Boat captain rumor!

[tigmickey]

OK. I know these "stories" are usually very wrong. I heard a BIIIIIIGGGGG one and I thought I would share.

The whole MONORAIL system will be shutting down for 2+ years! This is why Disney has upgraded their buses! According to the Boat dude the cars and the track are being replaced.

He did stop short of telling me that WDW will connect all 4 parks. (You know that is why the Swan and Dolphin have those black windows.)

How's that for a big 1.

[Opus X]

If it is true....I love it.

[John]

Add this story to the long list... not gonna happen. BTW, the black box on the Swan and Dolphin - urban legend. Doesn't have anything to do with Monorail.

Now, have there been plans to connect the 4 parks via Monorail - yes, yes there were but they have been shelved since 9/11 and the economic and tourism downturn that happened. Will the plans be brought back to life some day - who knows. One can hope.

[dnickels]

I'll eat one of those silly goofy hats with the droopy ears if it's true. Translation: Ain't gonna happen.

If I were a boat captain or bus driver I'd send guests home thinking all kinds of things. The guy was just playing with you.

[mcjaco]

List of employees you should not believe when commenting on possible rumors:

All of them that drive anything
Any of them that serve food
Any of them that operates a ride
Any of them that operates a broom
Any of them that operate a cash register

[paymerich]

I could believe the Monorail is going down for major repairs on the existing track but please people do some simple business math. The cost of extending the monorail to the other parks is in the order of $200+ Million (SWAG). That buys a lot of buses and bus drivers.
It isn't going to happen any time soon. I would love it just like everyone else!

[paymerich]

List of employees you should not believe when commenting on possible rumors:

All of them that drive anything
Any of them that serve food
Any of them that operates a ride
Any of them that operates a broom
Any of them that operate a cash register

Love that list , too funny and too TRUE!

[DizneyRox]

I could believe the Monorail is going down for major repairs on the existing track but please people do some simple business math. The cost of extending the monorail to the other parks is in the order of $200+ Million (SWAG). That buys a lot of buses and bus drivers.
It isn't going to happen any time soon. I would love it just like everyone else!

Amazing that 200 million number is significantly less than the nextgen budget has gone over.

Just to put things in perspective...

[MOJoe]

What other jokes did he tell you?

[Mrs Bus Driver]

Sometimes I think the cast members love pulling the legs of customers. After all if I had to spend all day driving a boat I might come up with a few stories to tell

[1DisneyNut]

The fact is that if they decided to go ahead with a monorail expansion, they would start building the piers and tracks for the expansion and close the existing system when necessary to allow for tying it in and upgrades. I will believe it when I see piers being built for an expansion.

[DizneyFreak2002]

Ohhh boat captain rumors!!!! The only other rumors based more in fantasy than reality are bus driver rumors...

[WiDisneyFan]

When we were there 2 weeks ago we were waiting in line for the Epcot Monorail from TTC and it never showed up. It was stuck half way. When we took the bus hours later they had firetrucks there to get the people down....... It may need to be updated.....

[Tink1]

Amazing that 200 million number is significantly less than the nextgen budget has gone over.

Just to put things in perspective...

I was thinking the SAME thing!

Nanc

[Capt_redshirt]

The cars need an update as well as the electrical system but consider this i read somewhere to add new track to a monorail system is somewhere in the ballpark of 20 million dollars a mile. I dont think the budget for that is there

[1DisneyNut]

I wonder looking at it from a long term cost perspective how much more it costs to run buses than the monorail per passenger. The bus system has to be astronomically expensive to operate including fuel, maintenance, replacing the fleet, drivers, etc. One monorail train carries far more passengers than a bus, they run on electricity and are very reliable/low maintenance.

[Polynesian Dweller]

Amazing that 200 million number is significantly less than the nextgen budget has gone over.

Just to put things in perspective...

And the $200 mil isn't accurate. Low end costs of monorails start at $30 mil per mile and more typical are nearer $100 mil per mile. Lots of miles required to do 2 parks and DTD. Ain't gonna happen.

[iceicebritney]

And they invested how much so far into the next gen aps, interactive queues, etc

[waymickey]

When we were there 2 weeks ago we were waiting in line for the Epcot Monorail from TTC and it never showed up. It was stuck half way. When we took the bus hours later they had firetrucks there to get the people down....... It may need to be updated.....

Not to change the story here, but if I was on that monorail I would have clung to a pole inside like a koala! No way No how am I climbing down a giant ladder!!

[FiggyFan]

Monorails are great, but I don't see an expansion coming. In addition to the costs already mentioned, where would the monorail run? With so many resorts and parks on property, I don't know how you would effectively connect them. Busses may be more expensive to run (not sure) but they use existing roads and give Disney the flexibility to change routes at a moment's notice.