Has monorail closing time affected your trip?

[Aurora]

I'm reading some reports (one as recently as yesterday) that the monorail closing situation at MK and Epcot is fairly chaotic, with huge lines at the ferries and buses. At least two people have complained that the monorail is shutting down less than an hour after park closing.

Just wondering what Intercotees have experienced at closing time regarding the monorail and alternate transportation to the TTC or resorts.

[BugeyedMuggy]

We are in Disney right now and will be staying at the Poly in Dec. Our concern was the monirail closing at 8pm on the party days. We were booking dining at the GF and CR. We spoke with some of the people working at the monirail and they said people have been very upset for our same reasons. It's not official but they have been running the monirail til just about midnight on the party nites. The very end of the evening guests will have take a boat. The EMH nites they are not planning on running the monirail. Guests will be bussed or boat.

[coneheads]

It seems to be a broader policy change than just the Monorails, in the past at closing time the family and I would stop by the Bakery and get a treat while waiting for the Park to clear out some. But on our most recent trip Labor Day all the stores locked their doors exactly at closing time. I was very dissappointed as I had been looking forward to a hot cinnamon bun the size of my head all night.

[Strmchsr]

But on our most recent trip Labor Day all the stores locked their doors exactly at closing time.

I spoke with some of the management about this at the most recent conference I taught for DI because I noticed that new policy, too. Basically, they made this policy shift because they were having a problem with too many guests just hanging out, shopping, eating, etc until they felt like going home. WDW does a LOT of work between closing and opening the next day, especially when getting ready for a seasonal change so it's vital that they clear the parks as quickly as possible. They won't be quite as strict about it when they don't have work to do that evening (over Labor Day they were busy putting up fall decorations), but it's only fair to the cast members that they get to leave on time, too.

[BrerGnat]

I spoke with some of the management about this at the most recent conference I taught for DI because I noticed that new policy, too. Basically, they made this policy shift because they were having a problem with too many guests just hanging out, shopping, eating, etc until they felt like going home. WDW does a LOT of work between closing and opening the next day, especially when getting ready for a seasonal change so it's vital that they clear the parks as quickly as possible. They won't be quite as strict about it when they don't have work to do that evening (over Labor Day they were busy putting up fall decorations), but it's only fair to the cast members that they get to leave on time, too.

Wow, I totally understand what you're saying, but that has been a practice in place for, what...40 years now? To just change it so abruptly is sort of concerning. Don't they WANT the guests spending that money on their way out?

Why don't they just get rid of the EMH nights that run until 3am if they really need that time to do park maintenance?

I find it ridiculous to close up shops and restaurants on Main street at regular park closing time. Not to mention, the monorail situation. I thought the monorail thing was limited to EMH nights? Are they suspending service EVERY night now shortly after park closing?

If so, wow. Glad we didn't choose a monorail resort for our upcoming trip...

[Melanie]

I found the whole situation quite crazy when we were at MNSSHP a few weeks back. The trip back to the MK parking lot is a hassle anytime (IMO). But late at night, after a long party or day in the parks, and then having to crush into the ferry waiting area with a hoard of people just as tired,etc. - it was almost too much for me.

[Wolf]

Is there a boat from the Polynessian to/from Magic Kingdom? We are staying there tomorrow for the first time and I still don't understand the transportation situation very well. (Only stayed at Pop Century before)

[Aurora]

Basically, they made this policy shift because they were having a problem with too many guests just hanging out, shopping, eating, etc until they felt like going home. WDW does a LOT of work between closing and opening the next day, especially when getting ready for a seasonal change so it's vital that they clear the parks as quickly as possible.

Here's what I wonder about these kinds of policy changes in general.

If you close MK at 10 p.m. and allow the monorail to run until midnight, and let guests stay in the park until 11 p.m. or so to spend money in the shops and then ride the monorail back to their resort, you still have all those hours to do seasonal changes, maintenance, etc. You are paying the same hourly wage as planned. You have guests going back to their resorts without huge lines and many complaints.

If you close the park at 11 p.m. and close the stores right then and run the monorail only until midnight and then stop, you have huge transportation lines, guests who want to spend money in the shops but can't, and lots more complaints. But you are paying the same amount of money in labor costs and have the same amount of time to do maintenance as you did if you closed at 10 p.m.

It's a one-hour published closing time difference but the same real-time hours. And you gain a lot more good will from guests who think closing time is at 10 p.m. but they get that "extra" hour in the parks. Am I missing something here?

[Strmchsr]

I thought the monorail thing was limited to EMH nights? Are they suspending service EVERY night now shortly after park closing?

The monorail closes every night 1 hour after official park closing. Not just EMH nights. However, they have been running the monorail until around midnight on party nights - resort line only. They just haven't announced it.


Is there a boat from the Polynessian to/from Magic Kingdom?

Yes there is a direct boat from MK to Poly.

I agree with you guys. The policy is crazy. And I was there with Mel the same MNSSHP night. Getting back on the ferry with the huge number of guests needing to get to the TTC was a little nuts. However, I'm just relaying what I was told. From what I understand it's just one more instance of Disney reacting to a small minority who are ruining it for the rest.

[TinkerbellT421]

In general discussion with a cast member friend of mine, this has been discussed for a long time by the complaints of CM's. From what I was told, its unfortunately a little more detailed than what we know. CM's leave a minimum 3-4 hours after they close the stores, and prior to now were not allowed to close stores until the last customer left. Then they are not allowed to leave the store until every item is placed back and cleaned draws closed, etc. So I feel for the CM's as well that if they are having to stay 3-4 hours after customers leave they are not leaving their shift until a minimum of 1 or 2 in the am. Its basically for those of us who have worked retail at one point or another, its like our Black Friday shift. Every day. Which from what I remember, I hated Black Friday shift. Just an opinion :blush: Because I am one of those people that browse the shops at park closing so trust me, I dont have room to talk lol. But this is what I was told from a CM friend of mine.

[Scar]

I don't see why they can't keep the shops on Main Street, Hollywood Blvd, and Future World open for say, an hour after closing. This would ease the exiting crowd, people would spend money, and the CM would have a good idea when they will be going home. As long as the CM's are getting paid for that time, it's a win for all. Or does that make too much sense.

[Polynesian Dweller]

I don't see why they can't keep the shops on Main Street, Hollywood Blvd, and Future World open for say, an hour after closing. This would ease the exiting crowd, people would spend money, and the CM would have a good idea when they will be going home. As long as the CM's are getting paid for that time, it's a win for all. Or does that make too much sense.

Ever been in your local mall at closing time? The shop doors close like clock work. The customers inside can finish their shopping but nobody else enters. The staff can begin their end of day tasks and know they can be done in an hour.

If the left the doors open at malls it would be unpredictable when the staff would get done. Don't see why that should be any different at Disney.

And it's not a win for all. Staff have to stay longer, then report on time next morning impacting their family lives. At some point Disney starts paying overtime. Encouraging guests to stay longer means less time for maintenance and the lots of things that Syrmchsr eyuded to which leads to an overall decline in guest experience. It can actually be a losing situation for all.

[BrerGnat]

And it's not a win for all. Staff have to stay longer, then report on time next morning impacting their family lives. At some point Disney starts paying overtime. Encouraging guests to stay longer means less time for maintenance and the lots of things that Syrmchsr eyuded to which leads to an overall decline in guest experience. It can actually be a losing situation for all.

That's not really true. Usually, closing staff do not do an open the next morning. There are laws on the books preventing this. If you are not a salaried employee, you have to have a minimum amount of hours between shifts.

This is Disney's fault, and it's a staffing issue. They simply need to make more shifts, so everyone will know exactly how many hours they will be working.

Way back in the day, I worked at a Blockbuster Video. We closed at midnight every night. We knew that "closing" meant staying until 1 or 2am, so our scheduling reflected that. We had a 5pm-CL shift, and were instructed to let hourly employees go home no later than 1:30am (8 hour shift plus 30 min break time). If stuff still wasn't done, the managers could stay longer, but not the hourly employees.

Why can't Disney just set up their shifts so that they account for the extra few hours after park closing time that are required for the cleanup/preparation for the next day?

If park closing time is 9pm, schedule the shop employees to show up at 4 or 5pm, assuming that they will likely have to stay until midnight.

It can be done. Disney just doesn't want to.

[Scar]

Ever been in your local mall at closing time?Actually... no. I don't even think I've ever even been in a mall. ;)



If the left the doors open at malls it would be unpredictable when the staff would get done. This just doesn't hold. They would still know exactly when the doors were being closed.

As for the rest, I defer to Natalie's post.

[brivers222]

We divided our trip into two seperate ones... The Poly will be the first leg where we do most of our MK stuff... 3 MVMCPs during this time so the monorails will be open until at least 11pm-ish.

After that we switch to Boardwalk and we have the Epcot and HS portion kick in. A trip to MK is in order for one of the boardwalk days but it will be well before park closes...

I am glad at least hearing about the closures on here so that I could plan accordingly and not be caught unprepared.

[VWL Mom]

Disney's closing of the stores at closing time is no different than any other retail business that I know of. I'm sure they looked at people staying to buy vs people hanging around before making this decision. It's unfortunate.

That being said, now you have everyone exiting at once so they need to step up the transportation away from the parks. IMO buses and boats should be running double time and more.

[Wolf]

I think the point trying to be made is that is isnt a normal retail store, in Disney World people expect to be able to take home things from their trip without skipping ride/vacation time from their (possibly) once in a lifetime trip, people don't think of those stores like the ones in a mall.

[Tigerinvestigator]

Ever been in your local mall at closing time? The shop doors close like clock work. The customers inside can finish their shopping but nobody else enters. The staff can begin their end of day tasks and know they can be done in an hour.

If the left the doors open at malls it would be unpredictable when the staff would get done. Don't see why that should be any different at Disney.

And it's not a win for all. Staff have to stay longer, then report on time next morning impacting their family lives. At some point Disney starts paying overtime. Encouraging guests to stay longer means less time for maintenance and the lots of things that Syrmchsr eyuded to which leads to an overall decline in guest experience. It can actually be a losing situation for all.

I don't mean this to sound hateful, but we don't spend $5000 bucks and work all year long to go to the mall...I do however to visit WDW. Maybe I'm wrong but I feel like the least they could do is keep the stores open for us to buy what we need on the way back to the resort that we are now waiting in longer lines for...lol!:thumbsup:

[darthmacho]

Honestly, I wish I had the problem of figuring out how to get beck to my resort after the monorail closes, because it would mean I was in WDW... :(

To answer the original question, no, it hasn't changed my travel plans at all.

[Polynesian Dweller]

That's not really true. Usually, closing staff do not do an open the next morning. There are laws on the books preventing this. If you are not a salaried employee, you have to have a minimum amount of hours between shifts.


That must be law there, it isn't here or if it is my good friend works for a retailer who doesn't follow it because she does it regularly.

Didn't expect all the response. My main point was that people expect things to work differently at Disney. But at a business level for this business, stores, they are a retailer. They have real people working for them who have families and lives outside Disney and just as those of us who work at Disney I feel they should have the same rights we all expect. Working at Disney shouldn't change that.

[buzznwoodysmom]

Add me to the list that wish the stores would at least stay open an hour after official park closing. I do feel bad for the CMs who have to stay late. And I know I've read of guests who like to try to stay in the park as long as possible after park closing, but leaving "Main Street" open for an hour after park closing shouldn't be asking too much. We almost always go through the shops on our way out of MK, sometimes we get a snack or breakfast for the next morning, but we never stay longer than an hour after park closing, maybe 30 minute after park closing. It helps to let the exit crowds die down some before heading to our bus. It would feel very weird, and I'd be totally bummed, not to be able to shop on my way out of MK.

As for the monorail situation....We've been wanting to stay at the Poly again, and were thinking about a long weekend next summer, but I don't want to be disappointed in transportation. Honestly transportation is one of the major factors in us staying at a monorail resort. So to have issues with monorail transportation makes it difficult to justify spending that kind of money. Maybe we'd rather stay at the BC again, or try the YC this time so as to not have transportation issues at the end of a long, summer day in the parks. Hopefully by next summer things will have changed back to normal regarding the monorails.

[Scar]

They have real people working for them who have families and lives outside Disney and just as those of us who work at Disney I feel they should have the same rights we all expect. Working at Disney shouldn't change that.Agreed.

But please explain how keeping the stores open one hour after park closing would be different than any other retailer.

[brivers222]

That must be law there, it isn't here or if it is my good friend works for a retailer who doesn't follow it because she does it regularly.


It might be just a state to state law... When i was in retail i regularly had to work close and then open back to back.. especially on the weekend. worst was xmas when we would be open until 1am (worked 4pm to 1am) and then had to turn around and be in to work (7am to 4pm)

[coneheads]

I've never stayed an hour after closing but definately a half hour enjoying a treat at the bakery talking about the day waiting for the crowds to clear a bit. Just because the doors to shops don't close at Park closing time doesn't mean they have given up the right to close at a specific time. Many people like us shop all day but don't buy until we are leaving because they don't want to schlep packages all over the park. Yes they have package delivery and I'm sure that works well for adults but kids are different. During one of our trips my eldest Son bought a small letter-opener type replica sword at the Arribas store that used to be in Carribean Plaza after he paid the cashier said he could pick it up at City Hall on his way out of the Park. As you can imagine he was disappointed for one not being told before the purchase that he would not be able to take the item with him and two that they assumed he wouldn't be responsible enough to leave it in the package until he left the Park. I don't remember him buying another souvenier from Disney after that, silly but he was only 12 or 13 at the time.

We'll see how long this lasts when they get a look at the retail sales figures, I think all the stores on Main Street did a pretty brisk business after closing.

Disney is a private corporation and has the right to try and control labor costs but also is responsible for the consequences of those policies. Reducing the transportation volume and making sure everyone leaves at the same time have combined to leave a fairly negative impression on guests and the number of replies here shows that.

[Dyanna]

I have never worked retail but I do know that with any job If I work 9 to 5 I expect to be out the door at 5. The employees at Disney want the same. There is nothing wrong with that. They have families that they want to get home to & or have a life they would like to lead in the after hours. The shopping I do is always during park hours. I start in the morning when I walk down Main Street & when its time to leave I just pass all these shops as I know they are more busy then it was earlier in the day. For all the Disney employees reading this...Good Work!

[Jennifer_and_Chris]

I am a lingerer (is that even a word?). As the parks close, we park our tired bottoms on a bench and wait for the majority of the masses to leave. We don't shop or eat though. We do this so that my kids are not kicked, hit in the head by some random backpack or camera bag and I don't commit murder by stroller. :mad:

We HATE going into shops on the way out because, we can't fit through the crowd and merchandise with our umbrella strollers.We shop during the day to escape the heat and shop in the virtually empty stores.

I once talked to a CM during the special occassion of being in a store at park closing and said to her that she must be happy to go home soon after this chaos. In the nicest possible way, she said, oh, no. my night is just beginning. After everyone leaves, we have to clean up and it takes awhile. Poor thing!

I have worked retail management and its no wonder that retail is high turnover. That industry has a high turnover percentage as it is. As a manager, I did what I could to ensure my people were happy w/ the sacrafices they were giving up for our guests. I agree whole heartedly that it's ok to close the doors. Maybe just have the "main" doors open but, all the shortcut doors closed. That would deter alot of people out of the stores.

However, transportation should be doubled if they will be enforcing closing and park exit times.

[Victor Kelly]

I have worked in retail before. Sams Club was the worst followed by Home Depot. You take the job knowing you will get off late. It is a requirement of the job. Scheduling puts people there after close. Disney is no different, they late shift people.

Now shutting down one part of the transportation system is a bit on the rediculously dumb things to do. UNLESS they are doing repair work that the monorail system is reported to desperately need. Ferrys can carry a lot of people. The launches maybe up to 30 to the resorts. The buses can be overloaded with up to 60 or more. I can only agree with a monorail shutdown if they are working on the system. But come on, 1 hour after close? Even on an EMH night?

[Mousemates]

We'll see how long this lasts when they get a look at the retail sales figures, I think all the stores on Main Street did a pretty brisk business after closing.

....Reducing the transportation volume and making sure everyone leaves at the same time have combined to leave a fairly negative impression on guests and the number of replies here shows that.

two good points

[Main Street Jim]

A lot of you have mentioned that Disney should "double the buses and boats". Do you know...that ferry boat pilots and bus drivers are two of the highest-paid hourly positions on property? So if you "doubled" those positions, Disney'd be paying those employees probably four times as much as those hourly CM's that work that extra hour or two in the stores.

I'm not sure what to say about the transportation situation. Yeah, it sounds kinda...*bad*. :-\

[PirateLover]

I have never worked retail but I do know that with any job If I work 9 to 5 I expect to be out the door at 5. The employees at Disney want the same.
Not sure how Disney does it, but when I worked retail, when you had the closing shift you were never given an actual time. Your schedule would say 12pm-Close. If you had a closing shift you could count on being there at least an hour after the official "Store closing" time. You have to have the store ready for opening the next day, which includes putting back all the items customers decided they didn't want at checkout, or just randomly stashed somewhere else, finishing up paperwork, placing orders, etc. I'm sure that Disney employees are not under the impression that their shift is over exactly when the park closes.

[crltkcagle]

I found the whole situation quite crazy when we were at MNSSHP a few weeks back. The trip back to the MK parking lot is a hassle anytime (IMO). But late at night, after a long party or day in the parks, and then having to crush into the ferry waiting area with a hoard of people just as tired,etc. - it was almost too much for me.

Think we were at the same party because the ferry situation was beyond ridiculous! Everyone was exhausted and we were all crammed in waiting for ferries which seem to take forever to get there. That was my only complaint though. The early monorail closing wasn't a big deal on other nights.

[Main Street Jim]

Cast Members *are* given an "end time" for their shifts. They're under "Cast Deployment" which is a computerized "time card" system (clocking in and out). If they must stay later than that "end time", the managers have to go into the system and manually "extend" each CM's shift. So yes, the CM's *do* expect to go home at their posted "end time".

When I worked Attractions, our end time for a "closing" shift was 45 minutes to an hour after the park closed. We closed off the attraction *at the posted closing time*, not letting any more guests into the attraction. That gave us time to cycle those guests through the attraction that were *in line* before we closed. The CM, usually the one out in front of the attraction, followed that last guest through to ensure no one came in behind them. Then after that last guest exited, then we could begin our closing procedures of shutting down the ride, cleaning up trash in the queue, and shutting down the ride. This whole process could take up to 30 minutes or more, depending on the attraction.

I would imagine the same process applies to Merchandise CM's as well. They have (or *had*) to wait until the last guest(s) were out of the store before they could even begin closing procedures. And if those guests stayed past the CM's end time, *and* the CM's *still* had to close the store (close out their drawers, clean up the store, put items back on the shelf, restock, etc.), the managers would have to go in and manually extend their shifts.

So, again, yes, those "closing" CM's *do* expect to go home at a certain time - the time that's posted on their schedules.

[PirateLover]

So, again, yes, those "closing" CM's *do* expect to go home at a certain time - the time that's posted on their schedules.

OK, but my point was that they don't expect to go home right at PARK closing. I said: "I'm sure that Disney employees are not under the impression that their shift is over exactly when the park closes." When you do retail, you don't just lock the doors and leave. As both of us noted, there is plenty to do once the customers are shooed out. At some stores, they don't give a steadfast close time. At WDW, apparently the extra time is built into the schedule. I don't have a problem with that.

[Cjsmom1811]

I am a retail manager in a mall. It is called short turn around time. We try not to schedule someone who closes to then open. The difference in working in a Mall and Disney is that the people coming to Disney traveled maybe a thousand miles to get there. Saved for a year to afford it and is probably staying at a hotel with Disneys name on it. It is susposed to be convienent to visit them and if they are lucky we will leave our hard earned savings with them when we leave. I like the shops remaining opened so I can spend my day on rides and shop later. Lets remember, the cast members ARE being paid. It is their JOB.

[BrerGnat]

I am a retail manager in a mall. It is called short turn around time. We try not to schedule someone who closes to then open. The difference in working in a Mall and Disney is that the people coming to Disney traveled maybe a thousand miles to get there. Saved for a year to afford it and is probably staying at a hotel with Disneys name on it. It is susposed to be convienent to visit them and if they are lucky we will leave our hard earned savings with them when we leave. I like the shops remaining opened so I can spend my day on rides and shop later. Lets remember, the cast members ARE being paid. It is their JOB.

Yep, totally right on. I think the law requires a minimum of 6 hours between hourly shifts. It's not much, but it's long enough that you wouldn't have a DISNEY PARKS CM working closing until 2-3am and then having to report back to work by 7am the same morning.

Here, most retail establishments close by 9 or 10pm, and don't open until 9 or 10am the next morning, so it's quite common to have people working back to back close-open shifts. However, most bosses don't schedule people that way as a courtesy. It happens, but when it does, those people are getting at least 8-10 hours off between shifts.

And yes, it's the job. Why should anyone feel badly for the "poor CMs" who have to work late? They signed up for it.

[Mousemates]

I once talked to a CM during the special occassion of being in a store at park closing and said to her that she must be happy to go home soon after this chaos. In the nicest possible way, she said, oh, no. my night is just beginning. After everyone leaves, we have to clean up and it takes awhile. Poor thing!

I suppose I have a somewhat different take on the issue having grown up working retail (a restaurant is simply retail food) in the tourist mecca of Gatlinburg TN. The hours were long with the night shift (during the busiest of times) not getting off until a couple hours after closing (11PM being the stated closing time) and the breakfast folks getting in around 5AM the next morning. In a family owned business the owners, children, grandhcildren cousins, and committed workers, etc. frequently had to be there for both on the busiest holiday weekends.

One time (and only one time :() did I make the mistake of complaining openly about the folks who came in at ten minutes to closing to order a meal, at which point my grandfather reminded me that we were there for the customers, not vice-versa. They could easily choose to take their business (and our livelihood elsewhere) and we should be thankful to have jobs in a time when lots of folks were out of work (this was back in the oil crisis days of the 70s).

So while I am somewhat sympathetic to the trials and tribulations of retail life, in tough economic times simply having a job (especially one with benefits) is something to be thankful for and Disney needs to be careful about chipping away too much around the edges of the WDW experience. If they do, that business can go elsewhere and folks who once complained about those late nights might remember them as the good old days when their paychecks were larger because they got more hours. :twocents:

[Main Street Jim]

I think the law requires a minimum of 6 hours between hourly shifts. It's not much, but it's long enough that you wouldn't have a DISNEY PARKS CM working closing until 2-3am and then having to report back to work by 7am the same morning. At WDW, according to the last hourly CM union contract that I worked under, it's a minimum eight hours between shifts.

I have pulled those kinds of shifts, though - worked until we closed an attraction (at maybe 1 or 2am), then slept in my car out in the CM parking lot, to be into work at 7am the next morning. At the time, I lived 45 minutes away (down in Poinciana); wasn't worth it to drive home 45 minutes, sleep maybe two hours, get up, get up early to miss all the morning traffic from Poinciana (only one way in and out - and a LOT of CM's headed to/from work), another 45 minutes to an hour or so drive into work.

ANYWAYS....sorry I 'jacked the thread.

Point is...yes, CM's scheduled end times *usually* reflect about an hour after the park closes. They don't expect to go home *at* park close, unless that was their scheduled end time. If guests remain in their location for longer than that, then they have to manually extended by managers.

Example: I know I'm closing Space Mountain. The park closes at say, 10:00pm. My schedule says I'm done at 11:00pm (clock out). However, due to technical problems, the Mountain goes down at 9:30pm. It takes Maintenance an hour to fix the problem, and we still have guests in line. The line *out front* of the attraction (similar to a store door) is closed off *at 10:00pm*, even though we're experiencing problems. Those guests who were in line when we went down - and when we closed for technical problems - will still get their Space Mountain ride. The ride is back up and running at 10:30pm; now I have to stay until 11:30pm to close the attraction. That has to manually be put into the system by the managers as "overtime".

'Nother example: The park closes at 10:00pm, my schedule says I'm done at 11:00pm. We close off the line *at 10:00pm*, not letting any more guests into the attraction. That last guest is followed through the line and off of the ride, which may take a while, depending on how long the line was *when we closed*. Once that last guest is off of the ride and on their way out, *then* we can begin closing procedures. That may be 45 minutes to an hour - or eve longer during busy seasons - *after* we closed the line, again, depending on how long the line was at 10:00. CM's get a 10-minute "walk time", so technically they could clock out at 10 minutes before their scheduled end time (because they have to take a bus from Cast parking to the MK tunnel, which takes a few minutes, especially when 15,000 other CM's are getting off work at the same time).

Sorry....rambling here.... :(

[LVT]

Hey Aurora, from the response rate it looks like the stores closing on time bothers more people than the monorail.
I hope a few more respond to the monorail question. I was hoping to someday afford a monorail resort, but it may not be worth it now.

[Aurora]

Hey Aurora, from the response rate it looks like the stores closing on time bothers more people than the monorail.
I hope a few more respond to the monorail question. I was hoping to someday afford a monorail resort, but it may not be worth it now.

It's all interesting and, if the stores are closing on the dot, possibly related. To get this thread back on track again, I'm posting a new thread relating to the store-closing reports. Mostly 'cause I'd also like to know whether others continue to experience this.

Here's the new thread: http://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?p=2215732#post2215732

So, anyone else experiencing any issues with the monorail closing times?

[Wolf]

I'll be honest, it did effect our trip this weekend..I normally wouldn't complain but going from Pop Century prices to Polynessian prices then being forced onto a boat at 2am was abit...not awesome..I wouldn't have minded so much if it wasn't super cold and raining like crazy, I mean Florida got more rain than they had in years...couldn't they make a exception and run the monorail late, you can't convince me you were working on it in that downpour..We will probably stay Poly again but dang it was frustrating..I just think for that money the monorail should be running, I'm pretty sure what I paid could pay for them to put gas in the monorail for 3 days...or whatever it runs off lol