The State & Future of the Monorails (WDW)

[s8film40]

When A kid whose parents are on their phone trying to score a 4th fastpass doesn't see/read the sign and leans on the door and flies outside during a turn where the door jars open, maybe then Disney will nut up and fix the issue instead of simply putting up a sign. Jeez.

Imagine being in a heavily packed train against a door and it opens. You would likely have no chance if the crowd of 20-30 people didn't realize what happened pretty quickly.

My guess as to what happened here is the door was locked out. This would be in line with what was reported with maintenance working on the door before it left the station. If I remember correctly that is a different status from closed or open as far as the computer on the train is concerned. They'll do this occasionally if a sensor is malfunctioning and the door is usually locked shut. Apparently it wasn't locked shut though.

With Disney being as reactionary as they are this will likely be at the top of the list of things for maintenance to go out and inspect over the next several weeks. They'll of course in the process probably neglect the other things that will be issues later on.

 

[Andysol]

Imagine being in a heavily packed train against a door and it opens. You would likely have no chance if the crowd of 20-30 people didn't realize what happened pretty quickly.

My guess as to what happened here is the door was locked out. This would be in line with what was reported with maintenance working on the door before it left the station. If I remember correctly that is a different status from closed or open as far as the computer on the train is concerned. They'll do this occasionally if a sensor is malfunctioning and the door is usually locked shut. Apparently it wasn't locked shut though.

With Disney being as reactionary as they are this will likely be at the top of the list of things for maintenance to go out and inspect over the next several weeks. They'll of course in the process probably neglect the other things that will be issues later on.

Exactly- I've been packed in a monorail plenty of times.

The lady in her instagram reported it as being worked on for 10 mins and then it being closed. But on one of the turns, it popped open.

So it left the station closed, and popped open during a turn.

You likely know more about sensors, etc than I do- but whatever it is, it should be handled for sure. Otherwise, they should get a big lawsuit- deservingly so. But the sign being up there prior to this happening makes me thing they may have had an indication- we'll never know, because there isn't a lawsuit. But had someone fallen out and (rightfully) sued? Damn...
I'd be extremely interested to see what they actually knew- of course, even then we wouldn't know because of a gag order/settlement.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

Disney deserves the criticism here but it’s also very possible parts were on back order or not in yet due to the holiday break.

 

[Scott W.]

Disney deserves the criticism here but it’s also very possible parts were on back order or not in yet due to the holiday break.

If anything, that makes things worse. Having an accident is one thing but knowing about an issue before an accident happens is something else all together.

 

[Mad Dog]

If anything, that makes things worse. Having an accident is one thing but knowing about an issue before an accident happens is something else all together.

especially when it comes to legal lability

 

[s8film40]

But the sign being up there prior to this happening makes me thing they may have had an indication- we'll never know, because there isn't a lawsuit. But had someone fallen out and (rightfully) sued? Damn...
I'd be extremely interested to see what they actually knew- of course, even then we wouldn't know because of a gag order/settlement.

There's always been a sign there that said that at the top of the door. Those stickers are just a little more obvious looking. The sign in know way means, don't lean against the door because it will open or fall off even if at times that has been the case. The purpose of the sign is to keep people from leaning against the doors and triggering a false open indication.

If anything, that makes things worse. Having an accident is one thing but knowing about an issue before an accident happens is something else all together.

Absolutely! I do wonder if the stickers were added because there had been an uptick in door sensor issues and rather than believing the problem was with the door they believed it was just people leaning on the doors. In either case a locked door shouldn't open even if people lean on it, so I wouldn't necessarily tie the stickers to this incident.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

If anything, that makes things worse. Having an accident is one thing but knowing about an issue before an accident happens is something else all together.

They made a judgement call to run with the doors locked. In the future I bet we see monorails being removed or reduced at times as a new safety protocol goes into place that states the monorails need to be fixed or removed from service.

 

[Teebin]

And away we go…

Alarming Footage Shows a Disney Monorail Full of Guests Running With the Door Wide Open | Travel + Leisure

Video shows Disney monorail traveling with doors open | WFLA.com

VIDEO: Disney World monorail traveling with open door

 

[s8film40]

They made a judgement call to run with the doors locked. In the future I bet we see monorails being removed or reduced at times as a new safety protocol goes into place that states the monorails need to be fixed or removed from service.

That would be a bit of an overreaction, but I wouldn't doubt that happening. Of course the proper course of action would be to investigate to find out why that door came open and actually try to fix the core issue rather then limit the likelihood of the circumstances that led to this. There needs to be a system in place to lock doors if necessary, it's been very reliable in the past. Of course these are old trains and they have lots of issues that have crept up over the years. In two years they'll be 30 years old. The state of Florida considers a vehicle 30 or more years old an antique. So in a couple of years Disney will technically have a fleet of antique monorails.

 

[Mad Dog]

That would be a bit of an overreaction, but I wouldn't doubt that happening. Of course the proper course of action would be to investigate to find out why that door came open and actually try to fix the core issue rather then limit the likelihood of the circumstances that led to this. There needs to be a system in place to lock doors if necessary, it's been very reliable in the past. Of course these are old trains and they have lots of issues that have crept up over the years. In two years they'll be 30 years old. The state of Florida considers a vehicle 30 or more years old an antique. So in a couple of years Disney will technically have a fleet of antique monorails.

Good thing WDW is finally building new attractions in Epcot. Otherwise, the antique Monorail would be en route to an antique Epcot Theme Park.

 

[shiekra38]

Good thing WDW is finally building new attractions in Epcot. Otherwise, the antique Monorail would be en route to an antique Epcot Theme Park.

"The door is always open" as they say

 

[s8film40]

Just think, had an employee been riding in that car they would've had an OSHA violation.

 

[fryoj]

FYI, no triggers activated probably because the door itself was completely broken, including the triggers. Their solution at the time was to lock it shut, so it wouldn’t even open at the stations. Turns out the locking mechanism didn’t work tho,

This is the most likely scenario. They had a fault they couldn't resolve, so rather than removing the train from service, they disabled the door. I'm sure the intent was to lock it out, but either that failed, or the maintenance person didn't lock it properly and it popped open. One of which is a parts failure and likely a one off occurrence. The other is human error, and likely a one off occurrence.... because someone probably got fired for that.

 

[Scott W.]

This is the most likely scenario. They had a fault they couldn't resolve, so rather than removing the train from service, they disabled the door. I'm sure the intent was to lock it out, but either that failed, or the maintenance person didn't lock it properly and it popped open. One of which is a parts failure and likely a one off occurrence. The other is human error, and likely a one off occurrence.... because someone probably got fired for that.

Is it possible to remove a single car from the monorail if one is defective and run the train as a smaller unit?

The two reasons I can see against it would be that it would be difficult to remove a car and the monorails need to be a fixed length for when it enters a station so people can’t fall onto the track.

 

[fryoj]

Is it possible to remove a single car from the monorail if one is defective and run the train as a smaller unit?

The two reasons I can see against it would be that it would be difficult to remove a car and the monorails need to be a fixed length for when it enters a station so people can’t fall onto the track.

I have no idea, but think your thoughts are probably correct. Not to mention, it would require a trip back to the storage house to do all that. Probably taking it out of service most of the day.

As this apparently occurred at a regular stop with a train full of passengers, I'd say the lockout of the single door was the right call versus kicking everyone off and taking it out of service. It just didn't work out like they planned.

 

[s8film40]

Is it possible to remove a single car from the monorail if one is defective and run the train as a smaller unit?

The two reasons I can see against it would be that it would be difficult to remove a car and the monorails need to be a fixed length for when it enters a station so people can’t fall onto the track.

The short answer is no it’s not possible. It would require bringing in a crane and a few weeks (probably more) of work. The whole train operates as mostly one whole system. The train has various components spread out in different cars. So removing a car would require a redesign of the train. They did however over the course of a few years one by one add additional cars to the original 5-car Mark IV’s.

 

[Mr. EPCOT]

Is it possible to remove a single car from the monorail if one is defective and run the train as a smaller unit?

It is not.

 

[jtsalien]

You have to wonder, while they were going through all of that, knowing they had a faulty door, why did they let people stay in that cabin? That cabin should've been cleared completely if there were any signs of something not working right.

Agreed. Clearly the sensors were not thoroughly tested before it left the station. Taking that compartment out of commission was the right thing to do.

 

[OLSinFLA]

I hope it gets on the trending page of Twitter and major news networks pick it up.

WDW needs to be held accountable and these Monorails need to be put to rest. The only chance there is of that is if there is widespread negative press that comes out. Knowing them though, they likely still wouldn't do anything.

All these people on FB were basically say "oh its not major... they just want free tickets" "Well, dont go out the door" etc etc. Like people dont realize how dangerous this could have been.

 

[OLSinFLA]

When I was a Pilot, an open door would trigger an automatic e-stop. Just a modest amount of pressure on the door would trigger an e-stop, that's why we have the famous "please stand clear of the doors" spiel to begin with. I'm wondering if the new automation system they've been installing on the trains has screwed this up. It is BEYOND time for new trains.

Back in the old old trains we'd get a "door unsafe" light. Now that could be anything from a door loose to full open (you'd have to check the mirrors). Of course you couldn't do anything (these were the old manual doors). If a door was ajar going into the contemporary it would just get sheered off (now you know why that support is so big) and land there. 90% of the time it was just the door wasnt fully clicked but it was closed.