Monorails to no longer operate during Evening Extra Magic Hours

[ruadisneyfan2]

I actually called Disney this morning and they said that this is temporary for mainteniance.

I hope so. Dh has longed to stay at Poly for as long as I've known him and ds14 has been pleading to stay there. (kids don't even know we're going yet.)
I have a gut feeling that once we do it, we won't want to go back to any other way.
It's that same hunch I had when we 1st stayed onsite at US/IOA. Their onsite hotel guests can show their room key to bypass regular lines, like an unlimited fast pass.
Now we "can't" do USO unless we stay onsite.

 

[stm61]

I'm pretty sure the launches can handle wheelchairs...the WL launch handled my DFiL's ECV...unless the others don't bother because they had the monorail as an option.

the GF/Poly launches are much smaller then WL's. You need to step down into the boat and there is just no room for an ECV. They won't even allow strollers unless they're folded up. If they continue boat service during EMH and parties, maybe they'll start using the bigger launches during those times.

 

[grafxgirl]

I agree - we pay so much for DVC and yet Boardwalk, Yacht and Beach AND Swan and Dolphin share a bus? We dont even have a bus to 2 of the 4 parks!!!

We are DVC members at the Beach Club. There are always buses that travel directly to/from each of the designated parks.

 

[NYDisneyKid]

This is incorrect.

You need a party ticket to eat in a restaurant after 7 on a party night. And you need to pay for parking if you arrive after 7, unless you're staying on site. AP won't help you here.

You will not get into MK after 7:00 on a party night with just your AP even for a restaurant reservation. You have to buy the party ticket.

As posted earlier from allears.net:



We are talking specifically about after 7:00 on party nights. Two people on this thread have posted that they were charged, one person was at 6:30.

with all due respect,,,care to make it interesting?

 

[nytimez]

with all due respect,,,care to make it interesting?

Nope. With all due respect, and I mean that, you got this one wrong.

 

[SaraJayne]

with all due respect,,,care to make it interesting?

You need a party ticket to get into the MK on party nights. No exceptions...not even for AP holders who think they are entitled.

 

[TLSnell1981]

for those that think this just affects EMH re-read what has been posted:

This is what WDWMAGIC released:
Monorails to no longer operate during Evening Extra Magic Hours
Jul 09, 2011
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.
this will also affect those with late night ADRs or those that like to hang
around and be one of last ones out....no more hopping on the monorail to
GF/POLY/CR later in the evenings.....

I am sure that Disney has a certain acceptable percentage of guest dissatisfaction v's savings that they factor into things like this.
It's going to take a massive amount of guest complaints, a massive drop in either monorail resort bookings or a steep decline in special ticket events sales for Disney to change anything.I posted this before, It's direct from Disney.

During Magic Kingdom Extra Magic Hours or Events, the Resort Monorail runs 1 hour after regular park hours. Return service from evening Extra Magic Hours in the parks will be supported by watercraft (where applicable) and bus transportation

Since the express monorail closes 1 hour after regular park hours and MVMCP
and MNSSHP are events, I believe its pretty sound logic to come to that
conclusion.

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.

it's come straight from Disney EMH AND Events..

 

[Disneyadore]

the GF/Poly launches are much smaller then WL's. You need to step down into the boat and there is just no room for an ECV. They won't even allow strollers unless they're folded up. If they continue boat service during EMH and parties, maybe they'll start using the bigger launches during those times.

That makes sense. They changed the dock at the GF. The "head" of the dock seemed to be prepared for bigger boats.

 

[bicker]

- Unknown - How will Monorail resort guests get back from Epcot when Epcot closes after MK?

I think it is off-target to call this one "unknown" - buses run from Epcot to monorail resorts, even when the monorail is running - we took a bus back from Epcot to the Contemporary this past April.

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

The same way other deluxe resort guests get from resort to resort.

 

[bicker]

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 suppose that if you haven't seen that same sort of gross overestimation of the impact of something Disney does, over and over again, for decades, then I suppose it would be "amazing" to see it happen this time. I think the right way to look at this is that folks are allowing their own personal subjective disappointment balloon their understanding of the objective significance of this and other changes. To some extent, it is a natural human reaction, and really quite common and normal.

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".

Yes: "probably more" - probably closer to 95% of Disney resort guests - 98% of WDW guests overall. That would be my guess.

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.

True: It was shocking to us to realize just how many returning guests don't know about something as basic (to us) as FastPass.

 

[bicker]

I'm all for upgrades and maintenance...goodness knows we've experienced our share of monorail mishaps or breakdowns (about missed a CRT reservations once due to a malfunction)....so, I'm keeping fingers crossed that this is in fact the reasoning behind this decision. In terms of relative size, doesn't the monorail hold substantially more people at once than a bus?

Yes. However, that's not a useful metric for anything. An important metric in transportation is cost per passenger mile. Cost is in the numerator - that's going to give more expensive to operate and more expensive to maintain modes of transportation lower priority. The number of passengers is in the denominator - that's going to drive the decision away from the more expensive modes, even though they have higher passenger capacity, when there are fewer passengers to carry.

In terms of cost, I get that running the monorail is expensive...but again, I can't imagine what the true cost savings are versus increasing the number of boats or busses running (along with the corresponding increase in personnel to run them).

Disney actually has those numbers; we don't.

 

[Oglet]

I actually called Disney this morning and they said that this is temporary for mainteniance.

With all due respect I would tend to believe what has been written as a internal memo by the transportation department rather than someone on a phone.

The memo which is available on the hub has specific questions and answers. One of the questions is

Is this change permanent, the answer is YES

Not saying they lied, WDW is just such a huge place and has so much going on, its hard to get everyone on the same page. It's hard enough to communicate information within each department. There are just too many cases with incorrect phone information being given, many are very well documented on here.

 

[bicker]

True enough, but as I pointed out earlier in the thread, everything is temporary. Even if there is something official saying that the change is "permanent", it shouldn't be taken literally. The discontinuing of Surprise Mornings was "permanent" too.

Now: If they start demolishing the system, digging up the foundations for the pylons and such - then we can start thinking in literal terms.

 

[doconeill]

the GF/Poly launches are much smaller then WL's. You need to step down into the boat and there is just no room for an ECV. They won't even allow strollers unless they're folded up. If they continue boat service during EMH and parties, maybe they'll start using the bigger launches during those times.

OK, I've not taken the WL launch, and couldn't remember about the GF/Poly launch. But I know there were some dock changes so they could be thinking in advance there. I know that having a line of WC/ECVs waiting for buses is going to make it take a LONG time...

I think it is off-target to call this one "unknown" - buses run from Epcot to monorail resorts, even when the monorail is running - we took a bus back from Epcot to the Contemporary this past April.

OK, I've not needed to take one so I wasn't aware there were still direct buses. But they still leave the possibility of guests taking the monorail to the TTC and then there is still a question if they are running buses between the TTC and the resorts.

The same way other deluxe resort guests get from resort to resort.

Doesn't answer the question exactly. Other deluxe guests take indirect bus transportation or personal vehicles because that is the only way. It's also why they are called the "modeluxe" resorts. Monorail resorts have the monorail, and part of the added benefit was like having three resorts available to you. If they don't set up some sort of direct transportation (like a GF/Poly/TTC/CR shuttle) then they would now have to bus/launch-hop - something they have never had to do before.

 

[Oglet]

True enough, but as I pointed out earlier in the thread, everything is temporary. Even if there is something official saying that the change is "permanent", it shouldn't be taken literally. The discontinuing of Surprise Mornings was "permanent" too.

Now: If they start demolishing the system, digging up the foundations for the pylons and such - then we can start thinking in literal terms.

That is true, everything is open to be revisited and it should be.

Who knows maybe once they are back up to 12 trains things might be changed again.

 

[Lou Holtz]

You need a party ticket to get into the MK on party nights. No exceptions...not even for AP holders who think they are entitled.

Why don't you guys get that by "dinner reservations", he means at the resorts?

 

[rie'smom]

I actually called Disney this morning and they said that this is temporary for mainteniance.

You called the 407 disney number? If so, you spoke to a CM who either doesn't know the whole story or hasn't been told the whole story. There are people here who work at WDW and receive the internal memos, I'd go with what they say.

 

[bicker]

OK, I've not needed to take one so I wasn't aware there were still direct buses. But they still leave the possibility of guests taking the monorail to the TTC and then there is still a question if they are running buses between the TTC and the resorts.

They generally don't and there wouldn't be a reason to, except the fact that the inconsequential number of folks who decide to go between the TTC and the resorts want there to be. Specifically: You're trying to secure replacement for a portion of monorail service that monorail service was never actually focused on satisfying. The fact that monorail service just happened to serve that need was essentially coincidental - a bonus.

Doesn't answer the question exactly.

It doesn't need to: It answers the question fully and satisfactorily. It makes it clear that there is some parity between the MK resorts and other deluxe resorts, and that can be capitalized to answer the question in this circumstance.

Other deluxe guests take indirect bus transportation or personal vehicles because that is the only way. It's also why they are called the "modeluxe" resorts.

No way, doc. The Animal Kingdom Lodge is a deluxe. There is no difference in context between the Contemporary Resort and the Yacht Club Resort. And so on... You're just simply completely off-base with this line of reasoning.

 

[NYDisneyKid]

You need a party ticket to get into the MK on party nights. No exceptions...not even for AP holders who think they are entitled.

not if you know people

 

[Traveliz]

Why don't you guys get that by "dinner reservations", he means at the resorts?

In that case then you are driving to one of the resorts and are not going to have to pay at the toll booth regardless...now if you are just saying that to get through the toll booth ...well that is not ok.

Liz