New Monorail Hours seriously messing up my schedule? Suggestions?

[magentarhps93]

I saw this article late last night and it's seriously put a damper in my plans:

http://www.wdwmagic.com/transportat...-timetable-to-accommodate-automation-work.htm

I am honestly shocked that Disney wouldn't at least wait until the 4th of July crowds are gone, because there will be some extremely packed busses. Also, I think it's horrible of them to only give a week's notice, as the monorail and EMH are 2 perks of staying at their 3 priciest hotels.

Now that the complaining is over I need you WDW experts help in coming up with a new way to get from Gaylord Palms (about 15 minutes offsite) to the Magic Kingdom gates by 8am because we have an 8:15 Crystal Palace breakfast that morning. (Oh and also it's my 21st birthday and I wanted everything to be perfect- surprise! It isn't ) We are staying at Gaylord Palms the first night we get to FL June 29th, and staying at Poly June 30th-July 6th.

We will also be renting a car- the original plan was to leave Gaylord Palms by 7am (we have to stay our first night there due to budget reasons). Get to the Poly at 7:15, park the car and be waiting at the monorail station by 7:30 the latest. My mom is eligible for handicapped parking so we were going to valet. We have a break scheduled for the day and that is when we were gonna check in. Now it looks like our only options are to still drive and park at the Poly and wait for the bus? How much time would we need to allow for that? An hour if you take in stopping at the 2 other resorts and loading on those in scooters and wheelchairs? I doubt parking at the TTC parking lot and taking the fairy boat over would take longer? I'm gonna have a hard time selling waking up at 6:00 am to my family just so I can get a picture on my birthday in front of the castle with no people. I don't even want to think about how we'll be getting to Epcot by 8 am for EMH but I figure, one problem at a time.

2 weeks to go and I am STRESSED. It seems like Disney just does not want me to have a magical birthday!

TL;DR New monorail hours seriously stink for people who want to expeirence EMH or have pre-park ADRS

 

[alexiskacz]

Stupid question.... what is the different between the MK resort beam and the MK express beam.... we are at the GF and not to happy about this change.

 

[siskaren]

Stupid question.... what is the different between the MK resort beam and the MK express beam.... we are at the GF and not to happy about this change.

The resort beam stops at the three monorail resorts as well at the TTC and MK. The express beam only stops at the TTC and the MK.

 

[ExploringWDW]

Quickest would probably be to take a taxi to the Contemporary and walk to MK.

 

[jessibelle]

It does say the boats will be running at higher capacity to compensate. Why not go to the dock early on, would be a nice relaxed addition to your day

 

[Chuck S]

I'd park at the TTC lot, you can use the Handicap parking, but be aware there is a steep hill on the walkway under the road to get to the TTC.

I'd use a boat to get to the MK from the TTC, rather than the bus from Poly. THen, when leaving the park to check-in at your resort, take the monorail and have a member of your party move the car to the Poly Valet.

Don't forget to take your Mom's parking placard! It is an easy thing to forget to pack.

 

[magentarhps93]

Thanks for all the suggestions so far- we've only stayed at the Poly once and we only did the boat from MK to the resort once- how long/how many stops does it usually make?

I've also only ridden the ferryboat from TTC to MK once- I remember it taking a long time but can't quite remember?

I'm thinking of calling Disney on Monday so they can give me exact hours as to what is running where at what time. Though knowing how well informed phone CMs tend to be I probably won't get much help. Luckily the changes start a few days before my trip so hopefully somebody can report back on what's up and running. I'm also going to write a formal complaint to their guest services to let them know that we are unhappy about not being notified about the change in advanced because in my opinion this really effects staying at the monorial resorts and having early breakfasts.

 

[Paging Tom Morrow]

Since you haven't checked in yet, you'd have to pay for parking, right? If so, just spend a couple of dollars more and valet park at the Contemporary and then walk over.

 

[sophiasapientia]

Very unhappy about this news. We'll be staying at GF over the July 4th week, with no plans to rent a car, and have rented a scooter for my DH who has Muscular Dystrophy. We have early breakfast ressies for 7/4 at CRT. How are we going to get there with his scooter? The buses are apparently take forever/are a nightmare and I'm heard mixed things as to whether the boats are handicapped accessible for not (everyone I spoke with at Disney said that they are but I've read differently online.) We wanted a monorail resort and are paying extra in large part so that transport would be easier for us. Not cool!

Called customer service, GF and WDW Transportation tonight and all insisted that this news was not on their schedule.

 

[kaytieeldr]

I'd park at the TTC lot, you can use the Handicap parking, but be aware there is a steep hill on the walkway under the road to get to the TTC.

I'd use a boat to get to the MK from the TTC, rather than the bus from Poly. THen, when leaving the park to check-in at your resort, take the monorail and have a member of your party move the car to the Poly Valet.

Don't forget to take your Mom's parking placard! It is an easy thing to forget to pack.

The person to whom the handicap parking placard is issued must be present (entering/exiting the vehicle) for its valid use. I'm not sure meeting the vehicle at Valet Parking when it's been driven by someone else qualifies.

 

[Chuck S]

Very unhappy about this news. We'll be staying at GF over the July 4th week, with no plans to rent a car, and have rented a scooter for my DH who has Muscular Dystrophy. We have early breakfast ressies for 7/4 at CRT. How are we going to get there with his scooter? The buses are apparently take forever/are a nightmare and I'm heard mixed things as to whether the boats are handicapped accessible for not (everyone I spoke with at Disney said that they are but I've read differently online.) We wanted a monorail resort and are paying extra in large part so that transport would be easier for us. Not cool!

Called customer service, GF and WDW Transportation tonight and all insisted that this news was not on their schedule.

I honestly do not know of the small launches from the GF are wheelchair accessible. I do know the large boats from the TTC are wheelchair friendly, roll right on and right off.

 

[ForeverAlice]

On the resort boats last month I saw a scooter a handful of times in the week we were there.

 

[Chuck S]

The person to whom the handicap parking placard is issued must be present (entering/exiting the vehicle) for its valid use. I'm not sure meeting the vehicle at Valet Parking when it's been driven by someone else qualifies.

The person to whom the placard was issued WILL be exiting the vehicle at the TTC, and entering the vehicle again at the GF Valet when they get ready to go somewhere. Shouldn't that qualify?

 

[magentarhps93]

Since you haven't checked in yet, you'd have to pay for parking, right? If so, just spend a couple of dollars more and valet park at the Contemporary and then walk over.

We're AP holders if that makes a difference? Do we get free parking at resorts or only the parks?

 

[magentarhps93]

The person to whom the handicap parking placard is issued must be present (entering/exiting the vehicle) for its valid use. I'm not sure meeting the vehicle at Valet Parking when it's been driven by someone else qualifies.

Why wouldn't it? My mom is getting in and out of the car? I thought the "handicapped" parking at the resorts was free Valet? That could be totally untrue though. This is one of the first times we've stayed at WDW with a car!

 

[joelkfla]

The buses are apparently take forever

not quite

/are a nightmare

That's a bit extreme.

and I'm heard mixed things as to whether the boats are handicapped accessible for not

The boats that normally serve the GF are not accessible. During the last monorail planned outage, I believe Watercraft added one accessible boat to the GF/Poly rotation, but Guests might have had to wait for the 2nd or 3rd boat, depending on where it was when they arrived at the dock.

 

[kaytieeldr]

The person to whom the placard was issued WILL be exiting the vehicle at the TTC, and entering the vehicle again at the GF Valet when they get ready to go somewhere. Shouldn't that qualify?

It wouldn't qualify for parking in a standard HP space; I'm therefore not sure it would make the vehicle eligible for the Valet charge waiver. The placard holder would need to be in/with the vehicle around the time the service is being rendered.

Why wouldn't it? My mom is getting in and out of the car? I thought the "handicapped" parking at the resorts was free Valet? That could be totally untrue though. This is one of the first times we've stayed at WDW with a car!

Again, for the suggestions made here (have someone else move the car from the TTC...), the placard holder should need to be in*/entering/exiting the vehicle for valid usage. That's one of the restrictions for parking in a handicap space, it stands to reason it'd be necessary in this situation as well.

Actually, Valet parking at no charge at resorts where it's available is an added courtesy, granted sometimes due to the distance between the parking lists t and the resort. It's not "the" handicap parking.

*in=entering or leaving the vehicle when it's parked, not simply sitting in while other people go do things - even errands for the placard holder

 

[sophiasapientia]

not quiteThat's a bit extreme.

Thanks for the feedback. The fact of the matter is that we are paying premium price to be at a monorail resort. Our transportation needs are more complicated than the average family's due to my husband's disability. We planned our park days -- all our ADRs, including pre-park opening breakfasts, and Fast Pass Plus reservations -- exclusively for Magic Kingdom and Epcot specifically so that we could take the monorail and avoid the buses as much as possible. If we had wanted to take the buses, we could have -- and very likely would have -- stayed at another resort for less money.

I get that emergencies happen and the monorail can shutdown but, if this news is true and will start on 6/22, it is a *planned* truncated schedule during one of the busiest seasons of the year which, one week out, WDW is still denying to monorail resort guests. I am livid.

 

[maxiesmom]

Thanks for the feedback. The fact of the matter is that we are paying premium price to be at a monorail resort. Our transportation needs are more complicated than the average family's due to my husband's disability. We planned our park days -- all our ADRs, including pre-park opening breakfasts, and Fast Pass Plus reservations -- exclusively for Magic Kingdom and Epcot specifically so that we could take the monorail and avoid the buses as much as possible. If we had wanted to take the buses, we could have -- and very likely would have -- stayed at another resort for less money.

I get that emergencies happen and the monorail can shutdown but, if this news is true and will start on 6/22, it is a *planned* truncated schedule during one of the busiest seasons of the year which, one week out, WDW is still denying to monorail resort guests. I am livid.

Unfortunately they cannot do all of their construction work during the now pretty much mythological off season. I know this doesn't help, but for a while now it has been a bad idea to rely only on the monorail as a means of transportation. It does break down.

I think your best bet is to valet park at the Contemporary, and take the short walk to the Magic Kingdom.

I would be upset too, but as I make more and more trips to WDW I've come to understand they do not give out construction notices very far ahead of time. I understand now how impossible it is to offer set dates far in advance, as my work place is getting a total remodel, and I see how construction ebbs and flows depending on things such as weather, materials, and work force.

it is frustrating to have things dropped on you last minute. Depending on your ADRs, have you thought about maybe switching to the Contemporary or an Epcot resort? The Contemporary would place you a short walk away from MK and an Epcot resort would be great if you have many ADRs at Epcot or DS.

 

[sophiasapientia]

Unfortunately they cannot do all of their construction work during the now pretty much mythological off season. I know this doesn't help, but for a while now it has been a bad idea to rely only on the monorail as a means of transportation. It does break down.

I think your best bet is to valet park at the Contemporary, and take the short walk to the Magic Kingdom.

I would be upset too, but as I make more and more trips to WDW I've come to understand they do not give out construction notices very far ahead of time. I understand now how impossible it is to offer set dates far in advance, as my work place is getting a total remodel, and I see how construction ebbs and flows depending on things such as weather, materials, and work force.

it is frustrating to have things dropped on you last minute. Depending on your ADRs, have you thought about maybe switching to the Contemporary or an Epcot resort? The Contemporary would place you a short walk away from MK and an Epcot resort would be great if you have many ADRs at Epcot or DS.

Thank you. I did check the Contemporary resort last night. We need a handicapped accessible room because my husband needs a barrier free shower and because we will be bringing a wheelchair with and need room for the rented ECV. Contemporary does not have any of these rooms left this late in the game. Disney resorts have limited handicapped accessible rooms available overall. Most of our plans are at Magic Kingdom with one day planned at Epcot.

We are flying into Orlando and did not plan to rent a car.