Monorail Expansion??

[sters]

Can anybody elaborate on a rumor that the monorail will be expanded "everywhere" around the year 2007-2010? Just curious as to where exactly "everywhere" would be.

 

[WDWHound]

For a long time there have been plans sitting on the shelf to expand the monorail out to various sections of WDW. These plans would not have taken the monorail "everywhere", but they would have extended it to Downtown Disney and possibly MGM if I recall correctly. However, its sounds like these plans are all but dead. The reason is money. Monorail track is very expensive to build and the current ever so dollor concious Disney management prefers the less magical, but much cheaper bus system.

 

[KNWVIKING]

What makes monorail track so expensive ? It's basically concrete & steel. I've read numbers in the billions to expand the monorail but I have a hard time accepting those numbers.

 

[manning]

Are the roads in Disney World owned by the state? If not then it may be cheaper operating the monorail. Comparing maintenance of tracks vs roadway, it would seem the tracks would take less money to maintain. There is a lot of weight out there pounding the roads.

 

[WDWHound]

Originally posted by KNWVIKING
What makes monorail track so expensive ? It's basically concrete & steel. I've read numbers in the billions to expand the monorail but I have a hard time accepting those numbers.

You know, I've alway wondered that myself. It seems like the costs should be much lower than they are. But there is not doubt that the costs can be very high. According to the monorail society, the cost for the new Bombardier monorail extenstion in Las Vegas is a whopping $68 million per mile! I'm sure that inflated real estate prices around the strip added a lot to the projedct though. The original Las Vegas monorail system, which uses old WDW Monorail trains (also made by Bombardier) came in at $25 million per mile, which seems about average.

Here is a link to the society's page on costs. It contains a comparison of costs of various monorail projects, which range from $6.52 million per mile for a Intamin monorail with itty bitty trains to the afore mentioned $68 million per mile from Bobardier (the company Disney uses).

http://www.monorails.org/tMspages/HowMuch.html

 

[wtg2000]

Rumours were flying about threes ago, including reports that WDW guests were being surveyed as to whether or not they would pay to ride the monorail. I wonder what the results of the survey were and if that played a part in any decision.

Tokyo Disneyland's new monorail is a pay system and I had no problem paying. You could get passes up to four days I believe and the fee was about $10 US for that time frame.

 

[DISNEY FREAK UK]

Hi Folks,

Could this rumour have come from the plans to set up a direct rail link from Orlando Int'l to Disney that were announced last year? It's easy to see how the original fact could have "morphed" into this rumour.

DISney Freak UK

 

[WDWHound]

Originally posted by DISNEY FREAK UK
Hi Folks,

Could this rumour have come from the plans to set up a direct rail link from Orlando Int'l to Disney that were announced last year? It's easy to see how the original fact could have "morphed" into this rumour.

DISney Freak UK

Its possible, but the plans to expand the monorail have been around for a very long time (since the early 80's, just after EPCOT Center opened). They have always been shelved for one reason or another (usually its the cost). As was mentioned earlier, the last time these plans saw daylight was approx 3 years ago, at which time they were placed on hold yet again due to cost.

 

[KNWVIKING]

... Looking at the "How much .....cost" list, it would appear that an expansion of the rail should cost less at WDW then other places. The land is paid for. It's flat. Very few enviromental issues to deal with. No special structures. WDW seems an ideal place to build a monorail.

 

[WDWHound]

Originally posted by KNWVIKING
... Looking at the "How much .....cost" list, it would appear that an expansion of the rail should cost less at WDW then other places. The land is paid for. It's flat. Very few enviromental issues to deal with. No special structures. WDW seems an ideal place to build a monorail.

I'm not sure, but I thought I read somewhere that the soil in WDW is very shifty (lots of sand), which requires the pylons to be placed very deep into the earth and this added a great deal of cost. I'll have to check Bob Gurr's column to see if he has anything to say on the topic.

 

[sters]

Here's where I saw it.. not sure what the code "I" means.

http://www.disneycorner.com/modules.php?name=Disney_Future&file=wdw

 

[WDWHound]

Originally posted by sters
Here's where I saw it.. not sure what the code "I" means.

http://www.disneycorner.com/modules.php?name=Disney_Future&file=wdw

I'm not sure what I means either, but both Time Racers and a third park for the Disneyland Resort have a status of I, as well as a "Harry Potter attraction" (thats a new one on me). Looks like I is not a good code to have in terms of probability of being built.

 

[mitros]

I know the "R" is a rumor
the "C: is work under construction, and..... the "I" will come to me eventually.

 

[wtg2000]

I believe "I" is Imagineering stage. But is this higher than a Rumour, meaning has it been approved and the Imagineers are working on it, or does it mean that they're just coming up with a plan.

None of the "I" ones seem very plausible.

 

[wtg2000]

If you were king/queen how would you handle the expansion?

WDW is fairly spread out and I'm not sure where new lines would run. If the idea is to eliminate bus routes, then the main ones would be getting the MK resort people to MGM and AK without buses, and getting the EPCOT resort people to MK and AK without buses.

I doubt the mods or values would get a monorail as that would jack up the price of those resorts.

One to Downtown Disney? Fine, but from where?

 

[mitros]

TTC, maybe?

 

[Ralphl4]

I took the backstage tour last year and the subject came up as to why Disney does not expand the monorail system to include all the parks. Well, the answer was fairly simple. The guide quoted a cost of about 4 million dollars per mile of track, plus the additional trains that would be needed. Currently there are about 14 miles of track for the deluxe resorts, Magic Kingdom, and Epcot and 12 trains. To expand to MGM and the Animal Kingdom, there would need to be a doubling of the entire system. That translates into some serious bucks! You say, IT"S DISNEY! THEY CAN AFFORD IT! Well, they most likely can afford it, but there would be almost no return on the investment. The bus systems works just fine. A new monorail system would just be a nice and cool thing to have. Plus, there are many other reasons that it has not happened, but that was the answer we were given on the tour.

BTW. If you ever get the chance to take the backstage magic tour. DO IT! Worth every penny if you are interested in how major attractions at Epcot, MGM, and the Magic Kingdom work.

 

[wtg2000]

The guide quoted a cost of about 4 million dollars per mile of track

The current Disney monorail system runs about $68 million per mile according to monorails.com. If it were only 4 million I think they'd have monorails all over the place.

TTC to Downtown Disney? I'm not sure that would make sense. Why have people park at TTC then ship them to DD? That monorail would have to run until 2am. Just let them park in DD.

 

[KNWVIKING]

***" Well, they most likely can afford it, but there would be almost no return on the investment."***

Well, people waiting at bus stops aren't spending a dime. The quicker WDW gets people into the parks, the quicker they'll start spending. It will also increase their actual park time - arrive a little earlier,leave a little later - which will also help to empty the pockets.

Also, monorail resort are unique, which allows them to charge more per nite. A mono line to AK and AKL could be a huge boost to both the park and the resort. Right now, AKL probably discounts its rate more then any other resort.

 

[Lewisc]

Originally posted by wtg2000
The current Disney monorail system runs about $68 million per mile according to monorails.com. If it were only 4 million I think they'd have monorails all over the place.

TTC to Downtown Disney? I'm not sure that would make sense. Why have people park at TTC then ship them to DD? That monorail would have to run until 2am. Just let them park in DD.

The rumor was that Disney was going to build a second TTC by DTD (similar to Universal). Have people end their day at DTD. They were going to use light rail instead of a monorail to lower the expense.