Resort Monorail Down as of 8:30am today

[ford91exploder]

Staying at GFV for the WDW marathon,

the resort monorail line is down and has been replaced by buses, No details beyond that at the moment

 

[Tuvalu]

It goes down all the time. Happened to us two mornings at GF in October and Poly in July.

 

[TimeTrip]

It goes down all the time. Happened to us two mornings at GF in October and Poly in July.

 

[drizgirl]

LOL! Georgio!

But you covered his best feature with the text!

 

[Minthorne]

Why don't they just bite the bullet and buy new trains?

 

[Tuvalu]

Why don't they just bite the bullet and buy new trains?

Now, now you are trying to apply logic where logic doesn't seem to apply.....

 

[lostpro9het]

Why don't they just bite the bullet and buy new trains?

 

[Minthorne]

View attachment 182877

You made me really laugh out loud!

 

[HauntedPirate]

View attachment 182877

Iger and his folly...

 

[lazyboy97o]

Why don't they just bite the bullet and buy new trains?

Because that is a costly way of achieving very little. It doesn't fix the operational and maintenance issues, just temporarily suspends them.

 

[COProgressFan]

Because that is a costly way of achieving very little. It doesn't fix the operational and maintenance issues, just temporarily suspends them.

Not necessarily so. Most big city mass transit system trains have a life expectancy, maybe 30 years or so. This assumes there is the proper maintenance, both big and small, during that time period. And we know Disney has had a tendency to defer maintenance in recent years. There comes a point at which continuing to use older equipment is no longer cost effective because of failures of equipment, inability to get or fabricate new parts, downtime in operations, etc.

The current trains are nearing 30 years. They are certainly closer to the end of their life than the beginning. Its absolutely time to start planning for replacement for the next generation. Newer trains, on a proper maintenance schedule would absolutely fix operational and maintenance issues.

 

[MaryJaneP]

It seems unlikely that WDW just poured muchos dineros into adding automation to these old trains just to replace them with a new fleet. More likely, plans are proceeding at their usual snail pace to see how the current fleet operates under automation. May result in changes to both new fleet and operations/manpower needs. Agree that proper regular maintenance is needed and has sorely been deferred.

 

[Kman101]

Ahhh. The marathon. No wonder the parks were insane. Well, AK was and wait times everywhere else looked awful. And Disney Springs was busy but not impossible, plenty of parking in the lime garage. I didn't dare brave any other park.

 

[Time_machine]

Why don't they just bite the bullet and buy new trains?

Now, now you are trying to apply logic where logic doesn't seem to apply.....

Does monorail rolling stock have a shorter lifespan than standard railway rolling stock? 27-28 years of service seems like a pretty short lifespan for an EMU.

Are they still testing that new CBTC system from Thales? Could that be the source of the shutdown?

 

[COProgressFan]

It seems unlikely that WDW just poured muchos dineros into adding automation to these old trains just to replace them with a new fleet. More likely, plans are proceeding at their usual snail pace to see how the current fleet operates under automation. May result in changes to both new fleet and operations/manpower needs. Agree that proper regular maintenance is needed and has sorely been deferred.

Oh, I don't think they are replacing the trains any time soon. I agree, the ultimate goal with the current fleet is to extend the life a bit and test out the automation concept. Based on how that goes, the new trains, whenever they come, will likely be designed and built with automation in mind, as well as all the other technologies that have advanced in the last 30 years.

I'd like to think they have some kind of replacement plan in mind (5 years? 10 years...not sure they'll make it), but the way Disney operates they're likely just kicking the can down the road.

 

[stini228]

Rough day today. Via Twitter:

 

[Beacon Joe]

As a regular guest of the Grand Floridian, it's at times like these when I seriously wish that Disney would simply buy a surplus bridging vehicle or pontoon bridge units and use them to bridge the light parade canal, so people could walk from the Magic Kingdom.

or

They could even class it up by painting it white and red, sticking a few topiary planters on it, and calling it a day.

 

[21stamps]

As a regular guest of the Grand Floridian, it's at times like these when I seriously wish that Disney would simply buy a surplus bridging vehicle or pontoon bridge units and use them to bridge the light parade canal, so people could walk from the Magic Kingdom.

or

They could even class it up by painting it white and red, sticking a few topiary planters on it, and calling it a day.

But if you're already at one of those resorts then you won't have to deal with the bumper to bumper traffic! Can't help with the line to get in to MK though..

I don't know how they could avoid backed up traffic. It took me an hour to get 1 mile when going to a Zoo last week. It sucked! They even had police directing traffic, still way too many people.

 

[drizgirl]

Does monorail rolling stock have a shorter lifespan than standard railway rolling stock? 27-28 years of service seems like a pretty short lifespan for an EMU.

Are they still testing that new CBTC system from Thales? Could that be the source of the shutdown?

I thought when monorail outages started becoming a regular occurrence a few years back that I heard the lifespan was around 25 years? Not sure why they would be investing heavily in a fleet that's near (or past?) that point already.

 

[Luxe]

Ahhh. The marathon. No wonder the parks were insane. Well, AK was and wait times everywhere else looked awful. And Disney Springs was busy but not impossible, plenty of parking in the lime garage. I didn't dare brave any other park.

Can confirm. DHS was pretty rough today. Parked at the furthest tree line, that was a first for me.