Monorails to no longer operate during Evening Extra Magic Hours

[Tink rules]

Unknown right now. That would be one option, for sure. But they might run a bus that goes from resort to resort. If so, you would take that bus which would probably stop at the GF, then the MK, then the CR. Or maybe it would skip the MK.

Ok... Not to be TOTALLY snobbish... but I pay extra to stay on the Monorail... not just for the view, but for the convenience. I also have a 79 year old mother who does not do well getting on and off busses.. especially if she is dressed up for dinner at another resort.

It's gonna look really tacky to ask alot of people who are paying extra to stay at Disney's flagship hotel to climb on a bus just because they couldn't run the resort monorail for a while longer...

 

[FireDancer]

I've been giving this a lot of thought and the more I think about it, the more I believe that maintenance is just a cover and part of the real reason.

There are currently 11, soon hopefully to be 12 working trains.

The resort Monorail can get away with running 3 trains, especially during lighter periods and EPCOT runs only 2 quite frequently. That is only 5 of the possible 11 trains being used.

If you leave 5 trains out at night and send the other 6 back to shop, then the next day send the other trains back and leave the ones that were serviced the previous day out they would be getting plenty of time in shop.

To take it further, even if you took out 4 trains for express the following day or 3 express and added another to the resort line you would still have 1 train back in shop that can be worked on all day.

Now lets say the argument is beam maintenance, you can still choose to do maintenance on select nights of the week when ample time is available.

Much of the needed maintenance is on the track and supporting infrastructure, not the trains. To do that maintenance no trains can be running at all.

A high voltage piece fell off the track on July 3rd which is why the trains weren't running and parts have fallen off the track and started fires (per someone on the podcast board who works in Disney transportation). You can address these kinds of problems when there are any trains on the track.

 

[Oglet]

Well sometimes when the Resort Monorail runs a few more trains then what you described and one goes down while it's on the track, then that causes a back log of lines at the various Resort Monorail stations once the others can resume service. For example that happened to me when I stayed at the Contemporary in December 2009, well when one Resort Monorail went down the lines over there got longer and I waited for three Monorails until I finally was able to get on one.

4 trains is the max they will ever run, they can run 5 but I have never had to drive or see it (thank god)

When everything is running smooth 4 trains is a very tight operation requiring holds for ambers. When 3 are running you tend to spend a little longer actually waiting for the train however there will usually be less time spent holding out on the open beam.

Monorail backups are no fun, my pet peeve is when they decide to load express guests on the resort trains at TTC, its simply unfair and wrong for all the resort guests who have to deal with over crowded trains.

 

[Sammie]

Its all those people who have been parking at the monorail resorts and not staying there just to take the monorail to MK instead of paying to park.

Disney always stops things and in the process punishes everyone else.

I can guarantee you will see fewer cars that don't have a Polynesian or Grand Floridian resort parking pass in the parking lots now.

Except for the Contemporary which will be flooded now.

 

[Tink rules]

I think it's interesting how they are going to try it out in one park first... It really effects the MK more on the resort side...

I bet they will find out it's a mess.

 

[ppony]

Monorail backups are no fun, my pet peeve is when they decide to load express guests on the resort trains at TTC, its simply unfair and wrong for all the resort guests who have to deal with over crowded trains.

You rule! I like you. Just had to say that. Thanks for being part of the magic and wanting to see it continue!

 

[MoonFaerie]

I would be in a different park those nights. I almost always stay in one park until closing or end my night at DTD. I think they will add a monorail resort loop bus and would have no problem taking that if I were to eat a restaurant at a different resort.

In the grand scheme of things I can't get all that worked up about a slight inconvenience done in the name of safety since I think this is to allow more time for much needed monorail maintenance. Once I start letting these kinds of things bother me enough to ruin my vacation I will star reassessing my priorities in life.

On an average night in Dec. when MVMCP is 5 nights a week, AK closes at 5 and HS closes at 8. Epcot is open until 9:30, so that gives you a little extra time in the evening, but still an early night, IMO. There isn't a whole of lot of being able to just go to other parks at night. Hence, our eleventy billion late dinners.

 

[TLSnell1981]

.

In the grand scheme of things I can't get all that worked up about a slight inconvenience done in the name of safety since I think this is to allow more time for much needed monorail maintenance. Once I start letting these kinds of things bother me enough to ruin my vacation I will star reassessing my priorities in life.

I can understand, but it is an issue for others. We have two ECVs and a stroller in our parry of six. This will be difficult on a crowded bus...and very inconvenient. We use the monorail, every chance we get. We are discussing, whether or not to purchase MNSSHP tix this week. Don't know, if we want the extra hassle. We also love the monorail resort and (had) planned a BLT visit this spring. Now, not so sure, we will and don't think, we will renew our APa. Too many changes, that we're
unhappy with...another straw in the camel's back.

Oh, and a cynical human being, I believe, the maintenance line is just that a load of bull.

 

[TLSnell1981]

The monorail is a unique part of Disney . This was DGDs favorite"ride" forever, and at 16, she's very fond it.

Just really said, to see anther stupid change

 

[Cdn Friends of Pooh]

Let me add in that the Resort Monorail will run for 1 1/2 hours after Epcots close, so on nights where Epcot closes later than MK the resort monorail will continue to run even though MK is empty.

Do you mean after the changes come into affect?

 

[FireDancer]

I can understand, but it is an issue for others. We have two ECVs and a stroller in our parry of six. This will be difficult on a crowded bus...and very inconvenient. We use the monorail, every chance we get. We are discussing, whether or not to purchase MNSSHP tix this week. Don't know, if we want the extra hassle. We also love the monorail resort and (had) planned a BLT visit this spring. Now, not so sure, we will and don't think, we will renew our APa. Too many changes, that we're
unhappy with...another straw in the camel's back.

Oh, and a cynical human being, I believe, the maintenance line is just that a load of bull.

I'm sure it is inconvenient but I do think it is a maintenance issue. Those trains have broke down more in the last couple of years then they ever have in the past. Some of those breakdowns are the track and the track infrastructure and you can't have trains on the track while you make those repairs. BS line or not the high voltage electrical rain did fall off of the track on July 3 and there have been fires started by pieces falling off in the past.

If those issues keep happening and Disney doesn't address them either OSHA will shut them down or, worse, there will be a bigger problem that effects guests (accident, fire, etc). As inconvenient as it is to ride a bus with an ECV imagine having to be evacuated from a monorail broken down between stations because of it or the tracks lack of maintenance while in one. That would be much worse.

We will know in time if the real maintenance problems are just an excuse or not because once they are fixed the trains will either start running as they do now or stay on the new limited schedule. Only time will tell.

But how feasible is it to do that work at night, especially in the areas immediately around the resorts? Not very. That why this feels to me like a move to lighten the load so that maintenance can be further deferred rather than a change intended to actually allow for those repairs to happen.

If they can build attractions at night, especially right next to the Grand Californian in CA, they can fix a monorail at night.

 

[JimmyV]

On an average night in Dec. when MVMCP is 5 nights a week, AK closes at 5 and HS closes at 8. Epcot is open until 9:30, so that gives you a little extra time in the evening, but still an early night, IMO. There isn't a whole of lot of being able to just go to other parks at night. Hence, our eleventy billion late dinners.

Beat me to it. Exactamundo. Not sure what FireDancer is doing at 9:00 p.m. in December. But I am having dinner at a nice restaurant because the parks close early. So if I went in December, I would be impacted almost every night. Again, how impacted is yet to be determined as the intra-resort transportation situation has yet to be announced.

 

[Colleen27]

Much of the needed maintenance is on the track and supporting infrastructure, not the trains. To do that maintenance no trains can be running at all.

A high voltage piece fell off the track on July 3rd which is why the trains weren't running and parts have fallen off the track and started fires (per someone on the podcast board who works in Disney transportation). You can address these kinds of problems when there are any trains on the track.

But how feasible is it to do that work at night, especially in the areas immediately around the resorts? Not very. That why this feels to me like a move to lighten the load so that maintenance can be further deferred rather than a change intended to actually allow for those repairs to happen.

 

[TLSnell1981]

.

We will know in time if the real maintenance problems are just an excuse or not because once they are fixed the trains will either start running as they do now or stay on the new limited schedule. Only time will tell.

If they can build attractions at night, especially right next to the Grand Californian in CA, they can fix a monorail at night.

The internal memo states, it is a permanent change.

 

[Robo]

The internal memo states, it is a permanent change.

Exact wording from a internal memo posted.

Is this change permanent?

Yes, although we regularly evaluate and adjust our operations based on a variety of operational considerations.

The way Intercot is treating this info is to push it to the Rumors Board:

http://www.intercot.com/discussion/showpost.php?p=2187126&postcount=24

http://www.intercot.com/discussion/showpost.php?p=2187176&postcount=32

 

[JimmyV]

I'm sure it is inconvenient but I do think it is a maintenance issue. Those trains have broke down more in the last couple of years then they ever have in the past. Some of those breakdowns are the track and the track infrastructure and you can't have trains on the track while you make those repairs. BS line or not the high voltage electrical rain did fall off of the track on July 3 and there have been fires started by pieces falling off in the past.

If those issues keep happening and Disney doesn't address them either OSHA will shut them down or, worse, there will be a bigger problem that effects guests (accident, fire, etc). As inconvenient as it is to ride a bus with an ECV imagine having to be evacuated from a monorail broken down between stations because of it or the tracks lack of maintenance while in one. That would be much worse.

We will know in time if the real maintenance problems are just an excuse or not because once they are fixed the trains will either start running as they do now or stay on the new limited schedule. Only time will tell.


If they can build attractions at night, especially right next to the Grand Californian in CA, they can fix a monorail at night.

I think that everyone can (or at least should) appreciate the need to do major maintenance on a system that is now 40 years old. (Obviously, the trains themselves aren't, but the concrete infrastructure and certain mechanics are.) So if this is for an overhaul, then we should all take a deep breath. But way back at post 40, we were told that this is premanent, with the understanding that people can always change their minds. But to think that they are going into this new schedule with the idea that it is just a temporary fix is just not supported.

Exact wording from a internal memo posted.

Q: Is this change permanent?

A: Yes, although we regularly evaluate and adjust our operations based on a variety of operational considerations.

 

[Tink rules]

Nothing is ever permanent at Disney...

 

[docusmc1]

I have just taken 20 minutes of my night reading this thread and I have not heard anyone say that this has been directly confirmed by Disney. If it has there is no link to it. When it is confirmed by Disney and published by Disney is when I will belive it. So far it is only hear say. Is anyone at WDW now and have they been told by a Disney Employee at any of the resorts or TTC of this change. No news is good news.

 

[JimmyV]

I have just taken 20 minutes of my night reading this thread and I have not heard anyone say that this has been directly confirmed by Disney. If it has there is no link to it. When it is confirmed by Disney and published by Disney is when I will belive it. So far it is only hear say. Is anyone at WDW now and have they been told by a Disney Employee at any of the resorts or TTC of this change. No news is good news.

Read post #414.

 

[Desnik]

I have just taken 20 minutes of my night reading this thread and I have not heard anyone say that this has been directly confirmed by Disney. If it has there is no link to it. When it is confirmed by Disney and published by Disney is when I will belive it. So far it is only hear say. Is anyone at WDW now and have they been told by a Disney Employee at any of the resorts or TTC of this change. No news is good news.

Over on the DVC boards a member posted their email from member services confirming this so it is not a rumor, it is happening. Here is a link to that info, it's in the first post at the top of the page:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2755774&page=3