Is it time for Disney to Bite the Bullet?

[HauntedGabe]

Guest stranded on the monorail isn't anything unusual anymore. At points over the past year or so it is happening almost daily. It happened on Christmas morning, just before the MK opened.

Lines for the boat massive. Again today. Packing guests on buses to shuttle them around the lake. Others just waiting for the Ferry to cross and come back again.

I wonder what the breaking point will be before Disney addresses the failing Monorail?

Ow.ly - image uploaded by @TheDisneyBlog

[NC_WDW_Daddy]

I don't know, but that is a very good point. For us, the monorail is such an important part of the experience I would hate to see it go away.

[weepstah]

Excellent blog post on this issue here:

The Monorails Must Roll | The Disney Blog

[Mo Noyz]

I don't know what the tipping point is either, but when we were there in 2010 we had several delays on the monorail line. The resort loop left us waiting for a long period of time twice, and there was a breakdown on the EPCOT loop while we were standing in the station waiting to get back to the Poly. After waiting nearly 20 minutes we walked over and took a bus.

Now, the real kicker being that this was just days before the Memorial Day weekend. Crowds were relatively light compared to what they were about to experience. I didn't even want to imagine what it would have been like then...

The monorail system was definitely in the biggest state of disrepair that I've ever seen. And I've been going there since the mid 70's.

[supernova]

After picking up my gingerbread shingles at GF and intending to head over to a Disney surplus shop, the GPS sent me around behind the parks and I came out right in front of the monorail service station. I half expected thie place to be full of cars waiting to be serviced (please pardon the VWL parking pass on the dash).

[SnwhtNdwrfs]

So how would you fix the problem?

[supernova]

Time to move up to Mark VII's.

[SnwhtNdwrfs]

If you had to estimate, how much do you think that would cost? Would you add more monorails?

[supernova]

I realize there's a cost involved with adding more trains (driver's hourly wage, electricity, maintenance, etc), but 15-20 minute waits at the stations (that also includes bus stops, though that is more difficult to monitor with the greater distances and varied routes each takes) is a bit extensive. The longer people are waiting at the station, the less time they are in your parks spending money. And yes, we wait on line for rides in the parks. But even then, people jump off the line to buy food, drink, etc. How long before they start selling souveniers right on the monorail platform?

[Mo Noyz]

How was the monorail system when you were there?

To be honest, our previous (to our 2010 trip) trip was in '06 and they were running just fine.

Four years later, not so much...The cars, across the line stunk of mildew and were very rickety. Definitely nothing like the clean, quiet cars they once were.

Perhaps your suggestion of moving up to Mark VII's isn't so far off target. They'd serve the company far better at WDW than they do at Disneyland. For reasons you've already enumerated.

[supernova]

It was running OK, though mainly on the local MK loop. The ones from Epcot were taking much longer. I don't know how many they keep on/off the track during the day. Three on the express, two on the resort, and five on the Epcot line seems to be a fair number. That still allows for two to be down at any time.

[JNota0005DakMC]

Mike I think it is time to upgrade the monorails... It will cost money but it will be worth it in the long run...

[HauntedGabe]

Mike I think it is time to upgrade the monorails... It will cost money but it will be worth it in the long run...

And that is the opinion I share.

Monorails are such a draw to those hotels and park hopping and they just are not reliable anymore. To newer guests they are an attraction unto themselves.

Building another GF DVC and likely on at the Poly next....right after BL DVC at the Contemporary, how can they not address it? (that question doesn't really need to be answered, lol)

[WDW1014]

my dads friend just got a job at disney last week for mechanic on the monorails maybe ill find out some info

[supernova]

my dads friend just got a job at disney last week for mechanic on the monorails maybe ill find out some info

Now there's a job with built-in job security.