New Monorail Fleet Ordered?

[rteetz]

Monorail expansion isn't going to happen because of the way that the existing lines are built. Epcot is a closed loop and there isn't space at the TTC for another line to be added.

Monorail expansion isn't happening because of cost.

They can certainly expand and change the TTC if they wanted.

 

[EastYorkDisneyFan]

They can certainly expand and change the TTC if they wanted.

They could but it would mean building on top of the existing stations plus the magic Kingdom and the TTC are now at the farthest end of the property and not really a a good hub for monorail expansion anymore.

Monorail expansion isn't happening because of cost.

That's the major reason why but as I said before there isn't anywhere that they can easily build an additional line, without it being very long or with too many stations on it.

 

[rteetz]

They could but it would mean building on top of the existing stations plus the magic Kingdom and the TTC are now at the farthest end of the property and not really a a good hub for monorail expansion anymore.
That's the major reason why but as I said before there isn't anywhere that they can easily build an additional line, without it being very long or with too many stations on it.

If they did ever expand they likely would completely redo the TTC. They wouldn’t build on top of the existing TTC.

If money wasn’t an issue they could certainly do it. Disney created expansion plans if ever needed. They would likely create a second hub for the monorail even.

 

[EastYorkDisneyFan]

If they did ever expand they likely would completely redo the TTC. They wouldn’t build on top of the existing TTC.

Which would mean a massive closure of it for several years well they do that and the disruption to entering the Magic kingdom would be to great for them to do it.

If money wasn’t an issue they could certainly do it. Disney created expansion plans if ever needed. They would likely create a second hub for the monorail even

There was some talk early on about using Epcot as a hub at least that's what I remember from some articles on the monorail society's website however it was rejected because of how the current station is situated and how the line currently runs with it going into Epcot before it goes into the station.

One of the biggest problems they have with additional monorail lines has more to do with Florida itself and the land that Walt Disney world sits on as it's mostly swamp land and they have had a number of sink holes open up in places over the years. Two big ones are the grasesed and tread area in the middle of the Magic kingdom parking lot where they had some construction equipment sink into the ground and the other big one is world showcase lagoon. Plus they also lost quiet a few monorail pilings just putting in the ones in Epcot and the ones for the Magic kingdom.

 

[EastYorkDisneyFan]

Plus don't forget that any expansion of the monorail system would mean that they would need to build another barn as the current one can only hold 10 of the current 12 monorails the remaing two are kept parked on the line at night on a rotating basis and in the event of savere weather are kept inside of the contemporary hotel. They would also need at least a dozen more monorails for any additional expansion as well.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Monorail expansion isn't happening because of cost.

They can certainly expand and change the TTC if they wanted.

Cost is definitely #1, though the fact they changed around how the parks are laid out vs Walt's original plan for the Florida Project which had the main area is more in one line so the monorails could go seemlessly from one area to the next is another factor ... the area just isn't laid out, currently, for the best fit for monorails.

 

[rteetz]

Which would mean a massive closure of it for several years well they do that and the disruption to entering the Magic kingdom would be to great for them to do it.

There was some talk early on about using Epcot as a hub at least that's what I remember from some articles on the monorail society's website however it was rejected because of how the current station is situated and how the line currently runs with it going into Epcot before it goes into the station.

One of the biggest problems they have with additional monorail lines has more to do with Florida itself and the land that Walt Disney world sits on as it's mostly swamp land and they have had a number of sink holes open up in places over the years. Two big ones are the grasesed and tread area in the middle of the Magic kingdom parking lot where they had some construction equipment sink into the ground and the other big one is world showcase lagoon. Plus they also lost quiet a few monorail pilings just putting in the ones in Epcot and the ones for the Magic kingdom.

Well aware. Just saying that if Disney wanted to they certainly could do it. Disney has been building on swamp/sink hole risks since the 1960s.

 

[Future_WorldPhonencian]

As with many of the more expensive and revolutionary things that they have built for wdw its not ”can’t” but with the co being so bottom line oriented these days its wont... back in the late 70’s and 80’s when they built epcot (and expanded the monorail significantly) they built epcot at a tremendous expense and the disney co was no where near as profitable... the concourse for the epcot monorail station has space for a second loop. But they havent built hotels in a way that complements an epcot hub... i know they eventually want the skyliner to expand to coronado, ak, and akl but it may never happen now

 

[sachilles]

I read the article on the monorail budget from bombadier. The Las Vegas Monorail expansion could certainly be where the line items are coming from. As much as I'd love an expansion, I don't see it happening. At best I think we see train replacement.
I'm still in the camp of skyliner is the wave of the future. I think the skyliner fits the transportation patterns of wdw a bit better. If you need new routes, skyliner is the cheaper way to go. I do think we will see new trains on the existing lines.

The curiosity for me is the bridge to the GF. That was a surprising move. I suppose it works in with the entrance project, but I can also see it working into a prolonged down time of the monorail. If you are getting new trains, it shouldn't take too awfully long to get them on the tracks, and have minimal down time. However, if you want/need to work on the rails themselves, the resulting down time could be enough to warrant the cost of building the path that serves the rest of the monorail loop resorts.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I read the article on the monorail budget from bombadier. The Las Vegas Monorail expansion could certainly be where the line items are coming from. As much as I'd love an expansion, I don't see it happening. At best I think we see train replacement.
I'm still in the camp of skyliner is the wave of the future. I think the skyliner fits the transportation patterns of wdw a bit better. If you need new routes, skyliner is the cheaper way to go. I do think we will see new trains on the existing lines.

The curiosity for me is the bridge to the GF. That was a surprising move. I suppose it works in with the entrance project, but I can also see it working into a prolonged down time of the monorail. If you are getting new trains, it shouldn't take too awfully long to get them on the tracks, and have minimal down time. However, if you want/need to work on the rails themselves, the resulting down time could be enough to warrant the cost of building the path that serves the rest of the monorail loop resorts.

I think it is largely just to provide another alternative for people staying at GF or Poly that they can walk now if they want and especially at park closing - and especially if any of the other forms of transporation have issues (which, even if they replace the monorail cars could still happen) is just another alternative

 

[gatour]

I have read the entire thread.

1. The beam is the beam, there will no replacing it until it reaches it end of life point, and concrete has an extremely long length of life if properly cured. Note how there is no talk of replacing the Contemporary Resort even though it is built and clad in concrete. So any new trains will need to take into account the dimensions of the existing beam.

2. Changing out the power supply to the trains.
2. a. While do able, I think they would start with the EPCOT Center line first. They can take it out of service, while doing the upgrade and use buses that were freed up by the Skyliner to take up the slack. They could use a tug (which I think Disney has) to push a new train that requires new power from the barn to the switch over to EPCOT Center line. They wouldn't need to do this everyday, just store the train on the EPCOT Center beam overnight.
2. b. They could do the same for the Resort and Express beams. I seem to recall something happened where they had to take of one of those beams out of service. They used the express beam to service the resorts.

3. Expansion of the monorail system. Not going to happen due to cost.

 

[jerseyduke]

Bombardier reporting 2 large orders from north america were places this year.....PLEASE!!!!!!!!!
Will it be for us?

 

[rteetz]

Bombardier reporting 2 large orders from north america were places this year.....PLEASE!!!!!!!!!
Will it be for us?

I wouldn’t get your hopes up.

 

[TiggerBouncy]

I wouldn’t get your hopes up.

I am confused. On the one hand, I could SWEAR I saw an announcement that Disney was ordering new monorails (in April and November 2018. Don't want to break forum rules, but google "disney new monorail confirmed" and you will see many sites repeating it).

On the other, I saw a recent article about a lot of refurbishment being performed on the existing trains (don't want to break rules with links, but if you google "disney monorail green" you will see links come right up).

Now I am seeing more rumors about new orders for monorails. Why would they refurb if they are ordering new ones? Were the April confirmations fake news?

Help me, rteetz. You're my only hope.

 

[rteetz]

I am confused. On the one hand, I could SWEAR I saw an announcement that Disney was ordering new monorails (in April and November 2018. Don't want to break forum rules, but google "disney new monorail confirmed" and you will see many sites repeating it).

On the other, I saw a recent article about a lot of refurbishment being performed on the existing trains (don't want to break rules with links, but if you google "disney monorail green" you will see links come right up).

Now I am seeing more rumors about new orders for monorails. Why would they refurb if they are ordering new ones? Were the April confirmations fake news?

Help me, rteetz. You're my only hope.

Disney never officially announced such. This was based on word of mouth from Bob Gurr and rumor. Bob Gurr said at an event that Disney had ordered new trains but this reportedly wasn't the case at the time. Disney was and could still be discussing/negotiating the possibility though.

The latest rumors are based on an unnamed buyer placing an order with Bombardier the monorail supplier however it is believed that unnamed buyer is for the Las Vegas expansion and not Disney.

 

[TiggerBouncy]

Disney never officially announced such. This was based on word of mouth from Bob Gurr and rumor. Bob Gurr said at an event that Disney had ordered new trains but this reportedly wasn't the case at the time. Disney was and could still be discussing/negotiating the possibility though.

The latest rumors are based on an unnamed buyer placing an order with Bombardier the monorail supplier however it is believed that unnamed buyer is for the Las Vegas expansion and not Disney.

Got it. So the stuff back a year and a half ago was rumor but never confirmed. Goodness knows they are spending a lot on the parks right now. The only thing that seems odd to me about ordering new trains is they just did a huge overhaul on (silver and green so far?). Since that includes new seats and paneling inside and out, it seems unlikely they would replace the carriage only a year or so after unless it takes 3 years to retrofit the system? (showing my ignorance)

 

[rteetz]

Got it. So the stuff back a year and a half ago was rumor but never confirmed. Goodness knows they are spending a lot on the parks right now. The only thing that seems odd to me about ordering new trains is they just did a huge overhaul on (silver and green so far?). Since that includes new seats and paneling inside and out, it seems unlikely they would replace the carriage only a year or so after unless it takes 3 years to retrofit the system? (showing my ignorance)

It would take years to have new monorails. Assuming they use the manufacturer Bombardier, it would be a coupe years before they even see them at WDW between order and delivery. And on top of that the system would itself would need upgrades and they wouldn't be able to switch all the trains at once it would likely have to be one at a time type thing. Its not a small undertaking.

 

[EastYorkDisneyFan]

It would take years to have new monorails. Assuming they use the manufacturer Bombardier, it would be a coupe years before they even see them at WDW between order and delivery. And on top of that the system would itself would need upgrades and they wouldn't be able to switch all the trains at once it would likely have to be one at a time type thing. Its not a small undertaking.

Exactly designing something like a monorail from the ground up isn't something as simple as a bus for example in Toronto it was 5 years between the design of both our new subway trains and new streetcars even with delays that occurred due to problems with suppliers.

 

[IanDLBZF from MCMagic]

Exactly designing something like a monorail from the ground up isn't something as simple as a bus for example in Toronto it was 5 years between the design of both our new subway trains and new streetcars even with delays that occurred due to problems with suppliers.

NYC has had issues with the R179s as well.