DISCLAIMER:I am a HUGE monorail enthusiast. However, my love for monorails does not cloud my "real world" judgement, as you shall see in what I write below. Do not take anything personally... I am just simply stating facts here. As for my qualifications, I have worked for Disney Transport in both busses and monorails for 2 years now, in addition to all the many many hours of personal research and learning that I have done in my own free time.
Okay... I am gonna try and summarize everything that I said from that huuuuuge thread down to this one post.
Originally posted by mocfan
The operator said if "funding materializes" the monorail will be expanded from Epcot to MGM Studios. The next project will to link all the resorts with the monorail system.
I've also heard my former co-workers tell guests that the monorail can travel at 150mph. The moral of this... Just because they say it... doesn't mean that it's true. A lot of times CM's will tell guests things to "preserve the magical guest experience" and make the "Wow Factor" increase. Ya know what I'm sayin?
Originally posted by AndyMagic
To say it isn't feasible is just ridiculous. It was feasible to extend the monorail to Epcot in 1982 and MGM is right next to Epcot so why wouldn't they extend it when there is enough money to do so? It may not be feasible to extend the monorail to all the resorts, but to the other main theme parks makes perfect sense. All I ever hear when I'm on a bus is people saying they wish a monorail could take them to their destination.
To answer your question... think back to 1982, when Epcot opened up. What did Walt Disney World consist of?
- Magic Kingdom
- Contemporary
- Polynesian
- The Golf Resort/The Disney Inn
- Fort Wilderness
- Epcot
- The Disney Village Marketplace
That's it. So, connecting the monorail to Epcot made sense, because you only had Contemporary, Polynesian and the TTC to worry about. (The other two resort areas had shuttles to the TTC I beleive)
What do we have now? 20 or so resorts, 4 theme parks, 2 water parks, mini golf, a sports complex, and Downtown Disney.
It's just a little bit different now.
Originally posted by MicBat
If the monorail was to be extended to other resorts, the prices would probably go up!
You got it!
Originally posted by space42
Disney has a plan to connect all of the parks via monorail. This plan was almost greenlighted sometime in 1998 or '99. The plan was killed by Disney corporate as they thought it cost too much money and there was not enough return on their 'investment'.
So, I ask this... If some people on a Disney message board KNOW it is not feasible to expand the monorail line. Then Disney themselvs must know this also right? So why go through all of the trouble of planning a monorail line if it is not feasible?
The plan did not go through, and was killed for that exact reason. For how much it costed, it was not a feasible thing to do. It would cost way too much money, and park to park ridership is NOT that big of a demand. And I might add, just because something is not feasible, doesn't mean companies won't spend money looking into it. Take for example "Concept Cars"... we see them every year... they look really cool, but in reality, you'll never see them on the road. However... the companies continue to research them, because they provide ideas and insight into other projects.
Originally posted by aladdin7702
I agree that the monorail isn't as efficient as everyone thinks. But I haven't heard of "light rail". What is it? I am assuming it is like the monorail only lighter in weigth and much more efficient. If I am wrong let me know.
Monorails are just as efficient, if not MORE efficient than any light rail system. The reason being that Light Rail has the potential of at-grade crossings, which can lead to accidents, as well as delays. An example of a light rail would be a trolley car system... or a subway system (both above and below ground)
Monorails are just like any other fixed guideway system. The ONLY difference between Monorails and Light Rail is the GUIDEWAY. That's it folks.
Now... by me saying that monorails are efficient... YES, they are... HOWEVER... look at your average subway system. Chances are, pretty much everything is in a fairly straight line, almost like a wheel, with spokes coming out of a central location. That's what fixed guideway systems are best for... fairly straight lines.
Originally posted by wahooskipper
Light rail can be done in medians and rights-of-way of roads that are already built. That eliminates much of the cost mentioned earlier.
Not quite true, on both topics. BOTH light rail and monorail can run in medians, or with right-of-way roads... in fact, monorails typically have an advantage here, because of thier vastly smaller footprint on the ground, and the lack of at-grade crossings. As for cost... the cost of light rail is only marginally less than for monorails.
Originally posted by wahooskipper
Does anyone think it would be a good idea for Disney to charge for the transportation system in order to expand the monorail system. Either a separate charge or an add-on to the room charge/park hopper charge or any other deal where use of monorails is included?
Disney already does charge for use of the transportation system. It's all built right into the cost of the room.
Originally posted by tahoe98
The good: easy transportation to/from resorts, parks, parking, & shopping.
Not quite. Chances are, there would be no direct monorail to where you wanted to go. You'd have to change trains at least once, if not twice to get where you wanted to go. This means that during peak times, you'd have to wait in 2 seperate long lines. In addition, even such a simple concept as changing trains BOGGLES many guests. You would be SHOCKED at how many people cannot grasp this concept, and struggle with it, and then complain about it. Trust me on this one, I've seen it all.
OKAY... now that I've answered all those posts... I'm going to answer some other questions that haven't been brought up....
PICTURE IT... you're staying at Caribbean Beach. CBR is a large resort, and is quite spread out. It has seven bus stops. If you added a monorail... you could not have that monorail make all seven stops. In fact, it's really only feasible to have one single stop. So then what? You now have to walk back to your room.
Now... Monorails are FIXED GUIDEWAY SYSTEMS... they allow for ZERO FLEXIBILITY... If that train fills up before it reaches all its stops... nothing can be done. The passengers at the next stop just have to keep waiting and waiting and waiting and waiting.
I'll give you a perfect example. In the morning MK/Epcot rush... the resort monorail stops at the Contemporary. Now most of the seats are filled. The train moves along to the TTC. Now all the seats are filled, and some folks are standing. The train moves along to the Polynesian. The poor folks at the Poly dont even get a chance to sit down. They all cram into the standing space, filling the train. The train moves along to the Grand Floridian.
But here's the thing. The train is full of MK people. Where do the GF people go? They can't get on the train, and now they have to wait for the next train. Well, the next train comes in, and only a few people can get on, because the exact same thing happened.
The solution is not to add more trains... you can only add so many trains before you actually slow down the system.
The solution is something that people do not like, because it lacks the "wow factor"...
Speaking of WOW FACTORS and whatnot... It is a common misconception that addition of a monorail would attract more guests. I can assure you... The vast majority of guests prefer EXPEDIENCE and CONVENIECE over "Cool" and "Wow."
