I'm With you, Pete! WDW, Please Fix The Monorails!!

Stefecatzz

"If nothing changed, there'd be no butterflies."
Joined
Jun 22, 2013
Great news show this week, guys! :)

Since I've moved to the Orlando area a couple months ago & basically went to the parks for a month straight to 'celebrate my move,' I have also been noticing the general disrepair of the monorail in particular. One day, I was sitting on one of them (can't remember which color) & the overhead speakers sounded like a half-broken drive-through window speaker from a run down fast food joint. You couldn't even make out what the automated 'please stand clear of the doors' announcement was saying at all. So sad! And yes, it did smell like an old locker room & looked like one, too..

And, as far as why this is all occurring..this is merely my own speculation, But if they are offering the same lower-end salaries they are to their maintenance staff as they do for the positions I've been looking at, you tend to get what you pay for. Free theme park admission just doesn't cut it as a perk of the job to make up for a salary needed to be able to support yourself, let alone your family as well for full time work. I could be totally wrong as I do not know the starting wage for an experienced WDW maintenance CM. Just voicing my own opinion.
 
From what I understand, the issue isn't that maintenance cast members are underpaid and thus offering subpar work. The issue is that upgrading the current monorails to newer models would cost Disney a sizable chunk of change, and unlike other upgrades to the parks and resorts, Disney doesn't get a monetary return from the monorail. It's free to use, so there is no direct return on the investment - (most) people aren't going to book Disney vacations to see shiny new transportation options.

Disney does seem to be trying to get improvements done on the monorails though. Monorail orange recently returned to service and was freshly painted on the exterior and some parts of the interior, from what I heard. I'm not sure if that also extended to speakers and under the hood changes.

Congrats on the move to Orlando as well!
 


From what I understand, the issue isn't that maintenance cast members are underpaid and thus offering subpar work. The issue is that upgrading the current monorails to newer models would cost Disney a sizable chunk of change, and unlike other upgrades to the parks and resorts, Disney doesn't get a monetary return from the monorail. It's free to use, so there is no direct return on the investment - (most) people aren't going to book Disney vacations to see shiny new transportation options.

Disney does seem to be trying to get improvements done on the monorails though. Monorail orange recently returned to service and was freshly painted on the exterior and some parts of the interior, from what I heard. I'm not sure if that also extended to speakers and under the hood changes.

Congrats on the move to Orlando as well!
Bingo. I'd love to see new monorails more than anyone but Disney just doesn't see an advantage to doing so right now.
 
Also, they like to spread out capital expenditures, for the earnings hit I'm sure. New monorails would probably not be as easy to spread out between fiscal years.
 
Disney doesn't get a monetary return from the monorail
Not directly, but that can be said of pretty much any maintenance issue. Disney doesn't get a monetary return from cleaning the bathrooms or replacing burnt out light bulbs or cleaning the parking trams or repainting scratched and worn woodwork or fixing a broken audio-animatronic figure.

But all of those things and more cheapen the experience of a Disney vacation.

I've been going to Disney World since the 1970s. Back then, their maintenance routine was legend. They would powerwash the sidewalks every night. They would repaint things in the park every night. They had a preventative light bulb replacement rotation plan that they followed so that you would never see a light out anywhere. My how times have changed. Now we have overflowing trash cans, scratched and chipped tram seats, and parts falling from the monorail.

Disney is allowing their reputation as a magical place to fade into history. They're creating more and more opportunities to get guests to spend more money but they're ignoring many of the things that attracted those guests in the first place. If that trend continues, there will come a sad time when people other than just us hard core fans start taking notice and decide the experience is no longer worth the price. I hope the powers that be wake up and start taking action before that day comes.
 


Not directly, but that can be said of pretty much any maintenance issue. Disney doesn't get a monetary return from cleaning the bathrooms or replacing burnt out light bulbs or cleaning the parking trams or repainting scratched and worn woodwork or fixing a broken audio-animatronic figure.

But all of those things and more cheapen the experience of a Disney vacation.

While I agree, none of those (even in large quantities) come close to the cost that Disney would have to pony up to vastly overhaul or replace the current monorail line. Sure there's no monetary return on replacing lightbulbs or cleaning a bathroom, but those are couch penny issues compared to the monorail cost.

Audio-animatronic's are a bit in the grey zone, because some do get fixed (Splash, Small World, NVJ) and some don't (Yeti), depending on the feasibility and overall cost.


At this point, it comes down to Disney prioritizing things that guests have to pay to get into (New lands, new resort rooms, etc.) over completely fixing the monorails. And short of a terrible accident, I don't see that changing anytime soon.
 
All are valid points.

I hadn't thought of it as fixing something with no return value because it's free to the public to use (and hopefully will always remain free!). Good point.

And I suppose they are busy putting money into new lands & construction at the parks to attract more attendance to get the numbers back up again.

This is pretty unsettling to think about but...after tragedies do happen at WDW, does that affect their attendance? Maybe that is why they don't see it as a threat from a business standpoint if something were to happen to a guest, as hard as that is to fathom? :( I do really hope that is far from what the reasons are though.

Thanks to those who congratulated me! So far, I am happy with the move & have been settling in well.
 
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Lots of great points here! I know there are a lot of people suggesting they overhaul the whole thing, or that they can't manufacture certain parts anymore but I have to believe in this day and age this can be overcome.

I would be satisfied with parts not falling off, interior refreshes that wouldn't break the bank, scheduled cleanings outside of rush hours, working AC, and some more industrial air fresheners. There are so many things in the experience that are not directly tied to ticket prices (parades, infrastructure, security) that have planned budgets and keeping the monorail safe and amenable should be one. In the case of the monorails, I think one could at least try to argue that there are premiums built into the room prices at monorail resorts that couldn't be justified without a working monorail. Also, with the drastic increases in daily parking prices...there would be another place to tie some revenue steam to. It's a classic icon of WDW and usually one of the first and last things guest experience - the monorails need some TLC asap - they are supposed to be part of the magic not something that leaves a horrible first and last impression.
 
This was the best show in a while and a great rant from Pete! The monorails do need some TLC as soon as possible. Disney has always been known for excellence in all areas, it's time for them to step up their game and lead by example again.

@Stefecatzz , congrats on your move! Hope it goes well for you!
 
A lot of "Disney blood" is pooling into new developments right now with the just completed Pandora and HS improvements. There's not always enough to go around. Having said that, I've said on other threads that sometimes maintenance priorities are things that the public can't see. I think they should be more transparent with where those funds are being spent because I'm sure there's a good reason why the monorails aren't the focus.
 
A lot of "Disney blood" is pooling into new developments right now with the just completed Pandora and HS improvements. There's not always enough to go around. Having said that, I've said on other threads that sometimes maintenance priorities are things that the public can't see. I think they should be more transparent with where those funds are being spent because I'm sure there's a good reason why the monorails aren't the focus.
Disney isn't going to be more transparent because they don't have to be. They don't have to tell us where money is being allocated in terms of maintenance and such.
 
Disney isn't going to be more transparent because they don't have to be. They don't have to tell us where money is being allocated in terms of maintenance and such.

True. And if something were to happen, they'd just throw millions to settle and carry on.
 
I don't stay in the monorail resorts because of the monorails. I hate them, every time I've ridden them in the past 5 years they have had to stop on the tracks for at least 10 min. If you had the option of riding the bus or the monorail to Epcot from the monorail resorts, they would get my money. As it happens now, the Epcot resorts get my money instead, which is a shame because I really do love me some GF.
 
I just want them to look better that's all. I expect clean, safe, and reliable transportation.

Is the monorail really that urgent to be fixed? Honestly?
 
I just want them to look better that's all. I expect clean, safe, and reliable transportation.

Is the monorail really that urgent to be fixed? Honestly?

I don't know if I'd say urgent, but it's no different than your car. The little issues under the hood can quickly become bigger and more expensive issues if you ignore the warnings.
 
From what I understand, the issue isn't that maintenance cast members are underpaid and thus offering subpar work. The issue is that upgrading the current monorails to newer models would cost Disney a sizable chunk of change, and unlike other upgrades to the parks and resorts, Disney doesn't get a monetary return from the monorail. It's free to use, so there is no direct return on the investment - (most) people aren't going to book Disney vacations to see shiny new transportation options.

Disney does seem to be trying to get improvements done on the monorails though. Monorail orange recently returned to service and was freshly painted on the exterior and some parts of the interior, from what I heard. I'm not sure if that also extended to speakers and under the hood changes.

Congrats on the move to Orlando as well!
People will, however, stop being willing to pay a huge premium to stay in the monorail deluxe resorts if the monorails stay in their steady state of decline. It's no longer a perk if it never works or is nasty and unpleasant to use. THAT is a direct monetary incentive. What we are seeing is poor, short sighted management plain and simple
 
People will, however, stop being willing to pay a huge premium to stay in the monorail deluxe resorts if the monorails stay in their steady state of decline. It's no longer a perk if it never works or is nasty and unpleasant to use. THAT is a direct monetary incentive. What we are seeing is poor, short sighted management plain and simple

I'd be curious to see how many people would opt for another deluxe if the monorail did get into worse shape, even with ferries still running to the MK.
 
I'd be curious to see how many people would opt for another deluxe if the monorail did get into worse shape, even with ferries still running to the MK.
I wouldn't stay at the Grand Flo right now for love or money. Wilderness Lodge or Contemporary are fine because you have other options, but there's no way I get stuck at GF paying those rates and having to ride a bus to a park I can see sitting right there just because they can't get the monorails to work worth a dang.
 

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