Monorail service to no longer operate during Evening Extra Magic Hours

[Figment632]

http://www.discussionkingdom.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2394

From ReelJustice at DK


From WDWMagic:

Quote:
Beginning on July 11 2011, the Epcot monorail service will stop operation 1 hour after regular park closing, and from August 1 2011, the Magic Kingdom monorail will stop operation 1 hour after regular park closing. This means that in both cases, the monorail will not be able to return guests back to their resorts after evening Extra Magic Hours. Guests will instead be transported by bus and boats where available. Morning Extra Magic Hour service has not been affected. All indications are that this is a permanent change.

 

[cindyfan]

That totally does NOT make any sense!!!!!!!!!!!!

Seriously!!???

What the heck's the matter with the chiefs at WDW????

 

[nytimez]

Yeah, there's a crazy long thread on the theme parks board where some Kool Aid drinkers are actually trying to defend/justify this.

It's another nickel-and-dime cutback... yet some people still really believe Disney might expand the monorail someday?

Not THIS Disney, that's for sure.

 

[Peter Pirate 2]

This makes complete and total sense as long you as you realize who's in charge of Disney right now and what that the sole goal of this (like all other publicly traded co.) organization is ... the quarterly bottom line. Expect more, maybe a small fee for monorail (LOL).

 

[nytimez]

This makes complete and total sense as long you as you realize who's in charge of Disney right now and what that the sole goal of this (like all other publicly traded co.) organization is ... the quarterly bottom line. Expect more, maybe a small fee for monorail (LOL).

There is a fee for the monorail at Tokyo Disney... so there's a precedent in place, even if it's not in a park owned by TWDC.

 

[racefanof88]

This is my theory--Attendance will start to fall off at evening EMH--fewer attractions will be open during EMH--Disney will announce the discontinuance of EMH all together, due to low attendance .

This is a cost cutting measure for sure, but in light of the rising ticket prices(2 times in less than a year), the cost of eating in the parks, and value resorts charging what some 3 star resorts charge, it isn't a good move on the part of Disney. There comes a time when the consumer says "ENOUGH", and Disney is pushing the envelope.

Not to mention the hit this will have on the pocket's of Disney employees and the economy. They will make less money due to decrease in hours worked, thus having less expendable cash. It is trickle down economics in reverse.

It is making me rethink my plans on buying DVC .

 

[Abby's Dad]

The one thing that I am curious about is the statement that I have seen associated with this announcement, that being that Disney makes periodic adjustments in schedules to facilitate planned maintenance (not a direct quote by any means, but essentially what was said). That said, could this just be a temporary measure to get the monorail back into proper operating condition (thinking about the recent breakdowns)? If this is the case, then maybe I can be understanding.

However, if this is just another means of increasing Disney's already excessive profits, then I am faced with a choice - we have an 8-day trip planned for Christmas week, and we specifically chose the Contemporary Resort (and its "lovely" holiday rates) because my wife had never stayed at a monorail resort. We are rethinking this vacation at this point, and will decide by the end of the week whether we will proceed with it as planned, or if we will cancel and do something else.

Maybe this is going to turn out to be a case of "penny wise, pound foolish," for Disney.

 

[racefanof88]

The one thing that I am curious about is the statement that I have seen associated with this announcement, that being that Disney makes periodic adjustments in schedules to facilitate planned maintenance (not a direct quote by any means, but essentially what was said). That said, could this just be a temporary measure to get the monorail back into proper operating condition (thinking about the recent breakdowns)? If this is the case, then maybe I can be understanding.

However, if this is just another means of increasing Disney's already excessive profits, then I am faced with a choice - we have an 8-day trip planned for Christmas week, and we specifically chose the Contemporary Resort (and its "lovely" holiday rates) because my wife had never stayed at a monorail resort. We are rethinking this vacation at this point, and will decide by the end of the week whether we will proceed with it as planned, or if we will cancel and do something else.

Maybe this is going to turn out to be a case of "penny wise, pound foolish," for Disney.

If Disney is saying the monorail is unsafe, or in ill repair after hours, then how can they justify keeping it running during regular park hours? Wouldn't that be opening them up for potential lawsuits if someone even stumps a toe? Since evening EMH at MK and Epcot account for 2-3 nights a week, Disney would have 4 or 5 nights to work on the cars. There are currently 11 trains on the monorail circuit so there would be no need to take all of them off at one time. Just saying.

 

[chrisw127]

If Disney is saying the monorail is unsafe, or in ill repair after hours, then how can they justify keeping it running during regular park hours? Wouldn't that be opening them up for potential lawsuits if someone even stumps a toe? Since evening EMH at MK and Epcot account for 2-3 nights a week, Disney would have 4 or 5 nights to work on the cars. There are currently 11 trains on the monorail circuit so there would be no need to take all of them off at one time. Just saying.

This is the best argument I've seen for it not being a temporary measure.

 

[11290]

we specifically chose the Contemporary Resort (and its "lovely" holiday rates) because my wife had never stayed at a monorail resort. We are rethinking this vacation at this point, and will decide by the end of the week whether we will proceed with it as planned, or if we will cancel and do something else.

Takes less time to walk to MK from the Contemporary than it does to wait for the Monorail, stop at TTC, Poly & GF before it gets to MK.

Of course one alternative is to go to Universal, stay at the same price hotel (or more) and either walk (longer route) or take the water taxi to the parks.

 

[nytimez]

Takes less time to walk to MK from the Contemporary than it does to wait for the Monorail, stop at TTC, Poly & GF before it gets to MK.

Of course one alternative is to go to Universal, stay at the same price hotel (or more) and either walk (longer route) or take the water taxi to the parks.

All three of Universal's hotels are consistently cheaper than the Contemporary.

 

[Andrew78]

I am very upset by this, but companies make deisios for business reasons, so obviously there is some financial incentive to this; I am booked at the Contemporary in Sept but I have no plans to change, we can either walk or take a boat back

 

[11290]

All three of Universal's hotels are consistently cheaper than the Contemporary.

Loews Portofino v Contemporary for same dates in November:

Loews $324 / Contemporary $325. Wouldn't consider $1 making a difference in someones vacation.

 

[nytimez]

Loews Portofino v Contemporary for same dates in November:

Loews $324 / Contemporary $325. Wouldn't consider $1 making a difference in someones vacation.

I don't know what dates in Nov you picked, so I just picked three at random. I got $273.60 for the Portofino for Nov. 14-16, $595 a night for the same nights at the Contemporary. Both are non-discounted.

In addition, all three Loews hotels are deluxe-level hotels, and you used the most expensive of the three for your example. For those same dates, the Royal Pacific would be $224.10 a night.

I'm sure you can find examples here or there. But consistently, time after time, Universal's hotels will be cheaper and have more discounts available (which I did not bother to look for in this case).

I refer you to the Universal board, where there is a "date and rate" thread for the hotels if you're interested in seeing the real rates of what other Disers are paying.

 

[zulemara]

Yeah, there's a crazy long thread on the theme parks board where some Kool Aid drinkers are actually trying to defend/justify this.

It's another nickel-and-dime cutback... yet some people still really believe Disney might expand the monorail someday?

Not THIS Disney, that's for sure.

no it's not! I am FAR from any kool aid drinker. What I am is a CM who sees things on the inside. I see parts falling out of monorails starting fires, losing power unable to get up hills, the voltage bar falling off the beam on a major holiday, I could go on and on. This is a much needed decision to fix the monorails. We have been paying the price for the decisions made in the 90s for far too long and it needs to end. It's not about budget, it's about not having a major monorail outage on a nearly basis, not to mention on xmas day, july 3rd, and july 4th this year.

 

[nytimez]

no it's not! I am FAR from any kool aid drinker. What I am is a CM who sees things on the inside. I see parts falling out of monorails starting fires, losing power unable to get up hills, the voltage bar falling off the beam on a major holiday, I could go on and on. This is a much needed decision to fix the monorails. We have been paying the price for the decisions made in the 90s for far too long and it needs to end. It's not about budget, it's about not having a major monorail outage on a nearly basis, not to mention on xmas day, july 3rd, and july 4th this year.

If it's THAT bad, then it needs to be shut down completely and either permanently or until it is fixed.

Those kinds of problems won't be fixed with a few extra hours of nighttime maintenance each week.

 

[umichigan10]

If it's THAT bad, then it needs to be shut down completely and either permanently or until it is fixed.

Those kinds of problems won't be fixed with a few extra hours of nighttime maintenance each week.

I agree 100%, and this is coming from a person who is staying at BLT in three weeks

 

[zulemara]

they don't need to shut everything down at once, they just need to work methodically through the maintenance issues and get a handle on it.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

they don't need to shut everything down at once, they just need to work methodically through the maintenance issues and get a handle on it.

or perhaps they could just have an overdue set of trains built and retrofit the beam/ electrical circuits as needed?

its not like they haven't had wear on the tires. unless it's somekind of elaborate hoax...they've been doing this for 50+ years in California and 40+ in Florida.

so you'll forgive me if i don't grant the benefit of the doubt here. This cat ain't buyin' right now.

I too remember things "on the inside" and the true reasoning behind all decisions can be broken down into the following categories:

1. Reduction of Manpower (20%)
2. Increase of Profit (75%)
3. PR spin to cover other cost cutting measures (5%)
4. All of the Above (usually about 99%)


So i too believe it is nothing but sheer ridonkulous penny pinching...because that is standard operation procedure.

But i and everybody else here feeds the monster...so until we all go away and then the non-repeat offenders start balking at the price - then nothing will reverse or change the course of the ship.

But i can't imagine how bad it is for the employees right now...3 years of 10+ unemployment and the near destruction of the entire area due to the idiocy of the housing bubble...the weasels at Team D must be salivating at the cuts right now they can jam down the throat (not that that is too much different than normal)...the sky is truely the limit...probably what that big silly sundial is meant represent.

 

[crazy4wdw]

Article in today's Orlando Sentinel:

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/the-...world-monorail-hours-20110711,0,1288947.story