Monorails to no longer operate during Evening Extra Magic Hours

[Disney61]

We had already decieded to take a hiatus from visiting WDW in 2012. Hopefully when we return in 2013 the monorail issue will have been resolved.

 

[Cosmic Commando]

What if the cutbacks are the fix, at least temporarily?

If temporary is 6 months, I'll take it. If temporary is 10 years, that's no good. Even though Disney would never in a million years admit something like this, if this whole situation was "Gee, we knew these trains were gonna go sometime soon, but we didn't know it would be this fast", that would be good enough for me.

I could not for the life of me figure out the stupid embed, but this is how I feel:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_laaxl1EKqQ&NR=1

 

[rudyjr13]

Peachy....I am 100% in your corner here.

I do not believe these trains were designed for 24/7 operation...and frankly, EMH (something that has been brought into the parks after these trains were designed and built) seems to be really taking its toll on the trains.

I really think some of you that feel you're getting short changed because you sprung for the monorail resort but wont get to ride the mono home during EEMH.....need to be a little more reasonable here. We're talking reducing the train load by a few hours every day. To me, that's worth it.

It's called the magic kingdom....but that doesn't mean these trains fix themselves.

I feel for the CMs too but the beef is the fact that they are not buying new trains like DL got and would rather cut back operations instead. I'm one of those people that longs for an expanded monorail system to begin with. Buses are miserable especially with little kids.

 

[Kamikaze]

I feel for the CMs too but the beef is the fact that they are not buying new trains like DL got and would rather cut back operations instead. I'm one of those people that longs for an expanded monorail system to begin with. Buses are miserable especially with little kids.

1 - This only proves that the system will never, ever, ever be expanded.
2 - DLR didn't buy new trains. they retrofit the existing trains with new noses

 

[BrittanyRose428]

As has been stated before in the thread, the ferry boats will continue to run for guests at both the GF and Poly. And for those handicapped/ECV guests, there are boats large enough to accommodate them as well.

It still would not go over well with my Grandpa. He chooses to stay at the Contemporary because first of all it's his favorite hotel, but also because he only goes to MK and Epcot. He purposely chooses this hotel to avoid buses. He only goes for 2 or 3 days, and just rents an EVC when he gets to the park. I can see that he's exhausted and sometimes has a difficult time walking back to the monorails after a day in MK or Epcot, so I can't see him walking even a little bit further to a bus stop. I know he could rent an EVC from somewhere, but he shouldn't have to, he's been fine the way he's been going for years.

 

[unkadug]

It still would not go over well with my Grandpa. He chooses to stay at the Contemporary because first of all it's his favorite hotel, but also because he only goes to MK and Epcot. He purposely chooses this hotel to avoid buses. He only goes for 2 or 3 days, and just rents an EVC when he gets to the park. I can see that he's exhausted and sometimes has a difficult time walking back to the monorails after a day in MK or Epcot, so I can't see him walking even a little bit further to a bus stop. I know he could rent an EVC from somewhere, but he shouldn't have to, he's been fine the way he's been going for years.

If he is exhausted after a day at the MK, why would he stay out till two or three in the morning? :veryconfu

 

[Hakunamatata]

If he is exhausted after a day at the MK, why would he stay out till two or three in the morning? :veryconfu

Or walk up to the monorail station at the MK if the launches are closer to the exits?:shrug:

 

[BrittanyRose428]

The way I understand it, each Monorail Resort pays a certain percentage of their income to cover transportation costs.

SO...since transportation is being removed from the guests amenities, then the resort should pay Transportation Department less....

THEREFORE....nightly rates at all Monorail Resorts will soon be going down! :sohappy:

I was thinking something sort of similar to this. While everyone's saying that the monorail should just be down for a week or so every few years to be repaired, that would make sense and they could offer cheaper rates for the monorail resorts during that time. If they took away one amenity I would still stay there for a cheaper price. :shrug:

 

[BrittanyRose428]

If he is exhausted after a day at the MK, why would he stay out till two or three in the morning? :veryconfu

He takes an afternoon nap and he's good til 2 or 3 lol, I mean he's capable of the walking if he has to, its just that he purposely chooses a monorail resort to avoid buses/ferries.

 

[rudyjr13]

1 - This only proves that the system will never, ever, ever be expanded.
2 - DLR didn't buy new trains. they retrofit the existing trains with new noses

Sad

I stand corrected on the terminology bought new trains. Still rather they took one down at a time to re-engineer and update them then run them into the ground.

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

Or walk up to the monorail station at the MK if the launches are closer to the exits?:shrug:

Having travelled with someone who has walking issues, I can say that the boats that service GF/Poly are very difficult for some people to step into. I even saw an older person fall and bruise himself badly when he was trying to step down and the boat was rocking. The buses are also difficult if you're not in a wheelchair or ECV - the step to get into them is quite high.

So I can completely understand anyone who travels with a handicapped person and is extremely bothered by this. The monorail is just a lot easier for these people in general (since the step is a lot smaller and there is a ramp if necessary), and it's one of the primary reasons why GF/Poly/CR cost as much as they do.

 

[BrittanyRose428]

Having travelled with someone who has walking issues, I can say that the boats that service GF/Poly are very difficult for some people to step into. I even saw an older person fall and bruise himself badly when he was trying to step down and the boat was rocking. The buses are also difficult if you're not in a wheelchair or ECV - the step to get into them is quite high.

So I can completely understand anyone who travels with a handicapped person and is extremely bothered by this. The monorail is just a lot easier for these people in general (since the step is a lot smaller and there is a ramp if necessary), and it's one of the primary reasons why GF/Poly/CR cost as much as they do.

Thats exactly how we feel about it. I mean if he absolutely had to I'm sure he could, but he's 87 and he pays a lot of money to stay at the Contemporary because its where he's comfortable going. He'd rather walk the ramp to the monorail and take a break if he has to than try to get on the ferry or bus.

 

[disney_yeti]

I feel like this whole cutting costs by shutting down EMH mono service-thing was kind of linear if ask me.

 

[flavious27]

Peachy....I am 100% in your corner here.

I do not believe these trains were designed for 24/7 operation...and frankly, EMH (something that has been brought into the parks after these trains were designed and built) seems to be really taking its toll on the trains.

I really think some of you that feel you're getting short changed because you sprung for the monorail resort but wont get to ride the mono home during EEMH.....need to be a little more reasonable here. We're talking reducing the train load by a few hours every day. To me, that's worth it.

It's called the magic kingdom....but that doesn't mean these trains fix themselves.

The mark vi's should not still be in use without a major overhaul, they have been in use for 20 years now. With the amount that disney makes from the parks, they should be able to buy a couple extra trains while they strip the existing stock down to retrofit them.

 

[cr3346]

We'll charge you more to visit our parks, but we will also be taking more away. This seems to be a growing trend here. Maybe they should sell the parks, and that way, the person who buys em, maybe they'll care more about them and the guests using the parks

 

[Buried20KLeague]

We'll charge you more to visit our parks, but we will also be taking more away. This seems to be a growing trend here. Maybe they should sell the parks, and that way, the person who buys em, maybe they'll care more about them and the guests using the parks

I see what you did there... :lookaroun

 

[lazyboy97o]

In the past, the Resort line stayed open until the park cleared. So even if there were 5 people in the park, those 3-4 Resort trains are still cycling. Usually it takes around 2 hours for the park to clear after closing. So that saves about an hour each night, and the Resort trains can have a little more time for maintenance.

Then Disney should upgrade its switching technology so that the lines can quickly be brought down to just the two trains that will not be brought to the barn that night.

While I only pay chicken scratch to stay at POP, I too pay for the usage of the monorails. I too will be stuck on the ferry or a bus when I leave the MK after EMH. I too will be affected by this change. If I had the funds available, I would stay at the Contemporary or BLT, and gladly walk back.

Where the actual money comes from is not the issue. The three Deluxe Resorts serviced by the monorail cost more per night than other Disney Deluxe Resorts because of they feature monorail service. It is an extra amenity for which the resorts charge more.

Your willingness to pay for a service not received is your own issue.

2 - DLR didn't buy new trains. they retrofit the existing trains with new noses

Only the chassis and bodies were reused. The noses, motors, wiring, etc. was all new.

 

[GatorGuy]

If we can't get to our resorts we can just sleep at MK, if they question us we have an excuse...

 

[flynnibus]

Both. If you look off the roof of the Contemp, you can see a bunch of patches that have been done because pieces of the beam will fall off. It's not just there, but its easiest to see there. And the patches can't be made until after shut down. Say the park closes at 11, the beam will probably finally be shutdown at around 1:45am. Then the work tractor will need to make its way to the section of beam that needs patching. They will work on that, and by 5:15 the openers are showing up and that tractor has to be done and back at Shop by 6am at the latest. That only leaves about 4 hours for the work to be done AND for the concrete to dry. If it's not dry enough, the patch falls off a few hours later, the trains are reduced to "walking speed from Pylon x to Pylon y then resume normal speed" and the process repeats itself. If the park is open until 3am, the Resort beam stays hot throughout the night. The only maintenance the trains on Resort beam get that day is a quick check with a flashlight under the wheel-well covers (which are having a tendency lately to come loose and rip off trains as they enter a station) and they scan the AMVS and say "10-8, good to go." Generally, those Resort trains that never got a chance to go back to Shop don't make it through the next day without an unexpected trip back, with the ensuing downtime.

Also parts are literally falling off of the trains. Green's collector shoe ripped up a piece of buss bar on the 3rd of July which caused not only the train to go down but also the beam. Green also I believe was the train that caused a transmitter to fall off the beam between MK and GF and start a grass fire.

I have had a bus driver come up to me with a piece of a train that fell off into the bus loop and say "I think this is your guys." That's not embarrassing at all......

A few weeks ago I watched a Monorail shower down sparks on a group of Guests just as it enter MK on Express. That train went immediately to shop, but to add more drama to the scene, Security went running underneath the train all the way to the Switchbeam yelling "STOP STOP!" to any Guest who attempted to, heaven forbid, WALK underneath the Monorail as it was moving. That scene, to me, was the straw that broke the camel's back for my pride in that department.

How is reducing the overall service time by 1-4 hours a week going to fix problems of this scale? The fix likely involves less operating hours per week for each train with more maintenance shifts.

The burning the candle from both ends and it's impact on track maintenance sounds perfectly legit. But that is an acute problem that should be solvable with a schedule of downtime and the flexibility to introduce downtime when necessary for shorter bursts.

The only way to solve this if it were a chronic issue is to reduce hours of the parks operations. And there is a solution for that... run the park more normal hours (like staying open til midnight) and stopping the need to run EMH so late as a gimmic. Under the old operating hours - they were able to fix the beam in the maintenance window.

I still think there needs to be more holistic solutions rather then simply saying 'the CMs wanted this so they could fix it.. listen to us'. The CM lead solution is 'a' solution, not the only one possible. So it's not 'us' vs 'cm' in this matter.

 

[flynnibus]

The fact remains now that neither the US economy isn't stable enough to justify any long term investment in their US parks nor does the US consumer care about these things. If I were Disney, I'd be building in the BRIC economies, or in Australia/NZ (well, they are in China) and keep the US parks running while things improve.

The Disney that is romanticized by the internet fanbase should be better than that- however no company is exempt from the reality that right now, things are ________. Compared to others, Disney's cutbacks aren't many (putting Disney ahead of the curve as is standard).

At this point, I'm just happy that they haven't filed for bankruptcy protection at some point over the last decade.

Times like these are the BEST times for companies that are financially sound to invest in. Borrowing costs are as low as they have ever been since WDW's existance. The company is cash flush, and cash positive.

The company doesn't have to hunker down when it comes to long term spending. Companies hunder down to control their short term expenses in such storms.. but the ones that look to break out and run away when the sky clears are those that took the opportunity to invest in the company to be better and setup for success on the other side.

The type of spending here is long term capital which now is the best time possible to finance. It's times like this when the smart companies restructure and reinvest to break out. If all you do is huddle up in a ball and wait for the sun to come back out... you'll just be a frail prune when it finally does happen while your competition ramps up quicker and better and blows you buy.

This isn't radical thinking - it's pretty common business strategy. Get expenses in line, reinvest, and prepare for the breakout.

Disney's financial strength is not in question, nor is it's future market. It doesn't need to be so paranoid in not spending for the future... there is a future for Disney entertainment in FL.