Rumor from a Monorail worker.

[Admiral01]

I'm pretty sure it was part of Epcot's budget, much in the same way the parking lot was.

Cool, thanks. For my follow up, any idea what percent of the EPCOT construction budget was for the monorail extension?

And, for that matter, does anyone think the company would have ever extended the monorail to EPCOT had it not been included in the original budget and construction plans?

 

[Tom]

Cool, thanks. For my follow up, any idea what percent of the EPCOT construction budget was for the monorail extension?

And, for that matter, does anyone think the company would have ever extended the monorail to EPCOT had it not been included in the original budget and construction plans?

When they built Epcot, they probably weren't even thinking about parks 3 or 4, and it was essentially a "given" that there would be a monorail between parks.

MK was intended to be the only park in the original "Walt" plans, as a reason for people to want to come to see (and live in) EPCOT, the city. Thus, they built the TTC so that when EPCOT was built, residents could simply take a monorail to the park. There were to be monorails and other forms of mass transit all over EPCOT (the city).

A new generation built parks 3 and 4, and costs made it prohibitive to continue building onto the system. Besides, since there was no city (per se), cars and buses made it such that adding onto the monorail would merely be a novelty, not a necessity.

So, I guess to answer your question, no, I do not believe they would have extended the monorail to Epcot if it had not been budgeted for.

 

[afar28]

.

11 pages later, still no lock

 

[Hakunamatata]

11 pages later, still no lock

I have some Halloween candy left if you feel you deserve a prize.....

 

[afar28]

I have some Halloween candy left if you feel you deserve a prize.....

Hey, i'm just pointing it out

 

[Hakunamatata]

Hey, i'm just pointing it out

Lol. And I really do have a bunch of candy left!

 

[afar28]

Lol. And I really do have a bunch of candy left!

As do I, bought a ton of candy a week ago because I live on a busy street, but Sandy knocked down a telephone pole and blocked off my street...

 

[Clever Name]

As do I, bought a ton of candy a week ago because I live on a busy street, but Sandy knocked down a telephone pole and blocked off my street...

I wish you the best in your recovery efforts!

 

[EOD K9]

sigh..... was hoping the pic was of pylons..... but yes those are sadly storage trailers

Two things...1) I'm here to get my name on the thread for the money.
2) I spend a lot of time looking at imagery from space for my job. They are neither pylons nor trailers. I can assure you all that those are prefabricated utilidors. They will most likely be used in the new LucasLand Park. It is a lot cheaper to build the utilidor offsite then drop it into the ground and plug them in then cover them up with dirt. This is similar to the way the CR was built. Sorry for the thread jack. And I'm joking by the way. But seriously....I want my money.

 

[afar28]

I wish you the best in your recovery efforts!

Thanks

 

[DisneyWall-E]

I was hoping that what he said was true. I knew it was a long shot from the start, but hay a boy can dream, right? But after all they spent on the Lucasfilm deal I just dont see any way they have enough money to pay for this. Or, even if they do, I dont see the BOD puting up any more cash.

P.S. I still hope they do put up the cash.
P.P.S. I still sure thay wont.

 

[unkadug]

I was hoping that what he said was true. I knew it was a long shot from the start, but hey a boy can dream, right? But after all they spent on the Lucasfilm deal I just don't see any way they have enough money to pay for this. Or, even if they do, I dont see the BOD puting up any more cash.

P.S. I still hope they do put up the cash.
P.P.S. I still sure they won't.

People said the same thing BEFORE Disney dropped 40 BILLION on the Lucas deal.

There is more money from where this came...trust me.

 

[ImagineerToBeZB]

When Deal went down, Bob Iger actually said that there were plans for more theme park rides... So there has to be more money; lots more... Somewhere... So an idea that there could be changes and upgrades to the monorail system is truly not that far off. If the problem is funding , I am sure Disney would find it... If the executives with the "Disney Wallet" support it, like the big Lucasfilm deal. This action that has just transpired shows us how Disney can truly leap.

 

[TimeTrip]

People said the same thing BEFORE Disney dropped 40 BILLION on the Lucas deal.

There is more money from where this came...trust me.

You mean 4 billion....

 

[WishIwasThere]

People said the same thing BEFORE Disney dropped 40 BILLION on the Lucas deal.

There is more money from where this came...trust me.

You are 10 times the amount. It was $4 billion, not 40.

 

[montyz81]

When they built Epcot, they probably weren't even thinking about parks 3 or 4, and it was essentially a "given" that there would be a monorail between parks.

MK was intended to be the only park in the original "Walt" plans, as a reason for people to want to come to see (and live in) EPCOT, the city. Thus, they built the TTC so that when EPCOT was built, residents could simply take a monorail to the park. There were to be monorails and other forms of mass transit all over EPCOT (the city).

A new generation built parks 3 and 4, and costs made it prohibitive to continue building onto the system. Besides, since there was no city (per se), cars and buses made it such that adding onto the monorail would merely be a novelty, not a necessity.

So, I guess to answer your question, no, I do not believe they would have extended the monorail to Epcot if it had not been budgeted for.

I am surprised that they didn't use Celebration Budget to fund some of the Monorail expansion. Celebration was the actual realization (about 1/1000th) of Walt's Dream.

 

[Dukeblue1227]

Hey while they're at it let's just expand the monorail to Disney land and to Tokyo Disney!!!!

That's how ludicrous the idea of them expanding the monorail is... If people can discuss it seriously for 11 pages.... Might as well throw our going to the moon and back in time as well.

 

[flynnibus]

People said the same thing BEFORE Disney dropped 40 BILLION on the Lucas deal.

There is more money from where this came...trust me.

Apples and oranges when comparing corporate acquisition funding vs funding in a division. Especially when talking about spending whose roi is looked at in many many years vs short term gain

 

[Admiral01]

Apples and oranges when comparing corporate acquisition funding vs funding in a division. Especially when talking about spending whose roi is looked at in many many years vs short term gain

Additionally, only half the deal was cash. The other half was stock. So, really the deal only cost Disney $2B in cash.

 

[flynnibus]

Additionally, only half the deal was cash. The other half was stock. So, really the deal only cost Disney $2B in cash.

Agreed.

But, Disney has TONS of cash - and access to WAY more than that via credit - but that's not really the question. They had over 4 billion in cash-equivalent assets in their last filing. But just having the cash on hand at the mothership level doesn't make it ready for spending at a division. That liquidity is part of the health of the organization.

It's never been a question of 'does Disney have the money to do it' - it's a matter of 'do we think its wise to spend that money on that..' and how much investing they think they should be spending in the P&R division on that type of stuff.