My thoughts of no Mono after MNSSHP

[morethananyonex]

Might as well park at DTD and save the parking fees . After all, the ride to the TTC seems just as brutal as the DTD bus rides at this point

 

[Kona65]

Believe me Rusty would be the first to call it as it is, he does not ever buy the company line.

If he says it is maintenance then I would believe it.

Here is some Pixie Dust for you too. Cause we all know that if Rusty says it, it must be true.[/I]l. Other people don't buy into the company line. And this sure sounds like a company novel to me.

 

[Sammie]

Actually, my exact wording was ~ and I quote

So, no, I didn't say "no one".

Thanks, stand corrected.

I just find it amusing that people will pour thousands of dollars into Disney vacations but they don't trust them.

It simply makes no sense to me. If I thought they constantly lied about things like this I certainly would not continue giving them my money.

The monorail lately stays broke down as much as it runs.

 

[Bonniec]

For those that are concerned and those that have felt the pain of having to take a ferry after 10:30pm recently, I have two things to say to you. 1st, I hope ALL of you are writing Disney like the OP with your complaints, suggestions and concerns. 2nd, especially for those who have already been there or plan on going soon. I highly suggest you record and post to youtube your experience trying to catch the ferry. If it is as dangerous and concerning as many have said, the videos should speak for itself, as soon as they spread a bit, the PR nightmare for Disney will settle in. Unfortunately, the one thing that can get a Company to act in these situations, is the threat of bad PR.

Yep, good idea. I've already written them regarding my last experience. But I am going back in 2 weeks to the party since relatives are visiting and bought the tickets. I'll bring the video in case it's jus as bad. I'm truely hoping it won't be.

 

[dizkneedreamers]

Just wrote my email to guest services.

When I was there last week there was an employee loyalty party or something along those lines at the Magic Kingdom. The monorail closed at 7:30........

Definitely takes away from the Magic of staying at Bay Lake Tower, but doesn't take anything out of the price.

 

[squirrel]

So if it's maintenance why don't they buy another monorail?

They have enough money that they are expanding AK with Avatar.

The beam work can be done in the evening on nights the MK closes early, which is still a few nights a week. Right now with the MNSSHP there are more nights it's open later than say Jan or Feb.

 

[npcougar]

Why don't they not run them until 10 in the morning or something? Run buses in the morning rather than at night. Crowds are more spread out for arriving in the morning than everyone leaving at the same time at night. Plus no cranky kids waiting for the boat.

 

[morethananyonex]

Why don't they not run them until 10 in the morning or something? Run buses in the morning rather than at night. Crowds are more spread out for arriving in the morning than everyone leaving at the same time at night. Plus no cranky kids waiting for the boat.

Ideally, it would be best if they could do it midday, but I think there's too many logistical problems with that.

The opening rush would be just as bad as the closing rush, and then you have the added problem of people who are angry because their park time is being wasted.

 

[flicx]

Hey I say fill up the email at disney with bad reports if you came from these parties or it inconvienced your trip otherwise.I too would tell them if it cost them a deluxe stay or more sales to MNSSHP.I love the post saying disney doesn't care about a few grand,are you kidding? I bet after a few hundred or so of these emails someone has a fire lit under their butt!They are losing money and once word gets out more people will follow suit!

 

[jdb in AZ]

It's a good thing they're not called Monorail Resorts then. They're actually called Deluxe Resorts.

Wilderness Lodge and Animal Kingdom Lodge are deluxe resorts that are not on the monorail. To distinguish them from the other deluxe resorts, the Grand Floridian, the Polynesian, and the Contemporary are often referred to as the monorail resorts. It's one way of cutting down on the confusion.

And yes, I've read the thread that the WDW hotels aren't as posh as the Four Seasons, so none of the deluxe hotels should be called that.

It's all about location, location, location.

 

[mickeyonasticky]

Here's a post that I've created with help of a friend of mine to hopefully help outline and further clarify the MK transportation options :]

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2803520

 

[ChildAtHeart82]

Just wrote my email to guest services.

When I was there last week there was an employee loyalty party or something along those lines at the Magic Kingdom. The monorail closed at 7:30........

Definitely takes away from the Magic of staying at Bay Lake Tower, but doesn't take anything out of the price.

So, for the specific case where people are staying at the Contemporary and traveling from Magic Kingdom, isn't it pretty easy to just walk. We've done that walk and it took us about five minutes.

I can understand the complaints about convenience more from people staying at GF or Poly or from those parked at the TTC.

 

[pamkas]

Here's a post that I've created with help of a friend of mine to hopefully help outline and further clarify the MK transportation options :]

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2803520

That was a huge help! Thanks!!

 

[mickeyonasticky]

That was a huge help! Thanks!!

You're welcome!! :]]

 

[TinkerBelle_325]

If it really is a maintenance issue, why not defer to the fall/winter season when the parks close much earlier anyway, rather than almost in the middle of the summer season?

Or purchase one, just one, additional monorail train and rotate others out of service each day for maintenance?

If it was a cost saving measure, certainly it costs more to operate multiple diesel buses, pay multiple drivers, and increase maintenance costs on multiple buses than it does an electric train with one driver?

Unless you really didn't increase transport capacity to replace that lost by closing the monorail?

Who knows what the real reason is. What's important is that Disney's response is stupid. Plain and simple stupid.

They lost $2400 from me when I switched my December reservation from the CR to the CSR, a decision spurred primarily by this monorail issue. If I'm going to pay a premium to stay at a monorail resort, then I expect the monorail to be operating as long as there are other significant things for me to do and get back and forth from.

So they didn't save a dime in that respect.

Technically, no they didn't. I am sure that another family gladly filled the vacancy you left at CR. I know that CR, Poly & GF are "monorail" hotels, but there are other features and amenities that draw in guests.

You chose another Disney resort. They are still getting $ from you and they will still get $ from another family who decides to stay at CR.

The DIS is the vast minority of people that visit WDW annually. We aren't even really a blip on their radar.

I do believe the maintenance story. The monorails have been breaking down far too frequently in the past year or two.

 

[TheRustyScupper]

So you really buy into this maintenance story.

1) Yes.
2) OK, there may well be some labor savings.
3) But, beam work takes a while.
4) Especially if there are concrete patches or electrical buss work.
5) As a previous CEO, I know that maintenance work takes a while.
6) In most cases, far longer than most people would estimate.

NOTE: Of course, it does not hurt to have a WDW electrician live
two houses from me. Over (quite a few) beers, we have talked about
the buss issues on the monorail. They have not been addressed for a
long time, due to the time it takes vs available "down" hours.

 

[kaligal]

1) People, maintenance is maintenance.
. . . Would you rather be stuck on the monorail in a breakdown?
. . . Would you rather the monorail be down during the day?
. . . Would you rather a major breakdown and 2-3 days down?
2) Let them do the maintenance.
3) There are other ways back to the resort.
4) You are on vacation, so what is the rush? *

* And, no, sleeping/crabby children is not an excuse. If they are
that tired, you should have left hours ago. IMHO

1. They shouldn't have let it get this bad.

2. Work on them overnight.

3. If it is so dangerous that they can't just work on them overnight, but need extra time to work on them, then shut them down, fix them and get them going again.

4. Get more ferries. Whatever.

5. We shouldn't have to come up with ideas for how to get people out of the MK without making them wait an hour or more. Disney should have figured out how to do it before shutting the thing down.

6. This is ridiculous.

 

[morethananyonex]

1) Yes.
2) OK, there may well be some labor savings.
3) But, beam work takes a while.
4) Especially if there are concrete patches or electrical buss work.
5) As a previous CEO, I know that maintenance work takes a while.
6) In most cases, far longer than most people would estimate.

NOTE: Of course, it does not hurt to have a WDW electrician live
two houses from me. Over (quite a few) beers, we have talked about
the buss issues on the monorail. They have not been addressed for a
long time, due to the time it takes vs available "down" hours.

I'm no engineer/electrician/whatever, but wouldn't it have been more logical to start maintaining the beams much sooner therefore having to cut hours at inconvenient times less? If they had started this years ago utilizing downtime that already existed wouldn't they be in a much better position then they are now?

I don't believe that this was a problem that has a crept up on them, but if that was truly the case, I worry for the company. It's kind of a "duh" moment when monorails that are 20 years old and beams that are 40 need extra maintenance.

 

[grimley1968]

I'm no engineer/electrician/whatever, but wouldn't it have been more logical to start maintaining the beams much sooner therefore having to cut hours at inconvenient times less? If they had started this years ago utilizing downtime that already existed wouldn't they be in a much better position then they are now?

Okay, if not now, when? During all the years where the parks were open until midnight to 2 AM (when you include special events, EMH's, etc.)? There aren't many hours between 2 AM and 7 AM to do this maintenance, and the parks are open 365 days a year. During summer months, MK is regularly open until 11 PM or midnight, without EMH.

Yes, it's inconvenient, but I don't see how doing this work earlier would have made any difference in the impact (and I don't discount the impact). I honestly think they've probably been operating on very thin safety margins for the last decade or so (or whenever EMH's started occurring, in addition to all the special events that rob them of what little "down time" they might used to have had in the winter months). Shutting them down at 10:30 PM seems very reasonable to me, hard-ticketed parties or not.

I guarantee they're saving money shutting down the monorail by 10:30. That doesn't change the fact that it's also a much better move for guests' safety.

It would be nice if they offer alternative means of getting to the TTC from MK during these non-monorail hours, and I've seen many indications that they're doing this (buses, an extra ferry or two when they're available), but complaining on here and to Disney isn't going to change the fact that safety concerns trump those of guest convenience.

It does scare me that they've been operating on (what I consider to be) thin safety margins for so long on this system, but I'm glad they're doing something about it now, even if it gives them a public black eye for a while. Better that than a tragedy later. Lambast them all you like for poor decision-making, but I applaud them being responsible, even if they're late in doing so.

 

[jdb in AZ]

It does scare me that they've been operating on (what I consider to be) thin safety margins for so long on this system, but I'm glad they're doing something about it now, even if it gives them a public black eye for a while. Better that than a tragedy later. Lambast them all you like for poor decision-making, but I applaud them being responsible, even if they're late in doing so.

They already had a tragedy, and that could be part of why they implemented the change.