Monorail change

[OKW Lover]

Does anybody know why the MK express monorail is running clockwise today (Nov 4)? Normally that loop goes counter clockwise.

 

[aka Charles]

Our understanding is that they are trying out reversing the direction in the afternoon/evening when most of the guests are going from the MK to TTC. It is shorter/faster to go from the park, through the Contemporary, and to the TTC than it is to go around past the Grand Floridian and Polynesian to the TTC. The theory is the shorter the ride time, the happier the guests are.
.

 

[Dave006]

Does anybody know why the MK express monorail is running clockwise today (Nov 4)? Normally that loop goes counter clockwise.

Yes this is part of the new MK park closing process now. It allows for the Monorails to transferred from the Express beam faster at the end of the night to the maintenance barn rail.

Dave

 

[OKW Lover]

Just a quick followup on this. I was at the MK today (11/13) and when I arrived noticed things were back to "normal", in that the express monorail was running counter clockwise.
But - when I left just after noon they had reversed the express monorail so it was running clockwise.

 

[Dave006]

Just a quick followup on this. I was at the MK today (11/13) and when I arrived noticed things were back to "normal", in that the express monorail was running counter clockwise.

As I posted earlier in the thread the Express Monorail runs its normal path counter clockwise in the morning, and then switches to this what we view as backwards aka clockwise.

But - when I left just after noon they had reversed the express monorail so it was running clockwise.

They only announced the term "afternoon" as to when the Express Monorail would start running clockwise. Maybe the switch happens at 12:01 PM

Maybe you could ask at the TTC station. Every-time I have asked for details about the Monorail operation a CM was happy to share information just not while a monorail was active on the platform.

Dave

 

[OKW Lover]

They only announced the term "afternoon" as to when the Express Monorail would start running clockwise. Maybe the switch happens at 12:01 PM

That's probably not far from the actual time. I took the boat from MK to WL for lunch at Geyser Point probably 11:30 and it was running counterclockwise. But when I got the boat back to the MK probably about 12:30 it was running clockwise.

 

[sam_gordon]

I read an article a week or so ago that said it's so they can make transfers to the garage rail easier. Doesn't make a lot of sense to me, but not a big deal IMO either.

 

[Dave006]

Doesn't make a lot of sense to me, but not a big deal IMO either.

Sure it does they save up to 20 minutes per monorail making the switch off the Express beam going the Clockwise direction. This allows for more cleaning, and maintenance time if needed. It is simply more efficient.

Dave

 

[sam_gordon]

Sure it does they save up to 20 minutes per monorail making the switch off the Express beam going the Clockwise direction. This allows for more cleaning, and maintenance time if needed. It is simply more efficient.

Dave

I don't see how it saves them anything. If the monorail they want to move is at MK, then move CW to get on the transfer rail.

If the monorail is anywhere else, move it to the MK, then go CW to get on the transfer rail.

As far as how the direction affects me, as a guest, it doesn't.

 

[aka Charles]

It is my understanding that the cast members operating the monorails are not allowed to operate in reverse, for safety reasons.
Because of this, when they switch directions, even just to go back to the barn, they have to switch to the operating cab that will be in front for the new direction.
Now that may seem like a simple thing to do, it is not.
They can't just walk into the cab, push a button, and go.
When they get into the other cab they have to go through all the safety checks just like they do at the start of the day.
All the instruments, controls, and communications in that cab have to be checked.
And the paperwork filled out.
This takes time, guessing about 15-20 minutes if everything checks out ok.
Doing this at the end of the operational day adds all of those 15+ minutes before they can proceed back to the barn.
Doing it in the middle of the day, they can do most of those checks while guests are unloading and loading.
Very little delay for those guests, who probably will not notice at all.
Since they will not have to change directions at the end of the day now, once they drop off the last guests, they can proceed to the barn with no delay at all.
Maintenance and cleaning can start 15+ minutes sooner.
That may not be a lot of time, but how many times have we wished we had 15-20 minutes extra to finish a task at work?

 

[sam_gordon]

It is my understanding that the cast members operating the monorails are not allowed to operate in reverse, for safety reasons.
Because of this, when they switch directions, even just to go back to the barn, they have to switch to the operating cab that will be in front for the new direction.
Now that may seem like a simple thing to do, it is not.
They can't just walk into the cab, push a button, and go.
When they get into the other cab they have to go through all the safety checks just like they do at the start of the day.
All the instruments, controls, and communications in that cab have to be checked.
And the paperwork filled out.
This takes time, guessing about 15-20 minutes if everything checks out ok.
Doing this at the end of the operational day adds all of those 15+ minutes before they can proceed back to the barn.
Doing it in the middle of the day, they can do most of those checks while guests are unloading and loading.
Very little delay for those guests, who probably will not notice at all.
Since they will not have to change directions at the end of the day now, once they drop off the last guests, they can proceed to the barn with no delay at all.
Maintenance and cleaning can start 15+ minutes sooner.
That may not be a lot of time, but how many times have we wished we had 15-20 minutes extra to finish a task at work?

That makes more sense. Thank you for the explanation!

 

[OKW Lover]

It is my understanding that the cast members operating the monorails are not allowed to operate in reverse, for safety reasons.
Because of this, when they switch directions, even just to go back to the barn, they have to switch to the operating cab that will be in front for the new direction.
Now that may seem like a simple thing to do, it is not.
They can't just walk into the cab, push a button, and go.
When they get into the other cab they have to go through all the safety checks just like they do at the start of the day.
All the instruments, controls, and communications in that cab have to be checked.
And the paperwork filled out.
This takes time, guessing about 15-20 minutes if everything checks out ok.
Doing this at the end of the operational day adds all of those 15+ minutes before they can proceed back to the barn.
Doing it in the middle of the day, they can do most of those checks while guests are unloading and loading.
Very little delay for those guests, who probably will not notice at all.
Since they will not have to change directions at the end of the day now, once they drop off the last guests, they can proceed to the barn with no delay at all.
Maintenance and cleaning can start 15+ minutes sooner.
That may not be a lot of time, but how many times have we wished we had 15-20 minutes extra to finish a task at work?

Very interesting info. Thanks very much.

One question though, how many monorails actually go back-stage to the barn at the end of the day? I was under the impression that they just stayed out on the beam, in one of the stations, overnight.

 

[Dave006]

One question though, how many monorails actually go back-stage to the barn at the end of the day? I was under the impression that they just stayed out on the beam, in one of the stations, overnight.

They don't all go back to the maintenance shop it can't hold them all. It can only hold 10 of the 12 monorails. Yes a few monorails may remain on the beams parked in various stations overnight.

Dave