Monorails to no longer operate during Evening Extra Magic Hours

[DisneyChristmas]

USA Today July 8 (this weekend) edition in the Money section.

Disney spending $1 billion to refresh California Adventure. And they can't find the cash to run monorails to the monorail-resorts more than 60 minutes?

Really?

 

[Experiment_626]

If you arrive after 7PM for MNSSHP or MVMCP they will charge for parking, even with an annual pass. Perhaps this is where that story came from? I have been an AP member for many years, and arrived late one year and had to pay for parking. Then I found to my amazement people with party tickets were getting in at 4PM.

I see. Okay; I've only done a couple of hard-ticket events (planning another later this year), and I arrived well before 4 pm. We'll likely do the same next time, too.

Scott

 

[kmk1180]

Let me see if I can summarize:

- Although the wording is vague, this appears to not affect the Express monorail, since it apparently already operates according to that schedule

- I have no expectation of any change in operations during hard ticket parties of the Express monorail. If the Express monorail runs (and it should, since they are not resort-oriented events), it will still run.

- Unknown - will the Resort monorail shut down during hard-ticket parties? At first guess I think it will be handled much like EMH.

- Unknown - How will Monorail resort guests get back from Epcot when Epcot closes after MK? If direct buses don't start until after EC Monorail shuts down, are they stranded at TTC? (Poly and even GF guests can obviously walk...)

- Unknown - How will monorail resort guests or others get from resort-to-resort?

I agree with this...
seems like people reacting without knowing what they really are complaining about.

 

[WilsonFlyer]

You guys really believe this is going to adversely effect booking at monorail resorts, don't you? That, in and of itself; is simply amazing to me.

I'd bet 95% (and probably more) of WDW guests will never know the difference, and never even think about it, or know there was ever any other "option". We tend to get focused here on the DIS that we are WDW. Well, here's a news flash for ya. We are not. We are not even close to an average sampling of WDW guests. We are fanatics and WDW lovers. We are not the average guest at WDW.

To assume that we (DIS members) are even a speck on the radar screen of WDW is simply self-serving at best, and borderline arrogant at worst. DIS members are a cottage group, albeit very, very small, in the grand scheme of the WDW resort.

Most guests of WDW go down there having never been, nor never intending (or being able to) to go again. That's just a fact, folks. And even though this board is obsessed with researchers and planners, the bottom line is that most people that go to WDW have no plan and have no idea what "normal hours" are for anything. They don't care. They're going to Disney World!

They're (the average guests) who pays the bills. They are who goes. And they are going to continue to go, despite the spats and grumps we have on our tiny little board in the grand scheme of things.

The adverse impact of this decision won't even be a gnat on the ear of the mouse. Mark my words.

Do I like this decision? Nope. Look at my sig and see where I own. I like it even less than many of you, but at the end of the day, big whooo. Life goes on, as does my family's 3-4 trips to WDW each year.

OK. That's the end of my rant. I did post this over at the DVC forums and I think it is pertinent here too, so I'm going to re-post it here for purposes of my expressing what I believe is REALLY going on (I don't think the change is permanent at all.).

{Previously posted elsewhere on the board...}

I can't believe I haven't seen anybody mention these two things in this thread or the other, already gigantic, thread over on the Theme Parks forum.

1) They are adding that small spur at Epcot for the tractor. Maybe they need more downtime to tie it into the mainline.

2) The monorail at WDW is WAY OLD and outdated. They upgraded the monorails to Mk 6's (?) at DL not too long ago. Maybe we're going to finally get our long-awaited upgrade and some things need to be done to accomodate that.

Sorry. Just trying to be optimistic and hope the change isn't permanent and actually has a short-term reason. I also sincerely believe this.

 

[BLTLDZ]

WOW is all I can say.
I'm usually one to find the silver lining, but not this time!

SO now, this means: We are going on the Haunted carriage ride at 7:30 at FW, then from there we were planning on taking the boat to GF for dinner....then taking the boat around to the other monorail resorts to show dad around...now, it looks like after dinner, we won't be able to??
I just don't get it....what about late night dinner/drinks?
C'mon disney.....This is BS!!!!!!!!!

 

[TDC Nala]

What happens when there is lightning in the area? The ferries won't run, what would guest do then.

Take the bus.

That is what happened at DHS during a lightning storm one night. They shut down the boats and brought in buses to take guests to the Epcot resorts. Hopefully this will be handled better because someone was telling guests to report to the wrong bus stop.

Does it look like the Ferry will continue to the TTC during EMH?

The quoted notice says watercraft, but it doesn't say which watercraft. Use of the ferry seems likely though.

 

[M5ward]

This bothers me even more today.

 

[Oglet]

You guys really believe this is going to adversely effect booking at monorail resorts, don't you? That, in and of itself; is simply amazing to me.

I'd bet 95% (and probably more) of WDW guests will never know the difference, and never even think about it, or know there was ever any other "option". We tend to get focused here on the DIS that we are WDW. Well, here's a news flash for ya. We are not. We are not even close to an average sampling of WDW guests. We are fanatics and WDW lovers. We are not the average guest at WDW.

To assume that we (DIS members) are even a speck on the radar screen of WDW is simply self-serving at best, and borderline arrogant at worst. DIS members are a cottage group, albeit very, very small, in the grand scheme of the WDW resort.

Most guests of WDW go down there having never been, nor never intending (or being able to) to go again. That's just a fact, folks. And even though this board is obsessed with researchers and planners, the bottom line is that most people that go to WDW have no plan and have no idea what "normal hours" are for anything. They don't care. They're going to Disney World!

They're (the average guests) who pays the bills. They are who goes. And they are going to continue to go, despite the spats and grumps we have on our tiny little board in the grand scheme of things.

The adverse impact of this decision won't even be a gnat on the ear of the mouse. Mark my words.

Do I like this decision? Nope. Look at my sig and see where I own. I like it even less than many of you, but at the end of the day, big whooo. Life goes on, as does my family's 3-4 trips to WDW each year.

OK. That's the end of my rant. I did post this over at the DVC forums and I think it is pertinent here too, so I'm going to re-post it here for purposes of my expressing what I believe is REALLY going on (I don't think the change is permanent at all.).

{Previously posted elsewhere on the board...}

I can't believe I haven't seen anybody mention these two things in this thread or the other, already gigantic, thread over on the Theme Parks forum.

1) They are adding that small spur at Epcot for the tractor. Maybe they need more downtime to tie it into the mainline.

2) The monorail at WDW is WAY OLD and outdated. They upgraded the monorails to Mk 6's (?) at DL not too long ago. Maybe we're going to finally get our long-awaited upgrade and some things need to be done to accomodate that.

Sorry. Just trying to be optimistic and hope the change isn't permanent and actually has a short-term reason. I also sincerely believe this.

I love this post, very well said and written.

if you don't mind I will add in my thoughts on points 1 and 2.

1) I don't believe it has anything to do with this decision for a few reasons. The new spur line on the Epcot beam has nothing to do with the Resort or Express beams, it's power is taken from a different source. If in the event you needed to move a work tractor between shop and Epcot, you could do so without any downtime of the resort line. Actually if they needed to move a tractor out of the way for whatever reason they could easily park between switch 8 and 9 and leave it there without even shutting express down.

2) I believe maintenance is the number one reason behind this whole thing. The trains are old, they are running far more than was ever originally planed and break down at an unacceptable level.

Speaking from experience and personal observations, shop only ever gets to take care of issues that cause major problems, usually its when a train breaks that it gets major work done, preventative maintenance is lacking.

Without getting too geeky and too into things, the trains are horrible to drive. There are constant alerts, popup messages and alarms that go off, trains will randomly stop, false ambers are common due to glitches in the mapo system and the front cabs have mold in them, sometimes you get lucky and have a working AC in the front cab.

Hopefully they will use this extra time to take care of these issues, the problems are not going away or getting better, they are actually getting worse. The trains need regular downtime and hopefully Disney can use this time to make sure that during their actual operating hours they actually operate.

 

[cmesq61]

Just gad I am outside my 45 day final payment so I can think about the potential problems for me, and change or cancel if need be. The main reason for me to stay deluxe is because I am handicapped and the on/off, no tie down, ease of the monorail is invaluable to me. Too bad.

 

[my3sonsagn]

I read through the posts last night and wanted to add my thoughts, but I decided that drunk-DISing was a bad idea, so I waited until today so that I could explain the reasons behind my feelings better, but I don't really have *reasons* about this - just the feelings.

My family and I will be staying at the Contemporary in November; a stay in this hotel has always been one of those out-of-reach-but-wouldn't-it-be-grand things in our lives that we never thought would happen. Thanks to a discount through a homeschool group (and squirreling away all change, birthday/Christmas money, etc for a long time), we're going to get to stay there this time.

I have to say that this news makes our "once in a lifetime" upcoming trip feel... not as magical. I'm sure by November they'll have the major crowding kinks worked out, and, logistically, I know how to work around it to get around, but we can walk, take a ferry and/or a bus at any number of places - the monorail IS part of the magic for us (yes, I know, they aren't taking it away altogether... yet, but we use it for everything possible while we're there), so not being able to use it for EEMH (we're night owls - rope drop? No thanks - we'll go later and stay until they kick us out) is disappointing.

We'll still be going, and we'll still stay there, and I'm sure we'll still have a great time (we'll be at Disney, after all!), but some of that anticipatory magic is gone. I definitely won't be excitedly saving every penny in order to stay there again.

 

[DisneyChristmas]

Well, yes, it's already affected our next two bookings. We usually spend 2 days at a monorail resort and do MVMCP on the first night. Then we return for 4 or 5 days in December.

Instead, we'll just stay on the Gulf coast for those days.

We're older Dguests and have relied on the monorail for nights at EPCOT along with EMH, party nights. Even a windy night - no storm needed- puts the Poly boat out of use.

We're hoping to see a reconsideration of this monorail change.

 

[Planogirl]

I do have a question for those who think that this is a bad idea. By all accounts the monorail system desperately needs work. When should Disney do that work if not during longer evenings? I'm surprised that they're not taking out the individual lines completely to get the work done.

I can still understand the annoyance though. We enjoyed taking the monorail to the Contemporary Resort late in the evening when we stayed at the Polynesian. It was just a nice extra.

 

[DebbieB]

since when are AP's not valid for parking after 7pm? ive been there several times after 7pm,,,showed my AP drove in no problem.

The AP only gets you free parking during regular park hours. On a party night, MK closes at 7:00, so if you arrive after 7:00 it is no longer regular park hours. Your AP does not give you admission to a party and will not give you free parking to a party. If you arrive before 7:00, MK is still open to regular guests, your AP would be valid for admission (until regular closing) and valid for free parking.

 

[DebbieB]

60 minutes past regular closing hours is exactly that. If there's no monorail for EMH, there certainly won't be a monorail for party nights.

The big difference is party nights have many more people at MK and many more people using the TTC for parking. More people than alot of regular park days plus more people leaving in larger numbers at the same time. With thousands of cars parked at the TTC, it would be a nightmare getting people back with only boats & busses after the fireworks or the second parade.

The quote that Cheshire Figment posted only mentions EMH. I'm willing to bet at least one monorail operates during the parties. I wouldn't cancel your plans until there is a clarification on this.

 

[M5ward]

To whom do you send complaints?

 

[Oglet]

To whom do you send complaints?

Mr SAMUEL.W.LAU is the VP of WDW transportation

Whistles....

Very well documented online also ;-)

 

[WEDWDW]

To whom do you send complaints?

WDW.Guest.Communications@disneyworld.com

 

[lovethattink]

WDW.Guest.Communications@disneyworld.com

Earlier this morning, I sent off an email with my questions about the monorail to this address.

 

[Lou Holtz]

The AP only gets you free parking during regular park hours. On a party night, MK closes at 7:00, so if you arrive after 7:00 it is no longer regular park hours. Your AP does not give you admission to a party and will not give you free parking to a party. If you arrive before 7:00, MK is still open to regular guests, your AP would be valid for admission (until regular closing) and valid for free parking.

I think you're just making this up. There's no logical reason why they'd make an AP holder pay for parking just because it is after seven and the park is technically closed. Never heard of it.

 

[ElizabethB]

Sometimes with Disney I wonder -- just where will it all end? They raise ticket prices constantly. The resorts, especially the deluxes, are way overpriced. A 40% discount only brings the price more in line with what the deluxes are actually worth. And, for the last couple of visits we've made, everything has felt like MBAs with sharp pencils are busily cutting everything that isn't nailed down.

Club level food and services are shadows of what they used to be a few years ago. The dining plan has no value anymore because the food choices and quality at the restaurants have been cut so much. And, paying OOP for restaurant meals that cannot touch the quality of a few years ago is a real insult. They changed EMH so it's not just for resort guests -- everyone is welcome to stay and eat and shop -- only riding the rides is restricted. That took much of the value of EMH away.

A few months ago, they changed the boat going to MK from GF and combined it with the Poly boat. It seems like no expense can or will escape the knife. We've even given up on the chocolate chunk cookie ice cream sandwiches at Sleepy Hollow in MK because they've cut back so much on the chocolate in the cookies.

Now, with our GF RPC vacation set for next month, there will be no monorail service for EMH or, much worse, for late night dining at the other monorail resorts. We always rent a car because we can't stand the buses. If we have to get on a bus just to get from MK to GF, that may just be the last straw for us.

We have already cut down the length of our Disney stay in favor of more nights at Universal and Portofino Bay Hotel. And, we are seriously considering other vacation options going forward. The monorail news is one more nail in the Disney coffin for us.