Monorails to no longer operate during Evening Extra Magic Hours

[morethananyonex]

Geesh, I am almost sorry I posted my mostly positive remarks earlier. Am I happy the monorail won't be running after EMH...of course not. I understand why people are upset but why can't someone who just isn't going to let it ruin their trip post without being accused of being "the pixie dust crowd" or having their Mickey ears in a knot? Wow...guess it really isn't a discussion then. I kind of like being a "the glass is half full" kind of gal.

Well people who are upset are being labelled "Chicken Little" and the "doom and gloomers" LOL so I'd say it's even. We all have opinions about it (obviously), and I think it's way more interesting to share them instead of all those fun accusations.

 

[KSDisneyDad]

As I stated in my original post, basically I have paid for my trip and built up a very excited 8 year old to stay in his "dream" hotel. we booked with a PIN so I am not paying full price. I would have chosen differently at the time I booked if I knew this was going to happen. It would not be built up in his head. Can I change now? Yes I can. Will I? No. It would break my son's heart at this point. I don't understand why the rehab/ refurb schedule can be published way ahead of time so I know I don't need a watermarks and more ticket but booking my trip for the advertised "perk" of the monorail is no longer available.

For what it's worth I emailed Disney and am awaiting a repsonse. Just voiced my disappointment.

I think you'll still love the CR despite a couple of very late nights not having the monorail available. We stayed at the CR and only took the monorail 3 days the entire 10-day stay (and only once would have been affected by this travesty).

I may write in to Disney about this as I understand the frustration about it even if it doesn't affect me too much. It was a nice perk that one night we used it late at night.

 

[3prettyprincesses]

What about a Moderate, another Deluxe not on the monorail or even (gasp!) a value?

Well, we're a family of five so values are out and DH and I don't particularly care for many of the mods. Honestly, we really only stay at the deluxes which is how we like to vacation. But a perk of that was ease of transportation...the monorail.

 

[KSDisneyDad]

Geesh, I am almost sorry I posted my mostly positive remarks earlier. Am I happy the monorail won't be running after EMH...of course not. I understand why people are upset but why can't someone who just isn't going to let it ruin their trip post without being accused of being "the pixie dust crowd" or having their Mickey ears in a knot? Wow...guess it really isn't a discussion then. I kind of like being a "the glass is half full" kind of gal.

A bad day at Disney beats a good day at work anyday!!!

 

[KSDisneyDad]

Well, we're a family of five so values are out and DH and I don't particularly care for many of the mods. Honestly, we really only stay at the deluxes which is how we like to vacation. But a perk of that was ease of transportation...the monorail.

We're a family of five and stayed almost exclusively at Values prior to purchasing DVC. We were able to get connecting rooms for a lot less than any Deluxe. Or, there are the Music family suites and the new Animation Value resort is geared toward families of 5.

I do agree with you about the Mods. We don't care for them too much either, but can't stay there now anyway as a family of 5 expect at POR which is like spending a week in a sardine can.

We stayed at BLT for 10-nights on our stay last month and this monorail issue would have only affected us one time. Plus, do you not visit parks other than Epcot or MK? I don't see this ruining our vacation. Does that mean I'm happy about it? No. But I'm not going to start spouting some of the rhetoric I've seen posted on here.

 

[nurtz]

A bad day at Disney beats a good day at work anyday!!!

No doubt about that!

 

[3prettyprincesses]

We're a family of five and stayed almost exclusively at Values prior to purchasing DVC. We were able to get connecting rooms for a lot less than any Deluxe. Or, there are the Music family suites and the new Animation Value resort is geared toward families of 5.

The values don't really appeal to me either, if I'm being honest. But the new Animation one might be worth investigating.

I do agree with you about the Mods. We don't care for them too much either, but can't stay there now anyway as a family of 5 expect at POR which is like spending a week in a sardine can.

A good friend of mine recently stayed at POR with her family of five and she said they all felt soooo cramped!

We stayed at BLT for 10-nights on our stay last month and this monorail issue would have only affected us one time. Plus, do you not visit parks other than Epcot or MK? I don't see this ruining our vacation. Does that mean I'm happy about it? No. But I'm not going to start spouting some of the rhetoric I've seen posted on here.

The MK and Epcot are mine and my family's favorite parks. So we spend more time there overall which is another reason those monorail resorts appeal to us.

Everyone vacations differently. It's all very subjective to each family as is the whole cost versus value.

 

[morethananyonex]

We're a family of five and stayed almost exclusively at Values prior to purchasing DVC. We were able to get connecting rooms for a lot less than any Deluxe. Or, there are the Music family suites and the new Animation Value resort is geared toward families of 5.

I do agree with you about the Mods. We don't care for them too much either, but can't stay there now anyway as a family of 5 expect at POR which is like spending a week in a sardine can.

We stayed at BLT for 10-nights on our stay last month and this monorail issue would have only affected us one time. Plus, do you not visit parks other than Epcot or MK? I don't see this ruining our vacation. Does that mean I'm happy about it? No. But I'm not going to start spouting some of the rhetoric I've seen posted on here.

In all fairness, if Disney does decide to shut down the monorail an hour after regular MK closing on nights with parties, it can potentially effect people quite a bit. Events were mentioned in one of the very first memos, but since then it has been said Disney is undecided as to how they will handle it so far.

You mentioned you stayed last month, so later summer hours would have been in effect right? In the months with the parties, you would have MK closing at 7 and the monorail at 8 for about half of a 10 night stay. That would definitely be enough for me to not stay at a monorail resort, no question. I agree, cutting during EMH is manageable, but if they do it for parties I would consider that a huge inconvenience, even if I wasn't attending.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I don't see free dining as a "deep discount," I guess is the difference. It is a trick to get you to pay full rack rate on your room, and then they offer you "free" food that is about half as tasty and unique and diverse as it once was, to make up for the fact that they are giving it away "free."
The other room discounts.... eh. They are okay. Show me a hotel that does NOT offer discounts though. Disney is just trying to be competitive. They aren't offering discounted rooms out of pure selfless desire to see their guests happy.

I think it's great that you are a "glass half full" kind of person when it comes to Disney but I've been around for too long and have seen far too many cutbacks to be that optimistic about their intentions.

In a way you're absolutely right. Depending on your family size, free dining may or may not be a bargain for you. Couples without children or those with very young children wouldn't stand to gain much from free dining. For me, I have 2 teen/tween boys, accustomed to eating whatever they want, whenever they want on DCL. They don't want chicken nuggets & burgers. They want filet mignon & lobster. When we eat in a restaurant, not just in WDW but anywhere, I have to remind them we're not on the ship and prices do apply. lol! The fact that many think WDW food is declining is besides the point. If we're in the parks on any given day, we'll have to eat at some point; whether we love it or not; whether it's a good value or not. We can either pay oop or have it included free with our package. For what my boys want to eat, it would cost a lot more to pay oop.

 

[morethananyonex]

In a way you're absolutely right. Depending on your family size, free dining may or may not be a bargain for you. Couples without children or those with very young children wouldn't stand to gain much from free dining. For me, I have 2 teen/tween boys, accustomed to eating whatever they want, whenever they want on DCL. They don't want chicken nuggets & burgers. They want filet mignon & lobster. When we eat in a restaurant, not just in WDW but anywhere, I have to remind them we're not on the ship and prices do apply. lol! The fact that many think WDW food is declining is besides the point. If we're in the parks on any given day, we'll have to eat at some point; whether we love it or not; whether it's a good value or not. We can either pay oop or have it included free with our package. For what my boys want to eat, it would cost a lot more to pay oop.

I'm with you. Free dining works out great for us because we have 4 adults in a mod/deluxe. Last trip when we stayed at BC the "discount" with free dining was about the same as a 40% pin would have been, and we buy the dining plan/park tickets anyways so for us it truly is a discount.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

In all fairness, if Disney does decide to shut down the monorail an hour after regular MK closing on nights with parties, it can potentially effect people quite a bit. Events were mentioned in one of the very first memos, but since then it has been said Disney is undecided as to how they will handle it so far.

You mentioned you stayed last month, so later summer hours would have been in effect right? In the months with the parties, you would have MK closing at 7 and the monorail at 8 for about half of a 10 night stay. That would definitely be enough for me to not stay at a monorail resort, no question. I agree, cutting during EMH is manageable, but if they do it for parties I would consider that a huge inconvenience, even if I wasn't attending.

But if Epcot was open til 9:30, the monorail would still be running until 10:30. They didn't say 1 hr after the earliest park closing, the said 1 hr after regular park closing, which would include MK and Epcot.

 

[morethananyonex]

But if Epcot was open til 9:30, the monorail would still be running until 10:30. They didn't say 1 hr after the earliest park closing, the said 1 hr after regular park closing, which would include MK and Epcot.

I don't think the resort line is being considered seperately from the MK express. I was under the impression that express and resort are both shut down an hour after the MK close, regardless of Epcot's hours. Anyone?

 

[GadgetRick]

I don't see free dining as a "deep discount," I guess is the difference. It is a trick to get you to pay full rack rate on your room, and then they offer you "free" food that is about half as tasty and unique and diverse as it once was, to make up for the fact that they are giving it away "free."

The other room discounts.... eh. They are okay. Show me a hotel that does NOT offer discounts though. Disney is just trying to be competitive. They aren't offering discounted rooms out of pure selfless desire to see their guests happy.

I think it's great that you are a "glass half full" kind of person when it comes to Disney but I've been around for too long and have seen far too many cutbacks to be that optimistic about their intentions.

Very well-said!

 

[GadgetRick]

Disney's reported profits have declined for its parks & resort division the past few years. I guess their trick worked!

As you mentioned a couple of posts later, their profits have been increasing this year. Profits are not a black and white kind of thing. Many things affect profits. I can tell you, their profits have not been down due to a lack of guests over the past few years. So the money has been lost elsewhere (I don't mean they're losing money on their parks--they aren't).

My guess--but I don't have the breakdown of their numbers--is they're losing more money from guests because they/we aren't spending nearly as much as we used to. Lots of reasons for that. So, in answer to this, they decided to get more people in so offered their, "discounts," which, once you really look into it, aren't really much of a discount (no matter how you rationalize them). On the surface they seem like such a great deal but, once you dissect what they're, "giving," us, you quickly realize they aren't really giving us anything at all.

 

[Traveliz]

I don't think the resort line is being considered seperately from the MK express. I was under the impression that express and resort are both shut down an hour after the MK close, regardless of Epcot's hours. Anyone?

Yes, that is my impression as well.

Liz

 

[TLSnell1981]

I was under the impression that express and resort are both shut down an hour after the MK close, regardless of Epcot's hours. Anyone?

You are correct.

 

[jade1]

I don't think the resort line is being considered seperately from the MK express. I was under the impression that express and resort are both shut down an hour after the MK close, regardless of Epcot's hours. Anyone?

And thats the key IMO-we will need to wait and see it appears. That would mean you will not get a monorail back to your monorail room from TTC, just a monorail from EPCOT to TTC. You also would not have a monorail available for any dining on the monorail loop, ex a GF guest could not dine at Cal Grill and ride the monorail back to GF.

 

[jade1]

This is probably true. It won't do much for future sales at the GFV's.

Agreed, BLT/CR will have a huge advantage for EMH at MK-or even MNSSHP etc-7 min walk. I know on here some dont want the walk but we really like it. Still hoping the keep it open though.

 

[TLSnell1981]

And thats the key IMO-we will need to wait and see it appears. That would mean you will not get a monorail back to your monorail room from TTC, just a monorail from EPCOT to TTC. You also would not have a monorail available for any dining on the monorail loop, ex a GF guest could not dine at Cal Grill and ride the monorail back to GF.

Meanwhile, they are selling event tickets...but are claiming to be undecided, regarding monorail service for partygoers. Originally, it was a no go....How many times, will Disney change their story?

Personally, I don't like being jerked around. No monorail is a deal breaker for me.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Yes but I'm staying at the Poly which means the MK monorail will not be running.

So I take the monorail to the TTC and walk to wait until after 10 pm (depending on where we view IllumiNations) and take the bus back.

Probably not. The (much) more likely scenario would be a bus directly from the Magic Kingdom to the Polynesian and Grand Floridian.

If you mean you'd be starting from Epcot, there's already a bus route for just these two resorts after 10 PM. It started this week. And if you do find yourself at the TTC, there's nothing stopping you from using the long-established, frequently used path between there and the Polynesian.