Fix Our Monorails

[WillowRain]

This thread makes me sad! I booked at BLT because I have always wanted to stay at the Contemporary and have the monorail right there! I had no idea the monorail was in such poor working condition. This has convinced me to pay extra for that magic backdoor bus on our trip. Seems worth it if we can't ride monorail.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I don't know if it's an annoying thread, ITA that it's a pointless one. TPTB at Disney do not read this board for direction on how to run their business.

Maybe if guests stopped booking the monorail resorts on a large scale due to monorail operating conditions, it might prompt management to do something, but I don't see that happening. The monorail resorts are still the closest ones to the Magic Kingdom.

That could be the one thing that I think could get them to act - if it hits them in their wallets that people aren't booking the, very highly priced, monorail resorts because of the condition of the monorail ... though they have added DVC to the three monorail resorts (and I believe a second bay Lake Tower is a possibility) so they are raking in the cash from those sales so I think it will take a while for them to feel the pinch

 

[ucfknight]

This thread makes me sad! I booked at BLT because I have always wanted to stay at the Contemporary and have the monorail right there! I had no idea the monorail was in such poor working condition. This has convinced me to pay extra for that magic backdoor bus on our trip. Seems worth it if we can't ride monorail.

The monorail obviously can only be used to get to 2 of the 4 parks. And really the only monorail trip that makes sense from BLT/Contemporary would be to take the resort monorail one stop to the TTC and then transfer to the Epcot monorail.

From BLT the Magic Kingdom is only steps away. Walking is always the best option to get to MK from BLT/Contemporary if you are worried about saving time.

Plus the resort monorail goes clockwise around the Seven Seas Lagoon, meaning the Contemporary is the first stop AFTER the Magic Kingdom. Taking the monorail from there to Magic Kingdom is a long process which has 3 additional stops prior to arriving at the Magic Kindgom... if you can even get a seat (which can be tough on crowded afternoons).

 

[HopperFan]

Yes, I agree that it could have been a disaster if it had hit someone...but it didn't...thankfully. I don't follow this stuff all that close, but I don't think this is a common occurrence whatsoever. If it were, we'd hear about it a lot more. Anyone know when the last time it actually did happen (being sincere, I really don't know)? Again, not saying it wasn't bad, it wasn't potentially dangerous, etc...it was all of those things. But from my understanding it was a completely random, freak accident that almost never happens. If pieces were falling off every week or every month, I'd probably feel different.

Wasn't there just a bus crash not all that long ago, full of students? Why no fear that WDW buses are unsafe? How many of them crash every year? I'd bet it's a lot more than monorail pieces falling off or someone getting hurt on them. Being someone who stays offsite and drives in, we see/deal with lots of buses daily. On one hand, I feel sorry for those bus drivers, as they have to deal with tourists who cut lanes, slam on the brakes, etc... But at the same time, I've seen some very, very questionable driving by the buses...repeatedly.

Me personally, I'd feel far, far safer on the monorail than I would a bus. I could be wrong, like I said, I don't monitor this stuff super close. Monorails are ancient, but just IMO, far from unsafe. One piece falling from one for the first time in who knows how long, doesn't make them "unsafe" to me.

We don't know how much stuff falls off since the bulk of the track is not over guest areas. So the odds that the big chunk did fly off over a guest (and the following info that security wasn't phased or rushed) kinda makes me wonder how often this happens but scooped up by Disney not a guest.

It's really more than pieces flying off and don't think anyone is equating them to crashes and accidents (although it has happened) and even though the older the get the odds go up.

It's the ongoing maintenance that constantly takes them offline and yet they are having annual major news worthy stops, and the ongoing stops for 30, 45, 120 minutes before it moves again. It's obvious they have maxed out their life. It's like having an older car (yes I've driven two that lasted 15 years) that gets to the point that you feel like you and your mechanic have shared custody. It's time to do something. But at least in my car I was never trapped.

Evac's seem to come with one hook & ladder and takes 1.5-2 hours to evac one train. Many like myself don't want to be trapped in there with possibly 40-50 other guests per car, no where to sit or go bathroom, maybe no AC when it already smells bad ... waiting for an engineer to authorize a ladder to eventually get to me down to the ground. Potentially losing half a day at a park.

Been going regularly since 1971, never been in a bus crash, never seen a bus crash (on property) and most I read about were not Disney buses or the other person's fault. Key is, even if it were ... I could get off. Key here is EVACUATION. Disney doesn't like to do it, and when they do they do it inefficiently.

It's all good there are rides for everyone, I chose those with exits.

 

[marcyleecorgan]

I can see the thrill of the monorail, in the past, but now that most large cities have some form of LRT system... it's not as fun anymore...

I'm all for a Maglev train but I don't think Disney is going to start that crazy project anytime soon. I could see them continuing the gondola lift system if all proceeds well, TBH.

 

[Skywise]

This thread makes me sad! I booked at BLT because I have always wanted to stay at the Contemporary and have the monorail right there! I had no idea the monorail was in such poor working condition. This has convinced me to pay extra for that magic backdoor bus on our trip. Seems worth it if we can't ride monorail.

It's not THAT bad but I'd put the operating time at around 80%. Of the last 4 trips it's affected me twice - once when they brought the whole system down for an afternoon with no explanation and this last trip where the Epcot monorail line had to be taken offline for an hour because of monorail blue going down. It just so happened that it went down at the exact time I was trying to get to Epcot. But it's almost getting to the point where, as a trip planner, you have to start factoring it into your daily plans. (If the monorail is down what's my alternative route?)

My biggest complaint isn't that the monorail went down, per se - it's Disney's reaction to it - In both times Disney beefed up transportation (bigger boats when the resort line was down and buses when the Epcot line was down) but it took almost an hour for them to bring thing up - which meant up to a 2 hour delay depending on where you were at in line. They've obviously got the surplus equipment but it takes too long to get the personnel called in to do it. Worse if the park is already at capacity.

For as much as they claim to be saving by delaying upgrade costs - they're probably losing far more with these quick staff ramp ups but the bean counters haven't figured that out yet.

 

[Klayfish]

This thread makes me sad! I booked at BLT because I have always wanted to stay at the Contemporary and have the monorail right there! I had no idea the monorail was in such poor working condition. This has convinced me to pay extra for that magic backdoor bus on our trip. Seems worth it if we can't ride monorail.

You absolutely can ride the monorails. It's a judgment call if they're in that poor of a condition. My own opinion, as I've stated, is that they're well past their prime, but still usable.

 

[Skywise]

I can see the thrill of the monorail, in the past, but now that most large cities have some form of LRT system... it's not as fun anymore...

I'm all for a Maglev train but I don't think Disney is going to start that crazy project anytime soon. I could see them continuing the gondola lift system if all proceeds well, TBH.

Nah - it's still thrilling but it's more nostalgia now. Monorails never took off and city planning doesn't even bother much with them now.

Walt would've upgrade the whole lines by now (maybe with a third/fourth track through the Contemporary). Speed isn't something you really need on the resort lines but he still might have gone with a mag-lev just for the coolnees factor. He might've even tried to expand the people mover to the resort lines (though accessibility issues make that doubtful)

Walt would've absolutely made a ride between the parks though like the Hogwarts train.

 

[SoarinSC]

IMHO, Disney has fallen into the trap that a lot of large, publicly-traded companies with large physical plants fall into. They can either plow their profits back into the property, or they can keep their shareholders happy by keeping their stock prices up and dividends paid out. I suspect they're focusing on their stock price and investors. And, i'm not taking about the average Joe and Jane investors like us, i'm talking about the large institutional investors that hold large blocks of stock. They're the ones companies keep happy, otherwise they will dump their blocks of stock or fight for control of the company. I've seen this happen in other industries that I follow - the railroads being a prime example.

THIS. It's the biggest factor in why Disney does what it does. We, the customers, are only a means to an end for publicly-traded corporations like Disney. Their number one priority will always be the stockholders.

 

[patrickpiteo]

This thread makes me sad! I booked at BLT because I have always wanted to stay at the Contemporary and have the monorail right there! I had no idea the monorail was in such poor working condition. This has convinced me to pay extra for that magic backdoor bus on our trip. Seems worth it if we can't ride monorail.

When we stay there we just walk to the MK ..

 

[StraightToDumbo]

The monorails are NOT UNSAFE. They are inspected regularly. The truth of the matter is that the monorail is a machine with a lot of moving parts. Things are going to happen to parts of it just like in any car, train, boat, bicycle, or roller skate. You have a better chance of sinking on the Ferry or getting hit by a car walking over from CR than you do of dying on the monorail.

 

[poppinspenguins]

Out of curiosity, why do you feel they are unsafe? When was the last accident/issue they had with them where someone got hurt or killed? Unless I'm wrong, the last issue like that was probably 10 years ago when the tragic accident happened that killed the driver of one of the monorails. But I can't recall the last time a WDW guest was hurt on the monorail because of an accident. Can't say the same for WDW buses.

For me, it is not so much i think there will be a collision or something of that nature, its the "getting stuck" aspect.

I dont ride anymore because of that. last time i rode we had about a 20-30 minute "breakdown". that was enough for me. With 2 small children, and already not fond of small spaces, i just dont find it worth the risk any longer.

The other day i read a story, on the rumor page i believe, that a women was stuck for 4 hours, no ac, 2 or 3 kids, some in diapers, and only 3 gatorades between them. That is scary as hell.

I think one day, unfortunately, we could be hearing about a tragedy involving heat stroke (especially for the very young, elderly etc)

Just wondering: is there any emergency window releases etc. for the monorails, probably not. just wondering.

 

[rteetz]

The monorails are safe. They wouldn't run them if they weren't. However, the monorails are old and need either a major update or new monorails altogether. Disney just spent millions to automate the monorails so I am sure they don't want to turn around and spend millions to replace them so soon.

 

[StraightToDumbo]

What the public fails to realize, is that for a company like Disney, they are constantly updating a priority board of things that need to be refurbished/replaced/updated/extracted. They are working on things unseen that have a higher safety priority, and when the monorail becomes the number 1 concern, it'll get done.

 

[HopperFan]

The monorails are NOT UNSAFE. They are inspected regularly. The truth of the matter is that the monorail is a machine with a lot of moving parts. Things are going to happen to parts of it just like in any car, train, boat, bicycle, or roller skate. You have a better chance of sinking on the Ferry or getting hit by a car walking over from CR than you do of dying on the monorail.

No one is talking about dying on the monorail ... although that man that had a big part fly by him could have died ...

 

[DaisyJ]

For me, it is not so much i think there will be a collision or something of that nature, its the "getting stuck" aspect.

I dont ride anymore because of that. last time i rode we had about a 20-30 minute "breakdown". that was enough for me. With 2 small children, and already not fond of small spaces, i just dont find it worth the risk any longer.

The other day i read a story, on the rumor page i believe, that a women was stuck for 4 hours, no ac, 2 or 3 kids, some in diapers, and only 3 gatorades between them. That is scary as hell.

I think one day, unfortunately, we could be hearing about a tragedy involving heat stroke (especially for the very young, elderly etc)

Just wondering: is there any emergency window releases etc. for the monorails, probably not. just wondering.

I believe you can either pop out a window or a panel on the roof, but where are you going to go? Off the side, onto the ground, 30+ feet below.

 

[DaisyJ]

The monorails are NOT UNSAFE. They are inspected regularly. The truth of the matter is that the monorail is a machine with a lot of moving parts. Things are going to happen to parts of it just like in any car, train, boat, bicycle, or roller skate. You have a better chance of sinking on the Ferry or getting hit by a car walking over from CR than you do of dying on the monorail.

Who said anything about dying on the monorail?

 

[StraightToDumbo]

No one is talking about dying on the monorail ... although that man that had a big part fly by him could have died ...

There is inherent risk in EVERYTHING. It's no reason to avoid a resort or transportation option or walkway under a monorail. That was my point.

 

[ucfknight]

Just to be safe I'll be wearing a hard hat when entering MK or Epcot from now on. Is that on the prohibited item list?

 

[DaisyJ]

There is inherent risk in EVERYTHING. It's no reason to avoid a resort or transportation option or walkway under a monorail. That was my point.

Yep, there is. There is also the choices one makes to consciously reduce that risk and for me, it is choosing to not ride the monorail.