A replacement for monorails and buses?

[KYMickey]

The system looks like it could have a promising future in many places including WDW: http://money.cnn.com/2015/10/23/smallbusiness/skytran-air-taxis/index.html?iid=surge-story-summary

If the costs in the article or even close to reality it sound like it could be quite cost-effective compared to many other alternatives. They are talking about $8 million/km which equals about $14 million or so per mile, significantly less than anything even in the realm of what's needed for monorails. The cost per vehicle is between $25,000 and $30,000 which is considerably cheaper even if you compare the number needed to transport the same repeatable as a single monorail train. It's also a much more flexible system.

It probably won't ever happen but it's any idea anyway.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

Disney won't make a significant transportation investment of this type...just guess.

More ramps, bigger bus
Stops, articulated belchers...me thinks

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I would think that unfortunately the time for a completely new mode of transporation is long past as they have invested so much time,money and effort into the existing ones.

1) Monorails have become very iconic to Disney World....this would likely anger lots of fans.
2) Buses, while not reliable for time management, are a quick and easy mode of transportation. By quick and easy I mean it's fairly inexpensive to purchase buses (as opposed to other things) as well as maintainence is fairly easy as well (many people to work on any fixes needed). Also they utilize road systems that once placed down take little overall maintainence.
3) The boat to take you to Magic Kingdom is a way to alleviate the monorail traffic but also give many first-timers a unique way of entering the park. Maintainence on this is also fairly easy and inexpensive (many people to work on any fixes needed).

What makes the most sense is for Disney to invest in more maintainence on the Monorails as they seem to be having so much traffic putting more strain on them. This might mean shutting portions of monorail lines for an extended period for the next couple of years to really freshen them up so breakdowns and strain are less likely. Only so many boats can go across the lagoon at once so that is not quite an easy way of increasing the amount of passengers. Purchasing just a few more buses would really help as well. I remember 4 years ago when I last went it took 45 mins to get a bus from Hollywood Studios to Animal Kingdom..

The above is really just my opinion and observations though.

 

[rteetz]

1) Monorails have become very iconic to Disney World....this would likely anger lots of fans

I don't think Disney has a problem with angering fans. Also would getting rid of the monorails get people to stop going? I don't necessarily think so.

 

[JeffZuko]

I don't think Disney wants to invest in anything that could be experimental and or not completely proven to be reliable in such a demanding environment such as Disney World. I think for the most part Disney will stick to the transportation it already has on resort. Hopefully additions such as more buses and or larger roads, express roads, and direct routes to individual parks come but I think at this point Disney realizes that they have given the consumer multiple options on how to get to the parks and for the most part it works . I hope that they do invest in maintenance to the monorail system though! It is a major lifeline for the whole resort and Disney completely relies on it to move most of its guests from on site hotels and parks. I think sometimes to myself even as iconic as those Monorails are how much Disney hates them now with all the upkeep and the overall cost to extend them .

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I don't think Disney has a problem with angering fans. Also would getting rid of the monorails get people to stop going? I don't necessarily think so.

Of course it wouldn't stop people from going. Honestly, most things people say they will never go back to or do again due to a bad experience is just said in the heat of the moment. However, bad press nowadays is quite a powerful thing. Taking something so very iconic from Disney World would def. create bad press and would cause quite a fan backlash. Sure they could still do it but they know it's not the best idea to take away things they themselves have made iconic (we're not talking about a ride in place for 10 years but something that has been around since the beginning over 40 years ago).

 

[wallrock]

I hope that they do invest in maintenance to the monorail system though! It is a major lifeline for the whole resort and Disney completely relies on it to move most of its guests from on site hotels and parks. I think sometimes to myself even as iconic as those Monorails are how much Disney hates them now with all the upkeep and the overall cost to extend them .

At best, the monorail truly services about ten percent of the onsite guests, and those ten percent have alternate forms of transportation available to them. The rest, if the ride the monorail at all, ride it as an attraction. This isn't something that they completely or even partially rely on when onsite guests are considered.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

I don't think Disney has a problem with angering fans. Also would getting rid of the monorails get people to stop going? I don't necessarily think so.

You know where I stand on this one...

I see more evidence of them shutting the rails down than "preserving" them at this point

 

[AtlantaDisneyDreamer]

That looks super cool. But given the speed and the small number of people per car, seems like it is better for long distance travel rather than Disney.

They will probably have to develop it eventually for greater capacity. Maybe one day at Disney.

Sure like to see something like that in Atlanta - or maybe one from Atlanta to Orlando. Now that would make me happy.

 

[rteetz]

You know where I stand on this one...

I see more evidence of them shutting the rails down than "preserving" them at this point

I know just wanted to point out that I think we all know Disney doesn't have a problem upsetting fans.

 

[Tigger Hokie]

At best, the monorail truly services about ten percent of the onsite guests, and those ten percent have alternate forms of transportation available to them. The rest, if the ride the monorail at all, ride it as an attraction. This isn't something that they completely or even partially rely on when onsite guests are considered.

But to be fair for those staying at the monorail resorts it can be an integral part of the experience and if rough storms close the lagoon to boat traffic it is far better than an additional hoard of busses trying to get to the MK

 

[lockedoutlogic]

But to be fair for those staying at the monorail resorts it can be an integral part of the experience and if rough storms close the lagoon to boat traffic it is far better than an additional hoard of busses trying to get to the MK

Respectfully...this is the biggest Falacy of the argument why "the monorail isn't going anywhere"

That's a small number of rooms and Disney frankly wouldn't care about the "backlash" if they took it down.

Why?
Do you know how many people would "boycott" the Polynesian or Grand Floridian in disgust? Few if any
Know how many rooms would be empty? Zero.

The consumer gets what it deserves...like when it accepts a $650 bill for a room in the contemporary that opened on 10/1/71 at $29 a night...no joke.

 

[Trixie15]

WDW used to be really progressive and innovative with technology - that's why the monorail was so cool when it came out to start. It'd be nice to see them implementing some new technology again, aside from stationary thrill rides and glorified software apps in the line queues. Just my opinion, though - I still love the place!

 

[Antasia]

I saw something similar to this several months ago and thought it would be a great addition to Disney transportation. No need to replace the monorail or motor coach. This however would be a cheaper alternative to building a new monorail track to DAK. I wish I could remember the other version of an affordable new skyway transport. It did not need an expensive docking bay. It just lowered to the ground for pick up/drop off and back up it went!

 

[JeffZuko]

Something that I think would be an interesting idea would be the possible addition of an LRT system similar to those in Toronto or other major cities. At this point I don't think Disney really cares about investing in any sort of rail technologies or other transportation infrastructure besides the addition of new roads and or buses at this point , but I think it would be pretty neat to see direct express LRT lines to the parks from the transportation hub or the resorts and it is a tried and true method that moves a lot of people in a cost effective way. Just a thought

 

[littleblackegg]

I see WDW getting more pressure to update its parks and attractions at the moment. Maybe a big refurb of the monorail system after the current refurb of DHS and the hopeful refurb of Epcot/Future World. I don't see them pulling them out anymore than I see them pulling out Cinderella's Castle. It's not about disappointing fans, it's about branding and marketing. I don't see it moving large numbers of people all over the property-just parking lot guests and resort guests-maybe guests between Epcot and Magic Kingdom as always. A huge amount of time and capital would need to go into more tracks and trains. I guess it is possible, but Disney is trying to get the most visual bang for the buck these days.

 

[LeeAndRobin]

At best, the monorail truly services about ten percent of the onsite guests, and those ten percent have alternate forms of transportation available to them. The rest, if the ride the monorail at all, ride it as an attraction. This isn't something that they completely or even partially rely on when onsite guests are considered.

How many on-site guests the monorail services is irrelevant. It's those that drive in that the monorails service, and that number is not insignificant (there are a bit over 12000 parking spaces at MK. If you assume the parking lot is half full, and that there are 3 people per car on average, that's almost 20,000 per day who are not "onsite guests"). It would take a LOT of buses to replace the monorail for that traffic segment. My guess is that boats are not considered an alternative, because they likely have more maintenance issues than monorails do.

 

[Firebird060]

It takes longer to unload and load a boat than it does the monorail

 

[seashoreCM]

There are two ferry docks at the Transportation & Ticket Center and two at Magic Kingdom. One dock at each location serves two ferry boats going as fast as they can sail and serves three ferry boats for even more guest capacity but with an arriving ferry boat occasionally waiting for the dock to be vacated.

So an additional ferry boat or two could be built and the system could handle them as substitute transportation if the monorail is out of service.

 

[wallrock]

How many on-site guests the monorail services is irrelevant. It's those that drive in that the monorails service, and that number is not insignificant (there are a bit over 12000 parking spaces at MK. If you assume the parking lot is half full, and that there are 3 people per car on average, that's almost 20,000 per day who are not "onsite guests"). It would take a LOT of buses to replace the monorail for that traffic segment. My guess is that boats are not considered an alternative, because they likely have more maintenance issues than monorails do.

It may not be relevant to you, but I bet it's relevant to Disney. And where are you getting the information that boats require more maintenance than the monorail? Statistically speaking that may be true because there are more boats than monorails, but how about a one to one comparison?

As far as drive in numbers…Two theme parks, two water parks and a shopping district have no monorail access. People drive directly to those destinations as well as to Epcot. Back at the TTC, the buses and/or boats have picked up the slack on monorail break downs many times without an issue. Sure, some guests may get ticked because they may have to wait, but it doesn't stop them from returning the next day.

Like it or not, ninety percent of onsite guests have no relationship to the monorail. That's not insignificant. Again if they ride it they ride it as an attraction. Even the ten percent on the Magic Kingdom resort loop have a bus alternative to Epcot and don't need to trek down to the TTC.

No one depends on the monorail. It's a fun attraction that costs Disney a chunk of change without reaping any direct financial benefits (meaning guests don't have to pay to ride it). Don't think for a minute that's irrelevant to Disney.