Monorail Exceeding Current Capacity

[TriSeb°o°]

We've been here a few days and the times I have ridden the Monorails the cabs are at full capacity.

This is occurring in the morning and more so at night. One evening, Thurs 8/3 we left the MK at 10 PM close and the lines for both resort and express reached all the way down to the Poly boat loading area. It made more sense to ride the boat and that took 45m from when I got in line and arrived at the Poly dock.

Last night, Fri 8/4, we finished dinner at CaliGrill and were at the Monorail Resort pick up area at 10:20/30. This was the first time I have seen the line start at the end of the railing and stretch down to the escalators. In about 20 minute span, only 2 monorails came by and when they did, my family of 4, had to ride in separate cabins and we had to force squeeze ourselves in. We have stayed at the Contemporary for the past 5 years (7 visits total).

So plan accordingly if you plan to be here in August (unless this has been the case all summer and not due to any reduction of the fleet running or CM hours).

Oh yeah, on the 3 rides we did take on the monorails, the overhead announcements are broken, or they are being played but are buggy. The announcements are either 1 or 2 stop ahead. "You are now approaching the Grand Canyon Concourse at the Contemporary" when we were just arriving at the MK in once instance and was the same bugginess on the second ride.

 

[flortlebap]

Pandora has a lot to answer for

 

[b52hbuff]

How many monorails did/does the WDW system have at capacity? I know there are three lines at WDW, Resort, Express and Epcot. How many trains on each line?

Curious to know because Disneyland lost one of four trains on their monorail a few years back. It was used for spare parts during the last monorail remodel.

 

[Robo]

How many monorails did/does the WDW system have at capacity? I know there are three lines at WDW, Resort, Express and Epcot...

12 monorails in the WDW fleet.
Monorail colors: Black, Blue, Coral, Gold, Green, Lime, Orange, Peach, Red, Silver, Teal, Yellow.

"Por favor mantengase alejado de las puertas."

 

[SWBCMusic]

I'd venture that the greatest reason for full monorail at night is a very popular new show (HEA). HEA has been bringing out lots of locals in evenings.

 

[Klayfish]

Yeah, at peak times the monorails are full. Been that way for years. There's no way they could build them big enough to take all those guests out in one big swoop. Frankly, I think they do a darn good job getting that many people out that quickly. Usually at peak times they have several monorails going, plus 3 ferries. Those suckers carry a lot of people, we use that sometimes if it's peak hours.

 

[mousehockey37]

We've been here a few days and the times I have ridden the Monorails the cabs are at full capacity.

This is occurring in the morning and more so at night. One evening, Thurs 8/3 we left the MK at 10 PM close and the lines for both resort and express reached all the way down to the Poly boat loading area. It made more sense to ride the boat and that took 45m from when I got in line and arrived at the Poly dock.

Last night, Fri 8/4, we finished dinner at CaliGrill and were at the Monorail Resort pick up area at 10:20/30. This was the first time I have seen the line start at the end of the railing and stretch down to the escalators. In about 20 minute span, only 2 monorails came by and when they did, my family of 4, had to ride in separate cabins and we had to force squeeze ourselves in. We have stayed at the Contemporary for the past 5 years (7 visits total).

So plan accordingly if you plan to be here in August (unless this has been the case all summer and not due to any reduction of the fleet running or CM hours).

Oh yeah, on the 3 rides we did take on the monorails, the overhead announcements are broken, or they are being played but are buggy. The announcements are either 1 or 2 stop ahead. "You are now approaching the Grand Canyon Concourse at the Contemporary" when we were just arriving at the MK in once instance and was the same bugginess on the second ride.

And?

It's WDW at opening and closing. The time the largest flocks of people go in and out (besides maybe after the FoF parade in the afternoon). This is nothing new. If you don't locate yourself advantageously in the morning or at night, you're gonna wait and the monorails are going to be full. It's just that simple.

HEA is still pretty new and people are at the parks getting their vacations in before the kiddo's go back to school.

Again, this is an everyday thing pretty much. Proper planning/flexible planning will have you on transportation that isn't crammed like sardines (however, there are times that you just can't avoid it either).

 

[mousehockey37]

Yeah, at peak times the monorails are full. Been that way for years. There's no way they could build them big enough to take all those guests out in one big swoop. Frankly, I think they do a darn good job getting that many people out that quickly. Usually at peak times they have several monorails going, plus 3 ferries. Those suckers carry a lot of people, we use that sometimes if it's peak hours.

Especially for equipment that's outlived its lifespan... People complain they break down and such, but they still get people where they need to go.

 

[Coral Reef Diver]

"Por favor mantengase alejado de las puertas."

I only hear that on the Disney monorails, it makes me feel like I'm there again. [smile]

We've ridden the monorail at midday, nearly empty. I think it's like the Interstate highway system, it gets overwhelmed at rush hour (open/close).

 

[mousehockey37]

I only hear that on the Disney monorails, it makes me feel like I'm there again. [smile]

We've ridden the monorail at midday, nearly empty. I think it's like the Interstate highway system, it gets overwhelmed at rush hour (open/close).

Like I said, this is nothing new. The OP was possibly "expecting" empty monorails at park close? That's just ludicrous. Maybe some Disney entitlement (7 trips over 5 years) as well, I'm not sure, but just like any other place that closes or has an ending (sporting events, concerts, etc), there's the epic mass exodus of the venue. Disney is no different.

If the OP were in the MK and strolled the shops for a little bit, the monorail would more than likely be emptier. Same for trying to leave the CaliGrill, just hang out in the lobby or stroll the gift shop for a little while.

It just amazes me (not that I should be surprised at all) that people think buses, monorails, boats, etc will be less than full when the park is either opening or closing.

 

[Tonyz]

Stories like this make me so incredibly happy that I go the week after Labor Day!

 

[BraveLittleToaster2]

OP, if you stay at Contemporary, why are you not just walking back to your room from MK?

 

[Robo]

OP, if you stay at Contemporary, why are you not just walking back to your room from MK?

On the current trip being described by the OP in the first post, with the major delays, the OP is staying at the Poly.

 

[Amanda999]

Yeah if you are used to staying at CR, getting back to anywhere else after MK fireworks is going to be much more time consuming and less pleasant. It's a huge perk of staying at CR. When we stayed at Poly we just watched the fireworks from the beach - didn't watch inside MK even once. So easy to walk the kids to bed right after from the beach.

 

[Robo]

Nothing beats a Disney delay!

 

[CAS239]

This isn't new and is a daily occurrence

I dread leaving Disney anytime after the firework show or at park closing.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

This is why I hesitate to stay at the monorail resorts anymore (except CR). Even if we stay at an EP resort, we can walk to CR and get uber back. I guess we could do that with GF and Poly, too, but why pay the upcharge for those resorts when the transportation just isn't really a perk anymore?

 

[CookieandOatmeal]

We grab a ride FP for after fireworks so that we can avoid some of the leaving crowds and have found the poly launch more efficient to get back at night. We do utilize the monorail in the morning (9ish) and have not seen it to be packed. We tend to go during April MA/RI school vacation.

 

[mousehockey37]

We grab a ride FP for after fireworks so that we can avoid some of the leaving crowds and have found the poly launch more efficient to get back at night. We do utilize the monorail in the morning (9ish) and have not seen it to be packed. We tend to go during April MA/RI school vacation.

That's assuming the park is open after fireworks. If the park is closed, no one's riding anything.