Monorail - Why no expansion?

[JaimeK]

Found another source with slightly different numbers but also some actual costs for completed projects:

The $1.1 billion estimate gave plenty in the crowd sticker shock, but SEPTA’s Smith argued it was in line with similar elevated rail projects nationwide. At 4.4 miles, the King of Prussia extension would cost about $250 million per mile. The Metro’s 11.7-mile Silver Line outside Washington D.C. cost $3.14 billion, or $270 million per mile. The AirTrain to JFK International Airport in New York runs 8.1 miles and cost a total of $1.9 billion when it finished in 2002; adjusted for inflation, the cost today would be $2.5 billion, or $308 million per mile

 

[AshleeH]

Even with all the maintenance they do, it's a novelty - not a great mode of transportation. I would much rather Disney put that money into the parks - once Toy Story and Star Wars and Pandora are up and running in a few years, Epcot will desperately need a facelift. Disney is doing it right - turning their resources over within the parks. If they're going to spend billions on a new monorail system, it just wouldn't make sense. Add tons of new buses and boats - that will meet the demand and do it faster and easier.

 

[mikeyg1479]

I'm sure its been covered 50 times over by now, but buses are cheaper, easier to run, go to more places, easily repairable/replaceable, etc.

The monorail is a relic from the parks early days when it was just Magic Kingdom/Epcot, and the only "on property" resorts were Comtemporary, Grand Floridian, and Polynesian, so it basically covered all of Disney World.

Now the place has grown 20 times over, and the monorails are basically just a legacy curiosity at this point that they keep running but don't really upgrade or expand upon.

 

[Jcon]

Improved in what way? If a train goes down then nobody moves on that track. A bus? Get another one. They already have roads so why build more train tracks?

I'm sure its been covered 50 times over by now, but buses are cheaper, easier to run, go to more places, easily repairable/replaceable, etc.

The monorail is a relic from the parks early days when it was just Magic Kingdom/Epcot, and the only "on property" resorts were Comtemporary, Grand Floridian, and Polynesian, so it basically covered all of Disney World.

Now the place has grown 20 times over, and the monorails are basically just a legacy curiosity at this point that they keep running but don't really upgrade or expand upon.

Some good points there. Eventually, they will have to mothball the entire monorail system. It will become too expensive to operate and maintain. Guaranteed, it will be viewed as "another" cost cutting measure but will should be viewed as a more efficient use of funds.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Some good points there. Eventually, they will have to mothball the entire monorail system. It will become too expensive to operate and maintain. Guaranteed, it will be viewed as "another" cost cutting measure but will should be viewed as a more efficient use of funds.

I am sometimes convinced they don't mothball it now solely because of the problems it would cause with Contemporary, which between Tower, GW and BLT represent a lot of premium hotel space.

 

[DVCcurious]

They will dig a ditch from Animal Kingdom Lodge to the 7 seas lagoon and install boat service from AKL to MK before they expand the monorail 1 foot.

 

[DVCcurious]

I thought the $1million/mile was the orginal construction cost.
Add in inflation, and costs would be much, much larger.

I still shudder to think about the fuel and pollution caused by all the busses and think there should be a more Eco-friendly option.

If you "shudder" at the WdW bus pollution make sure you never visit Shanghai or Mexico City! You'll drop dead from shock!


"In 25 years we'll be living in one long hot summer"-
Jennifer Keaton
Family Ties
Episode: "Rain Forests Keep Falling On My Head"
date: April 1989

Check it out on Netflix.

 

[DVCcurious]

Just last month, one of the Google self-driving cars collided with a BUS.
Just perfect for WDW road conditions!

That does it! From now on I'm only using Yahoo! email and search!!!

 

[Robo]

I am sometimes convinced they don't mothball it now solely because of the problems it would cause with Contemporary, which between Tower, GW and BLT represent a lot of premium hotel space.

Why the Contemporary, in particular?
At the Contemporary, guests can walk to MK, a major selling point.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Why the Contemporary, in particular?
At the Contemporary, guests can walk to MK, a major selling point.

Because the rails go through the tower.

 

[Bullseye]

What if they had a monorail to every park from every resort and DS too! That would be stupendous!

 

[ols386]

The estimated cost of a monorail expansion is $6 to $10 million per mile, plus exorbitant maintenance costs every year. Just take a minute to do the math on that.

I never thought they'd do an expansion anyway.

 

[Robo]

Because the rails go through the tower.

I used to stay at the Poly.
I never even considered the staying at the Contemporary, tracks through the building notwithstanding.

If you like using the monorail to/from your resort, any of the three resorts that offer it seem to be on a relatively even playing field.

Concerning the CR…
In the unlikely event that they decide to eliminate the monorails,
they could just remodel the "fifth floor annex" in the enter of the CR tower that is the current monorail station.
It would actually make a very attractive restaurant dining area, complete with its own elevator service.
That remodel could pay for itself with direct revenue from the restaurant.

 

[joelkfla]

They have toyed with light rail in the past, which would have been neat. But look at our stupid state - our praying mantis looking governer turned down free $$ from the state for light rail (a little ot, sorry). And when Florida was thinking about light rail as well, Disney nixed it because it was planned to stop at Universal and Busch Gardens.

That was not light rail, it was high speed rail -- a very different and much more expensive system.

FWIW, I support both and agree that our governor is an idiot. Just trying to clear up a common point of confusion.

 

[joelkfla]

I thought the $1million/mile was the orginal construction cost.
Add in inflation, and costs would be much, much larger.

I still shudder to think about the fuel and pollution caused by all the busses and think there should be a more Eco-friendly option.

WDW buses now use 50% recycled cooking oil. But they do waste a lot of fuel idling and running empty due to inefficiencies in scheduling.

 

[SgtTibbs]

Fine, the Monorail while cool is largely impractical on a larger scale. OK. So let's blue sky. How would you revolutionize moving a daily hoard of people between parks, hotels and other sites?

I like the idea of thousands of self driving cars. Hop in, tap your destination on a touch screen and off you go. It would be the perfect proof of concept for the idea, a limited controlled environment, very much in keeping with the EPCOT ideals and way cool.

Looks like Elon Musk has got my back on this one.

We have an idea for something which is not exactly a bus but would solve the density problem for inner city situations," he said. "Autonomous vehicles are key... I don't want to talk too much about it. I have to be careful what I say."

 

[ponyboy]

Great!

(As long as there are no Google cars on the road.)

Google cars have driven well over a million miles by themselves and only one has been in a minor accident that was actually the fault of the google car. It sideswiped a bus at 2 mph and caused minor damage to the front fender. I'd trust a Google car driving me around over the vast majority of drivers out there on the road today.

 

[Robo]

 

[ErinsMommy]

[QUOTE="AshleeH, post: 55560875, member: 397642"Disney is doing it right - turning their resources over within the parks. If they're going to spend billions on a new monorail system, it just wouldn't make sense.[/QUOTE]

Once Disney announced plans for their gondola, i think this concept went out the window.

 

[ExCMbeau]

They spent over a billion dollars on an app and Wifi. I think they can afford to get some rail transportation between the parks!