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Monorail Expansion?
- Thread starter mlnance
- Start date
mpaul32001
Well-Known Member
Monorail Expansion
Disney has done some very great things. They might consider doing this!
Disney has done some very great things. They might consider doing this!
Convenience
I think the real key to whatever system they develop is personal convenience for the travellers. I know that I rented a car the last time I was at WDW because I had a rather poor experience with one of the companies that provides transportation between the airport and WDW. The same is true inside WDW. All the complaints people have about the current bus system seem to be based on having to wait or not get seats on a bus. Expanding the monorail to include more parks or hotels will not be a good solution unless the wait times are very short, which will probably not happen with a large rail transit system. Disney needs to come up with a system that will allow small groups of people, basically families, to go whereever, whenever, they want to. That would be a really beneficial transportation system.
I think the real key to whatever system they develop is personal convenience for the travellers. I know that I rented a car the last time I was at WDW because I had a rather poor experience with one of the companies that provides transportation between the airport and WDW. The same is true inside WDW. All the complaints people have about the current bus system seem to be based on having to wait or not get seats on a bus. Expanding the monorail to include more parks or hotels will not be a good solution unless the wait times are very short, which will probably not happen with a large rail transit system. Disney needs to come up with a system that will allow small groups of people, basically families, to go whereever, whenever, they want to. That would be a really beneficial transportation system.
marypopmom
Member
Originally posted by Herbie53
I think we may have accidentally hit on the solution. Flying Buses!!:lol:
Disneyfan mentioned thinking outside the box before, using vision and progress. Expanding the monorail does not do that. The conversation here is stuck on track or no track. Monorails are just cool trains. In the 21st century there is nothng innovative about a monorail. I haven't read this thread all the way through since it began a year or so ago, so forgive me if I can't remember everything that has been mentioned, but I have to say (joking aside) that the idea of having buses with wings is the first concept I have noticed (slingshot excluded) which does not already exist somewhere in the world. I know Disneyfan was not serious, but that's thinking outside the box!
If anybody is going to talk about progress, or having vision, or being daring enough to dream, they'll have to look far beyond anything that exists today. Using the term "flying bus" makes the concept comical, but what if I called it a "free roaming, short range, low altitude aerial transport unit"? Now you're on your way! Just think of a catchy name and then design something that works. Necessity is the mother of all invention. The answer to WDW transportation woes does not exist yet.
I know I'm speaking in farfetched and fecetious terms, but you get the idea.
Well I guess some people already have had vision and think outside the box, this flying box you talk about is called maglev transportation and it is used in Japan.
Invero
Well-Known Member
Re: Convenience
Indeed. However, folks fail to realize two things. There is a GREAT difference between actual wait time, and perceived wait time. Often times the bus arrives in the alloted time frame, however, it was percieved to have arrived late.
Secondly... people fail to realize that they'll have a greater chance of having to stand on a Monorail, than in a bus. So, the complaint of being on a crowded bus would be the same for a Monorail as well.
Indeed. However, folks fail to realize two things. There is a GREAT difference between actual wait time, and perceived wait time. Often times the bus arrives in the alloted time frame, however, it was percieved to have arrived late.
Secondly... people fail to realize that they'll have a greater chance of having to stand on a Monorail, than in a bus. So, the complaint of being on a crowded bus would be the same for a Monorail as well.
Re: Re: Convenience
Exactly. That's why I am suggesting more small carrying vehicles, rather than fewer, larger ones (like trains). It is far less stressful to wait in a ride for an attraction that is moving some, even if small amounts, (like the kiddie rides in Fantasyland), than it is to wait in a line that holds still for a while, then makes a large move ahead. Even if the overall wait time is the same, customer satisfaction is vastly different. Small vehicles, be they busses, cars, etc., that come more often and keep the line moving are less objectionable than large vehicles that only come once in a while, even when everybody gets to the same place at the same time (which is what invariable happens when I'm on the bus).
Exactly. That's why I am suggesting more small carrying vehicles, rather than fewer, larger ones (like trains). It is far less stressful to wait in a ride for an attraction that is moving some, even if small amounts, (like the kiddie rides in Fantasyland), than it is to wait in a line that holds still for a while, then makes a large move ahead. Even if the overall wait time is the same, customer satisfaction is vastly different. Small vehicles, be they busses, cars, etc., that come more often and keep the line moving are less objectionable than large vehicles that only come once in a while, even when everybody gets to the same place at the same time (which is what invariable happens when I'm on the bus).
mpaul32001
Well-Known Member
Invero said:
Also I think Fort Wilderness Resort was also around
CaptainMichael
Well-Known Member
Wow! Someone resurrected this thread. It has been dead since October 2003. I'd like to see Monorail expansion, but I just don't see it happening. There is no reason for all four parks not to be connected.
RSoxNo1
Well-Known Member
I asked a Monorail operator about 10 years ago the costs of expanding it. He said it's about $1 million for a mile of track, and $10-15 mil for a new train. Now a days - those numbers are probably very low end and expanding the monorail would cost as much (if not more) as two e-ticket attractions.
Oh good god, not that myth again! Listen, there is a hole thread of technical arguments on this - see the thread Huge Monorail Expansion here: http://forums.wdwmagic.com/showthread.php?t=36511
Let's leep dioscussion to one thread, shall we?
Let's leep dioscussion to one thread, shall we?
Moonshadow1
New Member
wdwfreak said:
Then all the resorts would be preimum resorts and cost $200 a night and up :brick:
peter11435
Well-Known Member
Not only was that a long time ago, but also never take the word of a CM. By all estimates nowadays the WDW monorail would cost about 65 million dollars a mile, and about 25 million per train. This is from the Monorail society. These numbers are also supported by the construction cost on the Las Vegas monorails. However I would think that construction costs would be more in WDW than in Vegas due to the conditions of the land.RSoxNo1 said:
phlydude
Well-Known Member
One thing that would make the monorails a little more efficient is if there were a shared platform between resort monorails and Epcot monorails. This way you don't have to walk down the ramp and back up to get to the other train. This way you exit the resort monorail on one side to go to Epcot and the other side to the trams. You could go through a gate opened by the CMs working the platform (the flow of people through the gates could be limited to one direction depending on time of day) and go to the platform and wait for the Epcot train. Coming back, reverse process. Epcot train opens both doors and people could go out one side to the trams or the other to the resort monorail.
I know that this may or may not work depending on the location on the loop and which side of the TTC the trains enter but it is a thought!
I know that this may or may not work depending on the location on the loop and which side of the TTC the trains enter but it is a thought!
TimeTrip
Well-Known Member
phlydude said:
It is an interesting idea.. but impossible given the current setup. Because the express monorail runs in between the epcot and resort monorail, it just won't work unless they put a bridge over the express monorail instead of going down a ramp around and back up. The best idea would be to have the epcot monorail run between the MK express and resort at the TTC. After all, how many people xfer from resort -> express or vice versa. However,that would require way too much work including figuring out a way for the epcot monorail to cross over/under another beam when entering/leaving the TTC.
SilverStar
New Member
An monorail operator told me in May that a new monorail line had actually started construction before 9/11, not much but a few pilons, I think it was headed down towards the all-star sports, pop century area. Can anyone verify this?
MagicalMonorail
New Member
On my last trip, I asked a monorail driver about it. He simply said "They're talking about it." I think it would be cool for them to expand the monorail. It's my favorite ride at WDW!
slappy magoo
Well-Known Member
Riding a monorail is not that big of a deal to me, because I take a train & subways to work everyday. Say what you will about Disney magic, to me the monorail is a way to get somewhere to do something interesting, not something interesting in and of itself. But I'm not dumb, I know that for a lot of people, the monorail is just as much of an attraction as the E-est of E-ticket rides.
If they ever considered building up the monorails, my main reason for being glad would be the (hopefully) greater ease to park hop, and that's why I think WDW should consider at least connecting the 4 major theme parks. Not to look at it as a potential ROI but as a way to better disperse people amongst the parks and give people the ILLUSION of value.
Value probably plays a big part in many Disney-goer's vacation plans. Going to WDW isn't cheap, and people want to feel like they're getting their money's worth. I would bet one of the biggest complaints is going to a park when it's really crowded, thinking about hopping to another park, but concerned that you'll use a Disney bus or drive over yourself, it might take upwards to an hour (especially if you have to repark), only to find out THAT park is just as crowded as where you were. You wind up feeling like you spent a good chunk of your valuable DIsney day driving.
Here is what I think would be great (in theory anyway).
1: Connect the parks to the TTC
2: Create a monorail that goes in a zig-zag east-west pattern between Animal Kingdom, MGM, Epcot & Downtown Disney.
3: Have various kiosks throughout the parks where you can access info about each park, as up-to-the-minute as possible. Find out the amount of people in the park, what that amount is as a percentage of peak capacity, the waiting times for the rides, and a rough projection as to what all those numbers would be like in an hour based on current information. So if you're in MK, and it's 45 minutes just to go to the bathroom or buy a turkey leg, you can find out if any of the other parks are less congested, and take a monorail "ride" to that park. And if they're all packed, you hop over to DD and do some shopping there. The monorail gives you the feeling that you're still at Disney, and not in your car trying to GET somewhere. It helps better disperse people throughout the parks so they feel less frustrated that the park they're at is commonly or Uncommonly busy that particular day. It potentially cuts down on complaints because people have more options to go other places while still visiting an "attraction" to do so, instead of thinking "great, another half-hour or more on a stinking bus, JUST what I want on my vacation."
Bear in mind, I haven't been to WDW in like 7 years. For all I know they have kiosks like I described above, where you can find out if other parks are more or less crowded. But if they don't, even if they never add another foot of monorail, I think the kiosks would be a great idea. I know I'd rearrange my schedule and park-hop more often if there was a way to find out what things are like in other parks. So my apologies if they do have 'em, but if they do, and if you could monorail over to them, wouldn't you feel more like Disney cares about giving you the biggest bang for your buck? Even if those monorails did charge a fee, I'd bet plenty of people would take them if it meant potentially shorter lines on other big-ticket attractions in other parks.
If they ever considered building up the monorails, my main reason for being glad would be the (hopefully) greater ease to park hop, and that's why I think WDW should consider at least connecting the 4 major theme parks. Not to look at it as a potential ROI but as a way to better disperse people amongst the parks and give people the ILLUSION of value.
Value probably plays a big part in many Disney-goer's vacation plans. Going to WDW isn't cheap, and people want to feel like they're getting their money's worth. I would bet one of the biggest complaints is going to a park when it's really crowded, thinking about hopping to another park, but concerned that you'll use a Disney bus or drive over yourself, it might take upwards to an hour (especially if you have to repark), only to find out THAT park is just as crowded as where you were. You wind up feeling like you spent a good chunk of your valuable DIsney day driving.
Here is what I think would be great (in theory anyway).
1: Connect the parks to the TTC
2: Create a monorail that goes in a zig-zag east-west pattern between Animal Kingdom, MGM, Epcot & Downtown Disney.
3: Have various kiosks throughout the parks where you can access info about each park, as up-to-the-minute as possible. Find out the amount of people in the park, what that amount is as a percentage of peak capacity, the waiting times for the rides, and a rough projection as to what all those numbers would be like in an hour based on current information. So if you're in MK, and it's 45 minutes just to go to the bathroom or buy a turkey leg, you can find out if any of the other parks are less congested, and take a monorail "ride" to that park. And if they're all packed, you hop over to DD and do some shopping there. The monorail gives you the feeling that you're still at Disney, and not in your car trying to GET somewhere. It helps better disperse people throughout the parks so they feel less frustrated that the park they're at is commonly or Uncommonly busy that particular day. It potentially cuts down on complaints because people have more options to go other places while still visiting an "attraction" to do so, instead of thinking "great, another half-hour or more on a stinking bus, JUST what I want on my vacation."
Bear in mind, I haven't been to WDW in like 7 years. For all I know they have kiosks like I described above, where you can find out if other parks are more or less crowded. But if they don't, even if they never add another foot of monorail, I think the kiosks would be a great idea. I know I'd rearrange my schedule and park-hop more often if there was a way to find out what things are like in other parks. So my apologies if they do have 'em, but if they do, and if you could monorail over to them, wouldn't you feel more like Disney cares about giving you the biggest bang for your buck? Even if those monorails did charge a fee, I'd bet plenty of people would take them if it meant potentially shorter lines on other big-ticket attractions in other parks.