Walt Disney Monorails: What's Their Age?

[coaster_junky]

i did a quick search and found topics about the latest major monorail accident ('09) and didn't see anything after a quick skim through that topic.

anywho, would someone please tell me the age of the current fleet of monorails at the walt disney world resort? also, how many fleets of monorails has walt disney world had since it opened?

oh, and just as a side note, it's been reported that the walt disney world resort is currently in the testing stages with monorail peach, the two damaged halves salvaged from the monorail accident in 2009.

[Hank]

Just a quick question and a side note....

Have you ever been on a Disney monorail that had a flat tire? It's quite interesting!

[Reclaimer]

The fleet began an upgrade to the current Mark VI fleet in 1989. Those trains have been in use since. Peach is currently on the beam testing after-hours, but does not currently have its colored stripe painted on yet.

[Avatar]

If I remember right the two salvaged parts of the monorails trains that were combined to make one workable monorail has been in operation for a while now (I do not remember it's color). The new one I believe you reference to as peach is a a brand new one ordered from the manufacture. After the accident they were down two they combined the two to make one but they were still short one. Peach new from the factory will bring them back to the same number of available operational monorails as before the accident.

[The Interpreter]

Purple and pink, what was left of them, were salvaged and became teal.

[Colonel_SoB_fan]

You are right Avatar. Peach is brand new, but it is weird that Peach isn't a newer style.

http://thedisneyblog...t-disney-world/

Disney is in desperate need of newer style, before another tragedy happens.

[Dalefan]

What i find funny is that Disney spends upwards of 100 million dollars or more on a ride. But they can't replace the monorails that are old?

[standbyme]

I don't really consider them dated...and would probably be disappointed if they did get new ones and changed their look.

[Avatar]

Agree, they still look good, clean and nice. From a guest standpoint very reliable, efficient, smooth and still produces the wow factor. Picture from the front of the monorail(Drivers Cabin) during one of or past trips.

[bkroz]

But from a corporate viewpoint, they can't be doing too well if their hours have been severely cut back just to afford them that many more hours of maintenance each night, right? At Disneyland, the longest a fleet ever went without complete replacement was 1987 - 2008, or about 21 years (which is about where Disney World is right now, 1989 - present).

I also think there's a big difference since Disneyland's is basically an "attraction" that was later expanded to stop at the still-not-very-far-away Disneyland Hotel, so taking a day off isn't really a big deal. But Disney World's is really quite integral to the resort's operation - if the monorail fails, then every single guest who wants to get in or out of The Magic Kingdom must go by ferry. That's a lot of ferries! Also, it allows guests to unite at the Transportation and Ticket Center and switch very easily between Epcot and Magic Kingdom. Without the monorail, it's all up to the busses (which people have noted, are feeling the sting of higher gas prices).

I think that the excessive downtime really shows that Disney World's fleet will need replaced sooner rather than later, and as Screamscape noted, an order would need to be placed a few years ahead of time, so that even if an entirely new fleet were ordered today, it probably wouldn't be in full public operation for a good while, right? So with that in mind, I hope they have some backup plans...

There's 1980s technology powering a multi-billion-dollar resort's transportation system. Weird.

[Colonel_SoB_fan]

I couldn't agree more GYK. Yes they are a classic and one of those images that pops into your head when you think of WDW, but safety has to be a concern. Also how much more money will they throw into maintenance and realize it may be cheaper to get newer models.

If they wait to long and there is a massive breakdown, will Disney have enough buses and boats to avoid a bad PR incident?

[LongliveKingsCobra]

Couldn't they even order Monos that look like the old ones too? I mean that way the icon is still there, just new and updated..

[standbyme]

Avatar,

Thanks for sharing the photo. It's to bad (but understandable) that guests can no longer ride up front with the captain. It was one of the more memorable things that I did at WDW.

[Avatar]

I am not totally on board with the statement “they can't be doing too well if their hours have been severely cut back just to afford them that many more hours of maintenance each night, right?” at first glance maybe but not when looking at the whole situation. Disney World Resort has been increasing the hours of monorail operations from its inception due to Extra Magic Hours (3 hours) and many special evening events. When the monorails are going into or out of service for the day it takes them about 90 minutes to do so. Add that to a 1AM closing and sometimes later with the 3 hour prep time, that leaves very little time to do just the basic maintenance. With fewer monorails available for use it puts a strain on the whole system. I believe with the new monorail going into operation soon it will help the situation some and also believe maybe a couple more would be a better option than investing into a new advanced monorail system. The thing is the late night monorail ridership is low compared to peek times and with other alternatives maybe they are doing what is best by closing the monorail 1 hour after the park closes rather than 1 1/2 hours after closing. Disney World Monorail system is basically a basic monorail system compared to more advanced systems around the world; it runs with tires on a beam. I believe since the system is so basic (not trying to minimize the work it does take to maintain) it allows a crew to keep up and overhaul the trains/cars they have versus a more advance system. The fact they have just recently added a new section to include a small maintenance shed closer to the Transportation Ticket Center to be used on the EPCOT track that will allow them to get an earlier start on their nightly work. That says to me that they are happy with what they are currently using and looking for ways to work with what they have already with an ever-increasing demand hours. Would it be worth the extra money to swap out what they have for the few late night users?

Only three resorts are on the Monorail line, while the other monorail line from Magic Kingdom is the express line going to the Transportation Ticket Center. I think it is much quicker to walk to and from the Contemporary Resort than using any other transportation. Both other resorts have dedicated water taxis just for their facilities and many Polynesian Resort guest use the Transportation Ticket Center Ferries as the quickest way back and forth to Magic Kingdom now. The only one that would cause a bit of problem is for the Grand Floridian Resort since it would be the forth stop on the monorail line the buses would be much quicker in the long run.

I can understand the concern and Disney is revamping its schedule continuously due to customer feedback which probably will give them a great excuse to offer fewer late nights at Magic Kingdom we should be more careful in what we wish for). I would much rather Disney spend the money to extend the monorail system to other parks and Downtown Disney using a newer system than to replace one that is functioning but needs to reduce its hours for realistic maintenance needs.