Monorails to no longer operate during Evening Extra Magic Hours

[Traveliz]

My take on a few items brought up in this thread:

1. There is no indication that the resort monorail will continue to run until 1 hour after Epcot closes. The current schedule says "past the closing of MK or Epcot, whichever is later." The new advisory only says 1 hour past the regular closing of MK. Disney hasn't said yet how guests will get from Epcot to the monorail resorts when MK closes earlier.
2. Some people have speculated that it will be necessary to go to DTD or an open park to travel from one monorail resort to another. Again, nothing has been announced, but it's quite possible buses will be looping between resorts, in essence running the resort monorail route with buses. This is what's done now when the resort monorail is down due to a lightning strike or other problem.
3. Nothing has been announced about what kind of bus service will be provided from Epcot. Will it be a single bus route serving Co-Po-Flo? Will there be 2 routes serving WL-GF and Co-Po, as is done from DAK & DTD? Will there be a separate bus to TTC? Or will there just be a bus to TTC with guests transferring to a loop bus, duplicating what they do now with monorails? We just don't know yet.

You are in bus transportation, right? Won't you know tomorrow? Well not all the variables will be in effect for tomorrow but some sense of what will be happening will begin tomorrow, correct?

Liz

 

[joelkfla]

You are in bus transportation, right? Won't you know tomorrow? Well not all the variables will be in effect for tomorrow but some sense of what will be happening will begin tomorrow, correct?

Liz

I don't know. I don't work nights, so I won't know firsthand.

There's not much impact tomorrow. They can probably improvise to handle the number of guests coming out of Epcot after 10 p.m.

Tuesday is the first Epcot EMH night. I guess we'll see what happens then.

 

[GadgetRick]

Boy won't this be funny to look at when it comes out that this isn't the nuclear holocaust some are making it out to be.

Well, this by itself is NOT the, "nuclear holocaust." However, this is just another one of those things which Disney is taking away all while increasing prices. At some point, enough is enough and this will be enough for some people and it won't bother others.

I'm sort of in the middle. Been going to WDW for a long time now. I live in Jacksonville now and go a little more often. I can tell you I haven't stayed on property for about 2 years now because I got sick of this kind of crap. I'm getting closer and closer to not renewing my APs this year (have another month) because I'm tired of this crap. They take more and more away yet charge more and more.

Obviously, it must not bother enough people. We swung through DTD last night and it was as crowded as ever. So I guess they'll just continue to do these things until they see a loss of revenue then add something back.

It's a shame really. WDW is still a great place but all of these kinds of things really take a lot away from what WDW is and has been...

 

[dawgsgirl]

To me, the monorail is one of the big icons of Disney. It is so awesome for the monorail to swish over you at Epcot of outside of the MK. To mess with that important icon is just wrong.

 

[RichmondTiggerFan]

Well, this by itself is NOT the, "nuclear holocaust." However, this is just another one of those things which Disney is taking away all while increasing prices. At some point, enough is enough and this will be enough for some people and it won't bother others.

I'm sort of in the middle. Been going to WDW for a long time now. I live in Jacksonville now and go a little more often. I can tell you I haven't stayed on property for about 2 years now because I got sick of this kind of crap. I'm getting closer and closer to not renewing my APs this year (have another month) because I'm tired of this crap. They take more and more away yet charge more and more.

Obviously, it must not bother enough people. We swung through DTD last night and it was as crowded as ever. So I guess they'll just continue to do these things until they see a loss of revenue then add something back.

It's a shame really. WDW is still a great place but all of these kinds of things really take a lot away from what WDW is and has been...

You've pretty much summed everything up.

 

[Kelblum]

This stinks!!! Why bother staying in a Monorail resort if they are not going to be running during EM hours? Isn't that whay we are paying a premium to stay there? To have the convienience of the monorail?

On a side note, what about the whole transportation center issue?

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Oh this will be SWEET when the MK closes early for parties and you are at EPCOT, or having dinner at a sister resort along the monorail line... because it is a safe bet the resort MK line will be shut down..... I wonder if they are going to run a bus to the CR from the MK becuase my boy is disabled and this is part of the appeal of the monorail line is the ease of his entry PLUS the fact that let us be honest the Busses are not "The Funnest" part of WDW now are they?

Well don't forget when going from the Contemporary to the Magic Kingdom they still have the walkway which goes there, so those guests won't need a bus that goes there. However if you son is disabled I can see how having the Resort Monorail is great because it's so easy using it and I am not even sure if you want to use the walkway when going there. I am guessing they will needed buses from the Magic Kingdom that goes to the Polynesian and Grand Floridian, because the boats from there which service those resorts aren't big enough to handle all the extra passengers when the Monorail is not operating.

Now I am sure WDW will have no choice to run buses from Epcot to the Monorail Resorts because all those guests can take is the Epcot Monorail from the TTC when going there, if they don't happen to have their own cars.

 

[whitneyanne]

One of the reasons we always stayed at the Poly was because my father was in a wheelchair and using the monorail was so much easier for him than busses or taking the car. For some people with medical issues, taking boat transportation isn't an option, because of sensitivity to cold or even sea sickness. (not me, but it does happen)

We also did a lot of dining around the monorail loop and I have to say that this change is very disappointing. Even though we usually rented a car, it was much more difficult for my Dad to have to transfer in and out of the wheelchair to get into the car.

Using the monorail for him also took away some of the embarrassment he had while using the wheelchair. He was never very comfortable being wheeled around but just couldn't walk the distances. Using the busses made him more self-conscious about it.

Let's hope that Disney will see the effect this has on some of their guests and make the appropriate changes.

 

[SueM in MN]

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.

Yes.
There are pictures on this page so readers can see what the boats are like.
Those launches are very small and no way to get on for someone who can’t step down into the boat.

WL has some bigger boats that are wheelchair/ECV accessible.

 

[FireDancer]

The monorails have been having more and more mechanical issues that need to be addressed. I have a feeling that the only options are to either run them less and address the issues one at a time or shut the entire monorail system down for an extended period of time and address all of them at once.

Given those two choices I'll take the shorter hours.

They aren't taking them away or never running them again. They are running them a little less often and while unfortunate in the grand scheme of things it will only really effect some guests and only on the days MK has evening EMH.

I can't muster up the outrage over this particular decision.

If the move is truly cost cutting, which I don't think it is, all the online outrage and letter writing in the world won't do a bit of good. The only way they will reconsider is if the occupation at the monorail resorts go down. If the occupancy drops 30-50% while the monorails aren't operating for evening EMH than they will rethink the decision. I have a feeling though that in the end there will be great wailing and gnashing of teeth and little follow through. Most people who want to stay on the monorail loop will still stay there because most days are not EMH days and on those days they will not really be inconvenienced.

 

[BLTLDZ]

I feel like I should be entitled to a discount for our room at the Contemporary next month (as should anyone who booked for this reason). We booked on the monorail line specifically for the convenience... especially during evening EMH. 2am EMH at MK or 12am EMH at Epcot sound a lot less exciting without that monorail.

I feel the exact same way...In fact , we all need to speak up!
I am going to write a complaint as soon as I leave the dis tonight....This is ridiculous! They really need to re-think this!

 

[JimmyV]

Again, nothing has been announced, but it's quite possible buses will be looping between resorts, in essence running the resort monorail route with buses. This is what's done now when the resort monorail is down due to a lightning strike or other problem.

This has to be the what they are going to do. It makes the most sense and is the least disruptive. It still stinks, especially for people with mobility issues who hate taking buses. But it sure beats having to go from a resort restaurant to a park, only to turn around and go back to a resort which was a quarter mile from where you started.

 

[Rhonna]

Nevermind.

 

[FireDancer]

Nevermind.

Great album but kind of off topic for this thread.

 

[johnnyr]

Great. I purposly booked the Poly for the close proximity to the monorail at both the resort and TTC. I stay mostly deluxe and some moderate and can tell you from experince, the deluxe bus service is consistantly terrible at best. I don't see this change making the deluxe bus service any better. The more they cut back, the more I am considering staying offsite or more days at Universal. Disney advertises 3 monroail resorts. I am staying at one of them. If Disney cannot transport me with their advertised monroail system as a perk for staying at one of the 3, then they can pay my cab fare back from an EMH day each time.

 

[kisobel]

honestly whats the big deal? it affects 2 nights a week. Mk and EP don't usually have 2 EMH nights in one week. this is not a deal breaker. just seems to have stirred up a lot of bad feelings. they have provided you other options for getting back to resorts- get back to being upset over line cutters.

kate
just my 2 cents worth

 

[TLSnell1981]

while unfortunate in the grand scheme of things it will only really effect some guests and only on the days MK has evening EMH.

.

Once again, this is NOT true. This also affects MNSSHP, MVMCP and monorail resort guests (who use this for dining, etc) Every guest will be forced to take the bus or ferry. The ferry isn't always pleasant or operational, due to weather. The buses will be hard on ECV users and families using strollers. I'm going to love, waiting for a bus, AND taking a tram...just to get to my vehicle.

 

[FireDancer]

honestly whats the big deal? it affects 2 nights a week. Mk and EP don't usually have 2 EMH nights in one week. this is not a deal breaker. just seems to have stirred up a lot of bad feelings. they have provided you other options for getting back to resorts- get back to being upset over line cutters.

kate
just my 2 cents worth

That is pretty much my take on it. Lots of people in need of a waaaaaaambulance.

 

[johnnyr]

The big deal is when staying deluxe, you are paying for a higher level of service.

 

[Rhonna]

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