Monorails to no longer operate during Evening Extra Magic Hours

[jt04]

And this, my friends, signals one thing more than anything else:

The monorail system will never be expanded at WDW.

Agreed, but some of the track could be converted into a PRT system someday in the distant future. Who knows?

To your point though, this could conceivably also signal something else and that is the possible phasing out of EMH due to enhancements possible through next-gen technology.

 

[Scuttle]

At the very least. Imagine spending $500 a night, in part for a service that you can't use.

I know! It's an absolute joke. I'll be writing Disney soon to give them a piece of my mind. The Epcot line I understand, but the MK resort loop I do not understand at all. If this is not a maintenance issue and it has to do with saving costs then I will NEVER stay at another Disney hotel.

 

[Frau Farbissina]

Even if they put a bus service it still doesn't seem right that someone is paying to stay at a monorail resort and they're taking a bus back from MK. :veryconfu

The boat to the GF and the Poly is super tiny. Can you imagine taking a bus back to the GF? It's so close! It wouldn't be such a big issue if there was a walkway.

 

[Frau Farbissina]

I know! It's an absolute joke. I'll be writing Disney soon to give them a piece of my mind. The Epcot line I understand, but the MK resort loop I do not understand at all. If this is not a maintenance issue and it has to do with saving costs then I will NEVER stay at another Disney hotel.

I'm such a sucker--I'll stay. But I'll complain about it. Not that that helps.

 

[COProgressFan]

It is expected to be a permanent change.

I am hoping guests will express their dissatisfaction and this plan will be be reversed. Again, temporary changes due to monorail track work, maintenance to the trains, etc., is perfectly reasonable and expected from time to time. To shut the monorail down earlier every night, inconveniencing guests (despite the high prices they paid to stay in these resorts) simply because Disney doesn't want the expense or wear and tear is awful.

Monorail transportation is an essential service of the three hotels on the monorail line (duh!). So to tell guests that they can't take the monorail back to their resort because they stayed in the park during EMH is absurd.

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

This is a joke. I'm done staying on property!

Agreed. If I'm spending the money to be at Contemporary, I don't want to HAVE to walk back to the resort after a long, hot, humid, exhausting day of walking in MK. If I'm staying at GF, I don't want to wait for a tiny boat that can only seat about 37 people at most, shares service with another resort, and provides no AC.

Goodbye WDW resorts, hello Swolphin (since I'll never convince myself to stay further off-property). At least there, you have the boat option or the walkway option (I usually walk to both Epcot and DHS and am fine with it).

 

[DisKid]

I completely agree with the need for maintenance.

However, I do not accept maintenance as the reason for this cutback.

1. Right now, evening extra magic hours only occur three nights a week for both Epcot and MK: Sunday (MK), Tuesday (Epcot), and Friday (MK).

2. Can anyone tell me that every monorail receives maintenance every night??



I have never stayed at a monorail resort, but this still ticks me off.

 

[biggy H]

For those saying that they won't be staying at a monorail resort again just because the monorail is running on MK EMH nights is a bit extreme.
They never promised that the monorail would be availble all the time to get to/from the MK. Do you say you won't be staying when its broken down or off-line for any other reason?

 

[Scuttle]

Who the hell makes these idiotic decisions? So now EMHs are not a benefit, but more of a hassle to find a way back to your hotel. You pay premium prices to stay at the monorail resorts and to get this convenience. Like someone else said hello Swan and Dolphin. I'd rather give my money to Sheraton than WDW anyway.

 

[MerlinTheGoat]

For those saying that they won't be staying at a monorail resort again just because the monorail is running on MK EMH nights is a bit extreme.
They never promised that the monorail would be availble all the time to get to/from the MK. Do you say you won't be staying when its broken down or off-line for any other reason?

Bringing monorails offline temporarily due to either technical difficulties or maintenance is extremely different from taking them out of commission for certain hours permanently due to budget cuts.

 

[Spike-in-Berlin]

If I'm staying at GF, I don't want to wait for a tiny boat that can only seat about 37 people at most, shares service with another resort, and provides no AC.

And has a lot of mosquitos in the waiting area during night time. Once we waited for the boat to the Poly and we changed our mind to monorail when we saw how many mosquitos where flying around there.
If Disney really does this, I won't stay at the monorail resorts again.

 

[peter11435]

Bringing monorails offline temporarily due to either technical difficulties or maintenance is extremely different from taking them out of commission for certain hours permanently due to budget cuts.

This is not a budget cut:wave:

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

For those saying that they won't be staying at a monorail resort again just because the monorail is running on MK EMH nights is a bit extreme.
They never promised that the monorail would be availble all the time to get to/from the MK. Do you say you won't be staying when its broken down or off-line for any other reason?

In the past, the monorail was never offline or broken for longer than a day, and it was random. I was actually staying at CR on the night of the 4th of July accident in 2009, and the next day the only way to get to Epcot was a shared bus between the monorail resorts. Lots of people were annoyed, but obviously there was a reason for it and it was a very sad, unexpected event.

In this case, Disney is literally saying "if you stay in our flagship theme park for your special resort perk and you spent money to stay at one of our most expensive resorts, you won't be able to utilize the efficient and convenient transport system that was supposed to be available to you whenever you wanted to come or go from MK during reasonable hours." It's a joke.

 

[Bender!]

After an entire day of walking through the parks, a 10-20 minute walk to your hotel doesn't seem so bad.

 

[Scuttle]

We should start a petition. If this is for maintenance than no problem. That's understandable, but if it's for budget cuts then this is ludacris!

 

[MerlinTheGoat]

This is not a budget cut:wave:

Proof? Because all indications are saying that it is indeed a cutting costs thing. If it were a maintenance thing or whatever, the change would likely be temporary. But Steve is saying it's permanent.

 

[Spike-in-Berlin]

For those saying that they won't be staying at a monorail resort again just because the monorail is running on MK EMH nights is a bit extreme.
They never promised that the monorail would be availble all the time to get to/from the MK. Do you say you won't be staying when its broken down or off-line for any other reason?

That's a big difference. If the monorail is broken, well that happens occasionally. But if the management expects me to pay the, in the meantime already ridicously increased, room fees and still have to accept reduced monorail service just because they want to save money? No way.
The Wilderness Lodge (although they now again increased room prices!) is a good and cheaper alternative if I want to stay in the MK area.

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

After an entire day of walking through the parks, a 10-20 minute walk to your hotel doesn't seem so bad.

First of all, it is bad. You're sweaty and tired and your legs and feet hurt and you just want to be sitting down or back in your room as soon as possible, ideally with AC. The walk itself isn't too bad, but after a long day, it's the last thing I feel like. Plus, this isn't Disneyland (where your only option is walking, but you're 5 minutes from either park and there's less humidity) or the Epcot area (where you can choose between boat or walkway instead of being forced into one). I've been a monorail resort patron for almost 16 years straight, and this is a huge factor for me.

 

[Hakunamatata]

We should start a petition. If this is for maintenance than no problem. That's understandable, but if it's for budget cuts then this is ludacris!

What kind of petition? The "We the people who make up less than 1/2 1% of the people who stay on the monorail loop demand you keep it open at our whim" petition?

I've said it before and I'll say it again, Disney owns the resorts and parks and they can run them as they see fit.

 

[Spike-in-Berlin]

In this case, Disney is literally saying "if you stay in our flagship theme park for your special resort perk and you spent money to stay at one of our most expensive resorts, you won't be able to utilize the efficient and convenient transport system that was supposed to be available to you whenever you wanted to come or go from MK during reasonable hours." It's a joke.

Exactly. They are spitting in the face of the resort guests who pay the highest prices for their rooms in the entire resort. We don't care how many you pay, we don't care if our hotels are already ridicously overpriced compared to the standards and quality they actually offer, we still cut costs at the expense of your wdw experience.
Oh and please accept the annual increase of the MYWT etc. despite the parks being increasingly badly maintained and a lot of amenities being cancelled.