Monorail Expansion

[celticdog]

Wouldn't this be known as track switches? What about the ever increasing amount of traffic, stop signs, and stop lights that busses have to compete with? And I suppose you've never been stopped on a road due to accidents in which no traffic moves?

Switching a train on the ground is a far different process from switching a monorail elevated 20 feet in the air. Moving monorail cars from one track to another is a major undertaking. Busses have a great assortment of alternate routes, monorails are stuck on their own tracks.

Traffic controls are not items "to be competed with". They are necessary to maintain smooth traffic flows. More monorail platforms would defeat the speed and effeiciency of the system. There would be assorted controls to prevent trains from crashing into one another.

Buses and cars can easily be routed around an accident. They can even drive on the grass. I'd hate to be in the monorail that's on the grass.

 

[scottnj1966]

They finally started construction of the new monorail track system.
Gotta take some pictures.

Following the route, it seems the new harry potter resort area and the waffle house are the first new stops.

Took them long enough.

 

[sambahat]

Another way to look at it?

What if the expansion of the Monorail was marketed as a way to reward park hopping? One of the draw backs to hopping is the time and "effort" it takes to go from one park to another. We usually only hop once or twice tops because it is less trouble.
If the monorails were connected to all four (or six if you count the water parks), maybe that would encourage the purchase of more park hopper tickets...
It seems to me that that easier transporation between all parks (and attractions actually) might result in that mythical extra day at the World the company so desparately wants.

 

[tink rules]

Hah, my parents made me stay out side all summer... ah well these things are not going to happen. There is the REMOTE chance of a resort being built on Bay Lake where the Venetian Resort was to be, but probably not for years

I hope they don't make it overcrowded like they did over at the Yacht, Beach and boardwalk!!! Part of what makes it nice is that it's a bit spread out.

 

[nyy102]

I have to agree that an extension of the monorail would greatly benefit park hopping. As it is, most people find it too time consuming to leave one park, find the car, get in the car, drive to another park, park the car again, and walk what will probably be a significant distance to the park since people have been there since it opened. This holds especially true for the AK, which seems to have less to actually do in the park than any other park, yet it is also further away from the other parks.

 

[Boardwalk Joe's]

I am pretty sure that I remember hearing once that Walt Disney, in describing his planned city that was to be EPCOT, said that he wanted people to take PeopleMovers to central hubs and from there could take monorails to major destinations (please correct me if I am wrong).

You are absolutely correct. I mentioned this in a previous post. Massive resorts like CBR, CSR, POR, OKW, etc should have peoplemover type transportation just inside the resort. Where the track would lead to either the bus depot or a monorail platform. I think that would work very well! Then they can just build a monorail platform at major places, and everything interconnects somehow. This would be some sort of network like Paris' Metro/RER. Then they can have the lightrail stop at a major TTC. Imagine being able to go from the airport to your resort with just a few hops on a train line? Like I mentioned before, I doubt it would happen, but it would be pretty sweet.

 

[PintoColvig]

Isn't it time for these monoraik expansion threads to get their very own forum on wdwmagic? We certainly love to talk about it, don't we?

Anyway, even if expansion will happen (though I doubt it will), wouldn't they wait until they've built any remaining gates?

 

[scpergj]

I did the Petty Experience during one of the slowest times at WDW, and they were booked solid. They charge $300+/person at minimum then manage to get another $75-300 out of you while you're there, and there are about 20 people per group and were doing 2 groups a day.

I talked to someone who had been there since the beginning and they did say there are no plans for any races anymore because "the Disney folks" did not like the race traffic, the noise, and parking issues. They also said the IRL actually still owns the track and leases it to Petty.

Guess that makes sense. I was wondering if the noise of a race traveled all the way to any of the parks. Guess if the IRL (well, Tony George, anyway) still own the track, it'll stay.

Thanks!

 

[Texas84]

The only thing we know for sure is that most of us enjoy the weekly Monorail rumor thread. So if you are in the minority that does NOT like them, please don't read them.

 

[unkadug]

The only thing we know for sure is that most of us enjoy the weekly Monorail rumor thread. So if you are in the minority that does NOT like them, please don't read them.

(Hey, Texas84-this is not directed at you)
This is not your typical weekly monorail thread.

In fact this thread was a misnomer, its about a resort not really about a monorail extension.

Do most people just reply to a perceived notion of a thread, or do they actually READ the thread?

 

[S.E.A.]

(Hey, Texas84-this is not directed at you)
This is not your typical weekly monorail thread.

In fact this thread was a misnomer, its about a resort not really about a monorail extension.

Do most people just reply to a perceived notion of a thread, or do they actually READ the thread?

well this is one of the topics that people imediately assume the worst...there really should be a newbie bible about what threads and topics to avoid.

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

(Hey, Texas84-this is not directed at you)
This is not your typical weekly monorail thread.

In fact this thread was a misnomer, its about a resort not really about a monorail extension.

Do most people just reply to a perceived notion of a thread, or do they actually READ the thread?

Of course they do, and its wrong of you to encourage pool hopping and extended use of resort mugs.

 

[VillanovaBlue]

Err...um...this isn't the thread about the new Coaster at IOA?

 

[M:SpilotISTC12]

well this is one of the topics that people imediately assume the worst...there really should be a newbie bible about what threads and topics to avoid.

Good Idea who wants to write it.

 

[DMC-12]

http://www.autoblog.com/2006/07/24/john-delorean-and-the-monorail-that-never-was/

http://news.windingroad.com/?p=711


:lookaroun

 

[WDWFREAK53]

I hate when there's a dead horse...and people keep on beating it...

BUT...

I did just find this...and it seems like everybody's vision of a monorail expansion costing $100 million/mile is a little off.

Bombadier would charge that...but in this article you'll read that there's a company out in Hawaii that would do it for a fraction of that price (Granted, this is talking about the Vegas monorail, but...considering that it's pretty much the same system, it's probably not far off from the WDW one.)

http://www.austinmonorail.org/monorail_costs.htm

 

[TimeTrip]

Yeah, it's pretty much the same, because vegas is built on a swamp. The vegas/orlando monorail comparison has been made before in these threads, and usually hasn't come out in support of a monorail expansion.

 

[garyhoov]

I hate when there's a dead horse...and people keep on beating it...

BUT...

I did just find this...and it seems like everybody's vision of a monorail expansion costing $100 million/mile is a little off.

Bombadier would charge that...but in this article you'll read that there's a company out in Hawaii that would do it for a fraction of that price (Granted, this is talking about the Vegas monorail, but...considering that it's pretty much the same system, it's probably not far off from the WDW one.)

http://www.austinmonorail.org/monorail_costs.htm

Cool Find Brian! Now let's see. . . I'd ballpark the amount of extra track required to connect MGM and AK at roughly 15 miles minimum. So at 50 million per mile, that would be about 750 million. Add on stations, re-routing tracks and extra monorails, and I think that sort of expansion should be well over a billion dollars.

Is it worth it? I don't know. That seems like an awful lot of money to me for what would really only be a minimal expansion (though it would be cool to be able to get from any park to another via monorail, and it could help to spread out crowds.).

I realize that Disney deals with money on a whole different scale than us, but is a billion dollars still a lot of money? I'd think so, but honestly I don't know.

 

[Hakunamatata]

Cool Find Brian! Now let's see. . . I'd ballpark the amount of extra track required to connect MGM and AK at roughly 15 miles minimum. So at 50 million per mile, that would be about 750 million. Add on stations, re-routing tracks and extra monorails, and I think that sort of expansion should be well over a billion dollars.

Is it worth it? I don't know. That seems like an awful lot of money to me for what would really only be a minimal expansion (though it would be cool to be able to get from any park to another via monorail, and it could help to spread out crowds.).

I realize that Disney deals with money on a whole different scale than us, but is a billion dollars still a lot of money? I'd think so, but honestly I don't know.

I think it would be more cost effective just to put up a bunch of ski lifts accross property....

 

[HauntedPirate]

This is undoubtedly the most civil, intelligent discussion I've ever seen on the topic of Monorail Expansion.