Monorails to no longer operate during Evening Extra Magic Hours

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Is it elitist when people have said those without wristbands for Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party or Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party be kicked out of the Magic Kingdom since they didn't pay to attend it, I don't think so. However there are always threads where people ask about getting away without paying and no one calls those people elitist that say it's wrong.

In fact is it elitist to suggest that WDW escort offsite guests out of the Theme Parks when they have PM Extra Magic Hours? I know that others said WDW doesn't mind those guests walking around or looking inside the stores, but those guests aren't paying to stay onsite and I don't think should even be in the parks. Basically I see it as a crowd issue so the onsite guests get even more room to walk around and etc. Plus WDW claims that the Extra Magic Hours are for guests staying onsite. No where does it mention offsite guests being allowed to walk around and look in the stores, so how can they call it an event only for their onsite guests?

 

[brunette8706]

That's what the Epcot line is for

**

 

[kaytieeldr]

So you are staying at the Poly and probably paying $350+ for a room. You are leaving MK and are rushing to catch the last resort monorail back to your hotel. But you can't get on because there is a huge line of off site guests who are in front of you going to the TTC, even though they are supposed to take the express line to get back to their cars.

It would seem (i.e. no searchable proof) that WDW changed the monorail access process because the old way was so inefficient. A monorail train can hold between 240 and 360 passengers (Google-able). It would seem there simply weren't enough monorail resort guests on any given rain to justify running three or four - or even two - trains at a time on that loop, while the express trains and ramps were perpetually overcrowded.
There's a group you seem to have ignored or forgotten: onsite resort guests not on the monorail. Despite common wisdom, many refuse to take the MK bus, instead opting to drive to the TTC. While there are some resort amenities that are resort-specific like Stormalong Bay, the monorails - all three loops - aren't among those.

 

[kaytieeldr]

(Wait, this is still the monorail thread? What tangent haven't we gone off on yet? )

Refillable mugs, fifteen year old three-year-olds, ten people in a four-person room, adults in strollers...

 

[maiapapaya]

I have riden the resort monorail at closing and I've never seen the resort monorails super crowded. So what if you have to stand? Not a big deal. The longest I've had to wait is for one monorail and that was with the CM's shouting to all guests to use the Resort Monorail line as the wait was shorter. And we've stayed at a monorail resort in peak summer hours twice - the most recent time was last month.

Then you are lucky! We have experienced big crowds more than once when leaving the MK in the fall after Wishes or the fireworks at the parties. I'm talking a line all the way down the ramp, long wait to board and being jammed in like sardines. It's not a lot of fun when you've got small kids. I don't mind standing, but I don't really enjoy the ride when my child is getting smushed between people or I'm trying to carry her while holding on in packed car. Funnily enough we are always able to sit after the train unloads at the TTC ...

What about the people that just want to "Ride" the monorail, strictly for fun!? LOL

I can't imagine anyone would consider riding the monorail under those conditions fun!

 

[maiapapaya]

Refillable mugs, fifteen year old three-year-olds, ten people in a four-person room, adults in strollers...

I heard about an altercation at AK between a CM and a lady with a dog in a stroller ... ( I think she claimed it was some kind of therapy dog ...)

 

[KSDisneyDad]

How about guests who stay at the Epcot Resorts and the boats at them which go to Epcot and Hollywood Studios. Just like the Resort Monorail is important to the Contemporary/Bay Lake Tower, Polynesian and Grand Floridian, those boats are exclusive to the Boardwalk, Yacht Club, Beach Club, Swan & Dolphin. However we aren't charged anything extra for having them available for us to use.

And BOTH the Epcot resort area friendship boats and the Resort Monorail are available to ANYONE! No difference. They are NOT exclusive just to guests staying at those resorts. They are both paid for by all guests, not just those staying at the resorts. Again, no difference. And they both stop at resorts as well as other locations.

Yes that is also correct and my mistake for not saying it. However what I meant was if guests staying at the Monorail Resorts are charged extra for the Monorail which we know they are not, then someone can also make the same claim with the boats from the Epcot Resorts.

I'm not sure what the point is here. Neither the boats or the resort monorail are paid for only by guests staying at the respective resorts.

I agree. I don't like the name calling. I don't think the "not stop at the TTC" thing would work, as someone pointed out to me many pages ago. But the idea itself is not elitist. It's not about not wanting to ride with others. It's about overcrowding - just like the pools, etc.

The bolded has got to be the funniest thing I've read on this thread.



Wanting your own transportation system is an elitist idea IMO, especially when it's the only monorail running at the time. Perhaps I'm being too extreme. It's not meant as name-calling, but as an observation of how the idea itself is perceived by me and several others. I just can't think of any other on-site transportation that is limited to just guests at that resort? As far as I know, anyone staying on-site can ride the transportation system which may include buses, boats or monorails at anytime they are running. And 99% of the time, anyone visiting WDW can ride the buses, boats or monorails used as transportation. (I'm not talking about private tours or viewings such as Illuminations cruises, etc. as those aren't intended as a means of transportation). And again, I own at BLT and have stayed at other monorail resorts in the past. I just see the resort monorail as just one available transportation option that Disney makes available to all guests.

 

[asta]

This is not about anyone being an elitist. Don't be so quick to throw labels on others. This is all about crowd control. It is not right to pack so many people on the resort monorail that guests at these resorts can't fit. This is the same reasoning behind restricting admission to certain resort pools. It is very curious that your narrow definition of elite is thrown at one group of guests but not at the other. The monorail is a big factor in why Disney can charge more for the monorail resorts. It may not be a separate charge but it does factor in how much these resorts charge. In is not unreasonable for these guests to have ready access to the resort monorail before other guests.

KSDisneyDad, it may not be an issue to you that it is standing room only but it matters to someone like me who suffers from severe knee pain. Standing while it stops and starts puts an almost unbearable amount of pain on weak joints.

 

[KSDisneyDad]

Then you are lucky! We have experienced big crowds more than once when leaving the MK in the fall after Wishes or the fireworks at the parties. I'm talking a line all the way down the ramp, long wait to board and being jammed in like sardines. It's not a lot of fun when you've got small kids. I don't mind standing, but I don't really enjoy the ride when my child is getting smushed between people or I'm trying to carry her while holding on in packed car. Funnily enough we are always able to sit after the train unloads at the TTC ...

Sorry to hear that. That sounds just like our experiences with the buses nearly all the time!!! So I guess it's okay for those staying at other resorts to be crowded on the ferry and buses, but not for those staying at a monorail resort. And of course, that's not elitist. Those at the monorail resorts didn't necessarily pay more than everyone else. There are other resorts and rooms that are just as expensive or more so than many of those staying on the monorail loop.

Those crowds are why we never leave the MK after the fireworks. When we were at BLT last month, we were at the MK three separate nights. Each time we took the monorail and it was never that crowded. We just learned when to time our departures to avoid crowds. If you're talking about one after park closing, how crowded with the resort monorail really be anyway?

 

[Cafeen]

Even though the Polynesian has started giving out wristbands I don't think they are on the same level as Stormalong Bay, which means that DVC members can still swim at the Polynesian and the real question is why give out wristbands if their pool is not 100% guests staying at the Polynesian.

Finally is it really elitist to say that during the busier times like right before the Magic Kingdom closes that they should only let guests staying at the Monorail Resorts only get on the Resort Monorail, so the offsite guests don't use it as a way of getting to the TTC. No one has said that the Resort Monorail should be for those guests from opening to closing, so there is nothing elitist about trying to control the crowds during the busier times.

See below for the nature of the "elitist" claims. (And there are some that are giving the exact tone and implications of what you are saying no one is saying. Discussion is more than just the raw words on the page. Keep reading my lower response before you respond though ).

So you are staying at the Poly and probably paying $350+ for a room. You are leaving MK and are rushing to catch the last resort monorail back to your hotel. But you can't get on because there is a huge line of off site guests who are in front of you going to the TTC, even though they are supposed to take the express line to get back to their cars. But you don't care if takes you another hour to get back to the Poly by boat, beacuse you are non elitist. When you get back to the Poly you have a change of heart, and decide to complain to Management that for $ 350+ a night you expect to be treated better than an off site guest. When the manager tells you that WDW is a non elitist resort and you shouldn't complain you gladly accept his reasoning, and have a magical night sleep in your deluxe resort hotel.

This right here is where the claims of elitism come in. Just because you're spending more, you expect more on an open (read, not restricted) system. You expect, just because you pay more, to have your own say on how said open system works. You expect, just because you pay more, to have exclusive rights to a transportation system. No other resort, or resort group, does this. If I stay at WL, should I demand that only people staying at WL or Ft Wilderness use the boats? Staying at POR and POFQ, should only those resort guests be able to use their boats to DtD? Staying at BC/YC/BWI should only their guests have use for those boats? (Yes, they go between Epcot and DHS, understood).

The answer to all is no. They are transportation options to be used by all, and as part of the WDW monorail system, the resort is the same. Which brings me to this point as well...

The MK resort guests are not the only guests who pay for the resort monorail. I mean, sure, if you were you'd have a leg to stand on, but you aren't. You are subsidized by the other nearly 20 resorts. Your "zomg we're spending so much" room rates would skyrocket if you were the only ones paying for it. (Are you willing to spend $500-$2000 per night on a garden view just so you have an exclusive monorail? Would enough others feel the same to make it profitable?)

Now, of course, this is all going by the implication that the resort rail was only for resort guests at all times. Which we know is not the desire for most on this side of things... with that most, I agree to a point. So long as provisions for those who have actual business at the monorail resorts are able to use the preferred transportation to access said business, it makes sense and would likely work. However, this timeframe is already creeping. It was from MK close to Express close. Now it's creeping to "a little bit before" MK close to between express and resort close. Slowly increasing the exclusivity time will eventually encompass the entire time it is open.

And you know what? So long as those provisions are made, I'd have no problem with that either! Again, as long as those not staying at, but having some business at (including checking out the resort, viewing fireworks from the beaches, going to ADRs, shopping, hanging out with friends/family, using the marinas and other recreational activites, etc) the resorts, have the same access to said resort stations as those staying at them.

 

[TLSnell1981]

l. Despite common wisdom, many refuse to take the MK bus, instead opting to drive to the TTC. .

Do you think, it may be a preference, or maybe, possibly, any other reason...i.e. comfort, health issues, etc.? Not because they lack wisdom?

 

[KSDisneyDad]

This is not about anyone being an elitist. Don't be so quick to throw labels on others. This is all about crowd control. It is not right to pack so many people on the resort monorail that guests at these resorts can't fit. This is the same reasoning behind restricting admission to certain resort pools. It is very curious that your narrow definition of elite is thrown at one group of guests but not at the other. The monorail is a big factor in why Disney can charge more for the monorail resorts. It may not be a separate charge but it does factor in how much these resorts charge. In is not unreasonable for these guests to have ready access to the resort monorail before other guests.

KSDisneyDad, it may not be an issue to you that it is standing room only but it matters to someone like me who suffers from severe knee pain. Standing while it stops and starts puts an almost unbearable amount of pain on weak joints.

But again, will it really be that crowded one hour after park closing? This period of one hour after park closing until 11:00 pm is the time frame we're talking about. If you want it to include the time period right after closing, then that's a whole other conversation.

Sorry about your weak knees. There are probably dozens of threads on giving up your seat to those who need it on the buses. The prevailing wisdom seems to be that if you want a seat, you simply wait for the next bus. I think the same analogy can be said for the monorails. It's not like you can't get a seat on the monorail, you just may have to wait for another one to show up. Just the same as those who have to take the buses.

I see absolutely no analogy to the resort pools. Sorry. Disney has chosen to restrict pool use to those staying at a particular resort (or to any DVC member, but only for certain resorts). It's the same for all resorts whether you're at the All-Star Sports or the Grand Floridian. Nothing elitist about that. But when it comes to transportation, Disney has not chosen to restrict its three available modes of transportation to anyone. Wanting to change that can be perceived as elitism IMO. Does that mean you're an elitist? No. It just means that your idea is perceived as elitist. When my kids misbehave, I don't like their "bad" behavior. Does that mean I call them Bad or that they are bad kids? no. It just means they are behaving that way at that particular time.

 

[morethananyonex]

Well if we're on the topic of being elitist, personally I think Disney requiring a ticket for entry into the theme parks is elitist. I think it's disgusting Disney would actually deny someone entry based on the fact that they do not have as much disposable income as others. I also think anyone supporting this "ticketing" business is just as elitist and basically a downright horrible person.

They should just let everyone in, because we're all equal, who cares what we pay.

 

[TLSnell1981]

(Wait, this is still the monorail thread? What tangent haven't we gone off on yet? )

Those scooter people, and how they skip lines, and run over people. Oh, and people...holding sleeping children, who expect a seat on the bus.

.
Sorry about your weak knees. There are probably dozens of threads on giving up your seat to those who need it on the buses. The prevailing wisdom seems to be that if you want a seat, you simply wait for the next bus. I think the same analogy can be said for the monorails. It's not like you can't get a seat on the monorail, you just may have to wait for another one to show up. Just the same as those who have to take the buses..

Yeah, there a plenty of those threads. And, how long should disabled/handicapped folks wait? Prevailing wisdom...

 

[asta]

Sorry to hear that. That sounds just like our experiences with the buses nearly all the time!!! So I guess it's okay for those staying at other resorts to be crowded on the ferry and buses, but not for those staying at a monorail resort. And of course, that's not elitist. Those at the monorail resorts didn't necessarily pay more than everyone else. There are other resorts and rooms that are just as expensive or more so than many of those staying on the monorail loop.

Those crowds are why we never leave the MK after the fireworks. When we were at BLT last month, we were at the MK three separate nights. Each time we took the monorail and it was never that crowded. We just learned when to time our departures to avoid crowds. If you're talking about one after park closing, how crowded with the resort monorail really be anyway?

It is petty of you to think that just because you have selected a resort that requires crowded buses that you think everyone should expect that kind of treatment. The rooms at the monorail resorts are among the most expensive for several reasons and ease of use of the monorail is a major one of these reasons. It is ok for you not to value this perk enough to pay for what these resorts charge. I am sure you select your resort based on what you value for which you are willing to pay. Don't begrudge the privileges of those who choose to stay there.

You comments sound very jealous.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

While there are some resort amenities that are resort-specific like Stormalong Bay, the monorails - all three loops - aren't among those.

Even though the Resort Monorail is not in the same category like Stormalong Bay is only for guests of the Yacht Club, Beach Club and Beach Club Villas. The Resort Monorail is still an amenity for guests staying at the Contemorary/Bay Lake Tower, Polynesian, and Grand Floridian.

 

[kaytieeldr]

I didn't say anybody lacks wisdom, and I'd appreciate not having words put in my mouth. I said, "despite common wisdom..." which advises using WDW transportation to get to/from the Magic Kingdom even if you drive everywhere else, for speed and convenience: board transportation, get delivered to MK, debark, proceed to bag check and turnstiles.
Vs: get in personal vehicle, drive to MK lot, park, board tram, debark tram, approach ferry or any open monorail, traverse Seven Seas Lagoon, debark, proceed to bag check...

 

[kaytieeldr]

Even though the Resort Monorail is not in the same category like Stormalong Bay is only for guests of the Yacht Club, Beach Club and Beach Club Villas. The Resort Monorail is still an amenity for guests staying at the Contemorary/Bay Lake Tower, Polynesian, and Grand Floridian.

No, the resorts monorail is transportation, plain and simple. It's not an amenity for the guests of those four properties. It's a means of transportation for them and anyone else who chooses to use that loop.

 

[KSDisneyDad]

It is petty of you to think that just because you have selected a resort that requires crowded buses that you think everyone should expect that kind of treatment. The rooms at the monorail resorts are among the most expensive for several reasons and ease of use of the monorail is a major one of these reasons. It is ok for you not to value this perk enough to pay for what these resorts charge. I am sure you select your resort based on what you value for which you are willing to pay. Don't begrudge the privileges of those who choose to stay there.

You comments sound very jealous.

This post is quite mean. If you read my ticker and have read my past posts, I have stayed at the Poly, CR and now own at BLT. We love the BLT and stayed there for an extended stay last month. We have two more trips to BLT next year.

yes, I'm so jealous of those elitists at the monorail resorts.

And BTW, we rent a car anymore to avoid the buses. This was after the worst bus service we had being at the AKL -- another Disney dump that makes me so jealous of those at other resorts.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

No, the resorts monorail is transportation, plain and simple. It's not an amenity for the guests of those four properties. It's a means of transportation for them and anyone else who chooses to use that loop.

Disagree. Walt Disney World purposely built Monorail stations at the Contemporary, Polynesian, and Grand Floridian for the Resort Monorail to stop at those resorts. If you check any of the WDW literature showing the benefits and the "amenities" of each of these resorts, they clearly state the use and convenience of being on the Monorail line. You might not think that "it's an amenity for the guests of those four properties", but WDW surely does.