Monorail Expansion?

Interruption?

New Member
This is the transport system used in Strasbourg, France. It's quick, quiet, clean and efficient. Plus, it runs on ground level and most of its track is in the street.

HommeFer.jpg


strasbourg-05.JPG
 

Nicole

Well-Known Member
I think most everyone here would agree that the thought of the monorail is a fun one, and we WISH it were true.

But there are so many other things I'd rather see than a monorail expansion. I hate riding the monorail at park closing anyway, and I'm so glad there are lots of busses.
 

Interruption?

New Member
Nicole said:
I think most everyone here would agree that the thought of the monorail is a fun one, and we WISH it were true.

But there are so many other things I'd rather see than a monorail expansion. I hate riding the monorail at park closing anyway, and I'm so glad there are lots of busses.
But even then, the busses get back up too. People DO have to wait in line to get a bus back to their hotel at the end of the day.
 

no2apprentice

Well-Known Member
Nicole said:
I hate riding the monorail at park closing anyway, and I'm so glad there are lots of busses.
Just curious, how long was your wait for the monorail at park closing?

I ask, because we've never stayed until closing. And I'm hoping to make a point.
 

unkadug

Follower of "Saget"The Cult
Also a subway system just isn't quite as <span style="background: url(http://www.ukauctionhelp.co.uk/image.php?i=sparkle)">MAGICAL </span> as a monorail system.
 

lamarvenoy

New Member
EVERYONE WOULD LIKE A MONORAIL EXPANSION........yes it is expensive, it is true that some spots were scoped for expansion and the TTC was designed for expansion but the bottom line is capacity.As far as adding DTD and MGM, there are way to many people spread too far apart to move them in an efficient manor.The infrastructure needed to move the needed capacities would make it cost prohibitive. Busses are cheaper, they maximize the efficiency of labor,require only road expansion-which is always needed anyway, are versatile,can have the patterns of flow changed to accomodate different trends on a moments notice. I would bet we see "environmentally friendly" busses run on natural gas or propane or maybe even electricity but I think we have seen the end of monorail expansion.I would like to see a Wedway type system used at DTD and maybe linking MGM And Epcot.Unlikely but cool.
 

Heatherbell

Active Member
gsimpson said:
Somehow in reading the rules for this site I must have missed the part that said if someone posts about a subject you don't care for it is compulsory to read the thread, post rude comments about the thread + its originator, and then speak as if you were Bob Iger with the full weight of the Disney board about the subject. I personally find the flaming to be a much worse waste of time and space than the repeated threads that the self styled elite don't like.

I have been surveyed by Disney cast members while standing at the ferry dock at Boardwalk regarding transportation and one or the options they asked my opinion on was monorail expansion. If they have no intention to ever expand it no matter what whey would thy waste their time and mine with such a survey.

Well said. I too at times am hesitant to post a certain topic or ask a certain question in fear that I will get five pages of rude comments. With new people it is inevitable, they do not have time (nor would they necessaily know) to search topics. They do not know unless they have been a lurker for some time that these are hot topics. I find it very rude that people come on and bash new posters for bringing up topics that have been posted to death. A simple link and a suggestion to check them out is more then sufficent. A "Holy f_______g______" comment....totoally rude and totally inappropriate.
 

goofyfan13

Well-Known Member
Heatherbell said:
A "Holy f_______g______" comment....totoally rude and totally inappropriate.

Agreed, which is why his account is now suspended. I for one one LOVE to see monorail expansion, but I'm not getting my hopes up to see it anytime in the near future. I heard that each train as of 3 years ago cost $17,000,000(*DISCLAIMER* This info came from a CM, take from it what you will). But yea, I don't think we need to jump down this guys throat just yet, he just posted a link showing something that interested him, and said a few times that he takes it with a grain of salt too. :wave:
 

Tom

Beta Return
I've posted in a few other Monorail Expansion threads, but not all because, as we've established, there are way too many.

I apologize to the OP on behalf of many of us for the attack you have received because of your post. You're obviously new to the forum, and haven't been lurking - or else you'd know that this is a forbidden topic :p

Anyway, to simply address some of the issues from my point of view:

1. Ticketing System for the Monorails: Who says it would slow down loading, and who says it would require 20 more people to work? They use this method in DC and NYC every day on the Subway! A bunch of turnstiles that you stick your ticket in - it opens - you walk through. Maybe ONE guard to watch over them all. And how many people do they move each day? Lots.

2. Cost: The numbers of 40-something, 70-something and 80-something could all be right for the cost of a mile of new monorail. I'm a Construction Manager, and a few years ago I went to Vegas for a construction convention. We got a tour of the facility where they were making the monorail beams for the new Vegas system. It was amazing. And since the first trains to run on that system were the old retired Marks from WDW (I forget which series), the beams were being made EXACTLY as they were in WDW. Each beam is pre-stressed and post-tensioned - with honeycomb weight reducers inside and high-strength concrete on the outside. Then they're attached to a semi and their own set of rear wheels, and driven to the installation site - which usually requires blocking traffic and clearing paths. That's ONE beam - about 75' long. A mile is 5,280 feet. The foundations for each column would be HUGE on WDW's beautiful swamp soil. To put it in perspective: in Indiana, a 6-lane interstate overpass costs about $500,000 per foot - so the $83 mil per mile is kind of a deal!

3. Do we need more monorails? Not in my opinion. The bus system is FAR more effecient than the monorails. If a crowd shows up all of a sudden - BAM, throw another bus in the loop. You can't do that with monorails...once all 12 are out, that's all you get. They can't go faster or load/unload quicker, so their maximum capacity is hit pretty quickly. The supply of buses is seemingly neverending - because as one route becomes light, another gets heavy and you have a nice balance of buses to routes. If they could streamline their bus dispatch system (which I heard they are doing anyway, with GPS and such), they can add a few buses and a few stops and REALLY eliminate the need for more monorails.

I love monorails - don't get me wrong. I schedule several rides, mostly in the front cab, on every trip. They're like an attraction to me. BUT, I would MUCH rather see them spend money on upgrading the current parks and attractions - then perhaps a new park (if they must) - and then on other modes of transportation.

Just my $0.02. :wave:
 

Interruption?

New Member
edwardtc said:
I've posted in a few other Monorail Expansion threads, but not all because, as we've established, there are way too many.

I apologize to the OP on behalf of many of us for the attack you have received because of your post. You're obviously new to the forum, and haven't been lurking - or else you'd know that this is a forbidden topic :p

Anyway, to simply address some of the issues from my point of view:

1. Ticketing System for the Monorails: Who says it would slow down loading, and who says it would require 20 more people to work? They use this method in DC and NYC every day on the Subway! A bunch of turnstiles that you stick your ticket in - it opens - you walk through. Maybe ONE guard to watch over them all. And how many people do they move each day? Lots.

2. Cost: The numbers of 40-something, 70-something and 80-something could all be right for the cost of a mile of new monorail. I'm a Construction Manager, and a few years ago I went to Vegas for a construction convention. We got a tour of the facility where they were making the monorail beams for the new Vegas system. It was amazing. And since the first trains to run on that system were the old retired Marks from WDW (I forget which series), the beams were being made EXACTLY as they were in WDW. Each beam is pre-stressed and post-tensioned - with honeycomb weight reducers inside and high-strength concrete on the outside. Then they're attached to a semi and their own set of rear wheels, and driven to the installation site - which usually requires blocking traffic and clearing paths. That's ONE beam - about 75' long. A mile is 5,280 feet. The foundations for each column would be HUGE on WDW's beautiful swamp soil. To put it in perspective: in Indiana, a 6-lane interstate overpass costs about $500,000 per foot - so the $83 mil per mile is kind of a deal!

3. Do we need more monorails? Not in my opinion. The bus system is FAR more effecient than the monorails. If a crowd shows up all of a sudden - BAM, throw another bus in the loop. You can't do that with monorails...once all 12 are out, that's all you get. They can't go faster or load/unload quicker, so their maximum capacity is hit pretty quickly. The supply of buses is seemingly neverending - because as one route becomes light, another gets heavy and you have a nice balance of buses to routes. If they could streamline their bus dispatch system (which I heard they are doing anyway, with GPS and such), they can add a few buses and a few stops and REALLY eliminate the need for more monorails.

I love monorails - don't get me wrong. I schedule several rides, mostly in the front cab, on every trip. They're like an attraction to me. BUT, I would MUCH rather see them spend money on upgrading the current parks and attractions - then perhaps a new park (if they must) - and then on other modes of transportation.

Just my $0.02. :wave:
I agree with everything except the assertion that the bus supply is never ending. I've spent many times waiting for a bus to or from the parks for the same amount of time (if not more time) as I would wait for the monorail. Other than that, I agree 100%
 

jmicro59

Member
Maybe WDW will expand the Monorail just so we'll stop talking about it. :lol:

I'd love to see the monorail expanded but as so many have said before expense is a concern, staffing and replacing older monorail cars and not to mention adding new attractions and overall park maintenance also seems to be considerable roadblocks. So it may never happen but who knows maybe it will. I would have to think that if Disney got enough people asking for it that they would at least do some serious feasibility studies if they haven't already. Attendance has been fantastic lately and overall the "Disney" corporation is doing pretty well, so there appears to be a good financial base. And with Everest coming online this year I’m sure Disney expects to attract even more people this year. For any Disney stock holders out there, according to their yearly numbers they sent out a few months back they've reduced their red ink by roughly $600 million. And that number is just the on the principle amount and not what they cut in interest on that $600 million. Fact is none of us really know no matter if its commons sense, security or anything else we think we may know. We can only hope and I am hoping really ,really hard that we’ll see the monorail expand and hopefully before I’m taking a dirt nap in a cemetery. :)
 

dvm

New Member
mean people

Heatherbell said:
Well said. I too at times am hesitant to post a certain topic or ask a certain question in fear that I will get five pages of rude comments. With new people it is inevitable, they do not have time (nor would they necessaily know) to search topics. They do not know unless they have been a lurker for some time that these are hot topics. I find it very rude that people come on and bash new posters for bringing up topics that have been posted to death. A simple link and a suggestion to check them out is more then sufficent. A "Holy f_______g______" comment....totoally rude and totally inappropriate.

Double well said.

This thread's beginning is horrible, and largely the reason why I now mainly lurk and rarely post on this forum. Some of the members scare me with their holier than thou posts and replies. I'd rather not contribute for fear of breaking one of the ten commandments. hopefully the admins read this and recognize that good people are being frightened away from the boards based on many older members' replies that sting and hurt.
 

LudwigVonDrake

Well-Known Member
While I would LOVE a Monorail expansion at some point, it's *probably* not feasible monetarily. Before they start expanding the Monorail (since that could take years with construction etc.), they NEED to streamline the Bus system so people aren't waiting forever for a bus. For RIGHT NOW, the buses are the main source of transportation and they need to make it more efficient :) I hope the inclusion of the GPS helps things.
 

Tom

Beta Return
Interruption? said:
I agree with everything except the assertion that the bus supply is never ending. I've spent many times waiting for a bus to or from the parks for the same amount of time (if not more time) as I would wait for the monorail. Other than that, I agree 100%

Well, I guess I should have clarified, that if they had a PERFECT dispatch system where they could track the location and status of each and every bus at every moment, they would have what would seem to be an endless supply of buses. You always see the "SPECIAL" ones parked in the lots at closing time, ready to jump into whichever stop is overloaded - but they just seem to take forever realizing that a stop is overloaded.

With cameras and perhaps turnstiles at the stops (to count bodies) and GPS bus tracking (which I'm sure they already have) - they could make that bus system the most streamlined, effecient and economical public transportation system in the country.

But you're right - CURRENTLY, it does not seem like an endless supply. Sorry for my lack of clarity :wave:
 

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