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The State & Future of the Monorails (WDW)

Joe

aka TestTrack321
Feb 15, 2012
17,043
46,814
Pittsburgh Quarantine Zone
In a potential subject..WDWMagic has uncovered that Bombardier is working on a massive project in 2 sales within North America (with the money spent being a combined 351 million dollar amount, for 104M in Rolling Stock and 247M in services).

Rumor - New Monorails Coming Soon? | Page 137 | WDWMAGIC - Unofficial Walt Disney World discussion forums

I'm having a hard time figuring out who this would be for that isn't Disney. Vegas wouldn't add this, MCO wouldn't be this large, other airports don't seem to be expanding with stuff like this, and no city I know of is adding a monorail line like this. So it's most likely Disney, I'm really interested in knowing when they'd be deploying these. New monorails would be a great surprise for the 50th.
 

tielo

Veteran Member
Nov 9, 2013
2,816
4,300
The Netherlands

Nick

Staff member
Moderator
Sep 22, 2011
30,104
44,891
Orlando
I'm having a hard time figuring out who this would be for that isn't Disney. Vegas wouldn't add this, MCO wouldn't be this large, other airports don't seem to be expanding with stuff like this, and no city I know of is adding a monorail line like this. So it's most likely Disney, I'm really interested in knowing when they'd be deploying these. New monorails would be a great surprise for the 50th.
Vegas is expanding it's monorail with the expanded section opening in 2021 I believe. It's supposed to go to the new Football Stadium out there. The Vegas monorail has been using the Mark VI trains since 2004, and with an expansion underway, it's not crazy to think that they may be implementing a new fleet.
 

AlexanderMBush

Legendary Member
Nov 23, 2013
20,998
27,670
Seattle, WA!
Vegas is expanding it's monorail with the expanded section opening in 2021 I believe. It's supposed to go to the new Football Stadium out there. The Vegas monorail has been using the Mark VI trains since 2004, and with an expansion underway, it's not crazy to think that they may be implementing a new fleet.

Here is a question though; what reason does The Las Vegas Monorail Company have to keep it a secret, of keeping quiet of who their supplier is for the sake of the expansion of the rail?

Plus, when news came out of the expansion of the Vegas rail last year, it was publicly addressed. And as they spoke of the client for the 2 big ones in the quarterly earnings report, no-one was listed. I'd think that if it were Vegas being discussed (which could be valid, as they are adding onto one of the longest of the rail systems), they'd already go out and address that back in the past.
 
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Scott W.

Premium Member
Feb 26, 2014
14,030
29,915
Glasgow
Here is a question though; what reason does The Las Vegas Monorail Company have to keep it a secret, of keeping quiet of who their supplier is for the sake of the expansion of the rail?

Plus, when news came out of the expansion of the Vegas rail last year, it was publicly addressed. And as they spoke of the client for the 2 big ones in the quarterly earnings report, no-one was listed. I'd think that if it were Vegas being discussed (which could be valid, as they are adding onto one of the longest of the rail systems), they'd already go out and address that back in the past.

Are they keeping it a secret or just not announced because why would they?
 

GAcoaster

V.I.P.
Nov 30, 2012
6,008
10,933
Orlando
Vegas is expanding it's monorail with the expanded section opening in 2021 I believe. It's supposed to go to the new Football Stadium out there. The Vegas monorail has been using the Mark VI trains since 2004, and with an expansion underway, it's not crazy to think that they may be implementing a new fleet.
Actually the two Mark IVs were replaced several years ago with nine Bombardier M-VI trains which are nearly identical to Disney's Mark VI trains, but with different styling and doors that allow the floor of the train to be flush with the platforms allowing faster and easier loading and unloading of handicapped guests.

Mark IV:
LV022303kb08.jpg


M-VI:
cd.jpg


The two Disney Mark IVs were retired and were in a scrap yard in Vegas last time I heard:

fetch


fetch
 

Yabbadabba Doh

Contributing Member
Jan 31, 2013
799
687
Just came back from a WDW trip last night. Needless to say, the monorails are a mess IMHO. We parked at TTC and did some monorail resort touring before heading to Epcot for F&W. At the end of the night, we boarded the monorail and after about 10 minutes we were told that the line was down and we dashed to the busses. It was a nightmare at Epcot & TTC.
 

SkiBum

Veteran Member
Dec 14, 2012
2,060
2,917
Cincinnati, OH
We have pretty much quit using them because my wife doesn't trust their reliability. I doubt that they are that unreliable but they get bad press. However, with that said, I get some awesome anxiety (who doesn't like a cold sweat and nausea) when stuck in something that I can't escape from. Of course, that adds to the thrill level of riding pretty much any ride for me. Nothing like getting that adrenaline and cortisol overload where you can do nothing about it.
 

UNIrd

Premium Member
Jul 18, 2008
6,651
5,269
They've always had great interiors. You go, TDR.

Honestly, after the Skyliner, I don't really care if they EXPAND the monorail line... only that they do eventually refresh the trains. Especially since they serve these incredibly expensive resorts and they should never be in the conditions that they are in for all guests but especially those.
 

Scott W.

Premium Member
Feb 26, 2014
14,030
29,915
Glasgow
They've always had great interiors. You go, TDR.

Honestly, after the Skyliner, I don't really care if they EXPAND the monorail line... only that they do eventually refresh the trains. Especially since they serve these incredibly expensive resorts and they should never be in the conditions that they are in for all guests but especially those.

I don’t know if the Skyliner is a better people mover or not number wise but it would probably feel that it is when the queues are always moving at busy times and there is always a cabin on the way.

I think the monorail has too much nostalgia.
 

WAJAS

Veteran Member
Aug 15, 2014
3,572
3,416
--Classified--
I don’t know if the Skyliner is a better people mover or not number wise but it would probably feel that it is when the queues are always moving at busy times and there is always a cabin on the way.

I think the monorail has too much nostalgia.
It’s seems to work find between a hotel and a theme park, but I can’t see it being able to handle park-to-park crowds or parking lot to park crowds.

I know it currently stops at DHS and Epcot, but do people actually use it to get between the two? It does require a transfer, and I know people typically used the busses instead of the boats before Skyliner.
 

Nick

Staff member
Moderator
Sep 22, 2011
30,104
44,891
Orlando
It’s seems to work find between a hotel and a theme park, but I can’t see it being able to handle park-to-park crowds or parking lot to park crowds.

I know it currently stops at DHS and Epcot, but do people actually use it to get between the two? It does require a transfer, and I know people typically used the busses instead of the boats before Skyliner.
It’s not meant to be a park to park transportation system, although it is much quicker than taking a bus, walking or a boat. It’s 15 minutes maximum, but I’ve gotten there quicker on the Skyliner.
 

JoeCamel

Premium Member
May 20, 2015
6,762
9,892
Upper Lower
It’s seems to work find between a hotel and a theme park, but I can’t see it being able to handle park-to-park crowds or parking lot to park crowds.

I know it currently stops at DHS and Epcot, but do people actually use it to get between the two? It does require a transfer, and I know people typically used the busses instead of the boats before Skyliner.

I refer you to these gentlemen

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Skyliner is a GAME CHANGER. Legit changes then way you plan your days. Biggest thing at WDW since Disney Springs conversion made Downtown Disney worth going to again. Its awesome!!!! <a href="Buzz Lightbeerz on Twitter">https://t.co/3FyS2xmhKx</a></p>&mdash; Drunk@Disney+ (@DrunkAtdisney) <a href="">December 26, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 

ThemeParks4Life

Veteran Member
Nov 15, 2012
4,447
2,816
NYC
It’s seems to work find between a hotel and a theme park, but I can’t see it being able to handle park-to-park crowds or parking lot to park crowds.

I know it currently stops at DHS and Epcot, but do people actually use it to get between the two? It does require a transfer, and I know people typically used the busses instead of the boats before Skyliner.
I've used it the last two times I was at those two parks. I think it's good if you're going to Epcot from DHS because it'll be quicker than driving over and dealing with the construction at the front of Epcot. It's also good right now if you have a ROTR boarding group
 

Scott W.

Premium Member
Feb 26, 2014
14,030
29,915
Glasgow
It’s seems to work find between a hotel and a theme park, but I can’t see it being able to handle park-to-park crowds or parking lot to park crowds.

I know it currently stops at DHS and Epcot, but do people actually use it to get between the two? It does require a transfer, and I know people typically used the busses instead of the boats before Skyliner.

The biggest issue with transportation at the parks is that they have their peak at opening and closing.

For the ‘off peak’ travel times, there’s always a Skyliner cabin waiting but a monorail or not, you can be waiting 10mins easily.
 

bob albert

BANNED
Sep 18, 2015
1,706
1,335
I don’t know if the Skyliner is a better people mover or not number wise but it would probably feel that it is when the queues are always moving at busy times and there is always a cabin on the way.

I think the monorail has too much nostalgia.
fixed capacity is fixed capacity. No way around it.
 

Mad Dog

Premium Member
Jan 30, 2013
21,874
37,496
Pittsburgh area
We used the Skyliner to hop between the two parks. Works great, even if you're not a Skyliner hotel guest. ....and as I said in the Skyliner thread, the line even moves quickly at park closing. Our longest wait in line at closing was about 10 minutes even with the masses descending on the Skyliner. All the other times it was essentially a walk on....Of course, that's only serving four resorts, CBBR, AA,Pop Century, Riviera, though three of them are quite huge. ....Bottom line, The Skyliner is a great addition for transportation, plus it's a fun ride too.
 
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