Originally posted by Mr Disney
You guys all have great ideas! Where has Fantasia Boi been? O Well. I look forward to seeing what you guys dream up later!
I'm right here... just trying to keep my mouth shut, actually...
As for my thoughts on the matter... Yes, I would love to see monorail expansion... or perhaps even light rail... truth be told, I've given it quite a bit of consideration into a layout, with designs and train choices, and whatnot...
However, I keep on stumbling into one major problem that a lot of folks unfortunetly don't take into consideration. Guest Traffic Flow. Disney is very unique in that we experience a huge surge of traffic at the opening of the parks, and then an even bigger surge at the close of a park...
For example...
With a train... the train is on a set route... and would always fill up with the first few stops, leaving the last few stops with a jam packed train that they cannot get on. (Proven fact, case in point, Contemporary, fills the seats, Poly fills the standing space, and Grand Flo... gets what lil leftovers they can squeeze into...)
With a bus... they can be dispatched to wherever is needed. For example Caribbean Beach... because it is so large, it has 7 bus stops... Jamaica, Aruba, Barbados, Martinique, Old Port Royale/Calypso, and Trinidad North & South. If bus 4849 fills up at Barbados... it will leave CBR, radio the coordinator, informing him that he went "Signal 72 at Barbados"... the Coordinator will then send bus 4832 to CBR, and have it start at the next stop, Martinique.
If you ever want to see an example of what I am talking about... in between All Star Music, and All Star Sports is the Animal Kingdom hub's "Staging Area"... at about 8:00ish am... you'll see about 50-75 busses there, waiting to be dispatched. "Field 6" will then dispatch the busses to the All Stars as needed.
The way it's set up is as follows.
Certain resorts remain on Routes all day long... this is because thier demand can be easily handled by Route busses, which run approx 10-15 mins apart. Should a bus go Signal 72, or if demand increases, extra busses will be dispatched.
MK and Epcot join to become one hub, based out of Port Orleans. These busses are dispatched primarily to Port Orleans, to cover all destinations. They also handle extra demand from MK Resorts, and Old Key West. (and if it were still there, Disney Institute)
Studios is based out of the Studios parking lot itself... and busses are dispatched to Caribbean Beach, and Epcot Resorts (Swan, Dolphin, Yacht, Beach, Boardwalk) for all destinations.
AK is based out of the All Stars... and dispatches busses to the All Stars for all destinations. They can also help out at AK Lodge and Coronado if needed.
Now... say for example, I'm driving bus 4808 (my favorite bus), and I'm an Animal Kingdom bus. I report to the All Stars staging area, and get instructions from Field 6 to pick up at Music for Magic Kingdom. So... I go to Music, and load my bus up for MK. If I go 72, I radio that in. I then take my guests to MK, making them laugh and have fun all the way.
When I get to MK, I drop off my guests, and Zone 2 tells me that since I'm an AK bus, to pick up Co/Po/GF for Animal Kingdom. So, instead of going back empty, I've now doubled my efficiency. One run, but two busloads.
When things calm down, the busses will resume scheduled routes... with a bus coming every 12 mins, or so...
At night... the busses go back to "Magic on Demand", but this time in reverse. All the load zones are filled with busses. When a bus pulls out, another one is dispatched to fill the empty hole. The busses go, and drop off thier guests, and return to thier hub to get thier next assignment.
NOW... please... don't get me wrong... I'm not saying Busses are the answers to everything... I would love to see a Monorail or light rail over on the BVD area of property...
What I am saying... is that although everyone loves the monorail... it's not as easy of a concept as just laying down a track.
Speaking of which... you also have to take into consideration... how are you going to "seamlessly" integrate a monorail beam and station into a resort? Will it be accessible to all buildings, or will some have to walk far? Will it fit the theming? Will I have a monorail pylon in the middle of my pool?
At any rate... please don't think I'm against the idea... I just have a tendancy to look at a bigger picture, is all.
