A tip for those staying at the Monorail Resorts if the Monorail breaks down

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

I just wanted to share an experience that could help those staying at the Monorail Resorts if it ever breaks down. This past Sunday my family and were at the Polynesian eating at the Kona Island Sushi Bar and when we were ready to get on the Resort Monorail back to the Contemporary we were told the Resort line was down. The Monorail Cast Member said we could walk to the TTC, get on the Express Monorail to the Magic Kingdom and walk back from there to the Contemporary. However I said to my family let's ask if we can get a free taxi or something because why should we go through all of that, even though on paper it's not that hard to do. Anyway we go to the check-in desk and explain to a manager that were staying at the Contemporary and how we can not get back since the Resort Monorail was down and we didn't want to take the advice of the Monorail Cast Member. So he says no problem and was going to give us a taxi voucher so we didn't have to pay for one. Now it just so happened there were none left so what we did was tell us to pay the fare and when we arrived back to the Contemporary let a Cast Member know to comp us back the money, plus if there was a problem we were told to have them call the Polynesian and ask to speak with him. Anyway the total cost for the taxi was $6.50 and my dad left him a $1.00 tip so we paid $7.50. When we got to the Lobby Concierge desk we explained the story and the Cast Member said in a situation when the Monorail breaks down we don't expect the guests to pay for a taxi, so what he did was take $10.00 off our total bill which is more then we could have wanted.

Now I realize if a guest was staying at the Grand Floridian and they were at the Polynesian they could walk back between both resorts if the Monorail was to break down, however if they were at the Contemporary it would be a different situation. I also know they could walk to the Magic Kingdom and get on the boats which service both resorts, however by the time they walk and etc they could be back in the time a taxi ride would take. So it's something to remember and hopefully we won't need to go through that again.

 

[goofy4tink]

I would have just taken the boat to the MK and then walked to the CR. As long as the MK is open, that would be my first choice. But, to each his own.

 

[seashoreCM]

(Ph.D. in transportation engineering needed)
Don't they bustitute?

 

[cranbiz]

(Ph.D. in transportation engineering needed)
Don't they bustitute?

Depends on how long the monorail is down. For a half hour- 45 minutes or less, no. It takes too much time to divert buses from their original locations. With a longer delay bus service start and will go between MK, CR, Poly and GF.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Depends on how long the monorail is down. For a half hour- 45 minutes or less, no. It takes too much time to divert buses from their original locations. With a longer delay bus service start and will go between MK, CR, Poly and GF.

Later that night I noticed the Resort line did re-start after we had arrived back at the Contemporary, because I saw it going into the Magic Kingdom station. So on that night chances are they wouldn't need to do that, although the Monorail Cast Member at the Polynesian had no idea how long it would be down, so who knows when they would have started using buses.

Also we weren't even sure when it broke down because we were at the Sushi Bar and when we were finished we went to look around their various stores.

 

[insureman]

I would have just taken the boat to the MK and then walked to the CR. As long as the MK is open, that would be my first choice. But, to each his own.

That's what we thought when we were stuck on the monorail the same night at the Grand Floridian. The problem was , so did 200 hundred other people at the GF. It took about an hour to get a boat in the freezing temps back to MK.

 

[kirbsam]

i would have walked to the ttc and just taken the advice of the cast member and not even thought twice about it. it never would have even occurred to me to see if we could get a free taxi ride. and you are right about one thing, on paper it is not that hard to do. to each his own.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Seems like a lot of work just to save $6.50.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Seems like a lot of work just to save $6.50.

Well we got back there in less then 5 minutes compared to walking to the TTC, taking the Express Monorail and walking back from the Magic Kingdom, which would take maybe 20 minutes or more.

 

[crashbb]

Well we got back there in less then 5 minutes compared to walking to the TTC, taking the Express Monorail and walking back from the Magic Kingdom, which would take maybe 20 minutes or more.

You have to include the time it took you to walk back into the Poly, find someone to talk to, that person to look for the vouchers and figure out they didn't have any. Then you have to add the time it took to find someone at the CR, discover they didn't have vouchers, and discuss what they'd do instead.

I doubt you saved anytime.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

You have to include the time it took you to walk back into the Poly, find someone to talk to, that person to look for the vouchers and figure out they didn't have any. Then you have to add the time it took to find someone at the CR, discover they didn't have vouchers, and discuss what they'd do instead.

I doubt you saved anytime.

Well we didn't wait to speak with anyone at the Polynesian desk and he realized right away they were out of the taxi vouchers. Then we waited no more then 5 minutes for the taxi to arrive and when we got to the Contemporary there was no line to speak with a Cast Member at the Lobby Concierge desk. So in our opinion we saved a lot more then taking the advice of the Monorail Cast Member.

 

[declansdad]

To save less than $10???? Really????

 

[pxlbarrel]

Boy, some of you guys are missing the point here.

The OP is just informing us that they got some pretty amazing customer service that night and if you're ever caught in that situation, you might want to try to get a taxi voucher. While many of you have said you'd have walked instead of going through all that "hassle", I suspect that there are others on here who have tucked that bit of information away for future consideration and this includes the able bodied as well as those who may have mobility issues.

I welcome any information about the parks and their resorts, especially anything that involves that little extra from the CMs to help us enjoy our vacation.

 

[pixiechick]

I'm sure the mention of the Atrium Club didn't hurt.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

I'm sure the mention of the Atrium Club didn't hurt.

Actually we never mentioned that and we would never think of playing that card.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Boy, some of you guys are missing the point here.

The OP is just informing us that they got some pretty amazing customer service that night and if you're ever caught in that situation, you might want to try to get a taxi voucher. While many of you have said you'd have walked instead of going through all that "hassle", I suspect that there are others on here who have tucked that bit of information away for future consideration and this includes the able bodied as well as those who may have mobility issues.

I welcome any information about the parks and their resorts, especially anything that involves that little extra from the CMs to help us enjoy our vacation.

Thank you for seeing the meaning of this thread.

 

[declansdad]

Thank you for seeing the meaning of this thread.

Perhaps you should focus on the wonderful customer service and not the few bucks you saved.

 

[wdwnomad]

I am not sure really what the point of this post is about. If I had read only this thread I would have thought boy that was smart and nice of Disney. However, on your CR review thread it says you were forced to take a taxi. I don't see how you were forced to do anything.

 

[MrsBlovesDisney]

...thanks CR Fan. Good to know!

 

[goofy4tink]

While I may not agree with someone, I do firmly believe that they are entitled to their opinions. I have no problem with someone coming here and giving us thoughts on how to get around an issue while at WDW. Is it the way I would have handled it? No. But, that isn't the point. Some of you seem bent on being nasty here. If you don't agree with something, fine. But there's no reason to get rude about it. And rude you have been.
So...with that in mind...thanks to the OP for bringing something to our attention and letting us know how your family handled the issue. It's always good to have as much info as possible for all situations.
Now...the thread is done.