Monorails to no longer operate during Evening Extra Magic Hours

[Kamikaze]

if the current monorail trains are in such bad shape that they can't keep up can't they build another train??? they're building a new dumbo ride so why not??? they built the ones they have at some point...i'm just sayin' :shrug:

anyone going to the parks next week? would love to hear how things go on mk emh night.

It takes a large pile of cash and a decently long wait for them to have a train built. If they had ordered trains when they announced this, it would be 3-4 months before the first one arrived, at the earliest.

 

[EvilQueen-T]

well they've taken away most of the discounts and people have been willing to wait years for the fantasy land expansion so what's a few months??? but i'm sure it's just waaaay cheaper from a business standpoint to tell people to use a bus.

 

[wdwmagic]

This hasn't been confirmed, but someone posted on another board they received a call from DVC Member Services stating, " ...the resort monorail will stay open until 11pm every night regardless of when the parks close."

"The message I received indicated that this reflected "additional information" about the policy from their "transportation partners,""

Has anyone heard anything new?

No change from what I know. Still 1 after reg park closing.

 

[draybook]

LOL attacking someone's spelling deficiencies still does not change their point being correct!

No, it was simply a response to that poster insinuating that I am stupid. My retort was that I was not the one making a simple grammatical error. It's just ironic, that's all. I take most things lightheartedly, but not when someone insults my intelligence. Me disagreeing with someone's opinion doesn't make me stupid. Truth be told, I'm far beyond average as far as that goes.

Maybe it seemed that I was arguing just for the sake of it, but all I was after was a simple "yes, you are affected just like the people that choose to stay on the rail line". I'm only interested in the basic facts, whether we choose to or not.

That being said, it's true that we won't be as affected because the boat that takes us is larger and will hardly add any time to the wait to leave, especially considering that by the time we mosey out of the exit there's hardly anyone left as it is.

In the end, it's not worth getting one's underwear twisted, because we're all Disney lovers here, and in the end it's all about having a good time. I would also place a safe bet that we're all up in arms because Disney is a passion for us, good or bad. Like someone else said, we wouldn't voice our displeasure if we didn't care about the place.

 

[flynnibus]

The Big Thunder Mountain accident was also due to poor maintenance.

You're comparing completely different things.

The Monorail situation is about inability to do all work required.

BTMRR was about IMPROPERLY performed maintenance (done WRONG) compounded by lax oversight. The accident also exposed larger misunderstandings (bad training) of the operators.

Monorail maintenance is about lack of preventative upkeep and ability to perform all the work - not that work is being done WRONGLY or in an unsafe manner.

BTMRR and Columbia accidents have no place in this discussion and no relevance.

 

[puntagordabob]

No, it was simply a response to that poster insinuating that I am stupid. My retort was that I was not the one making a simple grammatical error. It's just ironic, that's all. I take most things lightheartedly, but not when someone insults my intelligence. Me disagreeing with someone's opinion doesn't make me stupid. Truth be told, I'm far beyond average as far as that goes..

Ahhh ok I may have missed the poster you were responding to....I agree that people should respect one another in any kind of discussion or debate....

Good motto: Attack the Ideas, Not the Person!

I try to always follow this...though i am human lol.......but I do indeed try!

....Also I do not think you are stupid.... and I have enjoyed the discussion.... and at least on here you can discuss things without people automaticly attack You the person..... there is a similar conversation happening on Dis and while I intend no disrespect to the forums there it is a dramaticly different environment its hard to explain maybe someone else could say that better.

 

[flavious27]

When we travel, we're a group of 4 people max anyway, so it doesn't affect me whether the room sleeps 4 or 5. But your point is valid - Poly, GF, and CR do have rooms that sleep 5. BUT so do Boardwalk, Yacht, and Beach, which have boats/walkways to 2 parks and still cost less.

A room at Poly costs $135 more than a room at Wilderness. $135/$250 = 54%. So compared to staying at Wilderness, a room at Poly costs 54% more. And Poly's cheapest room overlooks gardens and/or parking lot. Wilderness Lodge's cheapest room overlooks trees and/or parking lot. I don't think Poly is more scenic than WL - WL is full of woods, a geyser, rock work, it's right on Bay Lake, and it's one of the most elaborately themed deluxes. So the reasons that Poly costs more are rooms that sleep 1 more person, and the monorail.

The thing is, however you slice it, Poly, GF, BLT, and CR's tower cost more than the other deluxes. Since Boardwalk, Yacht, and Beach have walkways and boats to Epcot and DHS (and their rooms also sleep 5), then the monorail to MK is still a large factor in why the MK resorts have higher rates.

If we compare bi to poly, because both are deluxe with their rooms being at a 5 person capacity, poly is more expensive. That is the truth, in black and white. But I don't see it being $40 or $60 more per night, per room just because of the monorail. Look at the prices of poly vs contemp, poly costs more. Other resorts have additional transportation options that those guests have to pay for.

Really the only way to find out how much of the bill that poly, gf, and contemp is going towards monorail maintenance is to see the docs that show how disney funnels the money out. If you can find that, well ...

What is your solution? Do you think it better for Disney to not properly maintain the monorail and allow the kind of breakdowns and stall outs that have been happening as of late continue? You may have your reasons, but you also have to acknowledge that Disney has theirs too. They aren't doing it to be mean...they are doing it because its necessary to keep all guests safe.

I think part of the solution is for disney to better explain themselves and be honest. The image that the monorails are 100% safe has been tarnished, they can be frank with what needs to be done. If they need to work on the beams, and the best way for them to bring them up to 100% is to lessen the hours they are used, so be it. If they are doing this because the trains need to be refurbed, they should just say that, though they should just replace them as they did with the mark iv's. Regardless of what needs attention, they should just say it.

We are responding this much because there is no clarity from tdo, wdw transportation, or disney co. If we are blowing up these threads, I don't want to know how the call center in tampa is doing right now.

It may be perceived as an attraction by many of the Guests...but by all legal and practical standards it is public mass transportation.....

As for the monorail passing through the flagship resort...when the line opened in 1971 a lot of people believed that in the future we would all ride monorails and live in buildings like the Contemporary Resort (no joking and although I was a kid at the time of the opening I believed it too lol)...so it was more like having the future here today...

Multi-post question part...I dont recall but it was a while reading through all the posts lol....

Before 71 trains made stops inside of buildings and ran through them, that was the purpose of the high line.

 

[disneyrcks]

^ The monorail drives the price of a monorail resort up but I do not think they factor EMH into the cost of a room at a monorail resort. I think the price would remain the same EMH or not because they are monorail resorts. You still have the convenience of the monorail through your entire stay. The only time you need to seek alternate transportation is the 1-3x per week (only at night) that there are EMH either at MK or Epcot.

I completely understand being frustrated about as I am as well. I just don't think the prices would be different between monorail convenience all day and monorail convenience for just EMH.

 

[menamechris]

I think part of the solution is for disney to better explain themselves and be honest. The image that the monorails are 100% safe has been tarnished, they can be frank with what needs to be done. If they need to work on the beams, and the best way for them to bring them up to 100% is to lessen the hours they are used, so be it. If they are doing this because the trains need to be refurbed, they should just say that, though they should just replace them as they did with the mark iv's. Regardless of what needs attention, they should just say it.

We are responding this much because there is no clarity from tdo, wdw transportation, or disney co. If we are blowing up these threads, I don't want to know how the call center in tampa is doing right now.

I am kind of at a loss here. Perhaps I have missed something. Disney has clearly explained themselves, by saying that the monorails need additional maintenance - thus, the need for the monorails to be off the track an hour after closing. How do they need to better explain themselves? Do they need to release maintenance schedules and budget plans for it? Because even if they did...I am pretty sure its not up for a vote by us... Again, this may seem absolutely unacceptable to certain people today. But in a year or two, the average guest will have just accepted that this is normal procedure (and will probably have forgotten that the monorail ever ran during EMH).

 

[devoy1701]

I am kind of at a loss here. Perhaps I have missed something. Disney has clearly explained themselves, by saying that the monorails need additional maintenance - thus, the need for the monorails to be off the track an hour after closing. How do they need to better explain themselves? Do they need to release maintenance schedules and budget plans for it? Because even if they did...I am pretty sure its not up for a vote by us... Again, this may seem absolutely unacceptable to certain people today. But in a year or two, the average guest will have just accepted that this is normal procedure (and will probably have forgotten that the monorail ever ran during EMH).

Well we seem to think that "Need additional maintenance" is a catch all phrase for not maintaining their monorails and having no plans to replace the 20 year old fleet (well they have plans to but they don't really plan to move forward with it at this time).

The monorails need additional maintenance and down time because they have been neglected in the past. They are fully capable of operating on their original long and demanding schedule if they were properly maintained. But because they have not been, it is not impacted guests.

 

[puntagordabob]

I am kind of at a loss here. Perhaps I have missed something. Disney has clearly explained themselves, by saying that the monorails need additional maintenance - thus, the need for the monorails to be off the track an hour after closing. How do they need to better explain themselves? Do they need to release maintenance schedules and budget plans for it? Because even if they did...I am pretty sure its not up for a vote by us... Again, this may seem absolutely unacceptable to certain people today. But in a year or two, the average guest will have just accepted that this is normal procedure (and will probably have forgotten that the monorail ever ran during EMH).

What is missing is how this cutback (the bandaid covering the symptoms of the problem) is going to be complemented by A TRUE solution that will FIX the problem.... THAT is what is missing in my opinion.

 

[devoy1701]

What is missing is how this cutback (the bandaid covering the symptoms of the problem) is going to be complemented by A TRUE solution that will FIX the problem.... THAT is what is missing in my opinion.

Yes. It would be different if this was a backend process that wasn't guesting impacting...but it is, and sense it is having an effect on resort guests it isn't unreasonable to expect an answer to what is going to be done in the long term.

 

[EvilQueen-T]

it would be nice if they had been more open about changing the hours/policy (whatever you want to call it) about the monorail. when i booked the poly for a last minute trip a few weeks ago for a quick stay starting aug 14th they certainly never said a word about any changes. what bothers me personally is that this trip i'm traveling alone with my granddaughter so i booked a monorail resort specifically because of the ease of using the monorail and we always do emh (mainly to avoid the mid afternoon heat) but i'm at a point where having to take her out of a stroller and carry her is really hard for me. if i knew i may have to carry her anyway i'd have just booked us at pofq and saved some money.

 

[thehowiet]

But in a year or two, the average guest will have just accepted that this is normal procedure (and will probably have forgotten that the monorail ever ran during EMH).

You say that like it is a good thing. When Disney makes cuts and that is the guest reaction it makes it easier for them to continue to make cuts in the future. If they know people will move on and forget, we'll eventually be left with a product and experience that doesn't at all resemble its original and intended state.

 

[carly200]

I wouldn't say that. Some cuts are necessary, but Disney has to be careful not to loose on it's signature features... At one point, people will go to other parks and resorts and notice that Disney cannot keep up with them anymore...

And I am optimistic that Disney is aware of that and has enough smart people that will avoid such a downfall...

So lets hope they come up with a solution to the Monorail-inconvenience...

 

[Unibits]

Just my 2 cents.


The monorails are 1 of the major plusses of staying close to the MK and Epcot. It influenced our decision on the purchase of BLT for our DVC. We like to plan our trips well in advance so the 11 month window and being on a monorail resort worked well for us.

The problem is once again, we pay more and get less. The price goes up and the level of service declines. This has gone on now for many years. Little things, the loss of fireworks, decreased hours, the loss of fantasmic on a nightly basis, now the loss of easy refills on cups at the value resorts. I could list things on and on for hours. I dont want to bring up a debate on any 1 thing but simply illustrate the cuts that seem to never end.

We pay more every year and get less. On our recent trip, July 14-23, 2011 I talked to a coordinator at the MK bus area. We had an incident where a bus missed the Contemporary going to DHS. We asked 4 bus drivers where the bus was and it still managed to be over an hour to get there. Even after a driver asked the question and we heard the answer, 5 minutes.

I was also told that currently they are using contract busses and drivers. I actually saw a few of them. They DONT have enough to handle the current passenger load. How can we expect busses to handle extra passengers if they dont have enough to have the loads with a Monorail.

I also found out that they have 50 new busses coming this fall. THey also plan to hire some new drivers. If they can afford 50 busses, why not get 2 new monorails too. Certainly 1 monorail is cheaper to operate that the equivalent amount of busses. Cleaner for the environment too. If they were to purchase 2 new monorails, they could take the oldest out of service and overhaul it. "Give it a facelift". That certainly makes sense to me. With that they could complete update the entire fleet and never really upset the status quo.

I dont know what the answer is but I suspect the are considering their current decisions. With all the issues with transportation lately, they definately need to get back to what made Disney Parks what they are.

I am afraid that if they cut much more from their day to day operations, they will become just an average place, a fleeting memory of the more than exceptional powerhouse that it once was.

I am starting to get concerned with the direction of management on the level of service or apparent lack thereof.

Just my 2 cents. Not trying to upset anyone, just my POV

 

[puntagordabob]

Just my 2 cents.

Welcome Aboard!

 

[menamechris]

You say that like it is a good thing. When Disney makes cuts and that is the guest reaction it makes it easier for them to continue to make cuts in the future. If they know people will move on and forget, we'll eventually be left with a product and experience that doesn't at all resemble its original and intended state.

No, I said it as a matter of fact. It's a part of life. Once many people have done it perhaps, and realize that taking a boat instead of the monorail hasn't ruined their vacation, perhaps they will accept it. Or - if they don't see the value in a hotel on the Seven Seas Lagoon anymore, they will just stay elsewhere. This is not ruining the magic of Disney, folks. It will affect most people MAYBE one night of their vacation. I guess I am saying - pick your battles. This is not one to get in hissy about...sorry..

 

[puntagordabob]

No, I said it as a matter of fact. It's a part of life. Once many people have done it perhaps, and realize that taking a boat instead of the monorail hasn't ruined their vacation, perhaps they will accept it. Or - if they don't see the value in a hotel on the Seven Seas Lagoon anymore, they will just stay elsewhere. This is not ruining the magic of Disney, folks. It will affect most people MAYBE one night of their vacation. I guess I am saying - pick your battles. This is not one to get in hissy about...sorry..

As long as this were to be part of a true plan to replace the monorail fleet and to really fix the rest of the system I would be 100% with you there!!! Unfortunately at this point this does not seem to be the case at all....so that is where I think a lot of people are upset.

Fix the darn system! Replace the fleet!

 

[flavious27]

I am kind of at a loss here. Perhaps I have missed something. Disney has clearly explained themselves, by saying that the monorails need additional maintenance - thus, the need for the monorails to be off the track an hour after closing. How do they need to better explain themselves? Do they need to release maintenance schedules and budget plans for it? Because even if they did...I am pretty sure its not up for a vote by us... Again, this may seem absolutely unacceptable to certain people today. But in a year or two, the average guest will have just accepted that this is normal procedure (and will probably have forgotten that the monorail ever ran during EMH).

This is what they said:

From time to time, we make adjustments to our operations to accommodate for planned transportation maintenance.

We will assess the maintenance schedule after a period of time running one hour after park close

It does not mention what part of the system needs to be maintained. Is it the beams or trains.

If they are refurbing the trains, it would be cheaper and easier to just have new trains built then continuing to refurb the trains every 10 years or so.