Monorail Upgrade Warning

[ErinsMommy]

Thank you and no worries, just being sure we plan accordlingly. At 6 weeks out, we have all our dining, FP + and hotel perfectly set so only thing that will be a buzzkill, is if our flight doesn't make it out -- which for once in our many recent travels, is unlikely.

 

[RobinEJ]

Thank you! I'm thinking safest bet for me may be to walk to the transportation and ticket center.

 

[mickenme]

Is there a path to walk from MK to GF and if so how far is it?

 

[Fantasmic303]

We are at BLT this week and were headed to Epcot yesterday for 9am rope drop. At 8:15, I asked the CM at the desk about transportation options, owing to the reduced monorail schedule. He told me to get on the Resort monorail, because that would start at 8:30.

Fine...but then how do I get to Epcot.

"Epcot monorail will begin at 9am" he told me.

Fine...but how do I get to Epcot if I need to be there for rope drop to ride Test Track without a 90 minute wait since I can only get one FP and I used that on Soarin?"

His reply? "The only way to get from here to Epcot for rope drop when the monorail is running on this schedule is to take a taxi."

I asked him point blank if that meant no alternatives were offered for people at the resort - buses, for example - and he told me there were not. It was either wait til 9am or take a cab.

We happened to have a car and just drove over anyway, but I wasn't happy with his response. I knew there had to be another alternative (at the very least, a bus to TTC to Epcot) but he wasn't at all helpful and we didn't have time to spare or try to figure it out on our own.

 

[grimley1968]

Is there a path to walk from MK to GF and if so how far is it?

Sorry, no. There would be two waterways to cross.

 

[brockash]

We are at BLT this week and were headed to Epcot yesterday for 9am rope drop. At 8:15, I asked the CM at the desk about transportation options, owing to the reduced monorail schedule. He told me to get on the Resort monorail, because that would start at 8:30.

Fine...but then how do I get to Epcot.

"Epcot monorail will begin at 9am" he told me.

Fine...but how do I get to Epcot if I need to be there for rope drop to ride Test Track without a 90 minute wait since I can only get one FP and I used that on Soarin?"

His reply? "The only way to get from here to Epcot for rope drop when the monorail is running on this schedule is to take a taxi."

I asked him point blank if that meant no alternatives were offered for people at the resort - buses, for example - and he told me there were not. It was either wait til 9am or take a cab.

We happened to have a car and just drove over anyway, but I wasn't happy with his response. I knew there had to be another alternative (at the very least, a bus to TTC to Epcot) but he wasn't at all helpful and we didn't have time to spare or try to figure it out on our own.

Wow, that's disturbing. I really hope you just got a really lazy, dumb, rude CM. I would be and will be beyond annoyed if during our trip next month we have no way (other than paying even more money) to get to Epcot by rope drop. We have paid a ridiculous amount to stay at CR mainly for the convenience, and while not having the monorail running when I was told it would back when we booked, how insane would it be if Disney did not provide some kind of direct bus service etc. in order to get their guests to their parks on time.

Has anyone else had recent experience with this?

 

[Fantasmic303]

Oh, don't worry...I'm SURE there are other options, we just didn't have time to ask anyone else or try to figure it out. I would ask when you check in, but I'm sure the guy I talked to was the exception. We had our own car option, so it just wasn't worth wasting the time.

 

[100acreHiker]

I'm confused. On the Disney website it sates that Epcot monorail starts at 9:30am (not 9)--that's pretty late! It also says express monorail starts at 9am, and I don't think I even know what the express monorail is--from where to where does that run? (forgive me--we've only been to Disney once, in 2012).

Also, I keep reading on blogs that there's no end time for the project, but it does claim that service will be affected through the end of summer 2014. Is there information that says work is going to be extended? We'll be going in November and staying at GF--certainly hope this is finished by then. If not, would there be an early morning bus to Epcot from GF to get there for rope drop?

 

[grimley1968]

I'm confused. On the Disney website it sates that Epcot monorail starts at 9:30am (not 9)--that's pretty late! It also says express monorail starts at 9am, and I don't think I even know what the express monorail is--from where to where does that run? (forgive me--we've only been to Disney once, in 2012).

The express monorail runs between MK and TTC. It makes no stops at any of the resorts. It's on a parallel track to the resort monorail, but runs in the opposite direction.

 

[siskaren]

We are at BLT this week and were headed to Epcot yesterday for 9am rope drop. At 8:15, I asked the CM at the desk about transportation options, owing to the reduced monorail schedule.

Actually, I've read on this board more than once that the front desk CMs are not the best sources of information regarding transportation.

 

[brockash]

Actually, I've read on this board more than once that the front desk CMs are not the best sources of information regarding transportation.

Who would be best to ask? I def. will want to know ahead of time, with hopefully accurate info.

 

[surferdave]

Who would be best to ask? I def. will want to know ahead of time, with hopefully accurate info.

I watch for news here and wdwinfo.com regarding things like transportation info. Before my last trip I found out that way that the resort monorail would be down during midday throughout my stay; I was staying at PO Riverside so it didn't affect me much, but we did have lunch reservations at Chef Mickeys on an MK day so I went to the concierge desk to find out about times and what other options were available. She denied that it was down without looking, reluctantly checked when I didn't go away, admitted that it was and told me to take a bus.

 

[GotLabradors]

I watch for news here and wdwinfo.com regarding things like transportation info. Before my last trip I found out that way that the resort monorail would be down during midday throughout my stay; I was staying at PO Riverside so it didn't affect me much, but we did have lunch reservations at Chef Mickeys on an MK day so I went to the concierge desk to find out about times and what other options were available. She denied that it was down without looking, reluctantly checked when I didn't go away, admitted that it was and told me to take a bus.

I don't get why CMs would do this. I would much rather a CM tell me they weren't sure and then proceed to help me find the correct information. I'd be more irritated to hear incorrect info just so the CM could shoo me away. It just basic customer service.

 

[maxiesmom]

I don't get why CMs would do this. I would much rather a CM tell me they weren't sure and then proceed to help me find the correct information. I'd be more irritated to hear incorrect info just so the CM could shoo me away. It just basic customer service.

They probably don't know they are wrong. There are so many different facets to a stay at WDW, it would be impossible for every CM to know every detail. I bet a lot of them know what the details were and are unaware of any changes.

 

[GotLabradors]

They probably don't know they are wrong. There are so many different facets to a stay at WDW, it would be impossible for every CM to know every detail. I bet a lot of them know what the details were and are unaware of any changes.

And the appropriate response to the guest from the CM would be "I haven't heard that. If you have a moment, I'd be happy to check on it for you."

That statement right there would probably end a lot of guest dissatisfaction with Disney.

 

[maxiesmom]

And the appropriate response to the guest from the CM would be "I haven't heard that. If you have a moment, I'd be happy to check on it for you."

That statement right there would probably end a lot of guest dissatisfaction with Disney.

If they think they are giving out the correct information they are not going to double check. And it would be a huge waste of their time and the guest's times if they did. I don't want CMs who have to refer to someone else first every time a guest asks them a question.

 

[Fantasmic303]

With all due respect, you'd rather have a CM give absolutely incorrect information than check on something they're not sure about when a guest seems to be "misinformed" (even when he isn't)?

It seems that, especially at a monorail resort, being at least marginally versed in the MONORAIL should be a CM prerequisite. Maybe they aren't sure of the schedule, but there are signs up around the resort with the advisory - they should at least be aware that there IS a change, especially if a guest is adamant about it, and know enough to ask about it before they answer.

Granted, the previous poster was at POR, but I had a similar experience at BLT. And in my experience as a guest over the last few decades, "get a cab" is never the ONLY option within normal operating hours. Transportation can be tricky, and it may require multiple switches, but it's NEVER impossible to get where you need to be.

 

[minniemouse803]

We just returned from a weeklong stay at the GF. I was somewhat disappointed in the transportation system this time, as opposed to our summer trip last year. We are rope droppers and like to be at the monorail or bus by 8:00 or so.

With the monorail not operating until later, we used alternative transportation to MK and Epcot. I thought THAT service was wonderful. There were many busses available around the 8:00 hour for both parks as well as the TTC. We were easily able to get to MK for an early morning tour and to the Poly for an 8:15 breakfast.

Animal Kingdom/Blizzard Beach was another story. We waited and waited and waited and by the time the bus came (both days) we were standing room only and many couldn't even get on.

The monorail was hit or miss. It seemed to run fine sometimes but mostly we had extra long waits at each stop or "pausing for maintenance checks." Also it seemed that no matter what time of day we got on it was usually packed.

The one night it started storming so the mass exodus of people began leaving MK. Unfortunately they weren't running boats because of the lightning and the Express Monorail was busted down. So everybody was on the Resort loop. Ugh! The line of people stretched down to the bag check area in the pouring rain.

Disney, in my opinion, has very much accommodated the lack of early monorail access with superb bussing. Maybe they had directed their resources to that area and pulled back on the AK busses? I don't know but they were elusive! The monorail is great when it works but wow was it busy, slow and busted down more than I have ever noticed!

 

[lauritagoddess]

With the monorail not operating until later, we used alternative transportation to MK and Epcot. I thought THAT service was wonderful. There were many busses available around the 8:00 hour for both parks as well as the TTC. We were easily able to get to MK for an early morning tour and to the Poly for an 8:15 breakfast.

Did you share buses with any of the other monorail resorts?

 

[surferdave]

If they think they are giving out the correct information they are not going to double check. And it would be a huge waste of their time and the guest's times if they did. I don't want CMs who have to refer to someone else first every time a guest asks them a question.

There was no excuse for this, Disney had already been taking the resort monorail down during the day for weeks. She wasn't busy with someone else and clearly wasn't doing something more compelling. I don't know if she was driven by sloth or pride but she had no problem giving me wrong information that would leave me scrambling (and probably late for an ADR) rather than looking it up.

I know it's your natural reaction to defend Disney but you should cut your losses on this one. The customer service in this case was 100% bad, 0% magical.