Monorails

[Me2Me]

http://allearsnet.com/pl/transp.htm

According to a December 1999 Orlando Sentinel Article:

"The original monorail trains opened with the Magic Kingdom in 1971, running in a loop through the concourse of the Contemporary Resort to the Polynesian Resort, the Magic Kingdom and the Ticket and Transportation Center. In 1982, the monorail was extended with a four-mile run to Epcot.
Disney initially considered expanding its monorail, which has nearly 15 miles of track, but that's unlikely because the system is so costly, the Disney official said. Building a monorail system, including the price of the cars, costs about $110 million a mile. By comparison, a light-rail system probably would cost Disney about $25 million a mile, Hardgrove said. Monorail trains are so much more expensive mainly because they have to be elevated.

The proposed light-rail system could link up with Animal Kingdom and Epcot, as well as two resorts under construction: the Animal Kingdom Lodge and a 5,700-room economy resort near Disney-MGM Studios. Other details on the plan, which is in the early conceptual stages, were not available. "

 

[John Dobbertin]

Thanks, Me2Me. $110 million a mile in 1999 to extend the Monorail would be a bunch more today. Light rail at one-fourth the cost makes sense. And with the revival of trolleys in so many cities, creatively done trolleys could be a real Disney plus. Walt Disney loved trains!

 

[reedycreek]

question. since disney is on reedy creek development property (which is owned by disney) are they subject to EIS (enivornmental impact statements) for anything they build? i mean, the point of forming reedy creek improvement district was so that disney could create and enforce its own zoning codes and not be subject to any state infringement. i would imagine that if they did decide to build a monorail extension, that they would not have to go through half the legal battle and cost as would say, las vegas building a monorail.

walt was a smart man for starting reedy creek. disney is allowed to build a nuclear power plant on that property if they wanted to!

 

[manning]

System type = Cost = Information Source = System Status


Aerorail= $25-30 million/mile= Aerorail Website= Proposed

Bombardier MVI $68 million/mile Las Vegas Review-Journalstruction -
Las Vegas
Operating-WDW



Futrex System 21 (monobeam)= $20-25 million/mile= Futrex Website =Proposed



Hitachi = $15 million/km =Tokyo-Haneda Monorail =Operating



Hitachi= $62 million/km = Kitakyushu Monorail =Operating



Hitachi = $27 million/km = $44 million/mile = Okinawa Monorail =
under construction



Intamin = $4.08 million/km $6.52 million/mile = carr West, England = Operating in several locations

Colorado = $10-25 million/mile = Website = Proposed

Monorail Malaysia = $36 million/km = Kuala Lumpur Monorail =
Operating



OTG HighRoad (monobeam) = $23 million/mile OTG Website =
Proposed



Titan Global = $25 million/mile = Titan Website = Proposed



VSL-MVI class (MIV trains) = $25 million/mile = MGM-Bally's Monorail = Operating

 

[John Dobbertin]

Manning: The monorail info posted is old. The MGM-Bally monorail was torn down to make way for the new Las Vegas monorail running from MGM to the Sahara via the Convention Center. You can see in earlier posts some variations on what the new Las Vegas monorail cost. Possible some of the cost variations are due to not including all "the parts." Las Vegas has many connections to hotels that include escalators & elevators. Depending on which account you accept, the new Las Vegas system cost somewhere between $165 million and $250 million a mile.

 

[manning]

Too bad they don't date their posts..

 

[JQuatt21]

One of the most popular aspects of Walt Disney World is its monorail system. I guarentee that if u took a poll of people that vistit WDW, one of their favorite rides is the monorail. One of my biggest wishes I have that disney could do is link up all of the resorts to the monorail line. Now, I know i have been reading all of the posts here and that it will cost them too much but there must be something that wdw can do. The monorail is a disney landmark and makes it stand out from the rest. Maybe when the Eisner era is over, they will maybe make a change. Hey, you never know.

 

[spiceycat]

I though that the bullet train being planned for transportation from MCO to WDW - was if reasonable going to be on property as well - to at least the theme parks????

 

[KNWVIKING]

***"One of the most popular aspects of Walt Disney World is its monorail system. I guarentee that if u took a poll of people that vistit WDW, one of their favorite rides is the monorail.................. The monorail is a disney landmark and makes it stand out from the rest."***

While I think the Mono is very popular, I don't believe it is the reason people travel to WDW. I also don't believe more Mono will draw more people. I don't ever recall seeing billboards on I-4 advertising the Mono.

I have no idea what the cost per mile actually is. Reading the numbers in this thread make it even less clear. One number makes me think it's do-able, those last numbers say it's impossible.

Honestly I don't know why the buses are getting such a bad rap. We used them quite a bit in Oct. Never waited more then 15 minutes.always had a seat. The drivers were having fun with the guests. They got the job done. On the other hand, I've waited what seems like an hour or more to get on the Mono or Ferry after MK closes.

I'm not against more Mono Miles, but I still believe the money can be better spent elsewhere.

 

[DancingBear]

Originally posted by spiceycat
I though that the bullet train being planned for transportation from MCO to WDW - was if reasonable going to be on property as well - to at least the theme parks????

The bullet train was only scheduled to have one stop at WDW---and the whole thing is in jeapordy now that Florida voters have voted against the financing of the project.