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iceman559
08-17-2011, 07:09 AM
Who else would love to see the Monorail expanded at Disneyland to be more of a true transportation system? That's one thing I had always wished would happen. I do like how it can be used as a sight-seeing attraction, but I always thought it'd be nice to be able to hop on the Monorail directly from a hotel or from the parking lot like in Walt Disney World.

Now, I know this will most likely never happen (as in like 1 in a googolplex chance) due to obvious reasons, but still, has anyone else ever thought about how cool it'd be for this to happen or am I alone? :P

Rufus T Firefly
08-17-2011, 07:15 AM
Sorry. I like it just the way it is. Why should DL try to be like WDW?

iceman559
08-17-2011, 07:22 AM
I should have phrased that better. I didn't mean it in the sense that DLR should copy WDW, but rather just as an example for what I mean by "transportation system".

I like it how it is as well (heck, I always have to make a point of riding it when I'm there), I just have always thought it would be cool for it to be more of a transportation system than it truly is now.

racccoon
08-17-2011, 07:33 AM
They should have a monorail line connecting all of the lots to the ticket center. That way they would not need to have a fleet of gas-guzzling buses to connect the Toy Story lot and continue to have service to the Mickey and Friends lot at peak holidays. The walk to the parking structure is pretty far, especially after a full day of walking and fighting crowds on 4th of July or New Years.

Bolivar
08-17-2011, 11:30 AM
I wouldn't mind if the monorail had a stop in downtown San Francisco. That way I could stop in for quick visits during my lunch hour. Of course it would need to go a bit faster.

DwarfPlanet
08-17-2011, 11:38 AM
Or lets connect it to the monorail in Seattle for a west coast expansion ;-)

dban3
08-17-2011, 11:40 AM
I don't know if it needs expansion but I always thought it needed a DCA stop giving real meaning to the word "park-hopper".

Teddi
08-17-2011, 11:52 AM
I wouldn't mind if the monorail had a stop in downtown San Francisco. That way I could stop in for quick visits during my lunch hour. Of course it would need to go a bit faster.

I agree. But I think it should be closer to the MacArthur BART so they wouldn't have to transbay tube the tracks. :p

cstephens
08-17-2011, 11:57 AM
I don't know if it needs expansion but I always thought it needed a DCA stop giving real meaning to the word "park-hopper".

But then they'd have to make sure there's a turnstile there with CMs to check everyone to make sure that only those who have the ability to park-hop are getting off. I can see there being quite a delay (and a lot of problems with people who don't have parkhoppers) with that.

iceman559
08-17-2011, 12:23 PM
But then they'd have to make sure there's a turnstile there with CMs to check everyone to make sure that only those who have the ability to park-hop are getting off. I can see there being quite a delay (and a lot of problems with people who don't have parkhoppers) with that.

Very true. And placing the monorail stations outside the main entrance gates obviously defeats the purpose. The only easy way to have stops inside both parks would be to get rid of single-park tickets and let any ticket be a parkhopper.

One expansion I've always thought would be nice is having a monorail go from the various Disney hotels to LAX and/or SNA so that people flying in could just hop on a monorail and get to the hotel they are staying at, assuming it is a Disney property, even though others could use it to at least get to the general area, and then walk to their own hotel or what not. I do realize there are a number of problems with this though, including obviously the ability for Disney to construct a monorail across Anaheim/LA, people walking around the park entrance areas with luggage, etc., I just have always thought it would be nice if this were possible.

IllusionOfLife
08-17-2011, 01:12 PM
I have always envisioned Disney extending the monorail track to have a stop at DCA/Grand Californian and Disneyland Hotel. To accomplish this you would ditch the Downtown Disney Station since it would be slightly redundant with the two other stops, have one stop be located in DCA near the entrance to Grand Californian so it can pull double duty, and have the other new stop located just outside the Fantasy tower at Disneyland Hotel.

Bolivar
08-17-2011, 01:25 PM
What if it went through the GCH as it does today but then turned left to go south right after emerging from the hotel, cutting in front of the valet parking and over that small parking lot in front of the hotel, then crossing the street and running along the north side of the PPH, then turning right to go north to the side of the DHL. After passing the ESNP zone it could then turn right to rejoin the old route.

I am not sure where you would put stations in all that: one at the PPH and another at the DLH?

cookie7762
08-17-2011, 03:31 PM
I've always thought a DCA stop would be cool, too. They could easily solve the park-hopper/non park-hopper issue by have a ticket gate at the exit of the monorail station. The DTD station checks tickets ahead of time, but it wouldn't be difficult to check them after exiting the station as well. Those who have only a one park pass would be directed to re-board the monorail and exit at an approved stop.

A stop at the PP and DL hotel would be nice for resort property guests as well. I know there is the DTD station, but its just not the same as having the monorail pick up at the actual hotel.

iceman559
08-17-2011, 05:19 PM
They could easily solve the park-hopper/non park-hopper issue by have a ticket gate at the exit of the monorail station. The DTD station checks tickets ahead of time, but it wouldn't be difficult to check them after exiting the station as well. Those who have only a one park pass would be directed to re-board the monorail and exit at an approved stop.

Yeah, they COULD do that, but operationally it would be a nightmare. Imagine a fully loaded Monorail (based on my calculations, that means roughly 110 people, 22 people * 5 cars). Now imagine half of them get off at the DCA station. That means you'd have 55 people all pushing to the "exit gate" at the same time, where they have to wait to check the tickets. That's going to cause delays and how are you going to tell someone "Hey, you're ticket didn't work, so turn around and weasel your way through the crowd to get back to the Monorail"? You know? It works at DTD because they check tickets as the people ENTER, so their arrival at the turnstiles is spread out over a longer period, and you don't typically wind up with lines.

Teddi
08-17-2011, 06:00 PM
But then they'd have to make sure there's a turnstile there with CMs to check everyone to make sure that only those who have the ability to park-hop are getting off. I can see there being quite a delay (and a lot of problems with people who don't have parkhoppers) with that.

You'd have to actually do it in BOTH parks, right? You'd have to change over the DL station, and, even at DTD- so that folks wouldn't have been on one park and have non-hopper tickets and sneak into or accidentally go to the wrong park. Yeah, the logistics are terrible on this unless hoppers are for all.

MadasaHatter
08-17-2011, 11:39 PM
I actually think it is rather odd to have the system and NOT stop at DCA.....it was bulit to go right through it....and the GRAND CALIFORNIAN.....It was built to go right through it. It has always seemed bizarre to me they didn't have those two stops and maybe even get rid of the DTD stop. I have been to the parks loads of times and everytime I try to get on the DTD station it takes forever and I really don't like missing walking down MAIN ST USA....Have I told you all how much I love MAIN ST USA???? I love it! I'm mad.

Bolivar
08-18-2011, 06:08 AM
I have never been to WDW, but doesn't that monorail go between parks and don't they need to check tickets there? Seems like it would be easy enough at DCA because the station could be built with that in mind. The DL station would be a bit harder. In fact they could build the DCA station with two exits, one that goes out of the park and the other that goes into DCA.

Another thing they could do, though this might annoy some, would be to make the monorail a hopper only ride.

iceman559
08-18-2011, 06:14 AM
I actually think it is rather odd to have the system and NOT stop at DCA.....it was bulit to go right through it....and the GRAND CALIFORNIAN.....It was built to go right through it.

Well, let's remember, the Monorail was built WELL before either DTD or DCA were even conceived. The Monorail was designed to run infront of the park, over the parking lot. The DTD station was originally the Disneyland Hotel station, they just couldn't feasibly call it that anymore after DTD went up, since it's pretty close to smack dab in the center of DTD. When DCA and the Grand Californian went up, I'm sure they thought about adding a stop to one of the two, but then realized how pointless it would be without expanding the Monorail out further to actually reach the Disneyland Hotel. If they did add a station there, it would be so incredibly close (distance wise) to the DTD station, it wouldn't make sense. Not to mention, having a monorail entrance/exit RIGHT inside a park's main entrance (which is pretty much where it'd have to go) wouldn't make much sense either. I'm sure if they were thinking about building a second park back in 1961 when they added the DLH station (or even '59 when they first built it), they would have picked a much different route for the monorail that would have made much more sense to actually place stations in both parks (and maybe a hotel or two).

Also, expanding the Monorail to accomodate more stations means needing trains on the track, which means needing more trains period. Currently, they have three trains. They only have room for four right now, so if they want to expand the track and maintain capacity while still having extra trains, they are probably going to have to expand the maintenace facility to accomodate more, which is easier said than done as it is bordered by the I-5 Harbor Blvd exit ramp on one side, and a backstage road and then immediately the It's a Small World show building and other facilties on the other. Unfortunately, I just don't see the practicality of an expansion ever occuring, but it would be awesome if it did!

I mean heck, not to get off topic, but they have a big Monorail system at WDW, and it only goes to two of the parks because of the gargantuan cost of expanding to any others.

iceman559
08-18-2011, 06:19 AM
I have never been to WDW, but doesn't that monorail go between parks and don't they need to check tickets there?

The way the system works at WDW is that there are two lines. One goes to MK, one goes to Epcot. IIRC (I haven't been in nearly 10 years), NEITHER actually drops you off in the park. I know the MK line drops you off outside the park, and I'm fairly certain it's outside the main entrance gates, so you can ride the monorail there, but you still need to use your ticket at the main gates to get in. I believe EPCOT does the same thing. You go through the main gates. So it'd be different than being dropped off actually inside a park, past the main entrance gates.

stan4d_steph
08-18-2011, 06:49 AM
The way the system works at WDW is that there are two lines. One goes to MK, one goes to Epcot. IIRC (I haven't been in nearly 10 years), NEITHER actually drops you off in the park. I know the MK line drops you off outside the park, and I'm fairly certain it's outside the main entrance gates, so you can ride the monorail there, but you still need to use your ticket at the main gates to get in. I believe EPCOT does the same thing. You go through the main gates. So it'd be different than being dropped off actually inside a park, past the main entrance gates.Yes, at WDW the monorail does not drop you off inside any theme parks. The Epcot line does a loop through Future World, then drops off right in front of the entrance area. The monorail resort/Magic Kingdom loop stops at the Transportation and Ticket Center(TTC) (parking area for MK), Polynesian, Grand Floridian, MK (outside of security/turnstiles) and Contemporary resorts. There is also an express line that just goes between the TTC and MK.

Logistically, there is no easy fix for the monorail situation at DL. I can see them having separate areas of the trains for hoppers versus non-hoppers and checking before loading, but you would still have the problem of people getting off in the wrong places.

dban3
08-18-2011, 07:08 AM
My request to put in a DCA monorail stop is purely self motivated and has nothing to do with logistics or practicality. After spending 8 - 10 hrs in DL, my wife wants her favorite salad for dinner - the bay shrimp salad at the Pacific Wharf Cafe. I'm just trying to save some steps in that quarter to half mile walk. Of course by the time the trek completes, my wife can go get her salad, I'm heading straight for the Karl Strauss wagon and asking for two :-)

iceman559
08-18-2011, 07:37 AM
Logistically, there is no easy fix for the monorail situation at DL. I can see them having separate areas of the trains for hoppers versus non-hoppers and checking before loading, but you would still have the problem of people getting off in the wrong places.

Exactly. They'd have to update the trains so that only certain cars open at certain stations. Like, if cars 1 and 2 will open at DTD, cars 3 and 4 at DL, and car 5 at DCA. When you arrive at a station, you have to queue in a specific area for your destination, and a CM would have to verify your ticket to ensure that you are going to the correct place. If you decide enroute that you want to go elsewhere, too bad, gotta get off and requeue!

The only "easy" way to avoid having to do something like this would be to place turnstiles at the entrance to each station and allow ONLY parkhoppers to ride the Monorail, so that it doesn't matter where you get off, you're authorized to since you were authorized to get on the Monorail.

The two parks are simply too close together to make any Monorail service between the two parks simple (as you can't rely on the main entrance gates) without requiring parkhopper tickets.

Bytebear
08-18-2011, 07:39 AM
I would love to extend it to the Mickey and Friends lot, and have a monorail station connected to the third or fourth level (with additional escalators) I think they could do something where they have a special monorail that does not unload at Disneyland, so you could take it from DD to Mickey and Friends without having to buy a ticket. Or have the first 2 or 3 cars for transportation only.

iceman559
08-18-2011, 07:53 AM
I would love to extend it to the Mickey and Friends lot, and have a monorail station connected to the third or fourth level (with additional escalators) I think they could do something where they have a special monorail that does not unload at Disneyland, so you could take it from DD to Mickey and Friends without having to buy a ticket.

I would love to see it extend to the M&F structure as well, but as far as for it going to DTD, why? Haha. I mean, you get three free hours at the DTD lot, and if you go to a movie or eat at certain restaurants, you can get two more hours free. If you're planning on staying there more than 6 hours 20 minutes (roughly the crossover point in cost between DTD and M&F), then okay, but otherwise, why bother parking at M&F to go to DTD?

I also thought about designating a monorail to just that, but then it'd bring two problems.

1) Lower capacity. They can only run three trains as it is right now (and since they only have three trains, this rarely happens to my knowledge, if ever). If we remove one of these trains to run just between DTD and M&F (not for park guests), then, assuming the system is running two Monorails, it halves the capacity for park guests.

2) In line with lower capacity, it introduces delays and other guests complaints. It'd be very annoying to be standing on your feet all day, see a Monorail coming after waiting a few minutes, only to have it blow through the station and have to wait another few minutes because that Monorail was "express" service to DTD.

If they want to make trains that only stop at specific stations, then they need to make a separate line that only goes through those stations. It'd be nice to see a Monorail from M&F PS that goes to the main entrance esplanade, but that would be so short it'd be pointless. The trams easily handle that role. It makes more sense out in WDW, since there is so much distance between the MK and Epcot and the TTC.

MadasaHatter
08-18-2011, 08:19 AM
I am well aware of the monorail being there for a long time. I really do think it odd that WHEN they built DCA and GCH that they didn't just build a station at that HOTEL and make THAT the stop replacing it with the DISNEYLAND HOTEL. Seeing that that now is the DLR high end property. OR developing a stop in DCA for park hopper purposes instead. Therefore the only people riding the monorail would do so within the parks. SINCE the system is rather smallish I fiugred no matter how they stacked it there would only be two stops and one of them would remain in DL. I was living on the east coast whilst they built DCA so when I returned to the left coast I was surprised that was the set up. Really seems like an oversight to me and now it seems like WAY too much work UNLESS they make a stop while structuring BUENA VISTA ST. but I don't think that is in the plans.

Personally, I like the MONORAIL as a ride to be used mid day to head to DTD for lunch and head back in for the AMAZING views of DL. I am perfectly happy with the current set up....of course, I am mad.