we drove the monorail!!!

[EjandMD]

While we were there Feb 29- March 9 we recieved two dream fastpasses, ears, and the extra hour in the park (EPCOT)- that was really cool by the way, they threw a party just for us (1,500) and Mickey and Minnie came. Then my friend who is a CM asked me if we would like to drive the monorail? I said absolutely! He made some phone calls and told us to be at the TTC on Wed at 1 p.m. When we arrived we were met by two managers who took us in the cabin and explained how all the controls worked. Off we went my mom drove first (halfway to Epcot) then I took over and parked it (smoothly I might add) into Epcot, I got out of the car and opened the doors to let about 200 people out! Little did they know the danger they were in My husband then drove it back to the TTC. I wasn't sure if this was okay to do so I asked the manager if it was okay to let others know. He said yes that this was part of the YMOD but really is hard to get because you have to have a supervisior with you. So we were blessed and honored to participate. It was awesome

By the way, my friend said that giving away a night in the castle has been hard to give away because you can only take 4 people with you and most people don't want to leave the rest of their party, or they don't feel like moving or whatever. We were shocked We would have loved to spend the night.

 

[SoArIn1127]

wow thats kind of scary haha..to think of being on the monorail with someone who doesnt know how to drive it makes me a little nervous...a little weird to me that disney would include such a thing in year of a million dreams..

 

[deej696]

Wow what an amazing dream! I am a monorail fanatic, and would give my right foot to get to drive it. Luckily, there is no gas pedal so my right foot would not be required to drive

 

[karibritt01]

wow thats kind of scary haha..to think of being on the monorail with someone who doesnt know how to drive it makes me a little nervous...a little weird to me that disney would include such a thing in year of a million dreams..

I've ridden in the front of the monorail several times. Many of the drivers were with the college program. I think I would rather have a guest driving under the watchful eye of the supervisor!

 

[XxDisneyFan00xX]

Wow that sounds like alot of fun!! I hope you all had fun driving the monorail!! Was it scary or hard?

 

[jjk]

sounds like you had a lot of fun

 

[EjandMD]

It wasn't scary at all! There is a throtle that goes up and down and that's really it. So it remains in neutral when you are in the station and you gear it up when you start to move. The trickiest thing is that there is no stop gear. So you have to move it from neutral to 1 to neutral to back up (I'm probably not using the right terminology) to make a smooth stop. And I assure you that while we were driving we were under the VERY watchful eye and instruction of the supervisor. In fact my DH had the stretch where he was supposed to go the fastest and he thought he would kick it up one gear at a time, the two CM's laughed at him and told him to "Open it up!" and with that one got up and, in one quick move, jammed it all the way up.

It was really special and we were honored.

 

[Charleyann]

My Ds is a monorail freak. He would have loved this! How neat to have a party fro 1500 people with Minnie and Mickey. Awesome for you!

Charleyann

 

[Tinkertini]

My two brothers in law got to drive the monorail last month too - it was the only time I ever heard of it! They were the only passengers on it (very slow time of day, the resort monorail). The driver said since nobody else was on it, that they could drive it, so he showed them how and he let them. I was so jealous when we all met up later on!

I asked about it on another disney board & a retired monorail driver said that letting guests drive the monorail is an instant termination! I was glad I didn't give the day it happened....didn't want to get anyone in trouble.

 

[seashoreCM]

(What do you think?)

Would guests pay (edited) thirty dollars to drive the monorail as an extra attraction?

Would or could Disney make money offering that, having an empty train and supervisor/driver for that purpose during some off hours?

(If I remember correctly, backstage tours, which guests can sign up for, cost around $50. give or take.)

 

[ObsessedwiththeMouse]

wow thats kind of scary haha..to think of being on the monorail with someone who doesnt know how to drive it makes me a little nervous...a little weird to me that disney would include such a thing in year of a million dreams..

My brother drives the monorail and when he heard of the new "dream", he freaked. The monorail "rules" still apply while the guest is driving, so if they drive too fast on part of the track that you can't "speed" on, the CM gets the "red may-po"...aka, a warning on their record. I just told him to make sure he picks someone that will listen when you tell them to slow down or speed up.

 

[Tinkertini]

I am sure it is something people would pay for, but it might violate all kind of safety regulations. I truly think people would pay anything to do something special in Disney - if the castle suite is ever something people can purchase I shudder to think about the offers they'd get for it!

 

[scrump]

My DH would love to drive the monorail! Sounds like you had a blast, thanks for sharing!!