Monorail system to operate on new timetable to accommodate automation work

twilight mitsukJul 08, 2014

Or a rental car.

RoskoJul 07, 2014

I'm sure hoping it's gonna be fixed! I really am all set with a cab to Epcot!

StineJul 07, 2014

We just returned from our trip last week, and I have to say, we had no problems with the monorail in the evenings, and we stayed at Epcot until after the fireworks. We did not take the monorail in the mornings. Instead we walked to the Magic Kingdom and took a cab the one morning we needed to go to Epcot early. For HS, the bus was fine, no longer than a minute or two wait. Now, dinner at Animal Kingdom Lodge is another story. On our first night we had reservations at Boma. We elected to walk to the MK bus depot and left with at least an hour or more until our reservation time (the front desk at the CR told us to leave 45 minutes - 30 should be plenty, but there might be rush hour traffic). Well, after waiting an hour for the bus to arrive, and watching 3 buses for all the other hotels come and go, needless to say, everyone was cranky. I flagged down another bus driver who told me that one was coming, and during my wait, I also attempted to call re: my reservation. That phone call took over 20 minutes on hold until I could get someone to let the restaurant know we were on our way - didn't want to lose my deposit! At the same time, I then asked to be transferred to Transportation or Guest Services, to find out what was happening with the bus. After another 25 minutes on hold, I gave up when the bus arrived. Needless to say it was packed, and those trying to return to the MK from the AKL were not successful in boarding. Not a nice way to treat your deluxe hotel guests. An AKL guest told me that in the morning of that same day, there were no buses either, and it was just chaos. That is when we decided to cab it to Epcot the next morning. With regard to the A/C on the monorail, it always seemed to be running, but not very strong. Could just be that it is a small, enclosed space with a bunch of people warming the car. All cars, did however, smell a funny farm like smell. Not pleasant. All in all, a good trip, though.

dstrawn9889Jun 30, 2014

but not for a delay The Monorail is operating on a fixed schedule not dependent on park hours. The Magic Kingdom Resort beam runs from 8:30 a.m. to midnight; the Magic Kingdom Express beam runs from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m.; and the Epcot beam runs from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. Extra buses and watercraft will run during the Monorail's downtimes to provide additional transportation options. resort beam operates a half hour before opening... only a half hour later than normal operations...

RoskoJun 30, 2014

Pools are/going to be closed at several resorts-people are being offered to switch resorts, free tickets to blizzard beach w a dedicated bus and I believe one other "perk" for the inconvenience of not having the pool. Not a discount-but an effort at giving something to the customers for taking away an advertised service of the resort.

RoskoJun 30, 2014

It's a service you pay dearly for. Watch the planning DVD or the travel channel WDW Resorts doc on YouTube-the FIRST thing Kalogridis says about CR is "MONORAILS!“

RoskoJun 30, 2014

I completely meant that in the romanticized notion... Hoping Walt would hold true to his values/beliefs etc etc. also hoping that the damn monorail will be fixed. A CM told me "It's OK, we'll have EXTRA BUSES and BOATS or you can WALK." The problem with that is-I don't WANT to walk! If I wanted to walk-I woulda stayed at Beach Club or Boardwalk Inn. I picked the contemporary for the monorail and the MK view-not so I could take a boat. I work on tugboats therefore I have ZERO desire to be on a boat on vacation ;-p

RoskoJun 30, 2014

Hoping they'll be done by the middle of September!

Admiral01Jun 26, 2014

Oh, it feels good to laugh!

BoltJun 26, 2014

It's called the no Latin Group benefit, debateably worth it.

flynnibusJun 26, 2014

They don't - they have to shutdown when it's too hot out. They reworked the windows after they initially delivered the new monorails too as well because it was too bad.

dstrawn9889Jun 25, 2014

cars cannot be swapped(well not without serious teardown i mean they are not like train cars), i think you meant trains, as monorail black would not operate missing a car.

MinnieM123Jun 25, 2014

I believe you are sincere in your comments, and take pride in your work. Throughout this entire thread, the insight you've shared about the operation of the monorail system is also appreciated. Thank you also, Figment 2005, for passing along (to your colleagues who work on the monorail), the A/C problems in some of the (hotel loop) monorail cars, that both @Jakester and @kbmum mentioned. Just wondering: could the A/C malfunction they talked about be an intermittent problem in some of the cars? If so, that might explain why the monorail mechanics might “miss” some of the A/C problems during their daily checklist. (I’m assuming that checking the A/C components would also be a part of a standard checklist, after all the safety systems have passed inspection.) My dream (but, will probably never happen) would be for Disney to add more new monorail trains to the fleet, thereby giving them more opportunity to switch out cars on a more regular basis.

COProgressFanJun 25, 2014

That was a well-documented (on MiceAge, anyway) design flaw when they developed the new trains. The way I remember, instead of going to knowledgeable, experienced folks like Bob Gurr, they decided they could design without any historical guidance. There is no a/c, and design changes were necessary after the trains were built, which allowed the windows to open up a bit more. It still gets really hot though.