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dalhar35
02-28-2005, 12:33 PM
We just spent 7 days at the Disneyland Hotel. Feb 19th-25th. Even with the monorail stop nearby in Downtown Disney, a long vacation like ours tends to start taking its toll with all the walking. I think next time we'll stay at DGC hotel to minimize the walking. Why didn't Disney put a monorail stop in CA??? We closed out a few days in CA and either had to enter Disneyland and get on the monorail in Tomorrowland or walk through Downtown Disney back to DH. I have never been to Disney world and was wondering if its monorail system is limited like Disneylands??? The trip overall was great and everyone had a blast despite the 4 days of rain, which made the lines much shorter but wiped out fantasmic and many other events. Grizzly had 45 minute wait on Thursday but no fastpass. The CM said it was because it was the off-season and during the week. Seems to me they should be able to turn on the fast pass whenever a ride exceeds and certain wait like 30 minutes. If you stay at the Disneyland hotel check out the two smaller pools near the gym and sandy area. the first pool had steam coming off it at 6:00 pm and we were the only ones in it. It was so warm and so nice since the big pool was a little on the cool side. Bad thing is they closed the two smaller pools at 7:00 pm. Make sure you e-mail with guest services if you book your vacation through DTC. We got a room upgrade by requesting one online without having to pay for it. We were going to be in the Bonita tower with a city view and they upgraded us to the Marina tower with a great pool view. Also, check out the Whitewater snack bar in DGC. No lines and they have decent food. The Breakfast biscuit is large and fills you up for a modest price. Ariel's grotto sitting outside was the best character meal we had. The characters get all the kids and dod a conga line then do a limbo. The kids had a blast and the Penne Pasta was pretty good. Plus the view of Paradise Pier with the start of Screamin right there made it a great spot. Princess Breakfast was great also since we have three girls. Bad thing was splash mountain was closed so adventureland had a ton of people in it. Easier to walk along rivers and go through frontierland. write more later-still having a hard time adjusting to reality :)

Holding@Kanga
02-28-2005, 12:39 PM
Sounds like you had a blast!

Also sounds like you need a few days to recover from your vacation. :)

I agree they need a stop at DCA- it would make things alot more convienent.

bradk
02-28-2005, 12:42 PM
it's really expensive to expand on the monorail system anywhere (i've read it could cost up to $4M per mile of track). it's always been a bit of a novelty / attraction at DL rather than a valid form of transportation, which is why it suitably only really covers the tomorrowland area. the railroad and skyway were meant to help ease moving from one side of the park to the other.

the WDW monorail is somewhat more extensive (including a station physically inside the contemporary resort hotel), but with one addition back in the day to support EPCOT, the park has grown much faster than the monorail system and it will just be that way. it's cost prohibitive to develop, especially in WDW where buses work just as well, if not better.

uvsc_wolverine
02-28-2005, 07:32 PM
I think that they should have built a stop in DCA when it was under construction. Right now it just goes over the Golden Gate Bridge (which is cool looking BTW), but it doesn't actually go into DCA. They could have easily made that part of the original construction.

SoCalSteven
02-28-2005, 07:50 PM
I think the issue of tickets would have been a problem. You'd have to have a valid DCA ticket to get off there. Lots of trouble if you ask me.

disneymania
02-28-2005, 08:18 PM
We stayed at the Paradise Pier last week, and thought there should have been a stop at the Grand Californian. Seemed like it would have been easy to do, and so nice, considering how DCA closes earlier than DL.

Andrew
02-28-2005, 10:14 PM
I think the issue of tickets would have been a problem. You'd have to have a valid DCA ticket to get off there. Lots of trouble if you ask me.
Only until Disney finally bites the bullet and stops selling one-park tickets. When every admission is a two-park ticket, there won't be any "to hop or not to hop" problems.

Flint
02-28-2005, 10:28 PM
Nooooooo! Confused people who bought tickets to DCA might escape into DL!

Susan L
03-01-2005, 08:35 AM
If you are staying at the resort hotels you can use the GCH entrance to DCA. We did on our last stay at the DLH. We were told by the CM's at the DLH that it was not allowed but we were never refused entrance. It sure did save our feet especially on those last couple of days we were there.

dalhar35
03-01-2005, 11:10 AM
We used the DGC entrance also when it was raining real hard on Monday 2/21 and we were soaked after going on GRR. The CM's didn't ask any questions and it allowed us to get out of the rain until we left DGC through the entrance into DD. It saved us a little walking in the rain and let us also check out the inside of the DGC. Next time its DGC for us mainly because of its location, and cause its very nice.

PragmaticIdealist
05-19-2005, 01:03 AM
The monorail service needs to be redesigned to fit the expansion of 2001. The transportation options for Hotel Guests are worse than they used to be.

The simple solution is to close the Tomorrowland Station and build a new station in front of Disneyland in the Central Lobby between the two parks. In that way, Guests visiting Disneyland or Disney's California Adventure could enter either through its main entrance, and admission to the monorail could be separate. Additionally, Guests detraining at the new central station could easily transfer to either the Disneyland Railroad via Main Street Station or the Main Street Vehicles via Town Square.

Guests who prefer using parking valets would be able to board at the west station and be deposited in the Central Lobby, and Guests to Downtown Disney could get previews of both parks without having to pay full-price for admission.

I think the tour the monorail service provides would also be enhanced by reversing its direction. Doing so would create a more logical sequence. Trains would depart the west station to cross Disneyland Drive and enter the Grand Californian Hotel. Passing through the Hotel, the trains would emerge to views of Grizzly Peak, Paradise Pier, and Soarin' over California. Moving to Hollywood Pictures Backlot, the trains would face The Twilight Zone as well as the backdrop that covers the Hyperion Theatre. All the while the narration would mention Walt Disney's connections to Hollywood before introducing Anaheim as the host city for the gateway to Disneyland when the trains reach Harbor Boulevard. Plunging suddenly into The Magic Kingdom, the trains would make a beeline for Sleeping Beauty Castle and Central Plaza by straddling where Tomorrowland meets the submarine lagoon. At the castle, the trains would veer right and navigate between the Matterhorn and the rest of Fantasyland. The trains would then be facing the facade of It's a Small World and would veer right again to provide a glimpse of the Fantasyland Theatre and Mickey's Toontown in the distance. The monorail beamway in this area parallels the berm and the right-of-way for the Disneyland Railroad. Some meandering over the Autopia would, then, lead to an aerial overview of Disneyland before exiting the park to the East Esplanade and stopping at a position that affords an elevated view of Main Street Station on one side and the postcard entrance to D.C.A. on the other.

Guests leaving either park would board at the central station and take a quick jaunt to the west station by passing the picnic gardens and taking-in elevated views of the glittering nightlife of Downtown Disney, the main parking terrace, and the Disneyland Hotel.

The original configuration of the monorail system simply does not make sense in relationship to the additions of 2001.

One other advantage is that, with a central station, the monorail may be able to solve the problem of Downtown Disney's dead-end. After security concerns after September 11, 2001 halted Disney's operation of the double-decker omnibuses between Downtown Disney and the main parking terrace, Guests to Downtown Disney have been forced to backtrack if they are not staying at one of the Hotels.

I also hope that Disney might still be able to incorporate some on/off liquid-crystal glass into its new monorail trains so that backstage areas and portions of Harbor Boulevard might be obscured. The train cabins could include some on-board video to supplement the narration and divert passengers' attention whenever their windows happened to be turned off.

sdfilmcritic
05-19-2005, 01:10 AM
Ah, yes! The classic DCA Monorail Stop discussion.

It would be nice to have one but extremely expensive to build. I say the company needs to focus on unfinished projects (i.e. DL's Tomorrowland) before undertaking another money grubbing project.

PragmaticIdealist
05-19-2005, 01:21 AM
The problem is that I know Disney is currently building new trains as well as a new Tomorrowland Station.

Too bad W.D.I. didn't consult me first. ;)

sdfilmcritic
05-19-2005, 01:22 AM
Too bad W.D.I. didn't consult me first. ;) :p They still need to revive People Mover as well, remember. :D

PragmaticIdealist
05-19-2005, 01:43 AM
I so miss the PeopleMover. That Attraction added such a life to Tomorrowland.

I have a business background, so I am really thinking about how important the monorail is to Disneyland, business-wise. The monorail is one of the main competitive advantages of the Disney hotels. The perception of the convenience the system provides Hotel Guests is one of the ways Disney is able to charge so much for its rooms and maintain such incredible profit margins there. Those hotels have the best margins in Disneyland, and more needs to be done to use the famous monorail to market the existing rooms as well as any new rooms Disney plans to build.

One of my other concerns is that The Magic Kingdom does not have a proper entrance.

D.C.A. has a very flashy exterior, and, yet, Disneyland does not even have a marquee. It's no wonder some first-time Guests have been confused and have entered the wrong park. What is so extraordinary is that the monorail beam forms a natural peristyle that is just begging for an elaborate treatment.

I can easily visualize a monorail station there being integrated with a prominent sign and peristyle for Disneyland.

The old man
05-19-2005, 09:58 AM
We just spent 7 days at the Disneyland Hotel. Feb 19th-25th. Even with the monorail stop nearby in Downtown Disney, a long vacation like ours tends to start taking its toll with all the walking. I think next time we'll stay at DGC hotel to minimize the walking.
Now you know why we stay at the BWPPI. Five minute walk and you're in. And it 50 to 75% less money to boot.
David

pisces
05-19-2005, 10:02 AM
Considering nobody likes DCA.....I don't think a monorail stop, there, will do much to increase acceptance.

I can sympathize with you, because I didn't even like walking through Downtown Disney to get to the GCH.

But, I really don't think that's where Disney should sink their money into.

There are other, more cost-effective things they can do to make DCA better. The monorail is really the least of DCA's problems, or Disney's in general.

charpaul
05-19-2005, 10:21 AM
I have heard from CM's that orginally there was a planned stop at GCH - you can sort of see where when you take the monorail from DL to DownTown.

It was decided that it was not wanted/needed for several reasons -

1) they did not want all of the tourist traffic going through the GCH on the 2nd floor level - the hotel is not set up for a lot of tourist traffic up there really.
2) GCH already is close to the main entrance of DL and DownTown Disney and has its OWN entrance to DCA.
3) it was cheaper to NOT include the stop/platform - ticket booth - security stop - in the plans for the GCH
4) it would have required extra wait time for a stop in the middle of the system. The current system works well because it has only two stops. Two trains run easily from stop A to stop B.

I agree it would have been nice to have the extra stop - but some of the reasons have validity.

The old man
05-19-2005, 10:30 AM
Considering nobody likes DCA
Nobody? 100%? Where is this statistic from?
David

pisces
05-19-2005, 10:46 AM
Me. My opinion, based on observation.

cstephens
05-19-2005, 10:54 AM
Me. My opinion, based on observation.

Your opinion would be wrong.

Pat-n-Eil
05-19-2005, 11:10 AM
Considering nobody likes DCA....

I disagree - my family loves DCA and we're not the only ones...

pisces
05-19-2005, 12:35 PM
Cstephans: Are opinions right or wrong? It's just an opinion. IMO---I'm right.

Anyway, I never said everyone dislikes it. I don't like it. I don't dislike it. It's there, and I've utilized it. There are a few interesting rides. They've got potential.

I never said people hate DCA. There must be something in between like and dislike.

jennia
05-19-2005, 01:16 PM
I think Brad hit the nail on the head.... Disneyland's monorail was designed as a ride. WDW's monorail was designed as a transportation system. I'd love more monorail stops *especially* since DH and I both have mobility issues but I think I'd rather see the $$ go into something else- not that anyone at WDI is gonna ask me! :p

The old man
05-19-2005, 01:19 PM
Anyway, I never said everyone dislikes it...
No you said, "Considering nobody likes DCA." I simply asked how you came to this fact and you now say it's your opinion. Your opinion that "nobody like DCA"? It seems to be either a fact, 100%, or less than 100% which means it can't be everybody.
David