Epcot Monorail

[BrianL]

OLC is run the way it is because the Japanese are not thinking about the next quarter, They are thinking about the next 5-10-20 years and they want their park to be as fresh and attractive 10 years from now as it is today and as viable as a business as it is today. Asian cultures are shame based in large part and thats why if a Japanese CEO makes a major mistake which damages the business they usually admit fault, and resign and some of them follow the ancient bushido custom of seppuku for failing their master 'The Company'

OLC workers are very well paid it's one of the best jobs in Tokyo for customer service people and turnover is virtually nil and you have mulltiple generations working at the park.

The interesting thing is OLC is investing about 20-25% of revenue back into the park for maintenance and expansion which historically is the number Disney USED to invest (now about 6%) and Comcast/Herschend invests in their parks. Themed entertainment is a expensive business but as OLC and others prove its lucrative long term if one INVESTS in the business.

OLC is an amazing company and they absolutely do it right! Lots of Japanese companies are like that. I love how on The Imagineering Story they told of how Disney didn't want to do it and kept putting off OLC until finally coming up with the deal that they would never take - OLC pays for everything 100%! Sounds good - let's do it! Just look at what they built too! The investment shows. The US Disney parks are pretty good, but Tokyo just blows them away.

 

[ford91exploder]

Are you seriously suggesting that Disney has cut the Epcot Monorail to save money? It's likely not running because it's too low capacity to make much of an impact.

Yes I am, There are few sights more iconic at EPCOT than the monorails traversing the park, If Disney wished to they could run the EPCOT Monorail on automation with no passengers to provide atmosphere without creating a health risk.

 

[Eric Smith]

Yes I am, There are few sights more iconic at EPCOT than the monorails traversing the park, If Disney wished to they could run the EPCOT Monorail on automation with no passengers to provide atmosphere without creating a health risk.

They don’t do that anymore because of that accident years ago.

 

[ford91exploder]

They don’t do that anymore because of that accident years ago.

at the time there was no automation on any WDW monorail, And it was backing blind into the switch.

a single monorail on automatic control has no more chance of colliding with itself than a lionel train under christmas tree

 

[ford91exploder]

Do you have any actual source for these numbers you’re throwing around?

Earnings calls for all 3 of them, Disney’s is the easiest as the bobs love to crow about how the’ve reduced expenses to the bone at parks and resorts.

Comcast will usually let investors know how much is being re-invested in each line of business.

as does OLC when you can find a translation of their reports from Japanese to English.

Also there is this thing called ‘research’ which goes a bit deeper than google.

it never fails to amaze me how many of my clients could have found solutions to their problem by doing a few web searches. But are so used to being spoon fed information the thought that they could find their own answers is totally alien to them.

Of course I learned how to search on a computer by using Lexis/Nexis and DJIS both of which charged for searches and results if any found.

 

[Eric Smith]

Earnings calls for all 3 of them, Disney’s is the easiest as the bobs love to crow about how the’ve reduced expenses to the bone at parks and resorts.

Comcast will usually let investors know how much is being re-invested in each line of business.

as does OLC when you can find a translation of their reports from Japanese to English.

Also there is this thing called ‘research’ which goes a bit deeper than google.

it never fails to amaze me how many of my clients could have found solutions to their problem by doing a few web searches. But are so used to being spoon fed information the thought that they could find their own answers is totally alien to them.

Of course I learned how to search on a computer by using Lexis/Nexis and DJIS both of which charged for searches and results if any found.

So you still haven’t stated any actual information. Your claim seems to be incorrect.

 

[ford91exploder]

So you still haven’t stated any actual information. Your claim seems to be incorrect.

If you feel my numbers are in error bring forward your own set and be prepared to defend your sourcing.

Not everything can be found by Siri and Alexa. Might have to get an EDGAR account along with Lexis/Nexis to get some of the data.

i just love the transparency with which US business operates with

 

[Eric Smith]

If you feel my numbers are in error bring forward your own set and be prepared to defend your sourcing.

Not everything can be found by Siri and Alexa. Might have to get an EDGAR account along with Lexis/Nexis to get some of the data.

i just love the transparency with which US business operates with

Yeah, I'm not going to do the work to refute your bogus statement. You play really fast and loose with your statements and don't have anything to back them up. For someone so negative about Disney, you sure spend a lot of time on a Disney message board.

 

[Fido Chuckwagon]

I wonder if the epcot monorail loop is permanently kaput. If it was cheaper to operate than busses they would have re-opened it already. If it's not cheaper than the buses, well then I don't see why they'd ever reopen it. It's not like it generates revenue.

 

[Eric Smith]

I wonder if the epcot monorail loop is permanently kaput. If it was cheaper to operate than busses they would have re-opened it already. If it's not cheaper than the buses, well then I don't see why they'd ever reopen it. It's not like it generates revenue.

If only there was some event going on that led them to cut capacity in the monorail drastically.....

 

[Fido Chuckwagon]

If only there was some event going on that led them to cut capacity in the monorail drastically.....

Yeah but haven't they also cut capacity on the buses? I don't get this argument at all. They had to cut capacity so they can't open it? In any event, I legitimately believed that the monorail was cheaper to run then buses, but that doesn't seem to be the case. And Disney is certainly in the mode now of cutting anything it can to reduce expenses (see: Tron, GOTG, DME, fireworks, etc.). If Buses are indeed cheaper then the monorail because of upkeep, maintenance, etc., then I don't believe we will see it return.

 

[Douglas Dubh]

I think this has already been explained in other places. The explanation I‘ve heard and read is that there isn’t room between the MK monorail platform and the Epcot one to have a line with proper social distance.

 

[Eric Smith]

Yeah but haven't they also cut capacity on the buses? I don't get this argument at all. They had to cut capacity so they can't open it? In any event, I legitimately believed that the monorail was cheaper to run then buses, but that doesn't seem to be the case. And Disney is certainly in the mode now of cutting anything it can to reduce expenses (see: Tron, GOTG, DME, fireworks, etc.). If Buses are indeed cheaper then the monorail because of upkeep, maintenance, etc., then I don't believe we will see it return.

You can put as many buses on the road as you want. You can’t put extra monorail trains on the track. The throughout of the monorail would be insanely low right now.

 

[andreirublev]

Did I miss it? Is there any projected opening for the monorail? I'll probably delay my trip to WDW until then - just doesn't feel like the full experience without the monorail!

 

[Fido Chuckwagon]

Did I miss it? Is there any projected opening for the monorail? I'll probably delay my trip to WDW until then - just doesn't feel like the full experience without the monorail!

No you didn’t miss it, and you’ll probably be delaying your trip for a **long** time.

 

[andreirublev]

No you didn’t miss it, and you’ll probably be delaying your trip for a **long** time.

What's the best guess at this point? 2024?

 

[Eric Smith]

What's the best guess at this point? 2024?

I think it'll be running by the 50th. There's a lot of doom and gloom on here, but Disney isn't doing away with the Epcot monorail. Once distancing isn't necessary, there's no reason they wouldn't want to start it back up.

 

[andreirublev]

I think it'll be running by the 50th. There's a lot of doom and gloom on here, but Disney isn't doing away with the Epcot monorail. Once distancing isn't necessary, there's no reason they wouldn't want to start it back up.

Ooh I hope you're right! Such a fan of the monorail.

Also, I appreciate the perspective. I've been surprised how negative things can get on a forum about the "happiest place on earth"!

 

[parkluvr]

I think this has already been explained in other places. The explanation I‘ve heard and read is that there isn’t room between the MK monorail platform and the Epcot one to have a line with proper social distance.

I think that Disney is using social distancing as an excuse for not opening it. When we were there last month, we took the skyliner from AOA to Epcot one morning. When we transferred at Caribbean Beach, we literally had to walk through the middle of the line of people waiting for the Epcot and Hollywood Studios skyliners. They directed us to the bottom of the ramp where we stood in a line that brought us back up into the station and once again had to cross out with people coming off of the AOA line, before getting onto the Epcot skyliner. This bottleneck was easily resolved by having a CM "direct" traffic. I really don't believe that the situation involved with opening the Epcot monorail would really be that difficult to resolve. Also, once we got into the parks, there were multiple areas aka Fantasyland, Adventureland, etc., where social distancing was a laughable thought. Rather than social distancing, I think it all comes down to $$$.

 

[Eric Smith]

I think that Disney is using social distancing as an excuse for not opening it. When we were there last month, we took the skyliner from AOA to Epcot one morning. When we transferred at Caribbean Beach, we literally had to walk through the middle of the line of people waiting for the Epcot and Hollywood Studios skyliners. They directed us to the bottom of the ramp where we stood in a line that brought us back up into the station and once again had to cross out with people coming off of the AOA line, before getting onto the Epcot skyliner. This bottleneck was easily resolved by having a CM "direct" traffic. I really don't believe that the situation involved with opening the Epcot monorail would really be that difficult to resolve. Also, once we got into the parks, there were multiple areas aka Fantasyland, Adventureland, etc., where social distancing was a laughable thought. Rather than social distancing, I think it all comes down to $$$.

The skyliner can run at nearly full capacity since it's one group per gondola. The way they have the monorail, I think it's four groups per cabin which means sixteen groups per train. That means the throughput will be paltry.