Disney Ends Evening EMH Monorail Service

[WilsonFlyer]

There is some unclarity in the announcement. I do not see how they can possibly shut down the MK resorts monorail before about 10:30 even if MK closes much earlier. The Epcot monorail will be running at least until 10 p.m. daily. Are they really saying that MK resort guests who leave Epcot at 9:30 or so are to be stranded once they get to the TTC via the Epcot monorail?

There's a lot of things about this that just don't pass the smell test, with the above being a great practical example.

It will be interesting to watch this thing "mature", that's for sure.

We drive and park at TTC and go back and forth between Epcot and MK, sometimes several times in a single day (or park at Epcot and do the same thing depending on where we start the day).

Something's gotta give here. We can't possibly be getting/know the whole story yet.

Doesn't this thing start TODAY? I thought that was what I read. Regardless, it will take several weeks before we go through all the iterations and combinations and really know what the deal is.

 

[webcs]

This doesnt make any sense at all. It more expensive to bus people all over heck heck then to use the monorails. It doesn't seem to be cost effective at all, but it would just make people angry and confused.

if i have to cancel reservations at the Poly because of this they are going to get an ear full. This just doesn't make sense.

Arent the BOATS the most expensive to operate??

 

[drusba]

Supposedly it starts today at Epcot but not until August at MK.

Also, this is not being stated as a cost saving act and there is no claim that busses or boats will be cheaper; they are stating it as an act necessary for performing maintenance on the 40 year old monorail. In other words, they must intend to do a lot more nightly work than they were doing before. This may be something that is being recommended or maybe even demanded as a result of the investigation into the fairly recent crash of two trains.

 

[Dziactor]

Wow, that sucks. My kids arn't old enough to impact us now, but as they get older it will.

 

[keishashadow]

More than a few times @ WL we found the boats weren't running in the evening (we were told the potential for storms was the issue). Assume the same restrictions would've been in effect for the monorail resort launches too. Sure hope they decide to put on more buses in that case.

 

[honeymo78]

I can sort of see a positive in this for when we stay at BLT. While I love riding the monorail, coming home from Epcot, especially during EMH takes forever. Get to TTC then have to go all the way around the loop to get to CR. With this new shutdown I get to take bus directly from Epcot that stops at TTC and CR. Now we won't likely be staying at BLT for at close to 2 years so who knows if that will end up affecting us at all.

I can't think of a situation on our upcoming trip where this will affect us. The only night we have dinner at a monorail resort is CG on our MNSSHP night. We will just walk over to MK for the party when dinner is done - which is exactly what we planned on doing regardless of whether the monorail is running or not.

 

[Ishy]

Miss a little, miss a lot.... Is this because of the accident? I wonder if there was some sort of insurance issue involved. I for one would love the monorail to be 24/7 It is sooooooooooo "Classic Disney".

 

[AKLFan3]

It's unfortunate that Disney feels the need to end monorail service earlier in the evening than we are accustomed to, but I also don't view it as a huge deal. There is no need to alter dining plans or skip events that you would normally go to. Any Disney resort guest who isn't staying at GF, Poly or CR/BLT is used to using bus service in the evenings during EMH.

When I am staying at AKV and want to have dinner at Citricos at 8:30 pm, I just take the bus to MK and then transfer over to the GF...which will now mean boarding a second bus to GF instead of the monorail. I don't think the bus service is slower than the monorail. There have been plenty of times where I have been stuck on the monorail because of heavy monorail traffic and it has taken me a full hour and 15 minutes to transfer from AKV to GF for a meal. If you are staying at BLT, just ride the bus to MK then get on the GF bus. If you are lucky, the GF bus will be at the bus stop when you pull up.

 

[WilsonFlyer]

It's unfortunate that Disney feels the need to end monorail service earlier in the evening than we are accustomed to, but I also don't view it as a huge deal. There is no need to alter dining plans or skip events that you would normally go to. Any Disney resort guest who isn't staying at GF, Poly or CR/BLT is used to using bus service in the evenings during EMH.

That statement is simply not true. I drive everywhere and depending on where I park (TTC or Epcot) and where I end the night, I use monorail to get back to my car. I haven't been on a bus in 3-4 years and we go 3-4 times per year.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Heck even Chef Mickey must get a lot of monorail exposure after 7PM.

I would say the majority of guests who line up at the Contemporary Monorail station during that time period don't even stay at the Contemporary/Bay Lake Tower or the other Monorail Resorts, because I have seen a lot of them exit at the TTC. Now I also have seen a lot of guests exit at the Magic Kingdom, so it was either to actually go there or walking to the Disney Transport bus sections and getting a bus back to their WDW Resort.

 

[AKLFan3]

That statement is simply not true. I drive everywhere and depending on where I park (TTC or Epcot) and where I end the night, I use monorail to get back to my car. I haven't been on a bus in 3-4 years and we go 3-4 times per year.

I believe there are a total of 26 resorts at WDW that use the bus system and only 3, GF, CR/BLT, and Poly are on the monorail. So 23 resorts use the bus system as a way of transportation. That is a lot of people who rely on the buses to return to their resort during EMH, assuming they do not have a car. We also don't use the monorail to get to Animal Kingdom, Downtown Disney, Hollywood Studios or the water parks.

My point is that it is completely possible to navigate WDW using the bus system during EMH without ever taking the monorail. Depending on many factors, time of year, crowd level, your personal tolerance for length of travel time, it may not be as convenient as the monorail, but it won't ruin a vacation or prevent families from getting where they need to go.

There are some years where I don't travel on the monorail because I am either going directly to Epcot or Magic Kingdom from my resort. As I stated in my first post, it is unfortunate but we all can adapt.

 

[jrtoastyman]

My knee jerk reaction is that this absolutely sucks, but I suppose another way of looking at it is that for those of us that own at BLT, this could increase the desirability of our location, in that you need not rely upon buses or boats to get there from MK. I totally feel for those people staying at Poly or GF, though -- so much faster to take the monorail than any other option...

 

[twinklebug]

Hm. I hope this is just so they can increase the monorail maintenance time frame.

If it's about money, I realize running the monorails involves a reasonably large team (pilots, station cms, dispatch), verses the boats only require 2 cms per boat to operate, but, how long until they stop the boat service back to the MK & HS/EPCOT area resorts during evening EMH?

I love those summer EMH evenings at MK, from my perspective, this would be a true loss. No one in my party likes to ride the bus from MK back to VWL

 

[bicker]

It really does lack the luster to stay at any monorail resort without the monorail.

This is one of the big problems I see with the criticisms of this change: Too many people are converting the ending of monorail service 1 hour after the park closes for general visitors into "stay at any monorail resort without the monorail".

The monorail isn't going away. It'll be operating about 95+% of the time it operates now. This is a very minor change, that many people seem to be blowing out of proportion - while those people almost surely know the reality, what they're writing may confuse folks just joining the discussion or just casually following it.

 

[rrobinhhalk]

Although I understand the need for Disney to maintain the monrail (and the lines) I just don't understand how impacting their prime guests (all resort guests) for the few times a week makes sense to them?
And why isn't the monorail down for EMH in the morning? Can they only work on them at night? I think it's foolish and I think that there is some other motive because this just doesn't add up. In August they have on average 2 EMH at MK per week...they can't keep the monorail up for those two night? That would just throw the whole maintance scheme off?
I personally LOATHE the buses and rent a car so I don't have to deal with them, now I am being forced to if I want to partake in EMH which is my main reason for staying on property!
Just my 2 cents.

 

[bicker]

Although I understand the need for Disney to maintain the monrail (and the lines) I just don't understand how impacting their prime guests (all resort guests) for the few times a week makes sense to them?

Taking the first part of your sentence as a given - that this is being done for maintenance reasons, and indeed maintenance of the lines themselves, not the cars... again, this is your premise... How do you suggest line maintenance be effected without impacting guests?

And why isn't the monorail down for EMH in the morning?

A good assumption is there is a difference between 3 hours and 1 hour.

I think it's foolish and I think that there is some other motive because this just doesn't add up.

However, what other motive could there be? Perhaps operating the monorail for so few guests is more costly than doing so is worth? If that is their motivation, though, that still makes sense. And we can go through all the explanations you come up with, one by one, and each one would be similarly reasonable.

I think that's the most frustrating thing for folks upset about this: That no matter why Disney is doing it, it's a logical reason. They don't like it, and so they want to cast an aspersion on Disney for "doing it to them". However, there is no escaping the fact that the only reason why Disney does things like this is that if it is serving a reason (because Disney is coldly-calculating), whether it is doing maintenance and repairs that will extend the life of the infrastructure, or just cutting costs because we guests are unwilling to pay enough extra on our room rates to have the monorail run three hours longer on EMH nights.

 

[hakepb]

I figured it out. Because they stopped the wristband distribution for evening EMH :/ , there's now an extra CM at the entrance to every ride to check the KTTW. Disney finally figured out the way to offset those KTTW checking CM's.

 

[dreaming4disney]

I figured it out. Because they stopped the wristband distribution for evening EMH :/ , there's now an extra CM at the entrance to every ride to check the KTTW. Disney finally figured out the way to offset those KTTW checking CM's.

 

[jade1]

those of us that own at BLT, this could increase the desirability of our location, in that you need not rely upon buses or boats to get there from MK. I totally feel for those people staying at Poly or GF, though -- so much faster to take the monorail than any other option...

Agreed-already dreaming about that peacefull/simple 7 minute walk back to BLT after late night EMH at MK, while every other resort (except CR) waits and crams into cars/boats/buses.

 

[dancnorris]

This is one of the big problems I see with the criticisms of this change: Too many people are converting the ending of monorail service 1 hour after the park closes for general visitors into "stay at any monorail resort without the monorail".

The monorail isn't going away. It'll be operating about 95+% of the time it operates now. This is a very minor change, that many people seem to be blowing out of proportion - while those people almost surely know the reality, what they're writing may confuse folks just joining the discussion or just casually following it.

This change is NOT minor. I recently spent a significant amount of money to buy an interest in BLT. The one and only reason I wanted to join DVC (not hyperbole) was because I could now stay on the monorail line. My family and I love the monorail, and it is the only way we like to get around (at least for MK and Epcot). The change at MK service sucks, but you can walk to BLT. But what about Epcot? If I ride the monorail to Epcot for EMH, I am stranded and forced to take a bus or a cab back to BLT. I absolutely refuse to do either. I NEVER ride the buses at Disney any more because they are intolerable. I take a car to avoid using the bus to HS and AK. Now, with the change in monorail service, I am forced to take a car to Epcot to avoid the bus system, which means that 50% of the parks serviced by the monorail are no longer serviced by them for my purposes on nights with EMH. That is a big deal, and I am NOT happy about it at all.

Now if this is a temporary issue to construct a spur line, I have no problem with that (although that should have been communicated). However, if this is a permanent change, it will significantly degrade both my experience at Disney and my satisfaction with my DVC membership. Frankly, I do not understand your motivation to jump to the defense of Disney on this one. Unless you are a significant shareholder in the company, I don't see how the cost benefit analysis helps you. As a guest, this reduction in service can ONLY be negative for you and me as the consumers...period.