bhg469
Well-Known Member
@marni1971 Has hinted that he knows the possible plan that Universal may be using for their next gate. Seems like they have a much cooler solution than gondolas.. Sad that Disney can't do something else.
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News Monorail Red in motion with guests on board and doors open
- Thread starter ptaylor
- Start date
Wow, the histrionics and hyperbole are well out of control. Public transit has doors open on light rail trains on very rare occasions. Yes, the train should not have dispatched with the door open (maybe this one didn't either). Yes there should have been an 'all stop' when the door was detected as open during transit. This might be scope gap from the automation system where they simply didn't put that in their hazard analysis since it lit a light for the human operators to see in 'the old days'. A very likely cause is that a maintenance tech left the door bypassed, every light rail and commuter rail train I have worked on (and just for clarity I have never worked on a WDW or Bombardier monorail) have a simple switch in each door that will bypass the door close sensor so that in the event of a failure the maintenance crew can manually shut the door and return the train to the maint shed or to do other work, then some sloppy person left the door bypassed (which on newer system the bypass switch would cause an alert bu on pre-2004 systems they did not) and some person opened the door after the train left the station. Not all that hard to do (if it were you would play heck getting the train evacuated during an emergency). Now please return to your "the monorails never work, smell like outhouses, and don't return on time" along with "Disney is trying to kill all of their guests) programming. P.S. A city replacing their fleet is not quite the same, they simply force the money from the taxpayer and don't have to justify it beyond "our overpaid consultant says we should spend more money".
RustySpork
Oscar Mayer Memer
I'd be on board with park to park Mario Kart.
Brad Bishop
Well-Known Member
I mentioned it earlier but it would be in line with what they've done in the past with rides they want to get rid of: Let them languish and complain about the costs until the higher ups give you the green light to shut them down.
20,000 Leagues is an example of this.
It's akin to never fixing your car until it gets the the point where it costs more to replace it than it does to fix everything that is wrong plus it's in horrible shape and looks back (because of lack of maintenance) so it's just not worth fixing.
In addition to all of that: The Epcot line has always been an oddity to me. It's a weird tangent line instead of feeling like part of the system, most of its length has a pretty crappy view (consider that the other 2 loops give you views of the lake, MK, hotels, goes into a hotel, etc.), it's odd to get to it at the TTC. If you're first arriving then you just head straight for it. If you're switching Monorails then you have to do a weird loop around to get to it. Add to that the inferior beams. It just seems that line was all about cost savings rather than long-term planning and integration.
It makes sense, to a certain degree, as they were questioning on whether to even build it and EPCOT was way over budget so, yeah, they're going to try to make it work.
It's odd to me the same way that you have to go through the MK parking lot toll booth to get to the MK resort properties. Just one of those, "What were they thinking??"-deals. Also, the French Curve interchange at Epcot is another oddity.
20,000 Leagues is an example of this.
It's akin to never fixing your car until it gets the the point where it costs more to replace it than it does to fix everything that is wrong plus it's in horrible shape and looks back (because of lack of maintenance) so it's just not worth fixing.
In addition to all of that: The Epcot line has always been an oddity to me. It's a weird tangent line instead of feeling like part of the system, most of its length has a pretty crappy view (consider that the other 2 loops give you views of the lake, MK, hotels, goes into a hotel, etc.), it's odd to get to it at the TTC. If you're first arriving then you just head straight for it. If you're switching Monorails then you have to do a weird loop around to get to it. Add to that the inferior beams. It just seems that line was all about cost savings rather than long-term planning and integration.
It makes sense, to a certain degree, as they were questioning on whether to even build it and EPCOT was way over budget so, yeah, they're going to try to make it work.
It's odd to me the same way that you have to go through the MK parking lot toll booth to get to the MK resort properties. Just one of those, "What were they thinking??"-deals. Also, the French Curve interchange at Epcot is another oddity.
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Rteetz
Well-Known Member
Screamscape isn't exactly who I would go to if I was a media outlet but whatever.
Tom P.
Well-Known Member
So one site -- Screamscape of all places -- posts something that they clearly identify as a rumor, attributed to a single unnamed source, that states Disney is considering closing the Epcot monorail line. Official, on-the-record Disney sources immediately and emphatically state that the report is completely false and that there are no plans to discontinue the monorail. Not even The Site That Shall Not Be Named has jumped on this particular rumor. And yet several news sources are now running with the headline that Disney may discontinue the monorail.
Is this really what our news reporting has come to?
Is this really what our news reporting has come to?
GrumpyFan
Well-Known Member
It might be different if it connected elsewhere or to another resort, but as-is, it's half attraction/half transportation.
trainplane3
Well-Known Member
I brought this up in the Epcot thread:
And @marni1971 's response:
Just because he may not know, doesn't mean it's not a possibility (as he's always stated with everything). But it sounds far fetched at this point.
Personal opinion: The monorail has been a staple at WDW. To dump it because of a door being stuck open and reliability issues would be short sited. I feel it would take a true and honest tragedy to shut it down. One of the things that says "I'm in WDW now" is seeing the monorail beams. To lose that would definitely hurt them, slightly though. Just imagine seeing a empty Epcot line. Beams that will sit around for a couple years until they decide to demo them. Now with the age of the current trains, it does make me question how long they plan for the monorail to keep running. If it was going to be around for another 30 years, wouldn't they have replaced them by now? This seems like a case of "My car is old enough that I'll keep it going until it completely craps the bed. Then I'll just scrap it". Yes the trains are expensive, I just feel it's also a case of "They work good enough so why replace them?".
Again, all personal opinion and everyone here has brought up good points on both sides of the tracks!
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GrumpyFan
Well-Known Member
Those who understand what "rumor" means, can properly parse this. Keep in mind, this forum is titled "News, Rumors and Current Events".
What is the source for the "Official, on-the-record Disney sources"?
The monorail wouldn’t affect any possible future Epcot hotel or developments in the area.
In fact, the Epcot loop is part of proposed developments.
trainplane3
Well-Known Member
Such as actual resorts on the loop? That'd be very cool to have something on that line.
Not in the Epcot area, no.
Apparently it didn’t.
Horizons '83
Well-Known Member
- In the Parks
- No
Click bait central, and the Channel 10 news in Miami bit...
Tom P.
Well-Known Member
I am not referring to the fact that it was posted here as confusing rumors with news. I am referring to the fact that several mainstream, legitimate news outlets are reporting this story in spite of the fact that it is a totally unsourced rumor from one blog that Disney has immediately and emphatically said is false.
Regarding the official, on-the-record source, it is an official Disney spokesperson who is saying the rumor is false. From Local10.com:
Bender123
Well-Known Member
Even into the mid 80s, the plan was to expand the monorail all the way to what is now Springs. Have you ever noticed how insanely odd the Epcot station is? Its because it was supposed to be a station with expansion for more lines. The problem of why it just is "there" is because it was the link between the MK and the rest of the property. Weve all seen the old model pictures...
jakeman
Well-Known Member
Do we have a somewhat definitive series of events at this point?
I think so.
GrumpyFan
Well-Known Member
Regardless, I don't have a lot of faith in "an official Disney spokesperson", they say what they're told to say, not necessarily what's true and planned.
Brad Bishop
Well-Known Member
- Rocket Rods are down temporarily and will open back up in 2001.
- 20,000 Leagues is down for an extensive refurb.