Personal Pod Transport Arriving Soon?

[Buried20KLeague]

The thought of the govt and/or tech companies getting involved is actually a really good one, I think! That could be what makes this thing go, if it ever was going to.

As for if this could run parallel to existing roadways... I don't see why not. It would just have to go over when it crossed intersections... Couldn't go under because of the water table.

Also... I see comparing this to the monorail as apples vs. oranges. The monorail is great for transportation of many people to main locations. The monorail wouldn't be good at all for transport between hotels, for example. This WOULD.

Truthfully, as others have said, the best solution would probably be some combinations of multiple means of transport. Monorail added between parks? 2 or 3 pod loops with connection points to change lines? Busses to and from a few other points that don't make sense for any other option (mini-golf, Western Beltway, etc)?

You could cover most everything with something like this:

Monorail (existing system, plus):
Line from TTC to AK, with stop at DHS

Pod lines:
From Epcot to Epcot Resorts and Typhoon Lagoon (maybe DTD??)
From DHS to BW, BC, Fantasia Gardens, WS entrance of Epcot
From AK to AKL, Blizzard Beach
From DTD to SSR, maybe a stop over on World Drive or whatever it's called, OKW, maybe TL

Just that alone would cover most... It feels like there would be a pretty big gap to span to get from DHS area over to BB or AKL and AK... To keep cost down you'd probably have to make people take the monorail from the TTC, DHS, AK loop to AK and then a pod to BB.

Anyway. I'm probably putting WAYYYY too much thought into it. :lol:

 

[jt04]

That can't be true! I didn't think Dubai said "no" to anything! :shrug:

They may have said no to maglev but they said yes to this type system. They are installing these in several configurations.

 

[jt04]

What about a small pilot system that goes from a premium resort to a park? For example, from AKL to AK. All of a sudden, you have an added incentive for people to book those rooms. Also, isn't there a DVC at AKL or nearby? Yet another incentive for people to buy. In time, more resorts could be linked to nearby parks, etc.. They wouldn't have to lay down all 75 miles of track at once, and they could use smaller runs as pilots for determining the feasibility/ROI of future/larger routes...

Brilliant. I agree 100%! AK to AKL and AK DVC's is the perfect place for a pilot system. It is well configured for it and would be in keeping with the ecological themes of the park and prove or disprove the economics of it. AND it would sell some DVC memberships, no doubt about it. It would be a win, win, win.

 

[slappy magoo]

I think this would be an incredible idea, very forward-thinking, and while I hope they can figure out how to lay out all the tracks efficiently, and how to solve breakdown issues, forgive me ifn's I don't hold my breath.

I'm of the opinion WDW can generate just as much goodwill (and even more income) if they have fleets of electric or hybrid taxis set up at each resort and each park. 5-10 dollars gets you from anywhere in WDW TO anywhere in WDW, and for people who aren't in a rush or don't mind being jammed in with loads of strangers or don't want to pay any extra money, there will still be the buses. Still "green," no tracks to lay down, fewer worries of pods breaking down, drivers who will be able to take cars out of commission if someone decides to spill their drink or scrawl graffiti or leave behind a dirty diaper or something equally doo schnozzly, and the cabs could be Disney-themed so it's not as chancy as getting a cab that happens to be outside the resort, or ordering a cab from an outside source. And if they're neat-enough looking, seeing these throughout WDW roads will still look pretty nifty. Maybe not as nifty as the pods, but not as butt-ugly as the buses either.

 

[trr1]

They don't need to be overhead though. If they just went up and over the existing roads like an overpass, or under wouldn't that be okay? I'm not sure...I'm really asking because I'm sure these have enough power to ascend and descend hills.

i dont think they can go underground with the water level being not very deep

 

[wdwCC]

According to a site with "gossip" and "disney" in it's name, management is seriously looking at adding at least a segmented version of personal transports to the WDW Transportation system.

It sounds like that animation we got on the way down SSE. With our pictures flying in a future car. DH loved it.

 

[ChrisFL]

Now, I'm not saying that this new system is coming to WDW. It would be cool. I have no idea if it would be cost effective. As someone mentioned, I think it would be an attraction in itself--at least for a while. So, if you can spend $250 million on EE (did they? I don't know),

EE was definitely not $250 million, probably closer to $80 million

 

[WDWFREAK53]

i dont think they can go underground with the water level being not very deep

I didn't mean underground...I meant under the roads (if the roads were elevated in a certain area).

 

[gettingsmaller]

EE was definitely not $250 million, probably closer to $80 million

oh. Oh, well... I was just taking what I thought someone else said... I didn't really even think about it, but 250 does sound a bit on the expensive side (of course, it takes a lot of dump truck trips to move a mountain from one continent to another...).

 

[jt04]

i dont think they can go underground with the water level being not very deep

They would just have to seal the tunnel properly. It is done all the time. The road to the contemporary is below the lakes at one point for example. It does not leak as far as I know.

 

[ewensell3]

I didn't mean underground...I meant under the roads (if the roads were elevated in a certain area).

Case in point...

http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=28.412899,-81.576083&spn=0.006681,0.01134&t=k&z=17

 

[jt04]

Case in point...

http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=28.412899,-81.576083&spn=0.006681,0.01134&t=k&z=17

Pretty!

 

[Master Yoda]

They would just have to seal the tunnel properly. It is done all the time. The road to the contemporary is below the lakes at one point for example. It does not leak as far as I know.

You only build a tunnel in Florida when you have no other choice. (currently I think only 2 exist one of them being the one at the contemporary) It is typically less expensive to go over than under. The problem in Florida is not the high water table, water intrusion in tunnels is a problem anywhere. The biggest problem is the unstable ground that will cause the tunnels to deform and crack and possible fail over a relativity short amount of time.

 

[jt04]

You only build a tunnel in Florida when you have no other choice. (currently I think only 2 exist one of them being the one at the contemporary) It is typically less expensive to go over than under. The problem in Florida is not the high water table, water intrusion in tunnels is a problem anywhere. The biggest problem is the unstable ground that will cause the tunnels to deform and crack and possible fail over a relativity short amount of time.

I guess it depends on the application. There are probably some situations where it's better to go below ground/water level as they did in the photo. That has been there since day 1 and has not deformed or cracked as far as I know. But any new transportation network would be 99% above ground I am sure.

 

[WDW Monorail]

You only build a tunnel in Florida when you have no other choice. (currently I think only 2 exist one of them being the one at the contemporary) It is typically less expensive to go over than under. The problem in Florida is not the high water table, water intrusion in tunnels is a problem anywhere. The biggest problem is the unstable ground that will cause the tunnels to deform and crack and possible fail over a relativity short amount of time.

There is another tunnel which passes under the waterway connecting Crescent Lake to WS Lagoon.

 

[RiversideBunny]

...

http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=28.412899,-81.576083&spn=0.006681,0.01134&t=k&z=17

That's a neat google map.
What address do you enter into google maps to get it to come up?

If you left click your computer mouse and hold it down, you can move the map all over WDW.

It still shows the North Garden Wing at the Contemporary.

If you zoom in a couple of times, you can see people walking around the MK.

 

[ewensell3]

That's a neat google map.
What address do you enter into google maps to get it to come up?

The tunnel? I was familiar enough with the property to find it "by hand" (I knew the general area and just panned/zoomed around to find it).

If you mean how to quickly get to WDW property in Google Maps, just enter "disney world", "walt disney world", or any other WDW related named (eg. Magic Kingdom, Epcot, etc) and it'll usually take you right to the property. "Walt Disney World" is easier to remember than an address.

I'm guesstimating the imagery data is from fall 2006. Note the wall up around the Garden Wing. It went up November 2006 and demolition started early 2007. I'm sure someone more familiar could pin a specific date on things...

Didn't mean to hijack the thread. I'm sure a new thread pointing out Disney landmarks in Google Maps could be fun.

 

[jasondiff]

I've approximated that to link all the parks, resorts, waterparks, and downtown areas...it would cost roughly about 2 billion dollars. (Non-elevated track...and roughly 75 miles of it)

Say they charged $15.00/day for parking and the use of the pods. (You could add it to the room cost so resort guests would think they're getting it complimentary). And say, that they took $100,000/day (average) and put it towards the project. To make their money back...it would still take them 55 years.

Wow, looking at those numbers, that doesn't make it sound feasible at ALL!

(Less if you count the savings on oil and drivers)

Using similar calculations, and assuming 75,000 people per day visit the 4 Disney parks, and assuming only $10.00 per day cost, then that's $750,000 per day they would take in, divided by 2 billion means only 7 years to recoup the cost. And that's not counting the savings from bus maintenance or fuel. (I'm not counting any savings from eliminating bus drivers because there will have to be CMs at each station, so there may not be any savings from personnel.)

 

[jt04]

Using similar calculations, and assuming 75,000 people per day visit the 4 Disney parks, and assuming only $10.00 per day cost, then that's $750,000 per day they would take in, divided by 2 billion means only 7 years to recoup the cost. And that's not counting the savings from bus maintenance or fuel. (I'm not counting any savings from eliminating bus drivers because there will have to be CMs at each station, so there may not be any savings from personnel.)

One of the major advantages is a CM won't have to be present. These are designed to be run from a remote computer room somewhat similar to how trains are switched but on a much smaller scale. A guest would enter their room key to access a pod similar to fastpass. That way they know who you are. I am sure the vehicles would include wireless video cameras also to maintain the security and safety of both vehicle and riders. They would know who was on a specific vehicle and have video of anyone vandalizing a pod. No CM's needed.

 

[bugsbunny]

Transformers are for raising or lowering the voltage. It has nothing to do with converting AC to DC. That is accomplished via a rectifier circuit which could easily be incorporated into each vehicle. Almost every piece of electronic equipment in your house has a built in rectifier circuit. :wave:

You are correct. I forgot the terminology.

And someone said the Morgantown thingy runs on batteries? According to the Wikipedia article it uses 3 phase AC and converts to to DC?

Regardless, right back to my original point. A whole lot of power needed for a huge elevated infrastructure. Wouldn't it just make more sense to bulild a monorail at that point?

And don't forget the bus drivers union! Do you think for a second they would stand for that kind of automated system taking away from the number of buses? The two things unions do well are jobs real slow and tie employers up in court.