Recent trip: Monorail Coral trouble

[JTFerret]

Hello all. Was at the WDW resort last weekend and stayed at the Contemporary for the first time. Tower room facing the MK on the 11th floor was really nice. Was eating dinner at the Kona cafe in the Polynesian resort on Saturday with my wife when at around 6:30 we saw Monorail Coral try to pull out of the station with its doors still open! It stopped very quickly after going a few yards but even so that had to scare the passengers.
The next day we were on Coral when the doors tried to close on a few guests as they exited the monorail. Has anyone else had any issues with Coral or any other monorails doing this or can we attribute this to new trainees or operators?
Was also interested to see that the cast members on the loading platforms tried to load everyone into the front half only of the monorail going to Epcot. As a result, the back half was empty and the front half was packed - including standing room only. I know that in the summer busy months that they are trying to insure that all the people that can fit onto a monorail are being given an opportunity, but to pack everyone into a half of a monorail when the back half is empty seems a bit much to me.
Anyways, the crowds didn't seem that bad to us with so many attractions open like Timekeeper and CoP with wait times staying around 20-30 minutes. Saw many Brazillian tour groups on this trip, so maybe they are starting to come back again. We also enjoyed eating at Kona and Ohana's for the first time this trip and highly recommend the food at Kona cafe! :slurp:

 

[MissM]

Totally off topic but you need to change your sig. *chuckles*

"Wait a minute... I know Mr. Toad's Wild Ride was around here somewhere! Right near the 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea Ride...um...where did the lagoon go...?"

Funny but sadly true.
-m

 

[JTFerret]

Ha! Ha! Ha! I hadn't realized that my ironic statement had become even more ironic until you pointed that out to me. I will have to think about a new signature or take your advice on the change! Thanks. :kiss:

 

[Figment1986]

strange.... but i do think if your sig changed... it would be classic now.... hehe

 

[MissM]

strange.... but i do think if your sig changed... it would be classic now.... hehe

Man, yet another case of a classic disney thing being changed! When will the insanity end?!

(sorry, I didn't mean to take over your monorail topic but the irony was just too amusing not to comment )
-m

 

[Invero]

It is pretty much impossible for the train to move with doors open.

For a train to move, the driver has to place the train into "Run"... if a train is put into Run with doors open, the doors will automatically close (well, slam shut without warning). Doors will not open with the control panel if the train is in Run. The train also cannot move until all doors are closed, and secure, regardless of if the train is in Run or Stop. This includes hatches, and the drivers door.

If a door sensor gets tripped, meaning while the train is in motion, someone bumps up against the door, making the train think the door isn't secure, the train will come to a full stop. The only way to get the train moving at that point would be to use the bypass switch, which is a pain in the rear end to use, and cannot be triggered by accident.

In addition, the doors on Yellow (and future trains to get the new monitoring system) cannot open unless the train is lined up perfectly (well, within a few inches) inside the station.

 

[speck76]

The only thing I noticed about Coral is that the vinyl is coming off in the first car, and it looks like it could use a nice redo.

 

[JTFerret]

Hello Tyler, hope all is well with you. I thought that it was an impossibility for the monorail to move with doors open too but I can tell you that since my wife, myself and another couple at a different table saw it happen that the monorail did move and the doors were still open. I know that Disney has high safety standards and safeguards built in to nearly every, if not all, system they operate. I just know that any system can fail and normally will at the most inappropriate time. The monorail did not move very far before it stopped quickly. As I said at the beginning of this thread there was more than one incident that I mentioned and there were also 2 others that I didn't (1 involved monorail Coral again and the other a different monorail).
There are few opinions I can think of that I value higher than Tyler's. I do not want to appear like I'm creating a big fish story or trying to cry wolf. I am not. I just wish to relay something that I thought was extraordinary to a board I respect. I look forward to any further comments, especially Tyler or other cast members who have monorail experience.

 

[Ringo8n24]

Once when I was at the Richard Petty Driving Experience the electricity went out in the park. The monorail was stopped as we could see it in mid-track. What happens in that situation? Is there an emergency power supply that kicks in to get the train moving? I would not want to be stuck on that thing in the summer heat with no A/C. We had to leave since the Driving Experience had no way to refuel the cars without electricity at the pumps so I did not get to see how long they were stuck there on the track. Has this ever happened to anyone personally and, if so, how long were you stuck?

 

[paulcmartens]

Well, I'm trying to remember how hot it was the last weekend...that does effect things on the track/electrical systems in the monorail overheating, etc.

Monorails have been known to burst into flames and careen out of control around the MK resort line. Its quite a site to behold.

Usually they just let the train burn itself out on the corner there between Grand Floridian and Magic Kingdom.

 

[AndyP]

Anyways, the crowds didn't seem that bad to us with so many attractions open like Timekeeper and CoP with wait times staying around 20-30 minutes. Saw many Brazillian tour groups on this trip, so maybe they are starting to come back again.

Crowds at Disney didn't seem too bad, managed to get on everything i wanted to do. Unfortunately had to come home (this morning!). Crowds at Universal were huge though, at one point in the studios, i couldn't find ANYTHING without a 45 minute wait, excluding shows ofcourse, MIB reached 120 minutes! (Even single rider queues are getting really long now). Also noticed lots of those tour groups, more than i ever remember, saw at least 2 groups in every park i went too. Monorail operation seemed to be running smoothly when i used it, weird about the door thing though :S

 

[Invero]

Once when I was at the Richard Petty Driving Experience the electricity went out in the park. The monorail was stopped as we could see it in mid-track. What happens in that situation? Is there an emergency power supply that kicks in to get the train moving? I would not want to be stuck on that thing in the summer heat with no A/C. We had to leave since the Driving Experience had no way to refuel the cars without electricity at the pumps so I did not get to see how long they were stuck there on the track. Has this ever happened to anyone personally and, if so, how long were you stuck?

They have a diesel powered tow-tractor that can come out and tow the train.

 

[bgraham34]

Leave the sig.