Monorail Front-Riding

[Rinx]

Wow...they really don't do this anymore?

:lookaroun :lookaroun

 

[durangojim]

:lookaroun :lookaroun

Not everyone pays attention to the news. I didn't know about it until about 2 weeks after it occured as we were in Yellowstone on vacation, and I don't pay any attention to the news when I'm there. Not that big of a deal.

 

[Rob562]

We were there last month and I asked. The driver said, "We're not doing it anymore." She didn't give any details and actually walked away. They must be getting asked a lot because it seemed like it wasn't something she wished to discuss further.

After reading some of the nasty, thoughtless (and sometimes hurtful) things that Guests were saying to Monorail CMs in the months after the accident (posted by CMs on a different forum), I don't blame her for avoiding the resulting conversation when asked that question by Guests.

-Rob

 

[s8film40]

Thats the bad thing not allowing people to ride up front really creates a bad situation. A lot of people don't know about the accident, then ask to ride up front. They're told no, and then very reasonably ask why. This then results in either the castmember having to lie or just avoid giving a real response. This situation would be completely avoided if they would go back to allowing people to ride there. Disney is only making this more difficult on themselves and perpetuating people knowledge of the accident.

 

[scottnj1966]

Does anyone know if/when this will be returning? I'm going down to Disney with some friends next year and I wanted to show them it.

I really hope this isn't a "too soon" topic, I don't mean offense, I'm just curious.

They still are not doing it. I am sure one day they will but it wont be announced.

 

[DisneyJunkie]

Front car riding on the monorail is nice to try once.....but it's not really that big a deal. There's nothing overly special about it, and actually on the down-side, the bad smell associated with the monorail is actually amplified in that front car.

 

[SnowWhiteMomma]

We are actually in route to home now from a week in Disney. On Saturday my nanny asked if she could sit up front with my daughter and they said they no longer allow that.

 

[joel_maxwell]

It is about perception more than reality. I would allow myself and my family to sit in the front of a monorail in a second because I know that they system is safe and that the chances of a repeat of the fatal accident being repeated border on astronomical. However, if something like this were to happen again with no structural updates to the front of the monorail to withstand a collision even the worst lawyer would have no problem getting a jury to find Disney negligent and at fault.

I feel the same way. Id put my family up there and not think twice.

Dont think I wont try and ask while there in September.

 

[BrerFrog]

All I can say is that I am happy I had the chance to ride in front of the monorail. I hope to do it again eventually.

 

[darthokeefe]

They definitely need to bring this back it's been over a year now. I don't buy the liability thing if it's a risk to let someone up there because they think it could crash than they shouldn't allow anyone at all up there including the pilots.

would you feel that way if your son was killed in the front of a monorail......It should never come back at all out of respect to the decesed

 

[s8film40]

would you feel that way if your son was killed in the front of a monorail......It should never come back at all out of respect to the decesed

I would feel even more strongly if I were in that situation. While it's a tragic accident I would hate to think that the person I care about would always be remembered as the reason people can't ride in the front. Riding in the front of the monorail is a really great experience for people it's a tradition that has been a part of WDW since it opened. To me I feel that not letting people ride up front is a huge insult to the memory of the pilot and his family.

 

[orky8]

would you feel that way if your son was killed in the front of a monorail......It should never come back at all out of respect to the decesed

How on Earth does this have anything to do with respecting the deceased? It was a tragic accident. But no longer allowing passengers up front in no way shape or form has anything to do with respect for the deceased. If humanity stopped doing everything where someone died in order to respect the people who died doing that activity we'd still be living in caves. We didn't stop driving cars when we discovered people could die in car crashes, we didn't stop going to space after the Challenger accident, and I don't think Walt would have let a tragic monorail accident stop something so magical as seeing the look on kids faces when they ride in front. We mourn the dead, we learn and study what happened to try to prevent its recurrence, and then we trek forward -- that was the American dream Walt loved. Unfortunately, I feel that dream has been replaced with political correctness and lawsuits.

I'm sorry to go off on a rant and a tangent, but your statement is a big part of the wrong turn this country has taken, in my humble opinion.

 

[fosse76]

It's not as if the liability has changed since the accident. Disney has been operating the Monorail recklessly for almost 40 years. There was always a liability having guests in the front.

 

[Master Yoda]

It's not as if the liability has changed since the accident. Disney has been operating the Monorail recklessly for almost 40 years. There was always a liability having guests in the front.

I am sorry but I do not think that anyone at WDW thought that 2 monorails would ever collide.

 

[BrerFrog]

would you feel that way if your son was killed in the front of a monorail......It should never come back at all out of respect to the decesed

By using that logic Disney would have to shut down Tower of Terror, Matterhorn, Everest, Rock 'n' Roller Coaster and many other rides.

 

[Kamikaze]

would you feel that way if your son was killed in the front of a monorail......It should never come back at all out of respect to the decesed

If you're going to use that logic, then buses are out too because of the kid that was killed by a bus a few months ago.

And of course millions of people have died in car crashes. And thousands in plane wrecks.

I guess we're all walking everywhere from now on.
Have to respect the dead, you know?
But wait, we have to close any type of ride that people have died on too, right?
:brick:

I am sorry but I do not think that anyone at WDW thought that 2 monorails would ever collide.

I'm sure it crossed some lawyers mind at some point.
But - I agree its a liability thing. It comes down to money, of course. The insurance policy to cover the 'front riders' must be too high to justify it.
This is why we're subject to ridiculous spiels everywhere - because it brings the premium down.
Disney would allow people up there if it made sense. But even if they got people to sign liability waivers, if there was another accident, the bad PR would probably cost them just as much.

I think we'll see it return eventually. Just might be a while. Like you said - new trains maybe.

 

[Tom]

After reading some of the nasty, thoughtless (and sometimes hurtful) things that Guests were saying to Monorail CMs in the months after the accident (posted by CMs on a different forum), I don't blame her for avoiding the resulting conversation when asked that question by Guests.

-Rob

I'm glad I never read any of those. And I'm really glad I didn't witness it in person. Anyone talking like that to the Monorail CMs deserves a sharp jab to the kidneys....as a start.

would you feel that way if your son was killed in the front of a monorail......It should never come back at all out of respect to the decesed

So....they shouldn't be rebuilding at Ground Zero, and they shouldn't be using Pearl Harbor as a port, and Columbine High School should have been shut down, and we shouldn't be flying space shuttles?

It's not as if the liability has changed since the accident. Disney has been operating the Monorail recklessly for almost 40 years. There was always a liability having guests in the front.

"Recklessly" is a bit harsh.

 

[Enchantâmes]

I was there in October 2009 and I asked about sitting up front and all of the CMs there gave me looks of disapproval and an older gentleman told me "we don't do that anymore". The whole depressing attitude of the Cast made me rather uneasy and I felt unwelcome. I know about the whole accident but there's no need to punish people for asking about sitting up front.

 

[Tom]

I was there in October 2009 and I asked about sitting up front and all of the CMs there gave me looks of disapproval and an older gentleman told me "we don't do that anymore". The whole depressing attitude of the Cast made me rather uneasy and unwelcome. I know about the whole accident but there's no need to punish people for asking about sitting up front.

While they should be putting on a smile and answering every question as if it were the first time they were ever asked...human nature tends to kick in and override in many cases.

Imagine if you were in their shoes and were asked hundreds of times a day if someone could ride up front - only armed with the strict instructions of NOT explaining why the answer is "no".

Am I defending them for being less than magical? No. Can I empathize with them? Yes.

 

[Enchantâmes]

While they should be putting on a smile and answering every question as if it were the first time they were ever asked...human nature tends to kick in and override in many cases.

Imagine if you were in their shoes and were asked hundreds of times a day if someone could ride up front - only armed with the strict instructions of NOT explaining why the answer is "no".

Am I defending them for being less than magical? No. Can I empathize with them? Yes.

I can understand yes but you don't need to give the person asking a parade of dirty looks just because you asked.