Rumor New Monorails Coming Soon?

Tim Lohr

Tim Lohr

Well-Known Member
2percenter said:
This gets referenced a lot, but are we sure that the old trains weren't replaced more frequently because they had to be? That is, either they weren't designed for longevity or that they had drawbacks so there was clear incentives for replacements? I mean, I'm sure that the increased importance of economic drivers to management was a big part of it but as an engineer, it doesn't surprise me when I hear that versions 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0 came in quick succession before things stabilized a bit more with version 4.0. Or version 3.1, ha!
Click to expand...
Well the trains may or may not have seen more passengers in the first 20 to 25 years, because there was no bus stop at the front door of the Magic Kingdom back then. All the resort buses went to the Transportation and Ticket Center, and then you could get a Monorail to either Magic Kingdom or Epcot from there, but now none of the resort buses go to the TTC. It seems like mainly the people who stay off site, or the non resort guests, are the only ones using the monorail, which is kind of crazy, but that's probably why they haven't spent any money on the trains since then.

So new trains may suggest a change to the entire Monorail system. There were plans in the 1970's to fuse the Magic Kingdom Express Monorail line with the Epcot line, which would be a much more efficient way to move people around the property. Walt's original "Progress City" plans for the "Florida Project" had one central Monorail that ran the length of the property, with 4 different stops on it, and that would still be the best system today, to have one Monorail line that connects all parks, and then have secondary mass transit systems like the Skyliner gondolas to transport guests from the resorts to the nearest monorail station. That would greatly reduce the need for buses, and the cost of maintaining and fueling buses and paying the bus driver's salaries...

long story short, maybe the reason you haven't seen any upgrades in the monorail trains in the past 30 years, is because they've been investing money on buses instead
 
Brad Bishop

Brad Bishop

Well-Known Member
tl77 said:
So new trains may suggest a change to the entire Monorail system. There were plans in the 1970's to fuse the Magic Kingdom Express Monorail line with the Epcot line, which would be a much more efficient way to move people around the property. Walt's original "Progress City" plans for the "Florida Project" had one central Monorail that ran the length of the property, with 4 different stops on it, and that would still be the best system today, to have one Monorail line that connects all parks, and then have secondary mass transit systems like the Skyliner gondolas to transport guests from the resorts to the nearest monorail station. That would greatly reduce the need for buses, and the cost of maintaining and fueling buses and paying the bus driver's salaries...
Click to expand...

I hope so. It doesn't make sense to me that you have to switch trains at the TTC to get from Epcot to MK.
 
monothingie

monothingie

Nakatomi Plaza Christmas Eve 1988. Never Forget.
Premium Member
Monorail_Red_77 said:
Pretty soon the spiel will be something like this.

Please stand clear of the doors! Please do not lean on the doors! Please stay away from the doors! Just don't do anything with the doors... okay!!
Click to expand...

I was in Monorail Red yesterday (Ironic) and they couldn’t close one of the doors at the MK station. The jack Wagner spiel played at least 15 times before the door finally indicated closed. But they are really intense about door safety. TBH every since automation screwed up the automatic spiels, I don’t think they even care anymore.
 
DisneyFreak

DisneyFreak

Well-Known Member
tl77 said:
Well the trains may or may not have seen more passengers in the first 20 to 25 years, because there was no bus stop at the front door of the Magic Kingdom back then. All the resort buses went to the Transportation and Ticket Center, and then you could get a Monorail to either Magic Kingdom or Epcot from there, but now none of the resort buses go to the TTC. It seems like mainly the people who stay off site, or the non resort guests, are the only ones using the monorail, which is kind of crazy, but that's probably why they haven't spent any money on the trains since then.
Click to expand...

The Mark VI monorails came online in '89. Curious to know when the bus station at MK opened.
 
GhostHost1000

GhostHost1000

Premium Member
ThatMouse said:
I had an enjoyable ride on the resort monorail last week, no announcements, everything ran smoothly, oh except one whole cab had a note taped to it "out of service" lol Edit: by the way are the window vents supposed to be open or closed? It was raining, but they were left open.
Click to expand...

it depends if the duct tape was still in place or fell off :oops:
 
msg7

msg7

Well-Known Member
monothingie said:
I was in Monorail Red yesterday (Ironic) and they couldn’t close one of the doors at the MK station. The jack Wagner spiel played at least 15 times before the door finally indicated closed. But they are really intense about door safety. TBH every since automation screwed up the automatic spiels, I don’t think they even care anymore.
Click to expand...
I was watching something the other day and it was playing the spiel for arriving at the GF on the resort loop as the train was coming out of the Contemporary on the express loop....
 
ParksAndPixels

ParksAndPixels

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
Yes
msg7 said:
I was watching something the other day and it was playing the spiel for arriving at the GF on the resort loop as the train was coming out of the Contemporary on the express loop....
Click to expand...

92B00240-F423-4DB2-833C-116837B7C67E.jpeg
 
bhg469

bhg469

Well-Known Member
WDW862 said:
Monorail Blue just had an incident. People were boarding on at the TTC and the doors randomly slammed shut. Crushed a few people, thankfully no one was injured. After this they sent us to the resort line. Both lines are down now.
Click to expand...
This is getting to be scary... If there is a video of the incident this could mean the new monorails are going to be pushed to be put in even quicker due to media outlets carrying it.
 
Last edited:
Tim Lohr

Tim Lohr

Well-Known Member
Brad Bishop said:
I hope so. It doesn't make sense to me that you have to switch trains at the TTC to get from Epcot to MK.
Click to expand...
Yeah the original TTC they built for the WDW opening in 1971 was supposed to link up with an shopping center thing that didn't get built. The Epoct Station they did build in 1981-82, was kind of a "quick fix" they added onto the original TTC, but in order to fuse the MK Express line with the Epcot line they would need to build a whole new TTC Monorail station, probably somewhere inside the Magic Kingdom Parking lot... which they are currently in the process of expanding
 

Register on WDWMAGIC. This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.

Back
Top Bottom