Monorail Issues will sway my decision

[DISNEY1975]

Has anyone recently stayed at a monorail resort and if so, how was the monorail operating? Delays? Broken down? Super crowded leaving MK?

I cant decide between the Poly and Beach Club. I would prefer Poly as I will have 2 little ones with me and the convenience of the monorail would be great, but on my last 2 stays at the Poly, the monorail was barely working. If that is still the case, Id rather be at the Beach Club as the girls would love the pool and we dine often in Epcot.

 

[Daniela Rose]

Stayed at the contemporary for a week in sept. Not one issue.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

There's just no way to predict what is going to happen with the monorail from one day to the next. We were at the Poly about 2 years ago and it was struck by lightening and was down for most of our stay. We haven't stayed on the monorail for at least two years because it's so unpredictable. We are going to try again in August and stay at GF, but we also don't mind using the boats if it comes to that and will use uber/lyft/Minnie Van's to supplement if need be. Not ideal, certainly, if you are booking a monorail resort and hoping for that service, but, in my many years of going to WDW, I've learned you kind of have to roll with the punches. If you aren't willing to roll the dice with the monorail, you may want to consider BC.

 

[NYCgrrl]

No monorail issues for stays July 4 - 9, 2017 or Dec 22, 2017 - Jan 2,2018, all high occupancy times. Those stays were at Poly and GF.
I suspect whatever hotel you stay at will be enjoyable.

 

[JessicaW1234]

We recently stayed at GF & no issues at all with the monorail.

 

[AFwifelife]

What about Contemporary? Doesn’t help with Epcot but you can walk to MK.

 

[melana]

Stayed at BLT in October— no issues.

 

[NYCgrrl]

What about Contemporary? Doesn’t help with Epcot but you can walk to MK.

We'll be staying at the Contemporary this summer for easier access to MK and AK. It was a hard decision ( I wuvvvv Poly!) but made sense to get the best bang for our time.

 

[Capang]

Has anyone recently stayed at a monorail resort and if so, how was the monorail operating? Delays? Broken down? Super crowded leaving MK?

I cant decide between the Poly and Beach Club. I would prefer Poly as I will have 2 little ones with me and the convenience of the monorail would be great, but on my last 2 stays at the Poly, the monorail was barely working. If that is still the case, Id rather be at the Beach Club as the girls would love the pool and we dine often in Epcot.

All transportation at Disney is a crapshoot. You can have entire trips where you walk up to whatever you are taking, monorail, bus, boat, and just walk right on and go. Then you have trips at the same places where the same transportation is constantly late or closed altogether.

 

[MickeyWaffles]

In Sept. we had left GF to head to the TTC via monorail. We got stuck in the MK station. It did not start up again for some time (we know that because other members of our family were stuck elsewhere.) Luckily we were able to get off but we had to get on the ferry to the TTC then a bus to Epcot. Pretty funny being the only people on the ferry going from MK to the TTC 20 mins before rope drop

It was an annoying delay but we just rolled with it. Will be staying at a monorail resort again in May because it really is so convenient when it is working.

 

[AllieBoo]

We had an issue one night on our trip last June. Monorail was down for a good while. It was very frustrating!

 

[DisneyArkie]

Has anyone recently stayed at a monorail resort and if so, how was the monorail operating? Delays? Broken down? Super crowded leaving MK?

I cant decide between the Poly and Beach Club. I would prefer Poly as I will have 2 little ones with me and the convenience of the monorail would be great, but on my last 2 stays at the Poly, the monorail was barely working. If that is still the case, Id rather be at the Beach Club as the girls would love the pool and we dine often in Epcot.

I don’t think anyone can predict when the monorail will be working properly or not... unless someone has a crystal ball I’m unaware of

 

[WEDisneyFan]

The last 3 summers we stayed at the Polynesian and the monorail was terrible. It was broken down at least once a day and at night it was never running for extra magic hours or at park closing. I have been complaining for years that we stay at a "monorail" resort for the monorail and all I ever hear is that they understand my frustration and that the monorails need to be serviced. Really? Then service them after all the people are out of the park. I know its a money thing but it kills me to pay that kind of money and get terrible service. Not to mention that they have 5 monorails running on the resort and express loops and 2-3 running on the EPCOT loop. That leaves 4-5 monorails that could be worked on during the day. Switch them off every night so there is always fresh ones in service. Yellow broke down on us and we had to be towed back to the station. The next morning guess who shows up to takes us to the MK? Yep, yellow. If I needed it at 2pm on Wednesday I am sure it will be working but at park closing they push me to the ferry, resort launches or buses. Each night the ferry was all the way back by the park exit. The resort launches were well over 200 people deep. We wound up taking a bus to the TTC and then we walked back to our room. Its my own fault. I keep paying the money even though it upsets me. If we all stopped throwing money at them they would have to make things right. It kills me that they turned down Siemens offer to build them a whole new fleet. I wouldn't mind seeing Siemens name on the monorails if meant that they would get me home without a call to the fire department. This is just insane.

 

[ToffPrincess]

Stayed oct/nov 2017 GF. Monorail never broke down, it was on time and regular. The one issue I had was when dining in Poly the queues were so bad to get on it once took three monorails to pass before I could even get through security check and on one. Horrible!!

 

[DISNEY1975]

The last 3 summers we stayed at the Polynesian and the monorail was terrible. It was broken down at least once a day and at night it was never running for extra magic hours or at park closing. I have been complaining for years that we stay at a "monorail" resort for the monorail and all I ever hear is that they understand my frustration and that the monorails need to be serviced. Really? Then service them after all the people are out of the park. I know its a money thing but it kills me to pay that kind of money and get terrible service. Not to mention that they have 5 monorails running on the resort and express loops and 2-3 running on the EPCOT loop. That leaves 4-5 monorails that could be worked on during the day. Switch them off every night so there is always fresh ones in service. Yellow broke down on us and we had to be towed back to the station. The next morning guess who shows up to takes us to the MK? Yep, yellow. If I needed it at 2pm on Wednesday I am sure it will be working but at park closing they push me to the ferry, resort launches or buses. Each night the ferry was all the way back by the park exit. The resort launches were well over 200 people deep. We wound up taking a bus to the TTC and then we walked back to our room. Its my own fault. I keep paying the money even though it upsets me. If we all stopped throwing money at them they would have to make things right. It kills me that they turned down Siemens offer to build them a whole new fleet. I wouldn't mind seeing Siemens name on the monorails if meant that they would get me home without a call to the fire department. This is just insane.

Yes! All of this! My last trip I figured I learned my lesson and stayed at the Yacht Club. It was nice not to be frustrated daily with how I am going to get to the parks or back to the resort. Even more frustrating knowing we spent extra $$ for the convenience, which was anything but. Most mornings we had to walk from the Poly to the TTC only to be told we then needed to walk to the buses. Coming out the MK is also a nightmare. It is common knowledge to the locals and beyond that the resort monorails stop at the TTC and they dont need to get on the express. We mostly waited 4 - 6 monorails to get on and once it reached the TTC, everyone got off, leaving us the lone real resort guests. We were also late for many meals at Epcot and monorail resort restaurants.

Prior to the last 2 stays, everything was wonderful with monorail service and in the back of my mind I really wish things have changed and I could stay at the Poly again. Especially this next trip with my 2 little nieces (first visit for them) My brain just wont let me spend the money if the monorails are sketchy.

My other frustration was the parking lot. We rent a car to get to the water parks, AK and HS. The parking lot at the Poly was always full from the diners at the popular restaurants and some who just use it as free parking to the MK. We's have to circle 15 - 20 minutes to get a spot far far away. After staying at the YC last year and seeing it was an issue there as well, I guess Ill never win that battle no matter where we are.

 

[Malestrom Troll]

Currently staying at BLT. No issues the past 4 days with the monorail.

 

[Farro]

We stayed for 9 nights last October - no issues for us at all.

But we took the boat from Polynesian to Magic Kingdom anyways. Loved that boat ride...

We are choosing to go back to Yacht Club for our next trip though- we missed the walk into Epcot and with Star Wars being open by the time we go, we will appreciate being able to walk to DHS if we want.

Have a great trip!

 

[hsmamato2]

Epcot resorts all the way.....soooo much ncer and easier to stay there IMHO. I love the Poly but I wouldn't count the monorail as a perk anymore since it doesn't work properly half the time (not a scientific statement just a guess lol)

 

[DISNEY1975]

We stayed for 9 nights last October - no issues for us at all.

But we took the boat from Polynesian to Magic Kingdom anyways. Loved that boat ride...

We are choosing to go back to Yacht Club for our next trip though- we missed the walk into Epcot and with Star Wars being open by the time we go, we will appreciate being able to walk to DHS if we want.

Have a great trip!

I agree, the walk to IG was so quick and convenient. Ughhh.. I cant decide. Literally about to draw a name from a hat!

 

[DISNEY1975]

Epcot resorts all the way.....soooo much ncer and easier to stay there IMHO. I love the Poly but I wouldn't count the monorail as a perk anymore since it doesn't work properly half the time (not a scientific statement just a guess lol)

That was definitely my experience. It would just be soooo great if it did work! For the first time in a while, I am going with young ones again! (Nieces - first trip) and imagine we will spend a lot of time in the MK, character dining at the monorail resorts, needing mid day breaks etc... But for an extra $1920 (2 rooms, 12 days, $80 difference in room rates) and it not working, Ill be very disappointed and frustrated at myself for not doing what my brain is telling me to do! That darn heart is so loud though!