Wishful $$$ spent: Avatar-land or Monorail Expansion

[FettFan]

No monorail expansion? OK. I'd really like an alternate route to AK, even if not a monorail. It's just not magical. 0 interest in Avatar. I doubt I'll even visit once open.

Yeah. I would venture to guess that you and I are in the majority opinion and Joe Rohde knows it. Hence the reason he designed the mountain to be even bigger than the Tree of Life so people will actually see it and be drawn to it out of curiosity more than anything else.

And also that weary look on his face. This picture alone looks like he's the least excited about the project.

 

[Siren]

Yeah. I would venture to guess that you and I are in the majority opinion and Joe Rohde knows it. Hence the reason he designed the mountain to be even bigger than the Tree of Life so people will actually see it and be drawn to it out of curiosity more than anything else.

And also that weary look on his face. This picture alone looks like he's the least excited about the project.

Hmmm... I don't get weary at all, lol. Rohde looks like he can't believe Disney is actually going to fund a project of this magnitude, in addition to also giving him another chance after the Yeti. I was surprised too, but he is the guy for the job.

 

[HakunaMatata89]

between your two options i say Avatar land just because im a big fan of AK and it could use some additions...would i have chosen AVATAR land to add? not really id prefer some lion king love personally but the concept art looks cool and ITS SOMETHING. monorail is cool and all but id rather see the money spent on fixing inpark issues instead of out of park

 

[Padraig]

Avatarland's budget wouldn't come near what would be needed for the monorail expansion.... MM+ on the other hand! But then again, I'd imagine that would be massively one sided poll.

 

[MOXOMUMD]

As others have stated, Avatar is not in the public's mind on a regular basis. HP and SW are and I still hear people quoting lines from those two franchises on a fairly consistent basis.

"Never tell me the odds."
"Expecto Patronum!"

 

[SAV]

I drive and don't use Disney Transportation, so I'm all for the Avatar expansion and to leave the Monorail as it is.

 

[Clever Name]

There will never be any expansion of the monorail. Over the next few years you'll see a reduction in hours that the monorail runs and they will eventually shut down the resort line and the EPCOT line. The boat and bus systems will be the solution for all your WDW transportation needs.

 

[Bairstow]

There will never be any expansion of the monorail. Over the next few years you'll see a reduction in hours that the monorail runs and they will eventually shut down the resort line and the EPCOT line. The boat and bus systems will be the solution for all your WDW transportation needs.

Really?
My understanding is that while the monorail is horrifically expensive to install and build, its operating costs are actually considerably lower than the buses.

 

[The Magical Genie 123]

I definitely want to see the monorail expanded to AK, HS, and maybe even DD, but the parks need rides right now, and fast.

 

[ford91exploder]

Which is just fine. However, the movie grossed $2.7 billion making me surmise that an non-zero number of people quite liked it.

Look in 3D movie was visually stunning and a groundbreaking technical achievement, The movie in 2D however is about on par with a SyFy special of the week

 

[ford91exploder]

Really?
My understanding is that while the monorail is horrifically expensive to install and build, its operating costs are actually considerably lower than the buses.

Yes that is the case, It's why they built one in Vegas but buying the land and air rights inflated construction costs by 400-600%, Now Disney uses the cost of the LV monorail as the reason why they can't expand, A monorail costs about 60% less per seat mile than a bus.

 

[Clever Name]

Really?
My understanding is that while the monorail is horrifically expensive to install and build, its operating costs are actually considerably lower than the buses.

Unfortunately, that is not the case. The operating cost of the monorail system is just as horrific as its building cost. The problem with the monorail is its lack of scalability. The monorail rarely runs with a full load of passengers. As a result it is normally grossly inefficient.

The bus system can scale the number of buses it runs based upon demand and therefore is much more efficient and much more cost effective than the monorail. Of course, even if the monorail had full passenger loads for every run, it would still cost much more to operate than a bus system.

Common sense tells you that if monorail (or light rail) were less expensive to operate than bus systems, then bus systems would be obsolete.

 

[CaptainJackNO]

Monorail expansion is cost prohibitive. Someone will say something about one million per mile, but it is much much more than that and does not bring in revenue to justify the cost.

I agree. Plus, while I love the monorail, the wait times are horrendous. Not to mention, if you run into a power failure. Give me Pandora. I need a reason to spend more than a half day at ak.

 

[CaptainJackNO]

No, not necessarily. Some things stay as relative fixtures in pop culture....Star Wars being one of them. I'm not so sure Pandora and Avatar will have that kind of endurance.

I think if Pandora is done the right way, then it could last beyond the popularity of the movie. Should Disney concentrate all of its resources and technologies on this project, it could stand the test of time to he point where the movie could be a thing of the past, yet the attractions could live on as if they were Disney originals. I think the potential is there.

 

[DancingPhoenix]

Beasty Kingdom... you'll always be there in my heart. Also if they take out the rock-dragon I'm going to be ed.

Animal Kingdom would be the most ridiculous place for a monorail stop, though I suppose DHS is close enough to see a branch from Epcot at best. Either way I say leave the monorail as it is. I like how iconic it is to the first two parks and the Seven Sea's hotels. If send it out to DAK it would take probably twice as long to do one loop. Plus you have to think about adding trains to the new tracks and figuring traffic out that way. Would a monorail route that includes DAK and DHS be at all connected to the main routes or transportation hub? Would any of the hotels in the DAK area (Coronado, value resorts, etc.) get stops?

I'm skeptical about Avatar-land but if what they are planning really does happen it will be way better than a monorail expansion. I am curious about the giant rock though, how in the heck are they going to pull that off.

 

[Master Yoda]

Look in 3D movie was visually stunning and a groundbreaking technical achievement, The movie in 2D however is about on par with a SyFy special of the week

To which I reply $2.7 billion dollars.