guests not allowed up front on monorail Walt Disney World (WDW) News Discuss guests not allowed up front on monorail in the News & Rumors forums; Maybe this will be temporary, but when we asked to sit up front in the monorail during our vacation last week we were not permitted to, and were told that ...

[DisneyHomeVideo]

Maybe this will be temporary, but when we asked to sit up front in the monorail during our vacation last week we were not permitted to, and were told that it was no longer available. I'm assuming this is due to the recent monorail accident.

Dan
disneyhomevideo

[Disnyfan83]

I thought this might happen. Hopefully this will only be temporary. To this day, one of my son's favorite Disney moments was riding up front in the monorail for the fist time.

[lexitink]

My cusins 1st trip to disney they rode in front good memories

[NC_WDW_Daddy]

Could be temporary until all the investigations and recommendations have been completed.

[Spodie]

As sad as it would be, I would be really surprised if they let anyone ride in the front of the monorail any time in the near future or ever for that matter. I couldn't even imagine if there had been guests in the front of that monorail that night...

[wdwfns2]

There was another thread covering this and I believe they reported that part of the reason no one is permitted up front for the near future is so the cast members won't feel preassured to talk about the accident and won't be miss quoted for saying something that they weren't involved with. Also, remember that a lot of the cast members are still mourning the loss of their friend/fellow cast member and getting asked 100 times a day about what happened won't help them focus on their job any better. I too miss riding in the front and always looked at it as a special "perk", but I don't see it happening again anywhere in the near future. Give it a year or two, wait for things to calm down...maybe it can be something special for the 40th anniversary...not saying it will, just tossing it out there.

[Disney05]

I can see why they would stop it right now. Got to do this two years ago, great view.

[ohiodisneydad]

I'm sure the mindset behind this is liability driven. Imagine if there had of been a family in the front car when this accident happened. I'm not sure this will ever be offered again.

[sunsetgrill7]

Very likely. Now with the impending lawsuit(which will likely be settled out of court), we should be happy if we're able to ride the monorail at all. I feel most for those who worked with him and are constantly asked what happened by ignorant guests.

[ohiodisneydad]

True, the public can be very insensitive. I was very surprised that the monorails opened so soon after the accident.

[sunsetgrill7]

I thought the same when first viewing the accident on the news. I then realized the thousands of vactioners that would have been upset if the monorail did shut down and it wasn't mandatory. Without being insensitive, think of all the people who were trying to enjoy a rare vacation that weren't directly effected by the tragedy.

[tizzo]

The official word from Disney (as reported on the local news) when they reopened the monorail following the accident was that this measure was out of respect for Austin, although it seems obvious that liability would have to have played some part. It was left open as to whether it was temporary or not.

At this point, though the investigation continues and the immediate cause of the failed track switch is not known (though they seem to think that operator error seems most likely), the sequence of events leading from that failed track switch to the fatal accident are well understood, and recently announced changes in procedure seem like they would certainly make another accident of this kind rather unlikely.

I saw over the weekend that cast members won't be allowed to back trains through the track switch anymore -- there are controls at both ends of every train and they will now be required to use them; and they will be requiring the presence of a cast member in the booth at TTC. I believe that was already standard procedure, but they're saying that the cast member who would have been in the booth was out sick that day and no one replaced him or her.

Each of these changes, it would seem, places someone in a position of having both a view of the moving monorail and control over that motion, meaning that were the same mistake or problem involving the track switch to occur, an additional two people would have to fail to notice the impending collision and take appropriate action in order for the same sort of accident to happen again. Which brings the chances of a repeat to about as close as the theoretically impossible zero as I think you can get.

I wouldn't be surprised if guests were allowed in the cockpit again "someday". But I don't think it will be any time soon.

[MagicMom]

I doubt the cockpit will ever be open to guests again. It is really unusual that a service feature is reinstated once it is "retired." I am so happy that my 2 oldest kids have their pilot licenses!

[Tim]

Originally Posted by DisneyHomeVideo

Maybe this will be temporary, but when we asked to sit up front in the monorail during our vacation last week we were not permitted to, and were told that it was no longer available. I'm assuming this is due to the recent monorail accident.

Dan
disneyhomevideo

I'm guessing that when things calm down they will again start letting people back in the cockpit. After all, the monorail was safe before and Disney won't even allow them to move now without a check, re-check and re-re-check.

[tizzo]

Originally Posted by MagicMom

I doubt the cockpit will ever be open to guests again. It is really unusual that a service feature is reinstated once it is "retired." I am so happy that my 2 oldest kids have their pilot licenses!

You may be right, but I'm not ready to give up hope just yet. As I said in an earlier post, cockpit ridership hasn't officially been retired, just suspended.

Here's a question that may be pertinent regarding the future of monorail cockpit ridership. Does anyone know if Disneyland still (or ever) permitted guests in their monorail cockpits?

It seems to me that if they continue to allow it at Disneyland, that could be interpreted as a strong hints that it will eventually be reinstated at WDW.