Monorail broken down on Epcot line.

[sonofanarchy]

You have to wonder, if they continue having problems with the monorail, how will it affect the occupancy at the 3 monorail resorts?

 

[Potterholic85]

Probably the 'stand-by' monorail queue. The FastPass Plus monorails are working fine.

Hilarious

 

[glvsav37]

What if someone was leaving for home that night?!?!
They could have missed their Magical Express bus and possibly even their flight!

That could have been us. We stayed at BLT and considered going to EP that last day bc we had done MK so much that trip.

That mono may have been a little late for us, but it hits reality that things do break down everywhere.

 

[ArielRae]

Like to add they are adding some tech that will have the monorails running automatically soon. There will still be someone in the front of the monorail but they will not be driving it anymore.

 

[solstice621]

I'm curious if they talked to the passengers at all while they were on there waiting. Like made continuous announcements, to let them know what the hold up is, how long it's expected to be, offered words of comfort, etc. I would feel like I needed some info from the outside world lol.

 

[cajunprincess]

The monorail is just unreliable and we avoid using it anymore. The last time we tried to ride it was to just ride and it was shutdown due to a storm in the area which is not a maintenance issue but it makes the system unreliable. We only wanted to ride the monorail because we had taken a nephew for his first trip to WDW and we wanted him to get on the monorail.

We do not use the monorail that often, but most of the times we have ridden, there have been delays on the track. My big worry is what happened to the OP. I try to stay hydrated so I drink lots of water and have to go to the bathroom frequently as a result. Me being stuck for three hours on a monorail is going to mean one of two things are going to happen, someone has an empty water bottle for me to fill or the carpet is getting wet.

I really feel sorry for people who had small kids. That was a nightmare.

I also feel sorry for the CM's who have to clean up the cars. That is going to be a nightmare.

Disney is making money and they need to fix the monorails. PERIOD. It is ironically funny that DVC was showing a video of the new DVC resort at Grand Floridian this week. The DW and I were talking about the new resort but the big NEGATIVE is that IT IS ON THE MONORAIL LOOP.

Later,
Dan

I can't even imagine! I know I would've had to potty, but I may have been able to make it... What would have really upset me is if I had a little one who was potty trained. I remember when my sister potty trained, using the bathroom on herself was NOT an option. She would've been so embarrassed. You know this had to have happened in that 3 hour time period.

So being stuck and wasting my evening at WDW is not fun. That's dollars being wasted. I agree with another poster that said 1 hour ok but 3 hours?!? Come on now. Anyways, what would've put me over the edge was if my kids were in that predicament.

I think they should've at least pointed the people to Guest Services...

 

[Overexcited]

At least they didn't pipe in "it's a small world" the whole time, I would jump! Glad everyone is ok

 

[sjs314]

I can not believe a bottle of water and a fast pass would compensate in anyway for being stuck on the monorail and missing dinner. These people Definately need to contact guest relations.

I am so happy I switched resorts for my upcoming vacation as I was worried about all the monorail issues and at least now I won't be dependent on them for transportation

 

[sonofanarchy]

I'm curious if they talked to the passengers at all while they were on there waiting. Like made continuous announcements, to let them know what the hold up is, how long it's expected to be, offered words of comfort, etc. I would feel like I needed some info from the outside world lol.

"Looks like Brer Fox and Brer Bear are causing some commotion down track. Please stay in your monorail. Your visit to the TTC will continue soon."

 

[maxiesmom]

at night. the monorails don't run 24/7.

The problem is that they apparently need more time than they have to fix them. And some repairs are hard to do when you have to start and stop them. Kind of like expecting a mechanic to fix a big problem with your car a few hours at a time, and have it be ok to drive between them working on it. The last time Disney tried to cut back on the hours the monorails were in service, people pitched a huge fit!! Everyone wants everything to work as it should, but no one wants the work done when it may inconvenience them!

Keep in mind too that everything for the monorail is custom. It is not like they can go down to Walmart and pick up parts. Not that that excuses keeping people trapped for 3 hours and then only giving them water and FPs AT ALL. But people tend to think there are simple solutions for every problem, and sometimes that just isn't the case.

If Disney shut down the monorail track for a month (iff that is what they would need to fix the monorail perfectly) how big a commotion do you think there would be? It would be enormous!

 

[sjs314]

The bottom line is Disney needs to do what needs to be done. If they need to take the Monorail completely out of Service then do it. If they have to Deeply Discount the Resorts on the Monorail to compensate the guests staying at those resorts So Be It!

I don't blame anyone for complaining about paying X amount of $ to stay at a resort on the monorail and then having the the monorail breakdown necessitating the guests to be shuttled to MK and EP in buses.

 

[ArwenMarie]

The bottom line is Disney needs to do what needs to be done. If they need to take the Monorail completely out of Service then do it. If they have to Deeply Discount the Resorts on the Monorail to compensate the guests staying at those resorts So Be It!

I don't blame anyone for complaining about paying X amount of $ to stay at a resort on the monorail and then having the the monorail breakdown necessitating the guests to be shuttled to MK and EP in buses.

I totally agree. Take it down if need be, whether for full repairs or dismantle it completely if it can't be restored. (I don't know the lifespan of such things.)

The prices at the monorail resorts will adjust themselves accordingly.

I won't be riding it on our next trip, that is for certain.

 

[maxiesmom]

I totally agree. Take it down if need be, whether for full repairs or dismantle it completely if it can't be restored. (I don't know the lifespan of such things.)

That is easy enough to say, and maybe it is what they should do. But when you look at the outrage because Disney dared take fridges that are a known fire hazard out of some resorts, leaving people to cope without one, can you not understand why they were willing to gamble that the monorail wouldn't just break down completely one day? People are all but ready to lynch someone over a missing fridge!

Times that by a thousand over a monorail totally shut down. Heck there was even a poster a bit back complaining about how it was out of service during their stay, even when it was only out of service a few hours of the day so Disney could move some beams without having to worry about crushing guests.

It is obvious they need to do something with the monorail. The trick is to do it without a huge guest impact, and that may be all but impossible.

 

[kamik86]

That is easy enough to say, and maybe it is what they should do. But when you look at the outrage because Disney dared take fridges that are a known fire hazard out of some resorts, leaving people to cope without one, can you not understand why they were willing to gamble that the monorail wouldn't just break down completely one day? People are all but ready to lynch someone over a missing fridge!

Times that by a thousand over a monorail totally shut down. Heck there was even a poster a bit back complaining about how it was out of service during their stay, even when it was only out of service a few hours of the day so Disney could move some beams without having to worry about crushing guests.

It is obvious they need to do something with the monorail. The trick is to do it without a huge guest impact, and that may be all but impossible.

Quite frankly though things like that are Disney's problem to solve. Every company should know things need maintenance and have a plan for them. If my company can manage to upgrade huge security systems without impacting security they should be able to figure out a way to upgrade the monorail.

Possibility if they must bring it down for a long time:
Plan the upgrade ahead of time. People were annoyed about the fridges because you didn't find out of them much before. In this case plan it at least 45 days in advance (note that this is where you can move reservations with no penalty) Even better if you plan it months in advance (like say right now they decide that in Jan (besides the 1st since its so busy then) they monorail will be down for the full month. 4.5 months in advance.
Send everyone with a reservation a letter saying this is the case and allow them to change their reservations if they so choose.
If disney finds some hotels arent' as full as normal for that time of year, they would then have to offer discounts to fill them.

 

[Mouseaholic!!!]

I totally agree. Take it down if need be, whether for full repairs or dismantle it completely if it can't be restored. (I don't know the lifespan of such things.)

The prices at the monorail resorts will adjust themselves accordingly.

I won't be riding it on our next trip, that is for certain.

Monorail manufacturer's recommendation is to replace the cars at 20 years. Disney did this after the first 20 but have decided to run the cars an additional 15 years. We can see how we'll that us working. Next, maintenance of equipment on the monorail towers is also far behind....not enough manpower apparently. We will see now how the valent efforts of those mechanics to hold things together will work.

3 hours? They are so much more patient than I would have been. But DH and I stopped riding for this very reason.

 

[ArwenMarie]

That is easy enough to say, and maybe it is what they should do. But when you look at the outrage because Disney dared take fridges that are a known fire hazard out of some resorts, leaving people to cope without one, can you not understand why they were willing to gamble that the monorail wouldn't just break down completely one day? People are all but ready to lynch someone over a missing fridge!

Times that by a thousand over a monorail totally shut down. Heck there was even a poster a bit back complaining about how it was out of service during their stay, even when it was only out of service a few hours of the day so Disney could move some beams without having to worry about crushing guests.

It is obvious they need to do something with the monorail. The trick is to do it without a huge guest impact, and that may be all but impossible.

It's not my company, they can do what they like and deal with the consequences with whatever they choose. I was just offering my opinion.

It doesn't matter to me because I won't be riding it anymore unless I hear that major repairs/refurbishment/whatever has been done.

And in the future, I'm going to think real long and hard before I book a monorail resort again.

 

[momwith2boys]

Is the Monorail working today?

 

[ArwenMarie]

Monorail manufacturer's recommendation is to replace the cars at 20 years. Disney did this after the first 20 but have decided to run the cars an additional 15 years. We can see how we'll that us working. Next, maintenance of equipment on the monorail towers is also far behind....not enough manpower apparently. We will see now how the valent efforts of those mechanics to hold things together will work.

3 hours? They are so much more patient than I would have been. But DH and I stopped riding for this very reason.

Thanks for this, I find this very interesting.

Yeah, you can only go so long kicking the can down the road on these things.

 

[lucas]

I'm not really worried about bladder issues but what if you had to "go" - sorry - for the other? It happens, people! And, taking a med at that time probably isn't going to help. Seriously, 3 HOURS!! I mean, what is a person supposed to do? And, were the other cars packed with people like they usually are? Somebody, adult or kid, probably had to go! Oh my, I can't even imagine.

Plus, on top of that, 3 hours is a good part of your Disney day! Wow.

 

[Kristine316]

Being stuck on the monorail for 3 hrs is not a minor inconvenience. We go to a huge resort complex and we expect that there will be issues.. small issues to deal with, it won't go all perfectly but, clearly in this case that is not minor.. its a major situation that needs to be addressed accordingly.

Someone else summed it up well above, those who complain to Guest Services will probably be much better compensated.. but, Disney is probably hoping some will just leave and never complain about it.. and for those people Disney gets off really easy.

I cannot imagine being stuck like that for 3 hrs!! That magical feeling and pixie dust would be gone for a significant amount of time for me. I probably wouldn't go back to Disney for quite some time. I don't think I would enjoy anything because if the monorail can get stuck for 3 hrs.. who knows what else could break down.. the possibilities are endless and I would be thinking about every one of them. Sort of like a little PTS... constantly worried I would get trapped somewhere again.

I can understand why in the past there were certain people who would defend Disney no matter what but, I think Disney is now proving itself to be a company that can and will make mistakes. Sure, they still go a pretty good job but, things will happen and when they do a bottle of water and a FP is hardly what I would consider acceptable. I think I would have gone back to my resort and been at the front desk almost immediately complaining. I know some hate those who are looking for the freebie's but in this case how could anyone deny considerable compensation is not just warranted.. its demanded.