Limited Monorail? NOOOOOOOOO

[angelaroseub]

Okay, so Disney has been very busy lately tightening up EVERYTHING. From the rapid refill program, cutting back Extra Magic Hours, The GAC card, and the new pool hour policies, things have changed a lot!

Then this morning I read this article-
http://www.doctordisney.com/2013/10/05/disney-resort-monorail-hours-severely-limited-october/

SEVERELY LIMITED HOURS??? I booked my vacation WAY back in January and purposely paid an exorbitant amount of $$$ to stay at a monorail resort. My mom was seriously ill last year, has recovered but has some restrictions and needs a wheelchair. Here I thought I was doing something good by booking on the ol' reliable monorail to help make the trip easier for her. AND NOW THIS. Two weeks out and I have to worry about this. Yes they will increase bus service but I can stay at a variety of other resorts for much less $$$ and use a bus.

Can anyone speak to this? Has this happened to you? Does Disney do anything to alleviate this (discount or freebies or upgrades)? Do you think it will only take 2 weeks as they say? If so I might be in the clear but having 4 little kids who are stoked to stay at a hotel where the train drives right in and then have no train causes a little stress

 

[siskaren]

I think you're making a bigger deal out of this than is warranted. First of all, it says that the monorail will be shut down between the hours of 11 am and 6 pm, which isn't when most people are traveling to and from the parks. Second, it says that additional boat and bus transportation will be provided, so I don't see why they should offer any discounts, freebies or upgrades.

 

[mevelandry]

Relax, it's just happening for a few days in october.

 

[angelaroseub]

Whenever I have gone and anyone I have known that has gone with kids or an elderly family member likes to go back in the middle of the day to rest. Our party of 8 ranges in age from 6 months to 70. And, with what I paid, it is a big deal.

 

[mevelandry]

I think you're making a bigger deal out of this than is warranted. First of all, it says that the monorail will be shut down between the hours of 11 am and 6 pm, which isn't when most people are traveling to and from the parks. Second, it says that additional boat and bus transportation will be provided, so I don't see why they should offer any discounts, freebies or upgrades.

We'll agree to disagree. You pay more than other resorts for that monorail. If it doesn't work they kinda owe you some compensation.

 

[siskaren]

Whenever I have gone and anyone I have known that has gone with kids or an elderly family member likes to go back in the middle of the day to rest. Our party of 8 ranges in age from 6 months to 70. And, with what I paid, it is a big deal.

I'm assuming from your ticker that you're staying at BLT or CR. It's an easy walk from MK to the CR. From DHS and AK you'd have to take a bus anyway. Epcot is the only one that might be more of a hassle, but that would involve 2 monorail rides anyway.

There's already a thread about this here.

 

[disnut8]

Okay, so Disney has been very busy lately tightening up EVERYTHING. From the rapid refill program, cutting back Extra Magic Hours, The GAC card, and the new pool hour policies, things have changed a lot!

Then this morning I read this article-
http://www.doctordisney.com/2013/10/05/disney-resort-monorail-hours-severely-limited-october/

SEVERELY LIMITED HOURS??? I booked my vacation WAY back in January and purposely paid an exorbitant amount of $$$ to stay at a monorail resort. My mom was seriously ill last year, has recovered but has some restrictions and needs a wheelchair. Here I thought I was doing something good by booking on the ol' reliable monorail to help make the trip easier for her. AND NOW THIS. Two weeks out and I have to worry about this. Yes they will increase bus service but I can stay at a variety of other resorts for much less $$$ and use a bus.

Can anyone speak to this? Has this happened to you? Does Disney do anything to alleviate this (discount or freebies or upgrades)? Do you think it will only take 2 weeks as they say? If so I might be in the clear but having 4 little kids who are stoked to stay at a hotel where the train drives right in and then have no train causes a little stress

Everyone at your resort and the other two monorail resorts, will be in the same situation. And each family will have their own concerns with the resort monorail being down for seven hours each day for up to two weeks.

You've listed your reasons for wanting/needing a monorail to go through your resort. Those are very important to you. However, the family in the room next to yours won't have the same issues. So why should you be compensated and them not? Everyone will have to make changes to their transportation situation. Everyone. Not just you.

Think of a solution for Disney to do that would not impact any family at the three monorail resorts. You aren't going to come up with one. You can get a solution that will help you but will impact another family in an adverse way.

Disney is not stranding anyone.

 

[Sheilby]

I think you're making a bigger deal out of this than is warranted. First of all, it says that the monorail will be shut down between the hours of 11 am and 6 pm, which isn't when most people are traveling to and from the parks. Second, it says that additional boat and bus transportation will be provided, so I don't see why they should offer any discounts, freebies or upgrades.

Are you for real? If I am spending big bucks to stay at a monorail resort is because of the monorail. The convenience and coolness factor of hopping on the monorail to take a break during the busiest/hottest part of the day is a major reason that a lot of families pay dearly to stay there. If I was staying at one of those resorts in October I'd be pissed. Especially since Disney does such a bad job of letting people know about these things in advance so that you can change your plans if it affects your vacation.

 

[wdw4rfam]

Are you for real? If I am spending big bucks to stay at a monorail resort is because of the monorail. The convenience and coolness factor of hopping on the monorail to take a break during the busiest/hottest part of the day is a major reason that a lot of families pay dearly to stay there. If I was staying at one of those resorts in October I'd be pissed. Especially since Disney does such a bad job of letting people know about these things in advance so that you can change your plans if it affects your vacation.

Agree 100%. We have always wanted to stay at a monorail resort because of the....monorail!! We never have because we are perfectly happy at POR, and couldn't justify the difference just for a monorail. But if I saved up and finally spent the extra $$, I'd be livid if the one and only reason I paid almost double for was not available.

 

[ArwenMarie]

Are you for real? If I am spending big bucks to stay at a monorail resort is because of the monorail. The convenience and coolness factor of hopping on the monorail to take a break during the busiest/hottest part of the day is a major reason that a lot of families pay dearly to stay there. If I was staying at one of those resorts in October I'd be pissed. Especially since Disney does such a bad job of letting people know about these things in advance so that you can change your plans if it affects your vacation.

I totally agree with you. I think it's bad customer service to just say "Tough!" to customers paying a huge premium to stay on the monorail.

You know what I think they should give? A nice room discount on every night at every hotel on the monorail when this service interruption is scheduled. Because the rooms aren't worth the price if the monorail isn't running for such a large portion of the day. People understand that stuff happens, but WDW makes no effort to proactively compensate in any way, or even to make a goodwill gesture of some sort.

 

[siskaren]

Are you for real? If I am spending big bucks to stay at a monorail resort is because of the monorail. The convenience and coolness factor of hopping on the monorail to take a break during the busiest/hottest part of the day is a major reason that a lot of families pay dearly to stay there. If I was staying at one of those resorts in October I'd be pissed. Especially since Disney does such a bad job of letting people know about these things in advance so that you can change your plans if it affects your vacation.

Yes, I'm for real. Read my previous post. If you're staying at a monorail resort, you'd have to take a bus to take a midday break from DHS and AK anyway. From MK, you can take a boat to the Poly or GF, or for Poly you can take the express monorail to the TTC (only the resort monorail is affected), and again, CR is an easy walk. Epcot is the only one I could see being a hassle, but since that takes 2 monorails, I would think it would be a hassle to take a midday break from there even if the resort monorail was shut down. And as far as letting people know in advance, it's my understanding that it's because of the construction at GF, and contruction schedules change - they might not have known the exact dates it would need to be shut down until the last minute.

 

[nugov2]

I have to agree...not just you, but every guest should be compensated for their stay if the monorail isn't running. I actually think that is a long part of the day to be down. If you knew when you booked it would be one thing, but since you were not informed sorry WDW...you dropped the ball. That is listed as a perk of staying at those resorts. It would be like paying for concierge and then they tell you we will only have the amenities available for part of your trip the other days it is closed. It is a perk they advertise as one of the reason to stay there....if it is not available and you were not informed at the time of booking you should be compensated. If they needed to do work it should have been properly planned and the guest booking should have known so they could make a choice on if they still wanted to spend the money when a big perk would not be fully operational.

 

[siskaren]

If you knew when you booked it would be one thing, but since you were not informed sorry WDW...you dropped the ball.

The OP booked her trip in January. You honestly expect Disney to have known way back then that the monorail would have to be closed during the day in October?

 

[Polydweller]

Yes, I'm for real. Read my previous post. If you're staying at a monorail resort, you'd have to take a bus to take a midday break from DHS and AK anyway. From MK, you can take a boat to the Poly or GF, or for Poly you can take the express monorail to the TTC (only the resort monorail is affected), and again, CR is an easy walk. Epcot is the only one I could see being a hassle, but since that takes 2 monorails, I would think it would be a hassle to take a midday break from there even if the resort monorail was shut down. And as far as letting people know in advance, it's my understanding that it's because of the construction at GF, and contruction schedules change - they might not have known the exact dates it would need to be shut down until the last minute.

It is not about construction at GF. Think about it, if it was the express would be down as well. It is about the automation of the monorail system and installing the controls. That has to be during the day and they are choosing the least busy time. The express will go down next followed by the Epcot line.

They do not owe anyone compensation but they do owe alternate transportation and that they have done. For the majority of people, they will still get their monorail rides since it is open during the busiest hours so many won't even notice. And, try the alternates like the resort launch. It's actually a very nice way to go back and forth and might surprise you about what a great perk it is.

 

[angelaroseub]

I have to agree...not just you, but every guest should be compensated for their stay if the monorail isn't running. I actually think that is a long part of the day to be down. If you knew when you booked it would be one thing, but since you were not informed sorry WDW...you dropped the ball. That is listed as a perk of staying at those resorts. It would be like paying for concierge and then they tell you we will only have the amenities available for part of your trip the other days it is closed. It is a perk they advertise as one of the reason to stay there....if it is not available and you were not informed at the time of booking you should be compensated. If they needed to do work it should have been properly planned and the guest booking should have known so they could make a choice on if they still wanted to spend the money when a big perk would not be fully operational.

Thank you! I agree, Disney can afford to compensate. If I were at the Poly or GF I'd have the boat option. Now it's walk or bus only from the Contemporary. Every family has their own story. What's similar? The large amount of money they stayed for a "monorail" hotel. It's a perk and a big treat that is rare for most. Fingers crossed it won't take the entire 2 weeks.

 

[siskaren]

It is not about construction at GF. Think about it, if it was the express would be down as well. It is about the automation of the monorail system and installing the controls. That has to be during the day and they are choosing the least busy time. The express will go down next followed by the Epcot line.

I was going by what it said in the link in the first post, but then I found the other thread about the monorail situation and read about the control installation.

They do not owe anyone compensation but they do owe alternate transportation and that they have done. For the majority of people, they will still get their monorail rides since it is open during the busiest hours so many won't even notice. And, try the alternates like the resort launch. It's actually a very nice way to go back and forth and might surprise you about what a great perk it is.

Thank you! This is exactly what I've been saying. I love taking the boat from MK to WL.

 

[angelaroseub]

The OP booked her trip in January. You honestly expect Disney to have known way back then that the monorail would have to be closed during the day in October?

They were happy to take my money back then. I'm not saying they can predict exactly what day they will be doing things like this but have a contingency plan. A small effort in the name of customer service goes a long way. They've made lots of changes that create many restrictions over the past 2 months and the prices keep going up. They are going to turn lots of people to go other places. It's too bad really.

Look, we'll survive, but there are lots of people this could cause problems for. If your fridge doesn't work they give you a $15 credit back to your room per day. It's not unreasonable when they are charging upwards of $1200 a night for a monorail hotel. At the Contemporary there is no boat option unless you go to the Fort Wilderness resort then to MK.

 

[DLM1980]

A deluxe resort is a deluxe resort because it's close to the theme park, that's why your paying the high prices. Now if they said from 11-6 you have a room at all star sports then I'd complain. The monorail is just an extra! Be happy you are even able to stay at a resort that close.

We had plans to stay at the grand Floridian a few years ago because we had received some great discount of almost 50% off however to due my partners physical illness we couldn't extend the deal any longer and lost that rate and thus that ability to stay at a deluxe.

 

[angelaroseub]

It is not about construction at GF. Think about it, if it was the express would be down as well. It is about the automation of the monorail system and installing the controls. That has to be during the day and they are choosing the least busy time. The express will go down next followed by the Epcot line.

They do not owe anyone compensation but they do owe alternate transportation and that they have done. For the majority of people, they will still get their monorail rides since it is open during the busiest hours so many won't even notice. And, try the alternates like the resort launch. It's actually a very nice way to go back and forth and might surprise you about what a great perk it is.

I'd love a resort launch but there isn't one at the Contemporary for MK- just to Fort Wilderness.

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

And that's why I see no advantage to staying on the monorail line. Construction, limited hours, lots of breakdowns, waste of moolah.