Rumor New Monorails Coming Soon?

[Monorail_Red_77]

There are B-52s that will not reach their end until they are a century old. It is amazing how long stuff can last if properly maintained and upgraded.

WDW Steam Trains just gave you a High Five!! Yes no reason the Monorails can’t last longer than their 20 year design period. As long as they have their proper maintenance. May require them to pull a train from service for an overhaul here and there. Like has been happening lately with all the refreshes. I’m sure more heavy maintenance is needed for other system areas as well. But nothing Central Shops, etc can’t handle if given the proper budget.

 

[Jonathan Wang]

WDW Steam Trains just gave you a High Five!! Yes no reason the Monorails can’t last longer than their 20 year design period. As long as they have their proper maintenance. May require them to pull a train from service for an overhaul here and there. Like has been happening lately with all the refreshes. I’m sure more heavy maintenance is needed for other system areas as well. But nothing Central Shops, etc can’t handle if given the proper budget.

But see as a budget standpoint it’s usually better to just purchase new ones than dumping money into a sinking ship. Now I’m curious if they are in a situation where they have spent so much that they don’t want to pull out orrrrr they just don’t want to spend money on new ones just because. We probably will never know.

With advancements across the whole parks you should see your transportation also follow that trend. But that’s just me. Also plenty of planes/boats can be used past their dates but most companies realize that getting new ones is key in keeping business rolling in. (Disney doesn’t really have this problem)

 

[monothingie]

But see as a budget standpoint it’s usually better to just purchase new ones than dumping money into a sinking ship. Now I’m curious if they are in a situation where they have spent so much that they don’t want to pull out orrrrr they just don’t want to spend money on new ones just because. We probably will never know.

With advancements across the whole parks you should see your transportation also follow that trend. But that’s just me. Also plenty of planes/boats can be used past their dates but most companies realize that getting new ones is key in keeping business rolling in. (Disney doesn’t really have this problem)

Keep in mind Disney has a very small fleet relatively speaking, and also just because you have new trains doesn’t mean a reduction in operating expense.

Using the airplane example. Airlines will upgrade their fleets more frequently than the useful life of an airplane because of the inherent decrease in cost per seat mile for newer planes. This increases the profitability of each flight. Add it up over the course of the lifetime of the aircraft and there is a tremendous increase in revenue.

Disney transportation is not a revenue generator. The monorail system as a whole is not expensive per se to operate. Comparatively speaking I would say the bus division because of its size, number of vehicles, and number of CM, has a much higher operating expense. With buses, the economics probably warrant a quicker vehicle replacement cycle.(Fuel efficiency, emissions, etc). Which would represent a noticeable savings in OE. Where as with Monorails, it wouldn’t.

 

[MerlinTheGoat]

I've ridden the monorail in recent months, the train cabins are still in the same poor condition they've been in for years now. They still have bad smelling A/C, the wall and ceiling panels are worn out etc.

I would assume whatever rehabs they've undergone have mostly been mechanical in nature (wheels, motors, computers etc) rather than anything guests will notice.

 

[Lensman]

I've ridden the monorail in recent months, the train cabins are still in the same poor condition they've been in for years now. They still have bad smelling A/C, the wall and ceiling panels are worn out etc.

I would assume whatever rehabs they've undergone have mostly been mechanical in nature (wheels, motors, computers etc) rather than anything guests will notice.

Has a viral video been posted of a door falling off or opening in mid-journey this month? No? Then MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

 

[larryz]

There are B-52s that will not reach their end until they are a century old. It is amazing how long stuff can last if properly maintained and upgraded.

They will have the same tail numbers, but there won't be many original parts on the airframes...

 

[GhostHost1000]

There are B-52s that will not reach their end until they are a century old. It is amazing how long stuff can last if properly maintained and upgraded.

I agree with things running beyond their expectant life if properly maintained and upgraded...however I also think it's fair to say the monorails get more daily use and abused than B-52's

if the physical monorails themselves can live another 5-10 years, then they at least need to consider gutting the inside and upgrading and improving the guest experience there (along with new doors)

 

[Brad Bishop]

But see as a budget standpoint it’s usually better to just purchase new ones than dumping money into a sinking ship. Now I’m curious if they are in a situation where they have spent so much that they don’t want to pull out orrrrr they just don’t want to spend money on new ones just because. We probably will never know.

I think it depends on what you're working with. If you're working with a quality product from the start then, yes, you can just maintain it and keep it going. If you're starting with something that wasn't quality, then it's just a hole you're pouring money into.

Sort of like the difference between properly maintaining a Toyota / Honda vs maintaining a Dodge. With the Toyota/Honda, properly maintained, you can get multiple 100K+ miles out of it and, perhaps, 20 years. With the Dodge, the maintenance costs start at the very beginning (though you do save on the original price) and they're dying 5-7 years out.

 

[larryz]

I agree with things running beyond their expectant life if properly maintained and upgraded...however I also think it's fair to say the monorails get more daily use and abused than B-52's

But very few monorails have been shot at... I hope!!!

 

[Bender123]

But very few monorails have been shot at... I hope!!!

The actual way a B-52 can fly that long is because they go in for almost an entire tear down to the airframe every so often, get completely rebuilt and then sent back out for another 15 years. The B-52s in the air, right now, may have been "assembled" in the 50s/60s, but there likely isn't a single piece of that original plane left in that frame. They are much more like the DL monorails than the WDW ones..."new" in a "Ship of Theseus" way.

 

[GhostHost1000]

But very few monorails have been shot at... I hope!!!

even though they look like they have in places lol

 

[larryz]

The actual way a B-52 can fly that long is because they go in for almost an entire tear down to the airframe every so often, get completely rebuilt and then sent back out for another 15 years. The B-52s in the air, right now, may have been "assembled" in the 50s/60s, but there likely isn't a single piece of that original plane left in that frame. They are much more like the DL monorails than the WDW ones..."new" in a "Ship of Theseus" way.

Well, I was going to make that point, but in looking up the refit history, I'm sure there are several parts per plane that are still original... not many, but several.

 

[DznyRktekt]

The B-52's have a Chrysler that's as big as a whale.

 

[Goofyernmost]

I agree with things running beyond their expectant life if properly maintained and upgraded...however I also think it's fair to say the monorails get more daily use and abused than B-52's

if the physical monorails themselves can live another 5-10 years, then they at least need to consider gutting the inside and upgrading and improving the guest experience there (along with new doors)

You must think that B-52's must sit there waiting for the next big war! They are used everyday for training runs and just general readiness. There is nothing worse for and aircraft then to be just sitting. If taking off and landing numerous times a day, raising to 30,000+ feet every flight, traveling more miles per day then a monorail goes in a month and are a mere 57+* years old means it doesn't get the use and abuse of a slow moving Monorail... then OK.

Spoiler: *

Last one was delivered 1963.

 

[Goofyernmost]

The B-52's have a Chrysler that's as big as a whale.

That's not where they are going to the place with the "Tin Roof, Rusted" is it?

 

[Texas84]

That's not the thing with the "Tin Roof, Rusted" is it?

love shack bay-bee

 

[Mainahman]

love shack bay-bee

love shacccck bayyyyybeeee

 

[Disone]

How are you really comparing the B-52s, group, aircraft, or otherwise, to the monorail at Walt Disney World?

Interesting. But back on topic. Yes they have improved drastically in the last year-and-a-half. However I agree with the person who posted that it's mostly under the skirt, and mechanics. The cars are still very beat up on the inside and their air conditioners are very questionable. But on the exterior they do look better and they certainly have been running with better efficiency lately.

 

[EricPZ]

That's not the thing with the "Tin Roof, Rusted" is it?

love shack bay-bee

love shacccck bayyyyybeeee

Glad I wasn't the only one thinking of *that* B-52s while reading this thread.

 

[GeneralZod]

love shacccck bayyyyybeeee

Ah...simpler times.