Would you pay higher prices for monorail extension?

[Saxsoon]

I ask one question, how often is the EPCOT monorail used regularly? I have never seen more than 10-30 people hop on them. It isn't feasible and is pointless when there are other means of transportation. Plus, we usually stay on site so we don't pay for parking. You would still have to pay to park at the TTC or a new TTC2 anyway.

 

[Tinkerbell21]

Yea that would be ok with me...again depending on how much but I would love it if the monorail went to all of the parks!

 

[andydandy325]

my plan for extending the monorail, I think would be to have it travel from EPCOT, and then to the Yacht & Beach Club Resorts and villas, Swan and Dolphin resorts, Hollywood Studios, then swing back around and hit the Boardwalk resort and villas. It cant be more than 2 1/2-3 miles. No more trains would be required either. only pure construction of stations and track. unlike starting fresh.

sadly, I think we are all dreaming

 

[jheigl]

sadly, I think we are all dreaming

True, but isn't that part of what Disney is?

 

[KYMickey]

my plan for extending the monorail, I think would be to have it travel from EPCOT, and then to the Yacht & Beach Club Resorts and villas, Swan and Dolphin resorts, Hollywood Studios, then swing back around and hit the Boardwalk resort and villas. It cant be more than 2 1/2-3 miles. No more trains would be required either. only pure construction of stations and track. unlike starting fresh.

Why do you think that no more trains would be required? If you have more stops (you're adding quite a few in your idea) you're obviously planning on carrying more people over more distance so you would obviously need more trains. I also think the route you are talking about is longer than you think.

 

[KidDurango]

With any expansion of the monorails, more trains would definately be neded. On most days, at some point in the day there are 11 trains out on the beam. When you factor in that there is often one train that is completely out of service for maintenance overhaul, then that is your current fleet. Several days in the past weeks they have been running whats known as 4-4-4, which means they have 4 trains on each beam (resort, express, and Epcot). There are times during the day that they may go down to as little as 3-3-2, but that is usually only in mid-afternoon, so that they can do some of the daily maintenance on the trains that they might not be able to get to due to late park hours.
The other thing that is not mentioned often when talking of Monorail expansion, is what happens when trains break down. When a train breaks down, you lose virtually all capacity on that line for however long it is down. If you were running 3 trains, that is a loss of potentially 900 people about every 20 minutes for what is often an hour or more. On the flip side, when a bus breaks down, it is a potential loss of 70 people, for just as long as it takes to put another bus out there. If guests are stuck on a broken train, then they are stuck on a broken train. If guests are stuck on a broken bus, another bus pulls up next to it, they move to the new bus, and off they go.
It may not be pretty or exciting, but buses make the most sense for the operation Disney has.

 

[saratogadreamin09]

the monorail offers a fun ride and is so much faster then the buses or boats Id be willing to pay more for a monorail extension

 

[TheRustyScupper]

1) No.
2) The current monorail is fine.
3) Keep the admission price low.
4) Of course, riders are free to pay to ride the new monorail lines.
5) That would be fair - pay only if you ride.

 

[ParrotBill]

I would love to see a light rail or trolley system rather than the expensive monorail. Leverage a design already in use and cheaper to manufacture, and roadway level with crossing gates for less used roads and flyovers for busier roads. I would lay out these routes with Studios as a hub.

AKL - AK - ASR - BB - CSR - DS
DS - SD - YC - BC - Front of EPCOT
DS - TTC (heck, ditch TTC and go to MK bus area )
DS - PC - CBR - DD Westside - OKW - PO - SSR

 

[KYMickey]

I would love to see a light rail or trolley system rather than the expensive monorail. Leverage a design already in use and cheaper to manufacture, and roadway level with crossing gates for less used roads and flyovers for busier roads. I would lay out these routes With Studios as a hub.

Why put the hub at the studios? Why not build a huge new parking area and the hub somewhere removed from all the Parks with direct interstate access. That would open up the existing parking areas for development and would greatly reduce automobile traffic within WDW. It would also greatly reduce the traffic on the existing roads so that maybe grade crossings could be used at all places instead of fly overs really reducing the cost of the project. Actually if designed correctly light rail and trolleys could run on the same track and be used interchangeably depending on the demand for a particular route. Of course Disney isn't going to want to spend money on anything like this that doesn't make them money.

 

[wdw4us2]

Why not build a different sort of rail transportation system for the Epcot resort area (YC/BC, Boardwalk, Swan & Dolphin) and DHS using the TTA (Peoplemover) technology? According to the original plans for EPCOT, the drawings all featured this transportation system as well as the Monorail.

 

[andydandy325]

Why not build a different sort of rail transportation system for the Epcot resort area (YC/BC, Boardwalk, Swan & Dolphin) and DHS using the TTA (Peoplemover) technology? According to the original plans for EPCOT, the drawings all featured this transportation system as well as the Monorail.

There you go! peoplemover!

 

[TheRustyScupper]

1) Forget a monorail expansion.
2) Use the latest technology, instead.
3) "Beam me to The Studios, Scotty."

 

[mitros]

Personally, I am sick of paying more for EVERYTHING at WDW..........

 

[Padrepride]

First off, I love the monorail both at WDW and at DLR. But costs are high enough as it is at both resorts and from my experiences, the bus/boat transportation is fine. Here's an idea for an alternate form of transportation at WDW, how about subway, or hot-air balloon.

 

[mitros]

First off, I love the monorail both at WDW and at DLR. But costs are high enough as it is at both resorts and from my experiences, the bus/boat transportation is fine. Here's an idea for an alternate form of transportation at WDW, how about subway, or hot-air balloon.

Man, you left out teleportation. Just ask Capt. Kirk how quick that form of getting from point A to point B can be!

 

[raidermatt]

I think upgrading and expanding WDW's transportation system, monorail or otherwise, would be a wise investment for Disney. The Walt Disney Company already has the capital to invest if they chose to do so.

 

[JoWiJo]

Ok, several have brought up the people-movers, so I'll give my input.

I'd be in favor or a people-mover system myself, tying it in with the monorail perhaps, but not exactly as Walt Disney had planned. The one drawback of the one he wanted is that it prohibits those people with low or no self-mobility from riding, as it is always moving. Imagine yourself being only able to walk at a maximum speed of 3 MPH and trying to climb inside something moving at 6 or 7 MPH perpendicularly to you -- or trying to time your movement while sitting in a chair so that you can wheel yourself through the door in that ever-so short timespan you have (getting through motionless doors can be hard enough at times for someone in a chair).

So, those confined to walkers and wheelchairs will then still be forced to use automobiles (or the monorail, if available at both points A and B). While the bus route would still be a viable option for such guests, keep in mind that the process of getting on and off them for the handicapped can take even longer than those of us with mobility -- sometimes much longer.

There is no reason that a "people-mover" should constantly move, especially since it can be tied into a computer system. At the very least these cars should be stoppable at designated points from both within and without the vehicles. Not only would this be a great benefit for the mobility impaired, but also for anyone else that might need them to stop, such as a party with a stroller. Space out the cars a reasonable bit, and perhaps similar to an earlier suggestion in this thread, allow people to select their destination points, cars can then de-magnatize (i.e. stop) at certain points. Those cars that are behind the stopped cars at given stations but are continuing on can bypass them via switch track.

Aside from what should be a small tweak to make the cars ADA compliant, I'd be all for it. They're clean, quiet, and even a little fun.

 

[KYMickey]

I think upgrading and expanding WDW's transportation system, monorail or otherwise, would be a wise investment for Disney. The Walt Disney Company already has the capital to invest if they chose to do so.

Why do you feel it would be a wise investment? It's a neat toy but it's really not extremely practical nor cost effective. There are much more cost effective and efficient systems available, including hybrid buses which are being adopted by Disney.

 

[RoutemanDan]

Why do you feel it would be a wise investment? It's a neat toy but it's really not extremely practical nor cost effective. There are much more cost effective and efficient systems available, including hybrid buses which are being adopted by Disney.

He said, "I think upgrading and expanding WDW's transportation system, monorail or otherwise, would be a wise investment for Disney"