PM EMH Monorail News

[BamaJenn]

From WDW Magic:

Beginning on July 11 2011, the Epcot monorail service will stop operation 1 hour after regular park closing, and from August 1 2011, the Magic Kingdom monorail will stop operation 1 hour after regular park closing. This means that in both cases, the monorail will not be able to return guests back to their resorts after evening Extra Magic Hours. Guests will instead be transported by bus and boats where available. Morning Extra Magic Hour service has not been affected. All indications are that this is a permanent change.

Walt Disney World Monorail System news - Monorails to no longer operate during Evening Extra Magic Hours

[BamaJenn]

I'm kind of shocked by this... the busses will be nutty!

[Mo Noyz]

Wow, very bad idea, IMO. I can't imagine how the buses will be able to pick up that slack. The wait for the monorail at the MK can be long and brutal. Now they're going to re-route all of those folks to the bus terminal?!

Seems like a near historically bad decision. And anybody who's been there at that time of night, where the crowd is backed up to before you even walk under the monorail tracks, would surely concur.

I wouldn't even bother with EMH at the MK unless I was staying at the Contemporary and could simply walk back to my resort.

They'll do this, but they won't finish the walking path that would funnel more guests out to the Grand Floridian and Polynesian...

[PAdisneygirl]

I agree with folks who are upset with this because of financial reasons, but the main thing it comes down to for me is "Classic" Disney World. The Monorail is synonymous with WDW and is something that should never be cut. It represents the resort's past and present and is a classic part of any vacation memory. The sentimentalist in me is so sad, even if it is only a cut of a few hours here and there.

[gooftroop]

We called Disney the Monorail get replaces every 2 to 3 yrs. It is not shut down permanently but only at night to replace the tracks. They are going to start the project August 1 and will end to weeks later. They will have double the buses and fairies.

[doconeill]

Internal memos to the CMs call this permanent. This is more like an "operational change" as opposed to a maintenance refurb. They are NOT saying this is a two week project.

Also, they don't replace the monorail every 2 to 3 years. The current trains are at 22 years for the oldest, and they replaced the previous ones at 18-20 years of age - and there hasn't been any word of them putting out RFPs for replacement yet. So maybe you meant 20-30 years.

[HauntedGabe]

CM's are sometimes the worst disseminators of information.

From multiple sources that are normally right on it seems to be a maintenance issue.

I'd be surprised is Disney deliberately lied to the Orlando Sentinel. I'd also be surprise if Disney permanently cut down on the hours of the monorail. Between the DVC's they are building there and high end hotels, likely not going to happen.

I could understand if they are indeed going to expand the system and upgrade, but that again would be a temp situation. Have a feeling many are going to be speculating or claiming to be in the know.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/the-d...,1288947.story

[Billwht3]

..........They will have double the buses and fairies.

<<< if they had fairies to get back to the hotels they could stop the monorails all together! >>> Sign of a true DW fanatic! (I'm with ya Goof!)

[NC_WDW_Daddy]

I sure hope it is not permanent. Seems a shame to see these cuts the past few years while prices on everything are increasing.

[WDW1014]

just did this a couple of months ago i stayed at mk till 2 am and the lines were insane for getting back to the Polynesian. took a good half hr or more . This is a very stupid decision by disney

[supernova]

We called Disney the Monorail get replaces every 2 to 3 yrs. It is not shut down permanently but only at night to replace the tracks. They are going to start the project August 1 and will end to weeks later. They will have double the buses and fairies.

<<< if they had fairies to get back to the hotels they could stop the monorails all together! >>> Sign of a true DW fanatic! (I'm with ya Goof!)

You're both crazy. Why would you want to replace monorails with fairies? What good is Tinkerbell going to be in clearing out the park?

[doconeill]

You're both crazy. Why would you want to replace monorails with fairies? What good is Tinkerbell going to be in clearing out the park?

Well, we just need a little pixie dust, and then we can all fly ourselves...second resort to the right, and straight on until morning!

[gooftroop]

<<< if they had fairies to get back to the hotels they could stop the monorails all together! >>> Sign of a true DW fanatic! (I'm with ya Goof!)

You caught it!

[BamaJenn]

Wonder if this has anything to do with the construction walls that have gone up around the Grand Floridian...

[doconeill]

Wonder if this has anything to do with the construction walls that have gone up around the Grand Floridian...

There has been a fair amount of speculation on another board about it...but in general resort work happens during the day, not night, and Disney didn't mention construction, only maintenance...not even sure they are acknowledging the construction though, much like they didn't acknowledge BLT for the longest time...