being Evacuated

[ford91exploder]

Preventative maintenance is the FIRST thing corporate america cuts when they need better margin as it's 'expensive' and does not give an immediate boost to the bottom line. It's for all intents and purposes invisible UNTIL something breaks.

It's like not paying maintenance for software until you need that critical patch, And then the vendor rubs their figurative hands with glee and charges you for all the years you went without maintenance. All those 'savings' just went 'poof' in a single instant.

Been there, done that got the scars.

 

[21stamps]

Preventative maintenance is the FIRST thing corporate america cuts when they need better margin as it's 'expensive' and does not give an immediate boost to the bottom line. It's for all intents and purposes invisible UNTIL something breaks.

It's like not paying maintenance for software until you need that critical patch, And then the vendor rubs their figurative hands with glee and charges you for all the years you went without maintenance. All those 'savings' just went 'poof' in a single instant.

Been there, done that got the scars.

I find this very difficult to believe.

The sheer volume of people and reputation at Disney...and some of you are saying that their maintenance/safety procedures are Less than those procedures at amusement parks.

It doesn't make sense. The major amusement park chains are also publicly traded.. they don't cut corners in safety for profit margins, the very notion of it doesn't make sense. If you have a major incident due to lack of safety precautions- then profit margins won't mean anything..why? Because chances are good that not only will you face a major lawsuit, you will probably lose most of your customers anyway.

 

[BlindChow]

@Lift Blog mentioned a while back that gondola have backup systems that allow them to get guests back to a station even if there is a power failure.

Yes, there's a big wheel they can turn manually.

 

[Sonconato]

On Saturday, Monorail Yellow was making a sound I sure had never heard before. It sounded like a glass box on a muffler. I tried to record it, but it may be a little hard to hear.

 

[The_Jobu]

On Saturday, Monorail Yellow was making a sound I sure had never heard before. It sounded like a glass box on a muffler. I tried to record it, but it may be a little hard to hear.

You're right it's hard to hear, though I really enjoyed watching the monorail go around for a bit.

 

[RustySpork]

You're right it's hard to hear, though I really enjoyed watching the monorail go around for a bit.

OK, who installed the flowmasters on Monorail Yellow?

 

[s8film40]

I find this very difficult to believe.

The sheer volume of people and reputation at Disney...and some of you are saying that their maintenance/safety procedures are Less than those procedures at amusement parks.

It doesn't make sense. The major amusement park chains are also publicly traded.. they don't cut corners in safety for profit margins, the very notion of it doesn't make sense. If you have a major incident due to lack of safety precautions- then profit margins won't mean anything..why? Because chances are good that not only will you face a major lawsuit, you will probably lose most of your customers anyway.

You're just not thinking short term enough. There are many people just looking to make their mark over a 6 month period so they can get promoted and move on. Yes, for the most part Disney's maintenance is pretty decent and better than the average low end amusement park.There is a little bit of an ego issue with Disney, they think they are the best and therefore making a small cut here saving some hours there won't break anything. They also rely way to heavily on all these checklists, they think as long as checklists are being followed nothing can go wrong. Some preventative maintenance would go a long way and save some money in the long run, but hey that only helps the next guy get ahead as those results won't be seen in a timely manner. Most of the maintenance department's time is tied up with these checklist and whatever reactionary maintenance is happening at the time. I guarantee you the maintenance department has spent the past few days checking all the collector shoes and probably bus bar as well. Meanwhile whatever will be a problem next week has to wait while that became the top priority. They've followed this pattern for quite some time, a door falls off and they spend a week tightening bolts on doors, a tire goes flat and they spend a week checking air pressure on every tire. These maintenance people are almost always playing catch-up and in turn neglecting whatever will end being the next big issue. Now again Disney's maintenance is hardly the worst you will find, my only point is there's a lot of missed opportunity to get ahead of these kind of things.

 

[21stamps]

You're just not thinking short term enough. There are many people just looking to make their mark over a 6 month period so they can get promoted and move on. Yes, for the most part Disney's maintenance is pretty decent and better than the average low end amusement park.There is a little bit of an ego issue with Disney, they think they are the best and therefore making a small cut here saving some hours there won't break anything. They also rely way to heavily on all these checklists, they think as long as checklists are being followed nothing can go wrong. Some preventative maintenance would go a long way and save some money in the long run, but hey that only helps the next guy get ahead as those results won't be seen in a timely manner. Most of the maintenance department's time is tied up with these checklist and whatever reactionary maintenance is happening at the time. I guarantee you the maintenance department has spent the past few days checking all the collector shoes and probably bus bar as well. Meanwhile whatever will be a problem next week has to wait while that became the top priority. They've followed this pattern for quite some time, a door falls off and they spend a week tightening bolts on doors, a tire goes flat and they spend a week checking air pressure on every tire. These maintenance people are almost always playing catch-up and in turn neglecting whatever will end being the next big issue. Now again Disney's maintenance is hardly the worst you will find, my only point is there's a lot of missed opportunity to get ahead of these kind of things.

I'm not talking about low end amusement parks.. I'm talking about major parks, and would assume Universal follows similar procedures as well.
That said, I'm sure even small/lower end parks still have rigid procedures.

Check lists are relied on, because they're very important.

Here's my main question- how do "we" know that Disney is making cuts in the safety department?

 

[Mr Ferret 75]

I'm not talking about low end amusement parks.. I'm talking about major parks, and would assume Universal follows similar procedures as well.
That said, I'm sure even small/lower end parks still have rigid procedures.

Check lists are relied on, because they're very important.

Here's my main question- how do "we" know that Disney is making cuts in the safety department?

Because certain posters here said so. Makes it fact for me.

 

[21stamps]

Because certain posters here said so. Makes it fact for me.

Fair enough. So you won't be going on any rides during your upcoming trip then?

 

[RustySpork]

Fair enough. So you won't be going on any rides during your upcoming trip then?

Woosh.

 

[s8film40]

Here's my main question- how do "we" know that Disney is making cuts in the safety department?

Well that is where it gets a little tough. We know from people who work in the parks who see things, we also know from past precedent that it is something Disney is willing to do to save some money. I would also add that with their recent attendance declines I would guess there's a push to save money wherever possible to keep revenues up. That doesn't make it fact, but there is reasonable cause to speculate that that could be happening.

Here's a quick little thing that I think is relevant. I've always heard from all my friends who are or know someone that's a mechanic that you can judge an auto shop based on how clean and tidy it is kept.

WDW Monorail shop:

70's

Around 10 years ago

 

[Mr Ferret 75]

Woosh.

 

[21stamps]

Well that is where it gets a little tough. We know from people who work in the parks who see things, we also know from past precedent that it is something Disney is willing to do to save some money. I would also add that with their recent attendance declines I would guess there's a push to save money wherever possible to keep revenues up. That doesn't make it fact, but there is reasonable cause to speculate that that could be happening.

Here's a quick little thing that I think is relevant. I've always heard from all my friends who are or know someone that's a mechanic that you can judge an auto shop based on how clean and tidy it is kept.

WDW Monorail shop:

70's
View attachment 211098

Around 10 years ago
View attachment 211100

I though revenue was up.. is it down now? (Admittedly I don't follow that kind of stuff)

Do you currently go to any Disney parks or ride the monorail? Do the people who are reporting this as employees go on rides/monorail, and do they let their families do so?

Because if these claims are true, then people are putting their lives in danger and Disney knows this. Does that sound like a likely scenario to you?

 

[s8film40]

I though revenue was up.. is it down now? (Admittedly I don't follow that kind of stuff)

Do you currently go to any Disney parks or ride the monorail? Do the people who are reporting this as employees go on rides/monorail, and do they let their families do so?

Because if these claims are true, then people are putting their lives in danger and Disney knows this. Does that sound like a likely scenario to you?

Revenue is up and attendance is down, they're saving and/or making more money somehow.

I think Disney is relatively safe, but of course like any place could be better. There's always a risk that something could go wrong, it's a matter of weighing that risk against the entertainment value of the park for me it works out. Yes I ride the monorail and bring my family along. I probably feel more comfortable on the monorail since I know most of the things that could go wrong and how emergencies are handled on it. I do not however walk underneath the monorail, I started that practice around 10 years ago for a few reasons. There's always potential that something could fall off the train and first of all I'm just not in that big of a hurry that I mind waiting 30 seconds for a train to pass and second of all I noticed after working around them that I would get spots on my clothes and they tend to stay there even when you wash them. I feel relatively comfortable on most rides. I do look for signs of issues or cast members not paying attention and operating the rides correctly. I also check and double check my own restraints and my child's and ensure I'm comfortable with how I and my child are fitting in the ride and everything looks secure. In short I take reasonable responsibility for my own safety as much as possible, I don't blindly assume that everything is taken care of.

 

[monothingie]

On Saturday, Monorail Yellow was making a sound I sure had never heard before. It sounded like a glass box on a muffler. I tried to record it, but it may be a little hard to hear.

Just want to point out that the Monorail in the video is Coral as shown by the reflections in the glass and not yellow.

 

[lazyboy97o]

I find this very difficult to believe.

The sheer volume of people and reputation at Disney...and some of you are saying that their maintenance/safety procedures are Less than those procedures at amusement parks.

It doesn't make sense. The major amusement park chains are also publicly traded.. they don't cut corners in safety for profit margins, the very notion of it doesn't make sense. If you have a major incident due to lack of safety precautions- then profit margins won't mean anything..why? Because chances are good that not only will you face a major lawsuit, you will probably lose most of your customers anyway.

If you would do your research you would know that Disneyland once operated under the mandate of "We have to ride these rides to failure to save money."

 

[flynnibus]

I bet lots of people would find lots of stuff hard to believe when they refuse to actually do any research on the available information.

The other choice we call 'religion'

 

[L.C. Clench]

Well that is where it gets a little tough. We know from people who work in the parks who see things, we also know from past precedent that it is something Disney is willing to do to save some money. I would also add that with their recent attendance declines I would guess there's a push to save money wherever possible to keep revenues up. That doesn't make it fact, but there is reasonable cause to speculate that that could be happening.

Here's a quick little thing that I think is relevant. I've always heard from all my friends who are or know someone that's a mechanic that you can judge an auto shop based on how clean and tidy it is kept.

WDW Monorail shop:

70's
View attachment 211098

Around 10 years ago
View attachment 211100

It's the same concept that's pitched in the restaurant business where if the customer areas are unkept image what the kitchen looks like. Using the philosophy that if a business doesn't care about the customer facing image why do you think they care about what you can't there is plenty of reason to be concerned about maintenance levels.

 

[Sonconato]

Just want to point out that the Monorail in the video is Coral as shown by the reflections in the glass and not yellow.

I see now. It is coral and my memory isn't what it used to be. I also should've looked at what I filmed.