Monorails to no longer operate during Evening Extra Magic Hours

[BrittanyRose428]

I just realized I should probably go through all my dinner reservations for December now. We're staying at Shades of Green and thought it would be easy to walk to Poly and get the monorail for dinner reservations at monorail resorts but I might change some of them now. =/

 

[Kamikaze]

I just realized I should probably go through all my dinner reservations for December now. We're staying at Shades of Green and thought it would be easy to walk to Poly and get the monorail for dinner reservations at monorail resorts but I might change some of them now. =/

You can still do that, you'll just have to take a boat or bus between resorts instead of the monorail.

 

[devoy1701]

Ive done slot of thinking on this issue over the past evening, and I I have to say I'm coming around to the other side on this.... one thing that really solidified it for me was that I forgot how much inter-resort shopping and dining we do as a family....we may not be at the parks every night, but we most certainly doline at the other monorail resorts at night...we browse the shops.....we hang out at the other resorts, etc....

While we, as a family are not restricted from using the launches, as handicapped families are....the unintended consequence of this is that the launch system is going to get overworked/overloaded.

While I still feel that the monorail system needs a better rest, nightly, the fact that they aren't even going to run the resort loop to handle inter-resort traffic is at best, short sighted (as it will most certainly have a profoundly negative result on restaurant/shop revenue) and at worst, disastrous....as the other transportation systems are going to get far more heavily taxed.....will tdo finally wake up when a launch sinks out in bay lake?

I'm definitely not as comfortable about this situation as I was yesterday.....

welcome aboard Frank! :wave:

 

[COProgressFan]

You can still do that, you'll just have to take a boat or bus between resorts instead of the monorail.

That's true, but without the monorail:
- you may have to wait for a boat (much smaller capacity)
- the boat service takes longer than the monorail
- the boat is harder to maneuver into/out of for guests who might not be as strong on their feet
- boats are much smaller, meaning less room for strollers, bags, etc.
- boat service may be shut during a storm
- if it's December, it could definitely be quite cold on those boats at night!

 

[misterID]

welcome aboard Frank! :wave:

I was just about done with this board when it was clear some posters were living on a different planet where the realms of logic didn't exist.

They'd tell me something, I'd quote it to show how it contradicted their argument, they'd turn around and say that the quote didn't mean what they had first said it meant, thereby contradicting their argument again, and then maintaining they were right all along...

My head hurts. :veryconfu

 

[PirateFrank]

I just realized I should probably go through all my dinner reservations for December now. We're staying at Shades of Green and thought it would be easy to walk to Poly and get the monorail for dinner reservations at monorail resorts but I might change some of them now. =/

I'm not going to modify my ADRs for October....I woke up at 5:45am exactly 180 days out for them...and I likely wouldn't have much luck changing them to better times...

However, I do need to be far more cognizant of whether travel to these resorts will get negatively impacted with having to use boat launches...

I might need to think about writing a letter and get this off my chest.....

 

[devoy1701]

I was just about done with this board when it was clear some posters were living on a different planet where the realms of logic didn't exist.

They'd tell me something, I'd quote it to show how it contradicted their argument, they'd turn around and say that the quote didn't mean what they had first said it meant, thereby contradicting their argument again, and then maintaining they were right all along...

My head hurts. :veryconfu

This is fantastic though. Frank seems to be a huge Disney World fan and originally took the stance of "It seems like TDO is trying to do something to address the issue so give them some credit." With valid points and a civil conversation (and a night to think it through) it seems he has realized that there are better ways they could/should be handling this that doesn't effect the guest experience, not only those who will be physically restricted and put off by the lack of monorail, but for everyone, whether you're staying at a Monorail Resort or not.

The monorail is a mainstay of WDW and it being unavailable during a time when guests should be able to use it is just like saying, Space Mountain needs maintenance so we're going to shut it down after regular park hours...no EMH, no Parties...it can't handle the pressure of operating 16-20 hrs a day on some occasions. You can still ride the TTA, or Buzz Lightyear though! It should be able to operate those long days, and if not, it needs to go down until it can handle what is required of it. (not sure if this is the best analogy but I think you get the point)

These are the kinds of issues and decision making that we need to address with TDO. And if we have any luck we should see this Monorail decision overturned.

Frank if I mispoke for you I apologize! :wave:

 

[Zac Skellington]

Additional trains allows each train to run less often - and get more maintenance.



Because your logic doesn't understand why people say get more trains to start with. More trains doesn't make your beam problems worse - it's to address the main problem which is the long term durability and high # of hours on the fleet of trains.. which is already running at reduced capacity.



Because they are problems you can address separately.



Because companies like Disney would invest in ways to fix their problems that don't hinder guests.

Does it cost Disney more to work at night then day? YES, but they do it. Why? Because they didn't want guests to see or be hindered by the work during the day. you know.. that whole 'show' thing. People are upset because choices like these fly in the face of such business models.

How do you help the beam situation? It's called 'ENGINEERING' you work smarter, not just harder. Are there different methods to repair? Or how about facing the fact that if repairs are needed so much, instead of repair they should be working on replacement? What's the expected lifecycle of the beam to start with? Maybe they are actually in a 'patch it instead of fix it' mentality already and should be focusing on long term fixes instead.

What about single beaming? What about rotating which loop is in service so the other loop has more downtime? etc etc. There are plenty of systems in the world that deal with such uptime requirements. Civil engineers throughout the world make their living solving infrastructure problems like this.

Point being - there are a lot of choices - so please stop acting like this is the only path they had. Most have impacts and costs - but it's not the ONLY method. You keep saying 'where are solutions?' try reading the thread instead of insulting handicap guests. There is plenty already covered in the previous 30 plus pages.

Thanks for taking the time to help Frank out, and doing it in a friendly manner.

 

[Zac Skellington]

Ive done alot of thinking on this issue over the past evening, and I I have to say I'm coming around to the other side on this....

Oh yeah... It's like someone just hooked morphine straight to my brain...

 

[bunnyman]

Ive done alot of thinking on this issue over the past evening, and I I have to say I'm coming around to the other side on this.... one thing that really solidified it for me was that I forgot how much inter-resort shopping and dining we do as a family....we may not be at the parks every night, but we most certainly shop and dine at the other monorail resorts at night...we browse the shops.....we hang out at the other resorts, etc....

While we, as a family are not restricted from using the launches, as handicapped families are....the unintended consequence of this is that the launch system is going to get overworked/overloaded.

While I still feel that the monorail system needs a better rest, nightly, the fact that they aren't even going to run the resort loop to handle inter-resort traffic is at best, short sighted (as it will most certainly have a profoundly negative result on restaurant/shop revenue) and at worst, disastrous....as the other transportation systems are going to get far more heavily taxed.....will tdo finally wake up when a launch sinks out in bay lake?

I'm definitely not as comfortable about this situation as I was yesterday.....

Welcome to Monorails Anonymous!

 

[BrittanyRose428]

I'm not going to modify my ADRs for October....I woke up at 5:45am exactly 180 days out for them...and I likely wouldn't have much luck changing them to better times...

However, I do need to be far more cognizant of whether travel to these resorts will get negatively impacted with having to use boat launches...

I might need to think about writing a letter and get this off my chest.....

Ohh I wouldn't change yours then. We only booked our December trip a few weeks ago so there wasn't too much available for ADRs anyways. I know we can take a boat/bus for dinner, but it will take longer. We purposely wanted our dinners to be later at night and at monorail resorts so we could come to or from MK and get back to Shades of Green easier. I mean its still possible, but we would have looked at other restaurants if we knew it might end up taking longer to get there anyways. Oh well lol

 

[PirateFrank]

This is fantastic though. Frank seems to be a huge Disney World fan and originally took the stance of "It seems like TDO is trying to do something to address the issue so give them some credit." With valid points and a civil conversation (and a night to think it through) it seems he has realized that there are better ways they could/should be handling this that doesn't effect the guest experience, not only those who will be physically restricted and put off by the lack of monorail, but for everyone, whether you're staying at a Monorail Resort or not.

Frank if I mispoke for you I apologize! :wave:

Not at all! I couldn't have said it better....

I'm as human as the next man, and I can mistakenly take a side without thinking things all the way through....this is certainly one of those circumstances. Perhaps I'm so desperate to see an example of TDO taking professional care with WDW, that any sign of it, no matter how il-conceived it turns out to be....

I get down to WDW once every 15 months or so....I was last there in aug of 2010....and aside from a few aforementioned bus frustrations, I thought the transportation system wasn't showing any signs of strain....it's really going to be maddening if the strains are now as apparent as they are being made out to be. Most of us that stay on property, do so, to enjoy the benefits of the transportation system....why bother if the bus system and the launches are being forced to shoulder added load from the lost monorail time.....

 

[Spike-in-Berlin]

But I imagine the CMs on the line are sent home...not seeing a quick reopening on such short notice being realistic....

Actually completely unrealistic, it would mean that the entire personnel at the control center etc. would have to go back after they already closed the tracks and ran down the energy systems.

 

[juniorthomas]

Ive done alot of thinking on this issue over the past evening, and I I have to say I'm coming around to the other side on this.... one thing that really solidified it for me was that I forgot how much inter-resort shopping and dining we do as a family....we may not be at the parks every night, but we most certainly shop and dine at the other monorail resorts at night...we browse the shops.....we hang out at the other resorts, etc....

While we, as a family are not restricted from using the launches, as handicapped families are....the unintended consequence of this is that the launch system is going to get overworked/overloaded.

While I still feel that the monorail system needs a better rest, nightly, the fact that they aren't even going to run the resort loop to handle inter-resort traffic is at best, short sighted (as it will most certainly have a profoundly negative result on restaurant/shop revenue) and at worst, disastrous....as the other transportation systems are going to get far more heavily taxed.....will tdo finally wake up when a launch sinks out in bay lake?

I'm definitely not as comfortable about this situation as I was yesterday.....

Yeah, there certainly is somewhat of a lapse there, regardless of how TDO justified the move

 

[Spike-in-Berlin]

Ive done alot of thinking on this issue over the past evening, and I I have to say I'm coming around to the other side on this.... one thing that really solidified it for me was that I forgot how much inter-resort shopping and dining we do as a family....we may not be at the parks every night, but we most certainly shop and dine at the other monorail resorts at night...we browse the shops.....we hang out at the other resorts, etc....

While we, as a family are not restricted from using the launches, as handicapped families are....the unintended consequence of this is that the launch system is going to get overworked/overloaded.

While I still feel that the monorail system needs a better rest, nightly, the fact that they aren't even going to run the resort loop to handle inter-resort traffic is at best, short sighted (as it will most certainly have a profoundly negative result on restaurant/shop revenue) and at worst, disastrous....as the other transportation systems are going to get far more heavily taxed.....will tdo finally wake up when a launch sinks out in bay lake?

I'm definitely not as comfortable about this situation as I was yesterday.....

I love it when a plan comes together.

It creates a good feeling that our arguments could convince those with a different view because it proves that our point of view is of quite some persuasion.

 

[thelookingglass]

However, standard operating hours at the Magic Kingdom and the Studios used to be substantially longer throughout the year. So, they offer the "extra magic hours," but a lot of it isn't so extra when they've reduced their hours from years past. I lived in Orlando from 99-05 and standard hours are quite lower from then. I remember the countless MK closings at midnight and 1 am for non-hotel guests let alone the Studios closing at the minimum of 10:30 pm.

Have you checked the park hours this summer? That is exactly what they are like right now, excluding EMH.

 

[puntagordabob]

However, standard operating hours at the Magic Kingdom and the Studios used to be substantially longer throughout the year. So, they offer the "extra magic hours," but a lot of it isn't so extra when they've reduced their hours from years past. I lived in Orlando from 99-05 and standard hours are quite lower from then. I remember the countless MK closings at midnight and 1 am for non-hotel guests let alone the Studios closing at the minimum of 10:30 pm.

Thanks for sharing that insight....sure makes you think!!!!

Ive done alot of thinking on this issue over the past evening, and I I have to say I'm coming around to the other side on this.... .....

Welcome Home!

Seriously, I salute you for taking a serious stand...argue the points...and then to truly reaccess the situation...discovering your position has shifted via the debate...and to vocally state your shifted position!

Perhaps I'm so desperate to see an example of TDO taking professional care with WDW, that any sign of it, no matter how il-conceived it turns out to be....

I think I can help you there: The Happy return of the keys to Jose of HIS Enchanted Tiki Room at the MK in a month or so from now!!! I seriously Salute TDO for this decision....even though we had to endure Iago for the past 13 years until he was Fired (Quite literally set on fire in case you missed that! lol)... TDO could have been stubborn and brought back the UNM show or perhaps an UNM 2.0......BUT they didnt...and for letting us once again "Sing like the Birdies Sing" I say TDO DOES deserve praise.... and as many of you know the Tiki Room has a very special connection to me so I will probably have tears on my face when I see the show again at WDW (seen it at Disneyland since 98 of course lol) because for me THIS was the spot where the Disney Magic started for me back in 71-72.... So if anyone at TDO or from the MK is reading this please say THANK YOU for me....

So Piratefrank THERE is at least this One something for you to see regarding TDO doing something Great at WDW... Sadly though the Monorail situation is Not So Much!

 

[Computer Magic]

Not at all! I couldn't have said it better....

I'm as human as the next man, and I can mistakenly take a side without thinking things all the way through....this is certainly one of those circumstances. Perhaps I'm so desperate to see an example of TDO taking professional care with WDW, that any sign of it, no matter how il-conceived it turns out to be....

I get down to WDW once every 15 months or so....I was last there in aug of 2010....and aside from a few aforementioned bus frustrations, I thought the transportation system wasn't showing any signs of strain....it's really going to be maddening if the strains are now as apparent as they are being made out to be. Most of us that stay on property, do so, to enjoy the benefits of the transportation system....why bother if the bus system and the launches are being forced to shoulder added load from the lost monorail time.....

WOW! I don't see many people step up like you just did. I wish more would. I've jumped to conclusion before just like most, but it takes a good person to step up and say so.

 

[cbconglom]

me: @ThemeParkOne any thoughts on wdw monorail situation and reducing their availability? new fleet coming?



ThemeParkOne: @cbconglom There's a proposal for some major infrastructure overhaul on the monorail system including a new fleet. Fingers crossed!


fingers crossed indeed!

 

[flynnibus]

The other thing to keep in mind in all of this... is Disney Transport has a relatively new top dog. Hopefully the good news out of this is the potential that the new leadership is taking the old problems seriously and possibly getting more control in the larger WDW executive circle.