MONORAIL CLOSURE - What a BUMMER!

[jk and ek]

there was no notice posted anywhere about monorail closure when we booked our room at the contemporary and no disclaimer of the closure at time of booking. there has also been no attempt in the past 9-10 months SINCE the booking to notify us of the service change. that is shady and i refuse to be told by anybody that we, the customer, need to take responsibility for their failure to do the right thing. to suggest otherwise is pretty obnoxious....in my opinion.

we will be bringing up the issue and our disappointment when we check in (very politely, of course, as it's not the front desk CM's fault).

 

[morethananyonex]

We have received countless e-mails telling us to book FP+. They can send all those, but they can't somehow send an e-mail to everyone booked at the monorail hotels with the closure information? Yeah, somehow I don't think that's why they don't go out of their way to notify people..

 

[mom2rtk]

We have received countless e-mails telling us to book FP+. They can send all those, but they can't somehow send an e-mail to everyone booked at the monorail hotels with the closure information? Yeah, somehow I don't think that's why they don't go out of their way to notify people..

Great point.

 

[maxiesmom]

Great point.

I never got an e-mails about FP+. Apparently they don't want me to know about the bad or the good.

 

[mom2rtk]

I never got an e-mails about FP+. Apparently they don't want me to know about the bad or the good.

Sounds like a good reason to book another trip and try again.

 

[ArwenMarie]

We have received countless e-mails telling us to book FP+. They can send all those, but they can't somehow send an e-mail to everyone booked at the monorail hotels with the closure information? Yeah, somehow I don't think that's why they don't go out of their way to notify people..

Lots of data data data!

But sending an email...nah!

 

[FireDancer]

there was no notice posted anywhere about monorail closure when we booked our room at the contemporary and no disclaimer of the closure at time of booking. there has also been no attempt in the past 9-10 months SINCE the booking to notify us of the service change. that is shady and i refuse to be told by anybody that we, the customer, need to take responsibility for their failure to do the right thing. to suggest otherwise is pretty obnoxious....in my opinion.

we will be bringing up the issue and our disappointment when we check in (very politely, of course, as it's not the front desk CM's fault).

How long ago did you book? I thought the announcement about the maintenance was just made within the last few weeks.

They should send out an email to guests that are booked but they are pretty bad with communication for information's sake as opposed to communication for marketing's sake. I've learned that if you want to know about any kind of closure or refurbishment you need to search it out yourself. Luckily there are sites like this and allears that makes it easy.

 

[FIRSTTRIPTODISNEY]

"How long ago did you book? I thought the announcement about the maintenance was just made within the last few weeks."

We booked our vacation over 6 months ago. We found out about the monorail closure YESTERDAY.

 

[flicx]

Seems to me if Disney knows the monorail is gonna be down a big discount in the room prices should be given. Disney really emphasizes the monorails for these resorts as a big feature. It would only make good sense to discount them heavily if this resource isn't available. To the OP if I were you I would try to get the poly rapa nui section, it is close to TTC, you could then take the big ferry to the magic kingdom and the monorail from there to epcot. I know its a different resort but it may solve your problem. We all know how ridiculous the prices are at the monorail resorts are, take away the monorail and the price would plummet!

 

[mom2rtk]

I believe Disney has made an assessment that it will cost them less in guest recovery than it would have cost them in cancelled reservations if they had been up front about it.

For those locked into reservations, I would definitely be emailing Disney to go on record with your disappointment in how it was handled. You can bet they have something budgeted for guest recovery on this.

 

[morethananyonex]

I believe Disney has made an assessment that it will cost them less in guest recovery than it would have cost them in cancelled reservations if they had been up front about it.

For those locked into reservations, I would definitely be emailing Disney to go on record with your disappointment in how it was handled. You can bet they have something budgeted for guest recovery on this.

And they are likely absolutely correct, especially because many guest recovery methods cost them nothing. Lost time because of the monorail being down? Here's some FP for your trouble!

 

[Kellykins1218]

Pretty sure that poster put what his expectation was if the monorail was down...that, as a guest of a monorail resort, he be informed of the down time. I don't think that's an unreasonable expectation Monorail resort guests are paying a premium to be on the monorail line - they shouldn't have to find out the monorail will be unavailable from online sites, Disney should be up front about it.

It's no different than the headliners being down for maintenance. They don't personally inform every guest that purchases a ticket that Splash is closed. It is listed on their website the same as the monorail shutdown. The monorail isn't even completely shutdown. It still runs in the morning, the evening, and the one to EPCOT isn't closed at all. Alternative transportation is provided during the maintenance.

 

[DRDISNEYMD]

~We stay at the Polynesian every year and we took a break one year because of the wacky monorail. I had made up my mind that we were never going to return until the monorail issues were resolved but we ended up back there the very next year. I just love the Poly too much, so we do split stays.

~I don't know how I can seriously consider buying into Poly DVC with the monorail issues. The monorail has always been a sore spot with me for several years as we prefer the MK resorts. It's gotten so bad that when and if it's working -- it's just a bonus. We'll see.

 

[mamaode]

You would think that if it was being closed for maintenance they would do it in the middle of the night and use big flood lights like they do on major freeways. This would have the least impact to guests.

 

[morethananyonex]

It's no different than the headliners being down for maintenance. They don't personally inform every guest that purchases a ticket that Splash is closed. It is listed on their website the same as the monorail shutdown. The monorail isn't even completely shutdown. It still runs in the morning, the evening, and the one to EPCOT isn't closed at all. Alternative transportation is provided during the maintenance.

I wish the Epcot monorail was down too. That way we would just have to take one bus from CR to Epcot. Now we have to take a bus AND the monorail. What a pain. The Epcot monorail still running is one of the reasons this is such a pain for my family. We felt that having to transfer monorails was worth it because we didn't have to fold the stroller. Now we still have to transfer but we have to fold the stroller too.

The alternative transportation is a pain in the ***. Since Disney is the one inconveniencing their guests, couldn't they run busses from Epcot to the monorail resorts?

 

[Spunky946]

You would think that if it was being closed for maintenance they would do it in the middle of the night and use big flood lights like they do on major freeways. This would have the least impact to guests.

They can't do that because the monorail goes past guest rooms and the big lights would shine right into the rooms at 3 am.

 

[Magpie]

You would think that if it was being closed for maintenance they would do it in the middle of the night and use big flood lights like they do on major freeways. This would have the least impact to guests.

Well, except for the big flood lights shining into their rooms and the sounds of construction keeping them awake all night.

 

[mamaode]

Haha I guess...bit after a full day in the park I'd be out sleeping like a rock!

 

[mamaode]

Haha. I guess but after a full day in the park I'm out like a rock

 

[jk and ek]

How long ago did you book? I thought the announcement about the maintenance was just made within the last few weeks.

many months ago. 9 or 10, i don't recall specifically...maybe even 11. it was within weeks of giving birth to a baby, so my memory is hazy. haha