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splashmtngurl
11-01-2004, 03:24 PM
Well i know there has been alot of talk about what disney should do with the strawberry feild that they bought and i myself have been wondering the same thing. What i would like to know though is, if they infact, did put some sort of park there (lets just say its a waterpark ;)) then would they extend the monarail to the new park? I mean, they would probably build the area up with more hotels and such, and well, you know how walt disney world is, things are really spread out.

When we went on our trip in may my parents were talking with a couple that had annual passes to DL...their son was a castmemeber and they had got wind that disney wanted to extend the monerail out to all of the Disney resort hotels and good neighbor hotels. But the only deal is that disney didnt want to pay for it, they wanted the governement or the state of california to. I know it sounds stupid but Disney seemed to think they had some pull with the state of california because they employ roughly 4,500 people in a year.

Anyway i just thought it sounded intereseting, wouldnt it be nice to get to your hotel directly from tommorrowland? of course i suppose i could just keep wishing, i have alway wanted them to build another enterence to the park in tommorrowland so that it would be easy to get out to the hotels. Of course they want you to come in and leave through mainstreet because thats where all the shops are. *sighs* oh well.

What do you guys think?

Hayley

Andrew
11-01-2004, 04:15 PM
It's been widely quoted (without much real basis) that the price for extending WDW's monorail system (for example, to the Animal Kingdom Lodge) is $1 million/mile. While Disneyland uses a smaller-guage monorail system, any extension would have to cross city streets, so I can't imagine it costing any less.

sediment
11-01-2004, 04:22 PM
I don't think Disney would want to have a monorail extending to non-Disney hotels and motels, and most certainly it wouldn't feel obligated to pay for it. Who stands to gain from this? Note that Disneyland is already a success, and that not many more people would enter the park after a billion or so dollars are spent on a monorail extension.

The monorail at WDW goes to Disney-owned hotels.
I don't think it will be easy to extend the monorail to this strawberry field (exactly where is this, anyone?), since it will pass through non-Disney property. And it's not likely to happen if there aren't any hotels on said strawberry field.
At WDW the monorail is on Disney property.

Just think if you operated Disneyland, and you had to report to shareholders (the owners) every year or quarter how things were going, and you had to return some money (by making a profit) to them every year. Would you make it easy for people to bypass your shops with a separate entrance near Tomorrowland? Would you make easy for them to stay at NOT your hotel by paying for an extension of your monorail to these NOT-your hotels?

Even for a young pup, you can understand some basic business principles, right?

CoasterChickie
11-01-2004, 05:30 PM
Sediment...if you walk out the main entrance of DL, go directly across the street , turn right at the sidewalk and walk about 4 or 5 blocks, the fields will be on your left. (At least I think that's them even though I didn't see any strawberries growing when I was there). If you've ever been to the Hilton, Marriott, or new convention center you've probably passed right by the field.
I cannot imagine them extending the monorail that far from Disneyland. It would cost a fortune. The Anaheim shuttle will take you there and back for 3 bucks. And it's only about a 15 minute walk. (I timed it when I walked back to the hotel after my husband and I both forgot that he had my shuttle ticket in his pocket when he left DL to go to work!)

splashmtngurl
11-01-2004, 05:41 PM
but on the plus side ;)...alot of the people who attend DL stay at good neighbor hotels and disneyland beneftis from alot of those customers. Dont forget that DL's attendence was very low this year. But of course, that was for a different reason.

Yeah, sure i understand the principles and i too, dont see a real reason to stop at any non-disney hotels but hey, if they were going to build a monarail, why not have it stop and let people off along the way?

anyway i suppose it doesnt really matter because i doubt disney would ever fork that much money out.

Of course, tommorrowland is, in my oppinion, a very wasted space and i dont see why they couldnt have a enterence over there and perhaps build some shops? plenty of people would still be going through the main enterence because DCA and DTD are in that direction. Of course it sort of defeats the purpose of mainstreet i suppose.

I see your point about the monarail, but i still dont see how having another enterence would be that bad? if it was planned out right i think it would be a hit. I know that if i was the manager of Disney i would seriosly take it in to consideration. wouldnt you?

D-lander 1956
11-01-2004, 06:09 PM
Sediment...if you walk out the main entrance of DL, go directly across the street , turn right at the sidewalk and walk about 4 or 5 blocks, the fields will be on your left. (At least I think that's them even though I didn't see any strawberries growing when I was there).

It is on Harbor Blvd, 5 blks south of the Harbor Blvd entrance on your left. There is a cast member parking lot on half of it and the rest is just dirt. It would be a nightmare trying to negotiate a monorail through all the private property in that five block distance. It will never happen!

Shinku
11-01-2004, 06:12 PM
Splashmtngirl- No, I don't think I would. For one, the location is wrong. (Anyone who's been "behind the burm (berm?)" knows what I mean) They'd have to relocate a lot of things.

Secondly, It would ruin the introduction to the theme. Think about it, when you enter Disneyland, you're surrounded by the quaint charms of a small town, with clean lines and "home"y smells and sights. You follow the street out to the hub which serves as a springboard to whichever land your imagination cares to take you. It's an introduction to the entire experience of Disneyland. If you start a new entrance out of Tomorrowland, you're immediately bombarded with a (*cough*) futuristic experience, it closes down your options (in a sense).

You're looking at it as a convienence issue, when really, it's more of a theming issue. That's just my two cents.

ModHatter
11-01-2004, 06:25 PM
Monorail construction is actually relatively inexpensive. The I beams are created off-site. The bulk of construction is limited to building the support posts. It's a lot less complex than, say, preparing a road to be repaved.

Of course, I think the better option for this short distance is the full-sized PeopleMover proposed in the Epcot film. It would be enclosed to be safer than the PM ride, but it would essentially be an Omnimover. And it would only serve the Third Gate and any Disney hotels built in conjunction with it, at least in terms of stations. That would seriously cut down on the number of CMs required to operate it, as opposed to the M&F trams.

splashmtngurl
11-02-2004, 06:15 AM
i guess it was a little far fetched, but i can still dream right? ;)

sdfilmcritic
11-02-2004, 06:28 AM
I like the idea of having the Monorail extend to the strawberry fields. But then again we are all still dreaming, hoping, praying, and crossing our fingers for the station to be installed at DCA.

spectromen
11-02-2004, 08:11 AM
It's been widely quoted (without much real basis) that the price for extending WDW's monorail system (for example, to the Animal Kingdom Lodge) is $1 million/mile. While Disneyland uses a smaller-guage monorail system, any extension would have to cross city streets, so I can't imagine it costing any less.

Considering a brand new E-Ticket runs around 100 million, 5 mill or so seems an awfully small price to pay to extend our Monorail 2-4 miles, doesn't it?

karl
11-02-2004, 09:01 AM
Some years ago, early in the DCA development, I was treated to a drawing that would have extended the monorail out behind the Tower of Terror area, then diagonally coming back across, behind the reflective sun sculpture and following the bias of the main Condor Flats walkway back to Grand Californian.

Ever since DCA opened, it looks like that may have been the intended route. Other than the Golden Gate Bridge (which may have been the compromise), the Monorail just doesnt fit very well in its current location.