Monorails to no longer operate during Evening Extra Magic Hours

[Pioneer Hall]

There is a more effective solution that wouldn't cause a severe inconvenience to guests staying at some of the most expensive resorts on property: Get new monorails.

See my post directly above yours...Monorails are expensive.

 

[JimboJones123]

I'm not quite sure I get your joke.

For what it's worth, I read and post on MiceAge quite frequently. As a lifelong WDW fan who visited DLR (somewhat 'unenthusiastically' as we only went because we were in SoCal for a friend's wedding) for the first time last year, I have quickly become a huge DLR fan. It has certainly made me realize the shortcomings of a lot of WDW's offerings.

Quite a change from 6-7 years ago. Be glad you waited.

 

[puntagordabob]

there are a few days the MK (as of now) closes at 7pm. If we are having dinner at the CR that night and we hang around the CR afterwards until 8:30 or so, will we have to take a bus back to the POLY? Are they stopping the resort monorails too? And what about the night we are going to MNSSHP, will the monorail be running then or just up until the hour after the regular park hours are? If they aren't running the monorails, including the resort ones, I will NOT be happy. We decided on the Poly because of the convenience of the monorail, otherwise I would have choosen a cheaper hotel.

You wont be riding a monorail after dinner...and I am thinking they will cease the monorails one hour after the park closes (one hour after the party starts)

Of course, no one ever GUARANTEED 24/7 monorail access. But the expectation is that when the parks are open, and there is a monorail track running through your lobby (in the case of the Contemp) you would be able to use the monorail for transportation. It is absurd to suggest otherwise, and it is absurd to think that this is the "legendary guest service" WDW used to claims it provides.

Disney doesn't promise anything, there are always exclusions, or rights to change hours, attractions, etc. Sometimes those changes are reasonable. Shutting down monorail access to the MK and Epcot for resort guests who paid for (for cost savings reasons or because it strains the system too much) it is not.

Agreed!!!

I would assume the monorail will run as scheduled during all MNSSHP nights (all of which have a 7pm close). Looking at the new schedule, it would appear that monorail service will be til 1am.

I wouldnt bet on it

See my post directly above yours...Monorails are expensive.

So is going to wdw

 

[sshindel]

See my post directly above yours...Monorails are expensive.

Exactly, which list of potential updates, new projects, maintenance to other areas would you like them to possibly cancel in order to buy all new monorails so that people staying at a few hotels can take said monorail a few extra hours a few nights a week.

While I don't love the decision myself, I'd imagine there are bigger things at play here outside of "lets screw over the people staying at our most expensive resorts to save a couple bucks".

 

[TalkingHead]

See my post directly above yours...Monorails are expensive.

And Disney is rich.

 

[Testtrack321]

See my post directly above yours...Monorails are expensive.

Disney has how many $400-$1000 rooms that have monorails attached to them?

 

[Hakunamatata]

Disney has how many $400-$1000 rooms that have monorails attached to them?

Zero.

 

[asianway]

Is this leading towards the phasing out of EMH all together? They got rid of evening EMH at AK. The are getting rid of characters during MK EMH. Now they will make it more inconvenient to get 'home' after EMH or hard ticket parties.

I absolutely think this is where its going. A few strategic changes, getting rid of the characters will make for one less thing families with children to do, so a group of people will stop going. Then make it a little less convenient for the MK resorts to get back to their resorts, another group decides to just get some more sleep. Then, as the attendance drops, maybe in say three months, they will decide to reduce the attractions offered, probably using some survey results to say guests wanted only the MOST popular attractions opened. And then more people will stop going. Then they will cease to be.

But wait, remember this thread?

http://forums.wdwmagic.com/showthread.php?t=617236&highlight=survey+holiday

A few months later, like a phoenix from the ashes, a new hard ticket late night event option appears because the guests demanded it.

And over the course of 10 years, we will have gone from $12 Eticket nights to $125 character fests.

 

[TinkerBelle8878]

Well this definitely dilutes the perks of staying at monorail resorts. Why not just pare down the EMHs? Less hours or less days?

And I agree with all the previous posters who say that after a long day at the MK the last thing you want to do is then walk back to your hotel. Or wait or a tiny little boat.

I will bet that there will be alot of angry guests when this happens and it will get back to whoever is making these decisions. Either directly from desk cast members or emails after the fact.

They should lower the room rates of all 3 resorts if this is for good and bring out the old tram that used to run from Epcot to Y&B and Swan/Dolphin.

 

[puntagordabob]

Wonder how long before the Friendship boats will follow suit.....?

 

[Pioneer Hall]

And Disney is rich.

Contrary to popular belief, Disney does not have an unlimited supply of money to go to whenever they want something. Like any other well functioning company they have to value every project they do to make sure there is some sort of return for them in the long run. On an individual level, talk to some of the richest people in the world. Do you think Bill Gates or Warren Buffet got to where they are by just purchasing things without thinking it through or just because? Not a chance, and Disney works the same way on a much larger level.

 

[TalkingHead]

Contrary to popular belief, Disney does not have an unlimited supply of money to go to whenever they want something. Like any other well functioning company they have to value every project they do to make sure there is some sort of return for them in the long run. On an individual level, talk to some of the richest people in the world. Do you think Bill Gates or Warren Buffet got to where they are by just purchasing things without thinking it through or just because? Not a chance, and Disney works the same way on a much larger level.

So that's why they invest as little as possible in their Florida parks? Sounds like a sound business strategy...if you're trying to bilk the customer today without trying to get long-term business. After all, what's the value of long-term business if you'd be happy to sell the parks tomorrow.

 

[TalkingHead]

Contrary to popular belief, Disney does not have an unlimited supply of money to go to whenever they want something. Like any other well functioning company they have to value every project they do to make sure there is some sort of return for them in the long run. On an individual level, talk to some of the richest people in the world. Do you think Bill Gates or Warren Buffet got to where they are by just purchasing things without thinking it through or just because? Not a chance, and Disney works the same way on a much larger level.

And just to clarify -- you're implying that TWDC can't afford to purchase new monorails or maintain the monorails they currently operate? We're not talking about building new track (although I have no doubt they could afford that, too). Right.

How many billions in profits does P&R make each year? They can afford new trains at DL, but not WDW?

Hooey.

 

[Hakunamatata]

And just to clarify -- you're implying that TWDC can't afford to purchase new monorails or maintain the monorails they currently operate? We're not talking about building new track (although I have no doubt they could afford that, too). Right.

How many billions in profits does P&R make each year? They can afford new trains at DL, but not WDW?

Hooey.

Billions in profits?

 

[mkt]

And Disney is rich.

And how do you remain rich? By remaining prudent with what you have.

 

[mkt]

And just to clarify -- you're implying that TWDC can't afford to purchase new monorails or maintain the monorails they currently operate? We're not talking about building new track (although I have no doubt they could afford that, too). Right.

How many billions in profits does P&R make each year? They can afford new trains at DL, but not WDW?

Hooey.

Apples and oranges. One is an attraction which can be shut down without majorly affecting park operations. The other is an major logistical component of a transportation system, and in actuality not an attraction.

And how much money they make doesn't matter. If they won't make the investment back, it doesn't make sense.

 

[Pioneer Hall]

So that's why they invest as little as possible in their Florida parks? Sounds like a sound business strategy...if you're trying to bilk the customer today without trying to get long-term business. After all, what's the value of long-term business if you'd be happy to sell the parks tomorrow.

And just to clarify -- you're implying that TWDC can't afford to purchase new monorails or maintain the monorails they currently operate? We're not talking about building new track (although I have no doubt they could afford that, too). Right.

How many billions in profits does P&R make each year? They can afford new trains at DL, but not WDW?

Hooey.

I find it interesting how so many people comment on how cheap Disney is when they make a change people don't like, but never comment positively on the money they do spend. When you're running a vacation empire you can't just thrown money around like its worthless. Whether the majority here agrees with it or not, they are investing a lot of money into the MK right now in the FLE. I could probably go on for a while with other maintenance projects, resort builds and rehabs, new Star Tours, etc...but I digress.

The trains at Disneyland were literally falling apart. No joke, they actually put nets underneath areas of the track to catch monorail parts. If DL didn't replace their trains then they would have had to get rid of their monorail system altogether. A single monorail train would cost millions of dollars, and there is a big difference between affording something and making a sound investment at the right time. I can afford a BMW right now, but that doesn't mean it would be wise of me to go out and purchase one so I won't. Big business with a big reputation doesn't mean that you have unlimited resources. Unfortunately if we went by the demands of the fan population Disney would probably have the best bankrupt parks in the world.

There is an important lesson that I learned in life from some of the work experiences I have had. It is very easy to criticize something until you experience the challenges first hand. Since I learned some of those lessons the hard way and have had to apologize to those I criticized in the past I now look at things with a bit of a more open mind. Don't let the fairytale story behind Disney make you think that they aren't a company with a desire to make money. Walt might have been a dreamer and innovator, but he also wasn't stupid. Him and Roy knew how to make money and that still holds true today.

 

[mickeysaver]

I am not liking this change one little bit. When we do vacation at WDW, we do prefer to stay at the Poly. One of the major benefits is the easy access to the monorail. If I was paying to stay at the Poly and planning on utilizing EMH, I would be super-mega ticked off if I was inside my no refund window and found out about this "little change". I can't imagine that the guests are going to be very happy about this. What about all of those disabled folks that specifically picked a monorail resort so that they would be able to skip using the busses for the MK and Epcot? Those folks are the ones that will be most hurt with this "no warning" implementation.

I am so mad just thinking about it I wanna :fork: the fools who made this decision, maintenence issues or not, this is unacceptable.

 

[MKCP 1985]

Support Disney management all you want, but just watch and see if the unholy hell of guest complaints doesn't result in today's announcement being reversed in 90 days' time.

Yep, that's my prediction and the clock starts . . . now. :wave:

 

[lazyboy97o]

These Monorails have been in service for a while now. One could assume older stuff needs more maintenance. The WDW monorail system was designed to operate with 12 trains. At least it sure makes sense that it would have been.... Assuming this is the case the preventive maintenance schedule for these vehicles would center around having 12 trains.

How many trains are available today in the best case scenario today?

There are eleven trains operating today, but only nine can be in the barn at a time as the tenth space is supposedly occupied by the damaged halves of Monorail Pink and Monorail Purple, the future Monorail Maroon.

Who else would be using the monorails during EMH except for those staying at the Deluxe resorts?

Since I drive to Orlando, I usually opted to drive myself when I stayed on property. Non-resort guests are also allowed to stay in the park and enjoy the atmosphere and shop during Evening Extra Magic Hours.

See my post directly above yours...Monorails are expensive.

Labor costs money as well. If this time is needed for maintenance then it means the cost to keep the trains running has increased and will continue to do so as the trains system needs more maintenance.