No More Monorail Extra Magic Hours

[alliekat]

Beginning on July 11 2011, the Epcot monorail service will stop operation 1 hour after regular park closing, and from August 1 2011, the Magic Kingdom monorail will stop operation 1 hour after regular park closing. This means that in both cases, the monorail will not be able to return guests back to their resorts after evening Extra Magic Hours. Guests will instead be transported by bus and boats where available. Morning Extra Magic Hour service has not been affected. All indications are that this is a permanent change.
I got this from another website and think this is very stupid.


EDIT FOR CAST MEMBER INFO:

Please refer to WDWdriver's comments in this thread - as the information provided above is out of content and rumored.

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Post Two

Thank You.

[DVC2004]

Boo!!!

My guess is it has to do with money.

[alliekat]

Thanks for replying that would make sense but still ugh.

[jpH/keD]

Very interesting. I guess if you want to ride the monorail instead of a bus you better get out early!! The bottom line is the almighty dollar!

[cather74]

I have never commented on the cost of Disney ....but this is ridiculous. I am paying an arm and a leg to stay at the always increasingly priced deluxe resorts for a rare and special trip, yet they are taking away the perks of staying there. Does that make any sense? NO.Aren't those perks what I'm paying for? Yes. Disney should show it's loyal customers a little good faith. I am very disappointed.

[JPL]

This really decreases the value of all 3 of the Monorail Resorts big time! I really hope this changes! It will also increase waits for buses for all the resorts since resorts that are nomally serviced by monorail will require extra buses. I can understand closing down the Epcot line but you are paying a premium to stay at a Monorail Resort!

[Cara121078]

I can see where they are coming from on a money-saving standpoint, however, it doesn't mean I like it...

[brivers222]

thank goodness I switched to BWI from the Poly.... I agree, the monorail service from magic kingdom was a prime reason for originally choosing it.

so i am assuming this also affects the MNSSHP and MVMCP's as well.... considering they end 5 hours after the regular park closing


darn non-refundable plane tickets... i want my own car down there now

[kakn7294]

I have to say that with my first ever stay at a monorail resort coming up on Friday, I'm NOT HAPPY! It doesn't really affect us that much - only for the Epcot evening EMHs which I really don't care for much anyway, but still, I chose my resort and paid the hefty price for the benefit of the monorail.

[magicofdisney]

That's interesting. I guess I never really thought about, but it makes sense if it's a cost cutting measure. I'm assuming they just don't have enough hotel traffic to warrant the expenses. I think I'd be little disappointed if I were on the monorail line.

[brivers222]

what they should have done is cut Epcot's when its not their EMH and then cut magic Kingdoms when its not their EMH.

I think its a huge inconvenience to ever shut down the resort express monorail!

[mgmnut]

Absolutely rediculous.That alone would keep me from booking into a monorail resort.

Really? A bus from MK to the Poly after evening EMH? Or, is the boat and a long walk the only option?

Bussed or forced to walk to the Contemporary?

What about all the DVC owners that just bought into BLT. I would be so upset if I found out after buying in. EMH at EPCOT and bussed back on probably a packed bus, no way!

[mariak]

Oh my gosh. This is bringing back really bad memories from when we stayed at WL about 6 years ago. At the end of the night (during EMH), my DD (then 1) was pooped out so she and DH headed back to the room via boat while other DD and I went to pick up BBB photos. It was kind of a long wait for the photos so, we fully expected DH & DD to be back at the room and getting ready for bed by the time we got down to the dock to catch our boat back. Much to our surprise, they were STILL there and DH was not happy--- having stood for quite some time with our little one crashed out in his arms.

When I asked why they were still there, he said that, when they had gotten to the dock, they had just finished loading for a run to the campgrounds. Apparently, they were alternating every-other-trip between “Campground” and “Lodge”. However, when the boat returned, the boat crew decided that it would be “fun” to have a screaming contest to determine which guests would be taken on that trip (EVEN THOUGH IT WAS THE LODGE GUESTS TURN!). Since the Lodge people where outnumbered, the campground guests won. So, 2 boats in a row went to the campground!

To make matters worse, when the boat returned for the 3 trip (we had joined dh and dd by this time), the crew changed and decided to combine lines and, the way that they began to re-route it, put all the “campground” people (who had barely walked up and had not waited at all) to the front of the line ahead of all of us who had been waiting for probably an hour or more by that point. Everyone in our line was, at that point, livid, and began to cross over and under the ropes. A fist fight almost broke out(not by us) and it was just plain ridiculous. There was a lot of screaming going on and boat crew was horrible!.....totally clueless!

The monorail is one of the biggest reasons that we stay at the Poly! Without it, I agree, those Deluxe Resorts lose their value. Hello, we stay on property, in large part, because of EMH. And, now, they’re gonna make it harder on us (who pay premium) to get home from those EMH? Isn’t that kind of like “biting that hands that feed them”? I sure hope Disney realizes what a bad idea this would be. I don’t want to encounter a repeat like we did with the boats at the WL. That was almost enough to sour us on Disney. We're booked for the end of Sept. at the Poly so, we'll see how it goes. If it's an issue, I know we’ll be looking to stay somewhere else….maybe even off site.

[JPL]

I have to say that with my first ever stay at a monorail resort coming up on Friday, I'm NOT HAPPY! It doesn't really affect us that much - only for the Epcot evening EMHs which I really don't care for much anyway, but still, I chose my resort and paid the hefty price for the benefit of the monorail.

Please be sure to make your displeasure known at the front desk! I hope everyone else who is paying a premium does the same maybe Disney will realize this a bad idea!

[mariak]

Please be sure to make your displeasure known at the front desk! I hope everyone else who is paying a premium does the same maybe Disney will realize this a bad idea!

I agree!! I think I'm going to be making a phone call as well!

[MNNHFLTX]

Right now that is still just a rumor. If it is true, it is probably because attendance at the evening EMH drops off quite a bit after the first hour, so it may make more sense (for them, anyway) to use their other venues to transport guests back to their hotels after that time.

[seanyred]

thank goodness I switched to BWI from the Poly.... I agree, the monorail service from magic kingdom was a prime reason for originally choosing it.

so i am assuming this also affects the MNSSHP and MVMCP's as well.... considering they end 5 hours after the regular park closing


darn non-refundable plane tickets... i want my own car down there now

Nothing has been said about MNSSHP or MVMCP those are hard ticketed events which as I'm sure you know are different from EMH.

Honestly, I don't think this is that big of a deal during a week long stay how many evening EMH does everyone partake in during the trip? (two tops I think). The boat services may be enough for the demand they have for those extra late EMH. I just wonder if they will have bus service to BLT or the Contemporary.

[Mickey'sGirl]

Right now that is still just a rumor. If it is true, it is probably because attendance at the evening EMH drops off quite a bit after the first hour, so it may make more sense (for them, anyway) to use their other venues to transport guests back to their hotels after that time.

I was thinking the same thing.

Also, I thought "Awesome idea for weeding out non-resort guests a bit", cuz that's the other thing we've been complaining about at evening EMHs recently. I wonder if it is a condition that was suggested after the monorail tragedy last year?

[seanyred]

I was thinking the same thing.

Also, I thought "Awesome idea for weeding out non-resort guests a bit", cuz that's the other thing we've been complaining about at evening EMHs recently. I wonder if it is a condition that was suggested after the monorail tragedy last year?

That could be a possible benefit, but I wonder what they will do with resort guests that still chose to drive to MK? I never rent a car but I know there are people who prefer to drive themselves.

Oh and not to be knit-pick but that accident was already 2 years ago. So I doubt safety is a reason, I'm sure they are just trying to be cost effective.

[Susan A]

That's terrible! The use of the monorail is my #1 to stay in a deluxe! Hundreds of dollars a night (per room) can't pay to run the monorail a little longer!