Rumor New Monorails Coming Soon?

[jt04]

This is hogwash.
If they get to that point, they’d probably just close it down.

Honestly, I could see them retrofitting the stations if they needed to. If the next train design uses a different door mechanism, altering the platforms to make for a level entry is not something unheard of nor impossible.

Cost would be prohibitive. Good point about the number of trains. They can easily run enough trains to meet the needs of MK resort guests. There just hasn't been so much growth that the original plan can't work.

If they have an extra billion to spend it would be better if they put that in the parks rather than upgrading the monorails for limited benefit. IMO.

 

[monothingie]

Well, here's what a world-famous monorail expert says about that...

My god, he makes Coreless look less clickbaity.

Just what the Disfan world needs, more authoritative idiots.

 

[Rich Brownn]

Thoughts from my last visit...

The monorail’s problems are much bigger than poor maintenance. The general layout of the monorails were designed in the 1960s*. Since the 1960s, Americans have become fatter and utilize wheelchairs, scooters, and strollers to a greater degree. This results in reduced capacity. When one person is taking up the place of two, and one stroller is taking up the place of four, you see capacity decline measurably. To make matters worse, the monorails are not at level with the station platform. This means ramps have to be pulled out so wheelchairs and scooters can be accommodated. This drastically increases the amount of time it takes to load at each station. With new security checks at the hotels and general high attendance, we also can observe the station platforms overcrowding. The cars are too small for a modern mass transit system. Both height and width can leave guests constrained. All of this issues are solvable with modern mass transit solutions.

They need new trains, new stations, and probably new track to provide a world class experience. Improvements like larger stations, bigger cabins, and at level doors would drastically improve the customer experience. Other mass-transit systems are moving towards connected cabins. That means if one cabin is too crowded, guests can move through the train to another less crowded car. They also need to be running more than two monorails on the resort line. It should feel like a monorail is arriving constantly.

The amount of manpower it takes to operate a monorail at each station is crazy. Gates could open and close automatically, and it would also measurably improve monorail speed. I do understand Disney’s hesitancy to just leave the station open to the beam.

What would this cost? It would cost lots of money. Though some small company back in the late 1960s decided to do the same thing media conglomerate Disney can’t do now. Disney has no reason to be making its customers suffer in these unreliable and dated trains. Disney of the 1960s did its job, and it’s time for the Disney of the 2020s to follow up.

*The Mark VI was different, but still a derivative of Mark IV

The biggest holdup on retrofitting would be the Contemporary. The beams are actually part of the building, not just passing through -- (and unfortunate side effect for me, when I once had to drive through at max speed due to an issue... the stores underneath did not fare well..). As for level ... they'd have to raise the platform up (lowering the car wouldn't be possible) - again that would really muck up the contemporary since it has elevators and esculators that would all need to be removed and reconfigured. At best, they could add a car and extend the stations at GF and Poly (Contemporary already has a long enough platform). And then will never, ever run more than 5 trains on exterior. At one time they ran six... and the results were tragic.

 

[jt04]

The biggest holdup on retrofitting would be the Contemporary. The beams are actually part of the building, not just passing through -- (and unfortunate side effect for me, when I once had to drive through at max speed due to an issue... the stores underneath did not fare well..). As for level ... they'd have to raise the platform up (lowering the car wouldn't be possible) - again that would really muck up the contemporary since it has elevators and esculators that would all need to be removed and reconfigured. At best, they could add a car and extend the stations at GF and Poly (Contemporary already has a long enough platform). And then will never, ever run more than 5 trains on exterior. At one time they ran six... and the results were tragic.

Someone commented they were only running two trains so that seems not nearly enough 90% of the time. 4 or 5 would seem ideal and is what I thought was standard.

 

[DDLand]

Cost would be prohibitive. Good point about the number of trains. They can easily run enough trains to meet the needs of MK resort guests. There just hasn't been so much growth that the original plan can't work.

If they have an extra billion to spend it would be better if they put that in the parks rather than upgrading the monorails for limited benefit. IMO.

I’ve got to disagree. The Monorails start and end the day. They represent first impressions and final thoughts. It would be like if you went out on a date and the car was nasty and broke down on the way over. The mini-golf could be fun, but breaking down again on the way home in the nasty car would be too much. All you would remember from the date is how crappy the car was.

During the middle of the day when crowds were light, I arrived at the Magic Kingdom monorail station. It took me 40 minutes to get to the Grand Floridian. Improving the stations and boarding system are the key to making it work.

Disney could just sell the system to the RCID, and then finance improvements with municipal bonds. This needs work.

 

[jt04]

I’ve got to disagree. The Monorails start and end the day. They represent first impressions and final thoughts. It would be like if you went out on a date and the car was nasty and broke down on the way over. The mini-golf could be fun, but breaking down again on the way home in the nasty car would be too much. All you would remember from the date is how crappy the car was.

During the middle of the day when crowds were light, I arrived at the Magic Kingdom monorail station. It took me 40 minutes to get to the Grand Floridian. Improving the stations and boarding system are the key to making it work.

Disney could just sell the system to the RCID, and then finance improvements with municipal bonds. This needs work.

Yes, my point is that they can make the current system work like new by overhauling the existing stock. I have a feeling that may be the only consideration other than just busses and ferries. I just don't think they will spend a billion to upgrade the system by degrees. But that isn't to say they won't. Who knows? Maybe they have that kind of cash.

 

[marni1971]

The biggest holdup on retrofitting would be the Contemporary. The beams are actually part of the building, not just passing through -- (and unfortunate side effect for me, when I once had to drive through at max speed due to an issue... the stores underneath did not fare well..). .

It wasn’t you who sounded the horn in the concourse was it?!

 

[NormC]

Someone commented they were only running two trains so that seems not nearly enough 90% of the time. 4 or 5 would seem ideal and is what I thought was standard.

How many were running on your last visit?

 

[jt04]

How many were running on your last visit?

On the MK line or both?

 

[Kman101]

Except they have been doing exactly that for the past 3 years. Monorails are in 100% better shape than they were 10 years ago.
Downtime and reliability have improved tremendously. I would say you have a better chance of getting delayed on the brand new skyliner than the 30 year old Monorail.

Of course they're in better shape, finally. Let's not pretend this shouldn't have happened sooner though. I'm glad they're doing what they are, that doesn't negate that, but they're patching when they need to be replacing at this point.

 

[Rich Brownn]

It wasn’t you who sounded the horn in the concourse was it?!

Guilty as charged`... technically I sounded it outside the Contemporary but it stuck. LOL

 

[CAV]

Actually, their plans of improvement are ingenious. First, you build a walkway to the GF. Then extend it to the Poly. The extend it little by little to the International Gateway. From there you can take the Skyliner to the Studios.

And if you get people to pay $300 for a .99 cent paver with their name on it, Disney actually gets paid.

Wicked ingenious, I tell you.

 

[trainplane3]

Actually, their plans of improvement are ingenious. First, you build a walkway to the GF. Then extend it to the Poly. The extend it little by little to the International Gateway. From there you can take the Skyliner to the Studios.

And if you get people to pay $300 for a .99 cent paver with their name on it, Disney actually gets paid.

Wicked ingenious, I tell you.

Poly and GF are already connected.

 

[the.dreamfinder]

Well, in their defense, 9/11 really, really put the company in a scary place. Considering they left 1/2 of POP unfinished for as long as they did should give you a hint about the economics.

But, they need to invest some money in these to get them running safely.

They killed that monorail expansion plan before 9/11 on account of cost and the fact that buses are more flexible operationally than monorails.

 

[larryz]

Since the 1960s, Americans have become fatter and utilize wheelchairs, scooters, and strollers to a greater degree. This results in reduced capacity. When one person is taking up the place of two, and one stroller is taking up the place of four, you see capacity decline measurably. To make matters worse, the monorails are not at level with the station platform. This means ramps have to be pulled out so wheelchairs and scooters can be accommodated. This drastically increases the amount of time it takes to load at each station. With new security checks at the hotels and general high attendance, we also can observe the station platforms overcrowding. The cars are too small for a modern mass transit system. Both height and width can leave guests constrained. All of this issues are solvable with modern mass transit solutions.

Any time someone brings the ECVs into the equation, the only solution I can see for that issue is...

 

[Incomudro]

Thoughts from my last visit...

The monorail’s problems are much bigger than poor maintenance. The general layout of the monorails were designed in the 1960s*. Since the 1960s, Americans have become fatter and utilize wheelchairs, scooters, and strollers to a greater degree. This results in reduced capacity. When one person is taking up the place of two, and one stroller is taking up the place of four, you see capacity decline measurably. To make matters worse, the monorails are not at level with the station platform. This means ramps have to be pulled out so wheelchairs and scooters can be accommodated. This drastically increases the amount of time it takes to load at each station. With new security checks at the hotels and general high attendance, we also can observe the station platforms overcrowding. The cars are too small for a modern mass transit system. Both height and width can leave guests constrained. All of this issues are solvable with modern mass transit solutions.

They need new trains, new stations, and probably new track to provide a world class experience. Improvements like larger stations, bigger cabins, and at level doors would drastically improve the customer experience. Other mass-transit systems are moving towards connected cabins. That means if one cabin is too crowded, guests can move through the train to another less crowded car. They also need to be running more than two monorails on the resort line. It should feel like a monorail is arriving constantly.

The amount of manpower it takes to operate a monorail at each station is crazy. Gates could open and close automatically, and it would also measurably improve monorail speed. I do understand Disney’s hesitancy to just leave the station open to the beam.

What would this cost? It would cost lots of money. Though some small company back in the late 1960s decided to do the same thing media conglomerate Disney can’t do now. Disney has no reason to be making its customers suffer in these unreliable and dated trains. Disney of the 1960s did its job, and it’s time for the Disney of the 2020s to follow up.

*The Mark VI was different, but still a derivative of Mark IV

I realize virtually all of these problems are due to an increasingly unhealthy population of Americans vs any inherent design flaw.

 

[Rhinocerous]

I don't think the station modifications would be as cost-prohibitive as some of you believe. The New York subway recently undertook a similar project to make platforms level with the current subway cars. In a rare show of efficiency, it worked because they didn't level the entire platform. Only the middle section. It saved a lot of money and construction headaches, and people requiring the ability to roll-on/roll-off became accustomed to riding in the middle of the train.

Disney could enact something similar. Raise an area that would cover a couple of cars and designate those as "accessible cars" or somesuch. Load them more lightly than the other cars, and maybe put a cap on the number of ECVs per train, like they already do with buses. Worst case scenario, they could keep the ramps stored in the stations for extraordinary circumstances and radio ahead to the destination that an ECV needs to be offloaded, like they are doing with the Riviera Skyliner station. It could work.

Of course, all this is moot until they get new trains.

 

[NormC]

On the MK line or both?

Were both lines running the last time you were there?

 

[jt04]

Were both lines running the last time you were there?

Yes, express and MK lines were running. Epcot was under construction.


J/K

 

[NormC]

Yes, express and MK lines were running. Epcot was under construction.


J/K

Maybe you should visit more often.