The State & Future of the Monorails (WDW)

[Galaxy Defender]

a position that WDW never thought they would be in, but now are.

Disney might consider what they are doing to be major improvements but I just see catching up for well over a decade of neglect.

 

[Disneyhead]

Disney has a sound business plan to combat Universal. Raise prices and...

Ok, 12% of a plan.

 

[Viator]

Disney has a sound business plan to combat Universal. Raise prices and...

Ok, 12% of a plan.

TWELVE PERCENT?!

 

[Galaxy Defender]

Disney has a sound business plan to combat Universal. Raise prices and...

Ok, 12% of a plan.

The plan is to build a wall around Walt Disney World. Once you get on property you will not be able to leave until your vacation is over or you run out of money, whichever comes first.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

The plan is to build a wall around Walt Disney World. Once you get on property you will not be able to leave until your vacation is over or you run out of money, whichever comes first.

The cruise ship model only works when the surrounding area is undesirable. Universal has crushed the WDW dream of that.

 

[SeventyOne]

Well new monorails won't boost anything unless they significantly raise rates on the monorail loop because of the "new and improved monorail". That's why they haven't done it though - it provides little ROI.

I don't know, think of it as the reverse of FastPass. There are days it takes the better part of an hour to get to MK. That's time that probably cuts into shopping and store browsing more than riding. More efficient monorails with higher capacity means happier guests with an extra 15 minutes in their day.

(At the very least, I'm assuming these monorails won't (1) break down several times a day, and (2) be flush with the station to eliminate the need for wheelchair ramps. Both are time-savers. Any addition in capacity or speed would be a cherry on top.)

 

[Parkscope Joe]

I don't know, think of it as the reverse of FastPass. There are days it takes the better part of an hour to get to MK. That's time that probably cuts into shopping and store browsing more than riding. More efficient monorails with higher capacity means happier guests with an extra 15 minutes in their day.

(At the very least, I'm assuming these monorails won't (1) break down several times a day, and (2) be flush with the station to eliminate the need for wheelchair ramps. Both are time-savers. Any addition in capacity or speed would be a cherry on top.)

It's infrastructure, infrastructure doesn't need ROI justification. You don't add and repair roads based on ROI.

 

[Nick]

It's infrastructure, infrastructure doesn't need ROI justification. You don't add and repair roads based on ROI.

The issue is that’s not how Disney thinks of things. The infrastructure improvements that came with MM+ had to be justified with ROI for goodness sakes.

 

[Mad Dog]

Vast infrastructure to maintain, it's the negative factor of having so much space.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

The issue is that’s not how Disney thinks of things. The infrastructure improvements that came with MM+ had to be justified with ROI for goodness sakes.

Yet the changes made for 9/11 and upcoming security upgrades aren't. Uptime, repair costs, etc do play a factor in it besides "how much stuff will people buy".

 

[Nick]

Yet the changes made for 9/11 and upcoming security upgrades aren't. Uptime, repair costs, etc do play a factor in it besides "how much stuff will people buy".

Trust me, I’m not defending 30 year old monorails behind the need for a ROI.

I’m just saying that’s how the company tends to run and hell, that’s how we got to this point of having monorails this old. They’ve been too cheap to replace the fleet.

 

[Alicia]

I just hope they act fast enough to get ahead of any more door issues before something tragic or catastrophic happens. Better that they appear proactive, rather than reactive.

 

[Nick]

I just hope they act fast enough to get ahead of any more door issues before something tragic or catastrophic happens. Better that they appear proactive, rather than reactive.

If that incident wasn’t the straw that broke the camels back I don’t know what will. That had to have been a huge wake up call and they’re lucky there was no deaths.

 

[Alicia]

Some news:

 

[belloq87]

Some news:

Certainly positive.

The Bob Gurr video that is contained in that link looks to be worthwhile viewing, too.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

I like Bob, lots of great stories from friends.

I also think he has no idea what’s going on. Smell test: why would anyone not working at TWDC know about contracts?

 

[Galaxy Defender]

This is certainly good news

 

[UniversalRBLX]

I like Bob, lots of great stories from friends.

I also think he has no idea what’s going on. Smell test: why would anyone not working at TWDC know about contracts?

Considering he designed the original ones, it could be that Disney asked him to provide a sketch of a more modernized train.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

Considering he designed the original ones, it could be that Disney asked him to provide a sketch of a more modernized train.

Ok, so why would he know anything about contracts and manufacturers? This is NDA stuff, one doesn't talk about contracts worth possibly hundreds of millions of dollars if they know anything.

 

[Nick]

Ok, so why would he know anything about contracts and manufacturers? This is NDA stuff, one doesn't talk about contracts worth possibly hundreds of millions of dollars if they know anything.

True, but at this point, Bob Gurr also has very little to lose. He's almost 90.