Monorails to no longer operate during Evening Extra Magic Hours

[eilie]

Just an anecdote that I think applies to this situation:

When my family and I first visited Disneyland back in 2007, we chose to stay in the Disneyland Hotel because it was Disney-owned and operated and was next to the monorail stop. We planned on taking the monorail to and from the parks. This plan didn't work out so well, as Disney stopped operating their monorails an hour or more before park closure every day. That extra 10-15 minutes of walking through Downtown Disney was not welcome on very tired feet at the end of the day, but we didn't wish to leave the parks early just to catch the monorail back.

We returned to Disneyland a couple of weeks ago, and chose to stay in one of the much closer hotels on Harbor Boulevard. The hotel was a 1/3 of the price of the Disneyland Hotel and 5 minutes from the park entrance. If we had been able to take the monorail back to the Disneyland Hotel in 2007, we may not have made the switch to off-property. :shrug:

 

[Spike-in-Berlin]

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.

Well it seems there are at least 3 former guests at the monorail resorts in this thread who will not return there, including me. I will not stay at the CR as planned when they really execute this extremely guest-unfriendly change and I will tell them.
I will never stay off-property again but at least this decision makes the Swan and Dolphin more interesting to me as they share EMH with the Disney resorts and are cheaper!

 

[Scuttle]

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.

I don't like the pessimistic attitude. Remember the locals saved Carousel of Progress. So you never know, bottom line it's a joke. How about when the extra hours are from 8-11 and you have a hoop de doo review dinner reservation at 930 then you can't take the boat back to the contemporary and jump on the monorail? I just think this is a huge mess and once again for the infinite time it shows just how cheap of a company Disney is.

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

Just an anecdote that I think applies to this situation:

When my family and I first visited Disneyland back in 2007, we chose to stay in the Disneyland Hotel because it was Disney-owned and operated and was next to the monorail stop. We planned on taking the monorail to and from the parks. This plan didn't work out so well, as Disney stopped operating their monorails an hour or more before park closure every day. That extra 10-15 minutes of walking through Downtown Disney was not welcome on very tired feet at the end of the day, but we didn't wish to leave the parks early just to catch the monorail back.

We returned to Disneyland a couple of weeks ago, and chose to stay in one of the much closer hotels on Harbor Boulevard. The hotel was a 1/3 of the price of the Disneyland Hotel and 5 minutes from the park entrance. If we had been able to take the monorail back to the Disneyland Hotel in 2007, we may not have made the switch to off-property. :shrug:

Very interesting and relevant story. I guess at Disneyland, the only truly convenient hotel is Grand Calfornian, otherwise the off-property hotels are even closer.

Which further reinforces my feeling that I need to stay at Swolphin. The convenience (and EMH) of other deluxes, but less Disney money grabs and cost cuts (this isn't just maintenance, as they could easily run fewer monorails).

 

[Spike-in-Berlin]

I just think this is a huge mess and once again for the infinite time it shows just how cheap of a company Disney is.

I would rather say " how cheap of a company Disney has become". It was different.

 

[draybook]

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.

So you'll walk from the Swan & Dolphin to DHS and Epcot, but you won't walk from the MK to the Contemporary?





I'm not a huge fan of this idea, but hey whatever. I'll send them an email showing my displeasure and move on.

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.

So the rooms are ridiculously overpriced already and yet you guys keep paying for it? And now because you guys have to share a ferry or bus with us cheapskates you think you're being spat upon?

 

[Scuttle]

I would rather say " how cheap of a company Disney has become". It was different.

True!

 

[peter11435]

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.

What indications? The only indications that this is a cost cutting move are some random postings by uninformed people on the internet. Steve is correct that this change is permanent. The fact that the monorails need more time for maintenance each night is not going to go away after a little while. You should all know that the monorails have been having issues for some time now. There have been numerous threads about the subject on the forums. This decision was made in attempt to alleviate that issue and decrease the number of downtimes during the peak parts of the day when the monorails are needed most.

 

[peter11435]

this isn't just maintenance, as they could easily run fewer monorails

There is more to the monorail system than just trains.

 

[officeboy]

There is more to the monorail system than just trains.

Are you suggesting bus bar inspection, rectifier and contactor replacement require the system to have some down time? Perhaps PM on the switch beam machines? Please stop interjecting fact into other peoples (lack of) reality. This is the internet.

 

[askmike1]

I know a lot of the reaction here has been "they run for so long during the day... it cannot be good for them", but I'm calling BS on that answer. How many years have these monorails been running for many many hours? Yes, Evening EMH is relatively new (what 8 years or so), but before that MK was regularly closing at 12am/2am (and Epcot with later hours as well) so this is nothing new.

If maintenance is becoming an issue, then perhaps it is time to invest in some new Mark VIII monorails. I mean, lets face it... the Mark IV was replaced 18 years after they started running. DL's Mark I ran for 2 years, Mark II for 7 years, Mark III for 17 years and the Mark V for 22 years. The current Mark VI has been in use for 22 years... it is time they get replaced.

 

[Computer Magic]

What indications? The only indications that this is a cost cutting move are some random postings by uninformed people on the internet. Steve is correct that this change is permanent. The fact that the monorails need more time for maintenance each night is not going to go away after a little while. You should all know that the monorails have been having issues for some time now. There have been numerous threads about the subject on the forums. This decision was made in attempt to alleviate that issue and decrease the number of downtimes during the peak parts of the day when the monorails are needed most.

So instead of solving the root cause Disney places a bandaid on the problem. Buy more Monorail cars and rotate them into service. Wait That would cost more money.

Monorail has always needed service so why now. Are the Monorail actually being ran longer now than before. Or is the problem the Monorails are getting older and need more upkeep? Maybe the problem is maintenance but cutting service is the wrong answer for guest satisfaction.

Add more Monorail into the mix and rotate into service.

 

[DonaldDoleWhip]

So you'll walk from the Swan & Dolphin to DHS and Epcot, but you won't walk from the MK to the Contemporary?

So the rooms are ridiculously overpriced already and yet you guys keep paying for it? And now because you guys have to share a ferry or bus with us cheapskates you think you're being spat upon?

If you've ever stayed at all of these resorts, you would understand the difference.

In the Epcot area, you have the choice between walking or taking the boat. The walk from Epcot to Beach Club is literally about 5 minutes, but if I really felt tired or sore I could choose to take the boat. The walk from Hollywood Studios is closer to 15 minutes, but again I can choose the boat if I really don't feel like walking. If the boat from DHS to the Epot area is out of operation, they run a bus instead, so people aren't forced to walk.

Park hours are also dramatically different. I'm rarely in Epcot or DHS after 9 or 10 PM. MK EMH often goes until 2 or 3 AM and gets less crowded as time goes on. So a day at MK is much longer and more exhausting, especially if I'm trying to stay there until the lines start to shorten. So it's like Disney is punishing the monorail resort guests who choose to take advantage of evening EMH.

In the MK area, once you take the monorail out of the equation, you have no option. To get to CR, you HAVE to walk. To get to GF or Poly, you have to take a boat that is way too small to serve both resorts without the monorail swallowing up most people.

You point out "sharing with the cheapskates" sarcastically, but this is actually the opposite. Cheapskates have no reason to walk to CR or take the boat to GF at 2 AM. We were way more likely to share with the "cheapskates" who use the resort monorail to get to the TTC where their car is parked to drive back to All-Star or off-property. But this move benefits no guest - it has nothing to do with sharing with other people.

And yes, many people think the premium prices are worth it to have the convenience of monorail transport. The huge discounts recently haven't hurt, as very few people pay rack rate without any bonus at all (like free dining). But factor in the shrinking discounts, rising rack rates, and reduced transport, and suddenly the monorail resorts lose a lot of their appeal compared to a place like the Swan.

 

[Yodadudeman]

While I can kind of see the logic behind this decision, I must say that this move by Disney seems a little low. Considering that all of the resorts on the monorail are deluxe resorts, one would think that transportation costs would not be an issue. Take Polynesian for example, prices per night at that resort run up, if not over, the $400 a night cost. Thats a lot of money! For that amount of money, a guest should not have to worry about how they are going to get back to their resort at night. Shutting down the monorails early may save money, but it looks bad to a guest dolling out some serious cash to stay at a deluxe resort.

 

[Hakunamatata]

I don't like the pessimistic attitude.

That's a shame. It's served me well.

 

[roadtripper]

Ever since someone fell asleep on the job the monorails have gone downhill. Sorry, but it was human error that caused that accident, nothing else.
As far as the monorail goes, perhaps they will consider using a type of tram service that frequents all of the deluxes on the monorail line. It would have to be a bit more quiet than the current versions and some major reworking of paths and new bridges would be needed, but then we could put the monorail to bed for good since Disney has managed to ruin an iconic symbol of their parks.

 

[Brian Noble]

From a guest's perspective: no one cares why the change was made. Not one guest gives a flying you-know-what if it is budget, maintenance, if the reason is justified or not. All those guests know is that they are paying big bucks to stay at these resorts, and the monorail is a big reason why for some of those guests.

It will be interesting to see if this is a tipping point for any of them, or if they will just shrug their shoulders and move on. I'm to the point where I will only stay in a Disney resort if I can use my (much less expensive) non-Disney timeshares to exchange into DVC. Otherwise, I am perfectly happy to stay in one of the dozen or two wonderful offsite resorts---many of which have larger and better furnished villas than DVC's---for 1/3 to 1/2 the price.

Yes, it means I have to drive (or take a cab or the scheduled shuttle) but I often drive myself onsite anyway. After my last OKW stay that featured not one but *two* >1hr afternoon trips to MK, the bus system lost its luster for me. Unless I'm in an EP area resort, I consider a car absolutely necessary, and even in the EP area it's 50/50.

 

[puntagordabob]

Oh this will be SWEET when the MK closes early for parties and you are at EPCOT, or having dinner at a sister resort along the monorail line... because it is a safe bet the resort MK line will be shut down..... I wonder if they are going to run a bus to the CR from the MK becuase my boy is disabled and this is part of the appeal of the monorail line is the ease of his entry PLUS the fact that let us be honest the Busses are not "The Funnest" part of WDW now are they?

This change is a load of Cow Manure .....its not like it is inexpensive staying at the CR, Poly, or the GF....the prices across the board at WDW rise and rise....and the features fall and fall... when does it come to a point where ENOUGH IS ENOUGH?

Shutting down the express monorail I could understand.....but the Resort one is pure BS! I see a lot of peeved people about this when this goes into effect... and for those who defend this as a cost cutting procedure then please explain to me why then have we been subjected to TWO price increases in one year and where is all this money going? It is certainly not apparently covering the expenses of the monorail.....

Sorry to rant on... but right is right and wrong is wrong.

 

[officeboy]

So instead of solving the root cause Disney places a bandaid on the problem. Buy more Monorail cars and rotate them into service. Wait That would cost more money.

Monorail has always needed service so why now. Are the Monorail actually being ran longer now than before. Or is the problem the Monorails are getting older and need more upkeep? Maybe the problem is maintenance but cutting service is the wrong answer for guest satisfaction.

Add more Monorail into the mix and rotate into service.

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?

 

[splashtest]

This move is completely BS. So if I happen to eat dinner at the Comtemporary while staying at the Polynesian, and it is past park closing I will have to take a boat? I can see both sides of the argument, but for the prices they continue to charge for those resort, it's not cool. They are going to receive a lot of complaints on this I am sure.

Honestly they need to suck it up and purchase new trains.....it's time. Disney is trying to bandaid a solution that is going to just make them look bad in the end. I can't see this lasting.........just wait and see.....