MONORAIL CLOSURE - What a BUMMER!

[maxiesmom]

Not necessarily. Don't forget most of the Epcot area resorts are very pricey, the base rooms at the Contemporary cost less than those at the Beach Club, for example. It truly is location location location. Not transportation transportation transportation.

 

[vinotinto]

Sorry, have not read the entire thread but I would switch resorts and save the $$ for a future trip. No point in paying for monorail, if there is no monorail.

Having said that, my experience with the monorail has been horrendous. To say that it needs maintenance and is unreliable is an understatement. When we stayed at Poly 3 years ago, we were stuck on it multiple times. Once for more than 45 minutes. I would almost suggest that if you are traveling with babies that the monorail should not be taken unless you are sure you are OK spending time stuck if it breaks down. I just got back and one morning we went to the Contemporary for breakfast at The Wave (BTW, a really good breakfast!) and took the monorail to TTC to connect to the Epcot monorail, only to get to TTC and, you guessed it, Epcot monorail was down. This was about 8:45 am. They were busing everyone to Epcot and the line was LOOONG (think about all the folks that park at TTC from non-Disney resorts to take monorail to Epcot and then end their day at MK! not to mention everyone from the monorail resorts connecting to the Epcot monorail.

Anyway, what I am saying is that the monorail is not as convenient as it sounds.

 

[vinotinto]

~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.

Yes! That's exactly what my opinion is. I think if someone books the monorail resorts for the monorail, they're going to be disappointed. It's just not reliable nor convenient due to how much it breaks down (often with people stuck inside)!

 

[cseca]

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.

Hmm... I don't know.
If you only go to WDW because they only have 1 headliner ride then I can see that as being similar.
A big part of the "deluxe" resort is monorail. It's their huge hook.
To me it's more similar to them closing a whole "land" in a park than 1 headliner.
So imagine if you go to MK for the new fantasyland and having them only open a couple hours a day. Wouldn't you be miffed?

Just MO of course

 

[Mkrop]

Arent there commercials with one of those travel sites who will contact you BEFORE your trip if say there is something going on at the hotel you booked through them, the pool is empty, there is construction going on? If a travel site like Travelocity or Expedia can contact their customers why cant WDW????

 

[Angel Ariel]

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.

When hotels have major changes to their amenities/properties, it isn't out of the ordinary at all for them to inform their guests of the change (similar to the example a PP gave of being informed about construction during their visit by the hotel). It's just good customer service.

The monorail resorts are the highest priced deluxes at WDW. GF is the "flagship" resort of WDW. Their customer service should follow suit.

Hotels are different than theme parks, IMO. People don't expect routine shut downs of hotel amenities the way they do at theme parks.

 

[VegasVic14]

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).

Politely, or otherwise, this will accomplish nothing, except maybe giving you some misplaced satisfaction. Front desk employees have enough to do to get your visit underway.

On second thought, perhaps you could also bring up your disappointment to the cashier in the gift shop. THAT will get the message to Disney.

 

[jk and ek]

Politely, or otherwise, this will accomplish nothing, except maybe giving you some misplaced satisfaction. Front desk employees have enough to do to get your visit underway.

On second thought, perhaps you could also bring up your disappointment to the cashier in the gift shop. THAT will get the message to Disney.

well, like i said... at least i'll be polite. too bad the same can't be said for you.

but thanks anyway for your concern!

 

[siskaren]

well, like i said... at least i'll be polite. too bad the same can't be said for you.

but thanks anyway for your concern!

VegasVic14 has a point, though - you'd be complaining to someone who can't do anything about it (nor is the one responsible for the problem) and who will have probably heard the same complaint dozens of times from less than polite guests.

 

[cseca]

Politely, or otherwise, this will accomplish nothing, except maybe giving you some misplaced satisfaction. Front desk employees have enough to do to get your visit underway.

On second thought, perhaps you could also bring up your disappointment to the cashier in the gift shop. THAT will get the message to Disney.

Wow... sarcasm on your second post...

Anyways, sometime someone just needs to vent to regarding your concern.
To cashier or Front Desk CM, monorail CM, Guest Service CMs, who knows...

And sometimes they might just what to do or know someone who could help.

Maybe not in this monorail situation, but I know that I've mentioned in passing to a front desk CM about my MB bandits magically disappearing within a couple days of purchase.
She said "yeah, we heard a lot of complaints about that."
Then she said if I still have a receipt they might be able to do something.
Or she said to go back to the store if they can't.
Apparently the stores have heard a lot of the same complaint and they might be able to give us a refund.

I didn't ask for any help, I was just mentioning a concern and she offered a solution.

The FD CM had nothing to do with band-its or merchandising.
But she was willing to offer help.
I wouldn't have thought to go back to the store because I figured I bought it and lost it.

So, don't discount what CM can do.

Unfortunately we couldn't find our receipt...

Sorry didn't mean to hijack this thread OP!!!

 

[MsMagical]

I would also speak with the front desk and hotel manager as well as sending a letter or email to Disney. The bottom line is that you probably won't get any kind of compensation (but never say never) and that is what it is. But, if no one complains, then it's never on record that it was an issue. Yes, Disney is a large entity with a lot of inefficiency and it might not matter. Yes, they are probably not affected by even three hotel's worth of angry guests but on the off chance there is one person who could possibly make a difference this time for you (hotel manager) or the communications team in the future for everyone who is visiting, it is of your and everyone's benefit to let your frustrations be known.

For some reason, there are those who think that you should just suck it up and deal with any inconvenience because life's not fair and, hey! you are lucky enough to even be there - at that place where you paid thousands of dollars to vacation in (sarcasm there) (or whatever, I don't actually know why you would have this attitude). Disney Theme Parks are a business that rely on customers like any customer facing business. And, I am paying for my vacation so while there is a little give and take that we should all be willing to partake in to keep life sane, there are limits to what I am willing to call acceptable. If you find something unacceptable, share it with the company. The worst they can do is nothing but at least you did your part.

 

[Anonomom]

So Disney should shut down the resort when the Monorail is not operational? If so, I suspect there are thousands of other reasons they should shut down as well.

As far as being informed, go to Google and type in Disney World Monorail Schedule. The first hit will inform.

So, is your assertion that it is incumbent upon the vacationer to take the time each day (for months and months) to google all of the amenities they're hoping to use, just in case a closure of that amenity is announced? Doesn't that seem inefficient and silly to you?

I have a trip coming up this weekend and have received 2-3 emails every day this week about booking FP, online checkin, activities available, etc. I don't see why it's unreasonable to think that WDW could use that email capability to inform its guests of things as major as the main form of transportation from/to a resort being shut down for the majority of each day.

OP and others in your situation, I'd be pretty mad too and I'd be letting Disney know about it. Then I'd be switching to a cheaper resort -- if you have to haul small kids on a bus to get anywhere anyway, might as well save the $1k or so.

 

[flicx]

Not necessarily. Don't forget most of the Epcot area resorts are very pricey, the base rooms at the Contemporary cost less than those at the Beach Club, for example. It truly is location location location. Not transportation transportation transportation.

Sorry I don't see it that way. The monorail resorts have great location but if I have to ride a bus from GF or poly or contemp ,to the magic kingdom, and epcot there is no way I begin to pay the absolutely crazy prices they ask for rooms there. The monorail not only offers the fastest transportation to the parks it also is nice for hotel guests to get to dinner reservations at other resorts on the monorail line and shop at others too. It is my opinion that with out the monorails those hotels are worth half the price.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

Well still, there are really only a few things you CAN do. Cancel, change dates, or change resorts. It's probably reasonable to ask to cancel or change resorts without penalty if a penalty does apply. Of course you can complain to a front desk, a manager, or by writing or sending an e-mail, but if you are expecting compensation, that may or may not happen. Other than offering compensation (and there's probably no way they will agree to cutting your room price in half or anything like that) or offering to move the guest to another resort, I do not know what kind of "solution" a resort can offer to this. The monorail is still going to close.

Even if you think they SHOULD have known they would have to shut down the monorail on these dates at these exact times at least a year ago, it seems obvious that it wasn't planned that far out.

 

[njmom76]

Not sure if this has been mentioned or not as i haven't read through all the comments, but the boat launches (not the ferries) are inconvenient with little ones. We were at the Poly last summer and used the ferry to the TTC rather than the boat launch since my son was sleeping and I would have had to fold up the stroller on the boat.

 

[mackenziefaith]

Personally, I'd try to switch to Wilderness. My girls loved the boat ride to/from MK and it's signifigantly less expensive than any of the monorail resorts. Just my opinion though. Sorry about the closure. That SUCKS.

 

[Mkrop]

Politely, or otherwise, this will accomplish nothing, except maybe giving you some misplaced satisfaction. Front desk employees have enough to do to get your visit underway.

On second thought, perhaps you could also bring up your disappointment to the cashier in the gift shop. THAT will get the message to Disney.

Of course you bring it up to the front desk, that is there job to listen to the customer. They usually ask about your stay and such. And if they cant help you then they call for a manager and so forth. We had some minor issues at WDW resorts in the past, the front desk listened, made note of it, and if they could not resolve it, then they got a manager and all was well.

We had a major issue at AKL on our last trip. We checked out as we were switching resorts. DH told the checkout person, when asked if our stay was ok, that he was unhappy with an incident that occurred. Off we went to the park. Later on while we had some downtime, DH felt the issue needed further addressing, so now we are at a different hotel. He went and talked to their front desk about the incident so he could get a manager's number at AKL, they got a supervisor, who would not give DH the number, but took DH's info and got the message to the supervisor. Manager called DH, they discussed the issues and concerns and the matter was resolved. It was probably handled best the next day bc DH was fuming the night before. AKL handled it well.

I would also speak with the front desk and hotel manager as well as sending a letter or email to Disney. The bottom line is that you probably won't get any kind of compensation (but never say never) and that is what it is. But, if no one complains, then it's never on record that it was an issue. Yes, Disney is a large entity with a lot of inefficiency and it might not matter. Yes, they are probably not affected by even three hotel's worth of angry guests but on the off chance there is one person who could possibly make a difference this time for you (hotel manager) or the communications team in the future for everyone who is visiting, it is of your and everyone's benefit to let your frustrations be known.

For some reason, there are those who think that you should just suck it up and deal with any inconvenience because life's not fair and, hey! you are lucky enough to even be there - at that place where you paid thousands of dollars to vacation in (sarcasm there) (or whatever, I don't actually know why you would have this attitude). Disney Theme Parks are a business that rely on customers like any customer facing business. And, I am paying for my vacation so while there is a little give and take that we should all be willing to partake in to keep life sane, there are limits to what I am willing to call acceptable. If you find something unacceptable, share it with the company. The worst they can do is nothing but at least you did your part.

It is mind boggling to me that there are some out there that think WDW can do no wrong, but I am sure they are the first ones complaining elsewhere. Would they not complain if there meal was bad at restaurant, or would they just be glad they had the money to eat out. Would they not return a shirt if they got it home and there was a stain on it, or should they just be happy they can afford a shirt. It is insanity.




I ask some of you if you paid for AKL savannah view and for some reason they could not release the animals into the area during your stay, yet you paid extra for that, would you not complain, this is the same for a MONORAIL resort. You are paying to be on the monorail. If they can not provide that, then the decent, good business thing is to let the customer know!

 

[maxiesmom]

Sorry I don't see it that way. The monorail resorts have great location but if I have to ride a bus from GF or poly or contemp ,to the magic kingdom, and epcot there is no way I begin to pay the absolutely crazy prices they ask for rooms there. The monorail not only offers the fastest transportation to the parks it also is nice for hotel guests to get to dinner reservations at other resorts on the monorail line and shop at others too. It is my opinion that with out the monorails those hotels are worth half the price.

You may think that is what the monorail resorts are worth (and I may actually agree with you) but that is not how Disney prices them. If it was the Contemporary would have a higher starting price than the Beach Club or the Boardwalk or the Yacht Club. It doesn't. The Contemporary rooms start out cheaper than all of those resorts.


The monorail is not the prevailing reason they charge what they do for those resorts. All of the resorts that are very close to a park, be it MK or Epcot, charge a small fortune. If they are on the monorail line or if they are not.

And it may come as a shock, but many of us have stayed at monorail resorts, and the main reason had nothing to do with the monorail! I love the MK resorts because they are close to MK, and I can get there by boat or by walking just as easily as I can get there by monorail. And there is a lot less of a chance of the boats all braking down and blocking the waterway than there is of the monorail blocking the track. The monorail is not all that dependable. Disney doesn't know we all stay at those resorts for the monorail, because that isn't always the case.

 

[maxiesmom]

Not sure if this has been mentioned or not as i haven't read through all the comments, but the boat launches (not the ferries) are inconvenient with little ones. We were at the Poly last summer and used the ferry to the TTC rather than the boat launch since my son was sleeping and I would have had to fold up the stroller on the boat.

You sometimes have to fold up your stroller when using the monorail too. If it is busy the CMs will tell you that when you are boarding.

And to those who want to complain while they are on vacation, I think you should. But you do need to wait and see if the closure actually inconveniences you. If the past is any measure the monorail won't be down on all of the days listed, and it won't be down for all of the time listed. Complain if it actually inconveniences you. Not because you think it might. Don't be offended before something even happens to you.

 

[Angel Ariel]

And to those who want to complain while they are on vacation, I think you should. But you do need to wait and see if the closure actually inconveniences you. If the past is any measure the monorail won't be down on all of the days listed, and it won't be down for all of the time listed. Complain if it actually inconveniences you. Not because you think it might. Don't be offended before something even happens to you.

I think people have a right to complain about not being informed by Disney, regardless of whether or not it ends up affecting them. Disney's lack of communication, IMO, is a separate issue from whether or not the monorail refurb negatively affects someone's experience.