Monorail broke down on July 3rd`

[scauzilloc1121]

We were heading over to the magic kingdom for after hours and when we got there around 11:30 they were asking the guests to either choose the ferry or go to bus area 11 to return to the ticket center. They said the monorails were not in operation at that time. One CM went to say that it broke down. I have to say that I was glad I was entering the magic kingdom, not leaving it. Especially during the 1/2 hour before it closed. Also when we went to leave to catch our bus back to OKW, they had this funny looking contraption on the rails. I asked a CM and he said it was what they use to check the rails for damage and to also tow broken down monorails.

 

[ChrisFL]

That's pretty bad timing as it's almost exactly 2 years since the tragedy on the monorail happened, that was the night of July 4th, 2009

 

[TheRustyScupper]

1) Monorails break down literally, every day.
2) Usually, they cause very little backup.
3) About 2-3 times per week they do cause a backup.
4) Usually because where they break.
5) And they time/trouble to get a tug to them.

 

[Donut23]

Want to hear a frightening rumor I read here a few months ago?

Monorail cars were replaced at 20 years. They should be replaced again but someone (who makes these decisions?) has decided to run them another 10 - 15 years.

You think they are breaking down now? Just wait.

Now think about it. You pay a premium to stay at a resort serviced by the monorail. If this rumor is true, this could be hard on monorail resorts.


Beancounters rule......sadly.

 

[Figment632]

The monorail are in terrible shape the worse they have ever been and are completely unreliable, also very expensive to maintain, the real reason you will never see monorail expansion.

Also we will not get a new fleet in the next 20 years they will go the route they went in DL. They will put new bodies and engines an the old chassis.

 

[MonorailPilotMulan]

1) Monorails break down literally, every day.
2) Usually, they cause very little backup.
3) About 2-3 times per week they do cause a backup.
4) Usually because where they break.
5) And they time/trouble to get a tug to them.

It is for this reason that I find it very silly to hear people reporting Monorail downtimes like it never happens. Yes, the trains are old and they need to be replaced. The beam it runs on is even older and rarely recieves any sort of maintenance. This is why the system closed early a few days ago-for beam maintenance. But when you think about how this is the most heavily used monorail system in the world and when you compare the ratio of how often it runs a lap successfully and how often it fails, it is highly reliable compared to many other systems. No one should be coming up the ramp to the Monorail expecting to get on, not even Magic Kingdom resort guests. Consider it a privelege

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Maybe it's just a coincidence but has anyone ever noticed Walt Disney World has had more problems with the Monorails ever since the accident back in July 2009. In December 2009 when I was staying at the Contemporary there was two Monorail problems when that effected my family and I.

The first one happened at the TTC when we were told to exit the Resort Monorail because there was a problem with it. Well it took the Monorail Cast Members at least 30 minutes to make the decision to move it to the Monorail storage area. The funny thing is when we got on the Monorail at the Contemporary I said something smells like it was burning, so I guess that was the problem.

The second problem happened a few days later. We were leaving the Polynesian and as we walked to the Resort Monorail entrance a Monorail Cast Member said the Resort line was down. My guess is another one of their Monorails broke down again and it effected all the other ones since they couldn't start moving. Well when we asked how do we get back Contemporary we were told to walk over to the TTC, get on the Express Monorail to the Magic Kingdom and walk back from there. Instead I suggested speaking to a Cast Member at their front desk, explained the situation and we got a voucher for a free Taxi ride back to the Contemporary. That was a lot faster compared to the advice we were given.

Anyway prior to that stay we never had any issues with the Monorail ever breaking down during our previous stays at the Contemporary. Plus prior to the fatal accident I don't remember anyone ever posting about the Monorail breaking down, if it happened or the Orlando media reporting about that happened. Today when something hapens to the Monorail it's one of their top stories.

 

[DizCaptain]

The monorail are in terrible shape the worse they have ever been and are completely unreliable, also very expensive to maintain, the real reason you will never see monorail expansion.

Also we will not get a new fleet in the next 20 years they will go the route they went in DL. They will put new bodies and engines an the old chassis.

So true. Last trip (First and second week of June) my sister and I rode the course from Epcot to TTC to MK and honestly, it was a scary ride. The interiors felt like lovely city subways, smelled stale, the cars were wobbling way more than I remember and seemed to "jump" over runs and it really felt unsafe. That said, the longer these stay in operation, the more fun and wild of a ride the monorail gets to be!

 

[Donut23]

It is for this reason that I find it very silly to hear people reporting Monorail downtimes like it never happens. Yes, the trains are old and they need to be replaced. The beam it runs on is even older and rarely recieves any sort of maintenance. This is why the system closed early a few days ago-for beam maintenance. But when you think about how this is the most heavily used monorail system in the world and when you compare the ratio of how often it runs a lap successfully and how often it fails, it is highly reliable compared to many other systems. No one should be coming up the ramp to the Monorail expecting to get on, not even Magic Kingdom resort guests. Consider it a privelege

Really nice words, but "privelege" has nothing to do with it.


1.) As a monorail resort guest I am paying a premium for the convenience of transport on the monorail. If I wanted to take a bus to my two favorite parks, I would save my $$ and stay somewhere else. Let me repeat. I am paying extra for the convenience, hence, I expect the system to run.

Since Disney advertises the opportunity and convenience of riding the monorail, it is their responsibility to operate and maintain the system. Saying the monorail is a "privelege" of a monorail resort guest is just the same as saying the toilet in your room is a privelege. A happy toilet and efficient monorail system are simply their responsibility.


2.) Day guests DO have a choice of the Ferry or monorail. In this case, if they plan to continue to allow their monorail system to deteriorate, they better buy more ferries and build another ferry dock to accommodate the guests who choose another option vs. failing monorail transport.

Once again. Disney has taken the responsibility of transporting guests to the Magic Kingdom from the TTC. If they were not interested in maintaining the monorails, they should have put a really big parking lot at the entrance to the MK by bag inspection. No. They give the guests a monorail and I, speaking as only one guest, expect it to run. It's not like they are low on $$$$

I expect the monorail to run frequently, efficiently, and not break down. You BET I expect to get on the monorail when I walk out to the platform. Don't kid yourself, we are ALL paying for it.


Monorail headaches will continue and these threads will increase as they allow the system to age and run machines beyond their years without the TLC necessary.


whew......did I beat a dead horse or WHAT!!!!

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Really nice words, but "privelege" has nothing to do with it.


1.) As a monorail resort guest I am paying a premium for the convenience of transport on the monorail. If I wanted to take a bus to my two favorite parks, I would save my $$ and stay somewhere else. Let me repeat. I am paying extra for the convenience, hence, I expect the system to run.

Since Disney advertises the opportunity and convenience of riding the monorail, it is their responsibility to operate and maintain the system. Saying the monorail is a "privelege" of a monorail resort guest is just the same as saying the toilet in your room is a privelege. A happy toilet and efficient monorail system are simply their responsibility.


2.) Day guests DO have a choice of the Ferry or monorail. In this case, if they plan to continue to allow their monorail system to deteriorate, they better buy more ferries and build another ferry dock to accommodate the guests who choose another option vs. failing monorail transport.

Once again. Disney has taken the responsibility of transporting guests to the Magic Kingdom from the TTC. If they were not interested in maintaining the monorails, they should have put a really big parking lot at the entrance to the MK by bag inspection. No. They give the guests a monorail and I, speaking as only one guest, expect it to run. It's not like they are low on $$$$

I expect the monorail to run frequently, efficiently, and not break down. You BET I expect to get on the monorail when I walk out to the platform. Don't kid yourself, we are ALL paying for it.


Monorail headaches will continue and these threads will increase as they allow the system to age and run machines beyond their years without the TLC necessary.


whew......did I beat a dead horse or WHAT!!!!

I agree with everything you said.

 

[Donut23]

It is for this reason that I find it very silly to hear people reporting Monorail downtimes like it never happens. Yes, the trains are old and they need to be replaced. The beam it runs on is even older and rarely recieves any sort of maintenance. This is why the system closed early a few days ago-for beam maintenance. But when you think about how this is the most heavily used monorail system in the world and when you compare the ratio of how often it runs a lap successfully and how often it fails, it is highly reliable compared to many other systems. No one should be coming up the ramp to the Monorail expecting to get on, not even Magic Kingdom resort guests. Consider it a privelege

Yea, me again.


Scheduled maintenance should occur during the hours when the parks are shut down so not to inconvenience paying guests. Maybe Disney needs to buy a few more really big lights (when they buy a new letter A for the Boardwalk sign). It's not rocket science......they build highways and maintain bridges after dark. Disney can do their scheduled maintenance in the evenings.

 

[zulemara]

Yea, me again.


Scheduled maintenance should occur during the hours when the parks are shut down so not to inconvenience paying guests. Maybe Disney needs to buy a few more really big lights (when they buy a new letter A for the Boardwalk sign). It's not rocket science......they build highways and maintain bridges after dark. Disney can do their scheduled maintenance in the evenings.

Yes and no, but there are not many hours in the day in which monorails are not running. They did recently change the operating hours of the express line to start running later, Ferries open earlier, and that allows additional maintenance on the trains and express line.

FYI the monorails also broke down on July 4th

 

[robertdangelo]

It is for this reason that I find it very silly to hear people reporting Monorail downtimes like it never happens. Yes, the trains are old and they need to be replaced. The beam it runs on is even older and rarely recieves any sort of maintenance. This is why the system closed early a few days ago-for beam maintenance. But when you think about how this is the most heavily used monorail system in the world and when you compare the ratio of how often it runs a lap successfully and how often it fails, it is highly reliable compared to many other systems. No one should be coming up the ramp to the Monorail expecting to get on, not even Magic Kingdom resort guests. Consider it a privelege

True... How many of you have had a WDW Bus breakdown while on it? We did after leaving MK at Midnight following an "E Ticket" night. the dispatched another bus fairly quickly, but an elderly guest tripped entering it and was injured. They had to dispatch another replacement bas as they could not move that bus until a supervisor and EMT came.

 

[Padrepride]

Maybe to appease the angry monorail resort guests in the most cost-effective way, Disney should just tunnel under Seven Seas Lagoon and force day visitors to use the Ferries or the underground tram service.

 

[TisBit]

Maybe to appease the angry monorail resort guests in the most cost-effective way, Disney should just tunnel under Seven Seas Lagoon and force day visitors to use the Ferries or the underground tram service.

I rarely use the monorail to get to the MK, usually just to say we have ridden it. I prefer the ferries, rarely a line and even at park closing, it holds so many people I don't have to wait long to get moving. Sometimes it is faster than the monorail, sometimes slightly slower, but it is consistent

 

[Dznefreek]

1) Monorails break down literally, every day.
2) Usually, they cause very little backup.
3) About 2-3 times per week they do cause a backup.
4) Usually because where they break.
5) And they time/trouble to get a tug to them.

What he said . . . . .

 

[Donut23]

I rarely use the monorail to get to the MK, usually just to say we have ridden it. I prefer the ferries, rarely a line and even at park closing, it holds so many people I don't have to wait long to get moving. Sometimes it is faster than the monorail, sometimes slightly slower, but it is consistent

You are soooooo right!

As a rule, we avoid WDW transportation at all costs with a rentalcar.

First trip after my accident and scooter bound we decided to monorail over to the MK from EPCOT. Talk about the wrong thing to do! I will NEVER ride the monorail without a bathroom stop first.....it was the one decision that saved it for us vs. some other of our fellow trapped guests. As we say....never pass a gift bathroom!

Next time we just scooted from the handicapped parking right onto the Ferry. What a WONDERFUL way to go to and from the MK. There is plenty of room even if it's crowded, I agree-faster than the monorail and probably twice as fast as the bus from the Beach Club (our travel buddies opted for the bus and we waited FOREVER for them). It's a beautiful ride, we enjoy the view of the MK and resorts and for some reason, my little scooter is a small child magnet. I'm always entertained by the little ones who want to ring my bike bell or honk my little horn....play with the decorations. I always carry little light-sticks from the dollar store---crack them and make bracelets for my new little friends.

AND.....it doesn't smell bad. Our stuck monorail had a "used" icky smell when I rolled on....but after 45 minutes stuck on it......well....I'll never take fresh air from granted again! Oh yea.....that's quality service.....NOT.


I can only imagine how bad these rides will be as time passes. In another 10 years people will probably think New York subway cars efficient and smell wonderful compared to 30 year old monorail cars. ICK-O

 

[MonorailPilotMulan]

Write a letter. It's a little more difficult to get things done in somewhere like Transportation (AKA Monorails) where Guests are presumably not paying as much attention as they would inside the parks. After all, the physical Monorail itself is not bringing in money for the Company and thus would have less money to spend towards things like Maintenance, much less buying new trains. If everyone shows that they care about the trains and want a better system, the only way to do something about it is to write a letter ;D

 

[Donut23]

Write a letter. It's a little more difficult to get things done in somewhere like Transportation (AKA Monorails) where Guests are presumably not paying as much attention as they would inside the parks. After all, the physical Monorail itself is not bringing in money for the Company and thus would have less money to spend towards things like Maintenance, much less buying new trains. If everyone shows that they care about the trains and want a better system, the only way to do something about it is to write a letter ;D

We did.