Monorail Rescue yesterday?

[wdwrich]

OP - if you are concerned or stressed about it breaking down and getting stuck then I would suggest not riding on it. Things like this happen all the time. Not long ago I got stuck on my elevator at work - was stuck there for over an hour while they tried to fix it (was in between floors). I sat on the floor of the elevator and took a nap. Those situations don't bother me - but if I were prone to anxiety I wouldn't even ride - I would take the stairs. It's just that simple.

Agreed. Buses, subways, trams, elevators, etc. can and do break down anywhere, anytime. Heck, one can even get stuck in one's car due to a breakdown or a major traffic jam for hours at a time. If one has a problem with that situation, then don't use that mode of transportation. The transport systems at Disney World are just as prone to unexpected breakdowns as systems anyplace else. No system is 100% perfect.

 

[kandb]

Thanks for the article Dan. One poster commented that he and his wife were stuck and the whole "experience" took over 4 hours. Does Disney give them a free day pass to Disney? Taking 4 hours out of someones day, is not acceptable. Free ice water when you get out, is NO compensation. That's really ridiculous that Disney couldn't get those people out for almost 4 hours. Sorry, I know you Pro-Disney people will say that "things break down" but 4 hours????? No, not acceptable. What is someone was having a medical emergency????

 

[ParrottFamily]

Wrong post

 

[bpadair32]

Thanks for the article Dan. One poster commented that he and his wife were stuck and the whole "experience" took over 4 hours. Does Disney give them a free day pass to Disney? Taking 4 hours out of someones day, is not acceptable. Free ice water when you get out, is NO compensation. That's really ridiculous that Disney couldn't get those people out for almost 4 hours. Sorry, I know you Pro-Disney people will say that "things break down" but 4 hours????? No, not acceptable. What is someone was having a medical emergency????

They had rescue personnel there and they removed people that needed immediate evacuation. If someone was having a medical emergency they would have gotten them out.

 

[DisneyDude71]

Well unfortunately things do break down, and if you are on the monorail and don't have bottles for your baby, that would be bad planning on your part. Three hours without a restroom, well even adults will have issues with that, even if you went before you boarded the monorail. What floors me is Disney has millions of dollars why don't they invest in a Staircase truck for the monorails when they do break down. This past one was right over a roadway that would have been perfect for the truck to pull up to and let people unload, onto busses and off on their merry way they go.
IF they had that it at least would not take three hours to unload passengers.
I just hope if people on their had ADR's that some sort of arrangements where made for them.

 

[kandb]

They had rescue personnel there and they removed people that needed immediate evacuation. If someone was having a medical emergency they would have gotten them out.

I guess it depends what you consider "immediate". People that needed to be removed for immediate evacuation were removed in how long? Maybe 2 hours instead of 4? Sorry, not acceptable.

 

[bpadair32]

I guess it depends what you consider "immediate". People that needed to be removed for immediate medical issues were removed in how long? Maybe 2 hours instead of 4? Sorry, not acceptable.

And what would you like them to do? Ensure that a mechanical device never breaks? Thats simply not possible.

 

[kandb]

And what would you like them to do? Ensure that a mechanical device never breaks? Thats simply not possible.

I think with the millions of dollars Disney makes, I think they could come up for a better plan when their monorails break down, this isn't the first time people have been stranded for hours.

 

[amylevan]

I guess it depends what you consider "immediate". People that needed to be removed for immediate evacuation were removed in how long? Maybe 2 hours instead of 4? Sorry, not acceptable.

I'm confused. What would you have them do? Despite what they would have you think, Disney is not actually magical and can't fly dumbo around to fly people to safety.

I guess I see things differently as a bridge engineer who spends a lot of time on scissor lifts and under bridge equipment inspecting bridges hundreds of feet up in the air. It's simply not a quick thing to do if you want to do it safely. They can't whiz around and they have to follow safety precautions to make sure no one falls and gets hurt.

 

[JOE DELL]

And what would you like them to do? Ensure that a mechanical device never breaks? Thats simply not possible.

Very true, but leaving people stranded for hours is an absolute joke and totally unacceptable even more so of its a total system failure and the cars are full to capacity on a hot day with no AC.

 

[kamik86]

Agreed. Buses, subways, trams, elevators, etc. can and do break down anywhere, anytime. Heck, one can even get stuck in one's car due to a breakdown or a major traffic jam for hours at a time. If one has a problem with that situation, then don't use that mode of transportation. The transport systems at Disney World are just as prone to unexpected breakdowns as systems anyplace else. No system is 100% perfect.

Being broken down in a car for hours, even worse case on a highway with no exits/ways off is still very different. You can still get out of the car if you really needed to. If a medical emergency occurs you can get ambulances in with the breakdown lanes.

Being in a monorail where you have many people that aren't related crowded in (not sure if this was one of the times where many people were stuck standing in the middle), the AC probably stopped working, you can't even open windows so claustrophobia would be much worse etc is a big difference.

I liken this more to something like an elevator being broken down. Which most people would find absolutely ridiculous if it took 4 hours to get people out of too.

 

[JOE DELL]

After 40 years you would think they would have figured out how to evacuate people.

Would not take much doing to put in some type of catwalk alongside the tracks.

 

[amylevan]

Would not take much doing to put in some type of catwalk alongside the tracks.

Again, that's much more difficult than one would think. Where exactly are you putting a catwalk? There are roads with clearance issues under the rails, so you can't suspend it under, and it would be impossible to attach it to the side because there isn't any clearance between the rails and the bottom of the concrete.

Where are you attaching a catwalk on this?

Yes, it would suck to be stuck. But there really isn't another option.

 

[DisneyDude71]

I guess they have some way to open it up!

 

[DisneyDude71]

STAIR TRUCK

 

[DisneyDude71]

Get one built to the highest spot to get to guests.

 

[JOE DELL]

Again, that's much more difficult than one would think. Where exactly are you putting a catwalk? There are roads with clearance issues under the rails, so you can't suspend it under, and it would be impossible to attach it to the side because there isn't any clearance between the rails and the bottom of the concrete.

Where are you attaching a catwalk on this?

Yes, it would suck to be stuck. But there really isn't another option.

Make one that folds out from the bottom of the structure or one that is a permanent mount that runs along side of the structure. Like I've said they have had 40 years to figure it out. As far as engineering such a catwalk or evacuation system, look around the park at the other "engineering feats"

 

[JOE DELL]

Guess their just lucky there has never been a fire, but then again that's probably what it will take for them to figure out.

 

[larryz]

View attachment 128401
Get one built to the highest spot to get to guests.

Ding-ding-ding! We have a winner!

 

[amylevan]

Get one built to the highest spot to get to guests.

I'm not saying a stair truck is a bad idea, I'm just sure they make them tall enough for everywhere on the track. I think they only go about 20' high and I feel like there are lengths of track higher than that. But I'm still not sure that would be much faster then what they do now.

Make one that folds out from the bottom of the structure or one that is a permanent mount that runs along side of the structure. Like I've said they have had 40 years to figure it out. As far as engineering such a catwalk or evacuation system, look around the park at the other "engineering feats"

Again, there is no room for a permanent mount along the side of the structure. Underneath is not going to happen - they have roads that go under the monorail that need minimum clearance requirements. And not to mention that the cost would be ridiculous. For as often as an evacuation happens, that cost would never be justified. They would be better off tearing it down than doing that.