Monorail changes for Magic Kingdom Extra Magic Hours begin today

[alliekat]

Beginning today, the Magic Kingdom express and resort monorail will stop operation 1 hour after regular park closing. This means that the monorail will not be able to return guests back to their resorts after evening Extra Magic Hours. Guests will instead be transported by bus and boats where available. Morning Extra Magic Hour service has not been affected. All indications are that this is a permanent change.

Epcot introduced the same change last month, and stops operation 1 hour after regular park closeing.

[Ian]

Hey I have a question ...

Suppose Magic Kingdom closes at 7PM, which it often does during slower times of the year. Epcot never closes before 9PM.

So if you were staying at the Contemporary and you went to Epcot for the night, the Epcot monorail would run until 10PM but the Magic Kingdom monorail would close at 8PM?

So I'd take a monorail from Epcot back to the TTC and then what? I'd be stuck there??

[MizMissy]

Hey I have a question ...


So I'd take a monorail from Epcot back to the TTC and then what? I'd be stuck there??

Get on the bus, baby!! I mean, I assume they will have buses waiting to take you to the Contemporary.
Seriously, last trip, we stayed at the CR so we could walk to/from MK and we drove to every other park. I know I'm on vacation and supposed to sit back and enjoy the magic and let someone else drive, but I really prefer to be in control of my own destiny by having my own personal transportation available. Maybe if it was just the kids and me, I would be more patient with Disney transportation, but having to deal with my biggest, most impatient child (DH) causes me too much stress.

[Mousemates]

The end result of all this to me is:

1. The monorail resorts just became much less appealing. I mean the two things those super expensive resorts have going for them are proximity to the MAgic Kingdom and monorail access to the MK and Epcot.

With the exception of the CR (where you can "walk home from the MK at night) you now actually lose both....for with the lagoon/canal preventing a walk home to the GF/Poly...while physically close, transportationally you are quite a distance away on a bus.

EMH is THE reason we stay on property, and if I am going to be waiting on and then riding a bus back to my room, in the future I'll just take a little bit longer ride and stay someplace a little less expensive (say AKL or one of the DVC resorts near Downtown Disney).

2. The Boardwalk area resorts between Epcot and the Studios just became the premier location at Disney property. Here you will trully have easy transportation to two parks, not to mention walkable distance to mini golf and the boardwalk itself.

Again to me this reeks of "bean counters gone bad"....i.e. saving "tenths of a percent" on some financial report without grasping what the decision means in terms of the quality of the guest's vacation experience. When you ask folks to pay that much for a room, the amenities are what it's all about...and at Disney transportation is often the most important amenity of all.

[SBETigg]

I depend on the monorail more than I realized when I stay at those resorts. When the monorail is running, it's easy to resort hop. Not so much when the monorail is down. Ooh, I am really not liking this even more than I thought.

Ian, I don't know, I guess it's buses. Or if MK is still open, ferry to the MK and walk from there? I didn't even think they had buses from MK to Polynesian or GF, so that's odd for me to contemplate anyway. I guess they will have if they don't already.

[brivers222]

So I have to ask... elaborating on Ian's statement above...

If the MK closes at 7pm as it does for the MNSSHP and MVMCP.... are we (those who paid the extra $121 to attend) left without monorail transportation because the party ends 5 hours AFTER park closing?!!?!


Glad that we picked BWI and a rental car for the bulk share of our trip

[renecat]

We are staying at the GF in Nov. reason was the monorail. This is a girls trip and when we first started planning there were four of us. Now there are seven of us. If this becomes a tradition with us I think we may crunch some numbers and see if renting a house and a van wouldn't be a better plan since they are shutting the monorail down so early. Also a question was ask about the special party they have. Will the monorail shut down when the park closes at 7 for the party and then everyone at the party has to use the buses?

[11290]

If the MK closes at 7pm as it does for the MNSSHP and MVMCP.... are we (those who paid the extra $121 to attend) left without monorail transportation because the party ends 5 hours AFTER park closing?!!?!

The Magic Kingdom closes at midnight on party nights, therefore the monorails will run until 0100. The park only closes to DAY GUESTS at 1900.

[WishingStar2006]

But I'm still perplexed about late dining at the MK resorts. Say I'm staying at the CR and have dinner ADR's at Narccoosee's at 9:45. MK closes at 10 so resort monorail stops at 11:00. DInner is done at 11:30. How do I get back to CR? Take a bus from GF to TTC and then a bus from TTC to CR?(and if it's not EMH, will buses still be running?? What a mess!!!!

HELP!!!!!!

[Christine]

But I'm still perplexed about late dining at the MK resorts. Say I'm staying at the CR and have dinner ADR's at Narccoosee's at 9:45. MK closes at 10 so resort monorail stops at 11:00. DInner is done at 11:30. How do I get back to CR? Take a bus from GF to TTC and then a bus from TTC to CR?(and if it's not EMH, will buses still be running?? What a mess!!!!

HELP!!!!!!

Would the boats still be running? Boat from GF to mk (it stops first at poly) then walk to CR?

Yikes I'm sorry. This does sound complicated

[Aurora]

Hey I have a question ...

Suppose Magic Kingdom closes at 7PM, which it often does during slower times of the year. Epcot never closes before 9PM.

So if you were staying at the Contemporary and you went to Epcot for the night, the Epcot monorail would run until 10PM but the Magic Kingdom monorail would close at 8PM?

So I'd take a monorail from Epcot back to the TTC and then what? I'd be stuck there??

Well, wouldn't it be the same as it always has been? The monorails have always "officially" stopped running one hour after park close, and in slower months, the MK and Epcot already have the hours you just described. So what has happened in the past?

This change is only for evening EMH, correct? What would be weirder is if the MK has EMH 'til 10, Epcot closes at 9, and the Epcot monorail ends service at 10, right when the MK EMH people are ending the day.

Something tells me we peons don't have the whole story.

[alliekat]

I feel the same the way as all of you. Maybe if enough of us complain Disney will take notice.
I'm going soon in about a week and i'm going to personally ask about this myself.Maybe then we will all get an answer that makes more sense.

[Joannelet]

This may be a silly question but after the monorail to the resorts stop does this also mean the ones to the TTC stop also? So do the people who are parked in the lots just have to take the boat back to the lots? Or is this change for monorail resort guests only?

[epceddie]

What a big huge mess this has become. Disney should be ashamed of themselves. They've built their reputation on customer service and providing 'magical' vacations. Every time they make a cut in service like this, the magic slips further away. It will never happen, but I would love to see some kind of boycott of the deluxe resorts. That would get the bean counter's attention in a hurry!

[John]

But I'm still perplexed about late dining at the MK resorts. Say I'm staying at the CR and have dinner ADR's at Narccoosee's at 9:45. MK closes at 10 so resort monorail stops at 11:00. DInner is done at 11:30. How do I get back to CR? Take a bus from GF to TTC and then a bus from TTC to CR?(and if it's not EMH, will buses still be running?? What a mess!!!!

HELP!!!!!!

Great question........

[big blue and hairy]

But I'm still perplexed about late dining at the MK resorts. Say I'm staying at the CR and have dinner ADR's at Narccoosee's at 9:45. MK closes at 10 so resort monorail stops at 11:00. DInner is done at 11:30. How do I get back to CR? Take a bus from GF to TTC and then a bus from TTC to CR?(and if it's not EMH, will buses still be running?? What a mess!!!!

HELP!!!!!!

I appears as though the question was answered in the original post.

The Magic Kingdom express and resort monorail will stop operation 1 hour after regular park closing. This means that the monorail will not be able to return guests back to their resorts after evening Extra Magic Hours. Guests will instead be transported by bus and boats where available. Morning Extra Magic Hour service has not been affected. All indications are that this is a permanent change.

You could also take the boat to MK and walk to the CR it is very nice walk.

[diz_girl]

Hey I have a question ...

Suppose Magic Kingdom closes at 7PM, which it often does during slower times of the year. Epcot never closes before 9PM.

So if you were staying at the Contemporary and you went to Epcot for the night, the Epcot monorail would run until 10PM but the Magic Kingdom monorail would close at 8PM?

So I'd take a monorail from Epcot back to the TTC and then what? I'd be stuck there??

That's my concern too. I'm staying at BLT from November 12-19 and this would affect me greatly. There is only one night that the MK closes (regular hours) after 8 p.m that entire week. Regular hours for MK are either 7 or 8 p.m. (except the 12th), for DHS it is 8 p.m. every night and AK is 5 p.m. every night. So EPCOT is the only park open after 8 p.m. (excluding EMH) pretty much every night that week.

When I stay at a resort on the monorail, I tend to go to MK or EPCOT more than the other parks. Others may do the same thing. That will probably compel GF, CR, BLT and Poly guests to go to EPCOT once the MK closes because of the ease of using the monorail. When the MK closes at 7 p.m., I like to zip on over to EPCOT for Illuminations and maybe some last minute rides. So the monorail can get people to EPCOT, but they're stuck at the TTC after EPCOT closing. Poly guests are excepted since their resort is right next to the TTC.

At first, it didn't seem a big deal, but now I am seeing that it will affect myself and others a lot more. The CR, BLT and GF guests will have to do a boat/walk combination or just take a LONG walk. So to get back to BLT, I have to take a boat to MK (if they're still running - what if it's not a MVMCP night) and then walk to BLT. My 71 y.o. dad is coming with us and due to back and knee issues can't do walks like that most days.

Right now when parks are open late, you won't see much of an effect. But when the parks cut back their hours in the fall and the lack of monorails after 8 or 9 p.m., there will be a lot more complaints.

I'm staying at a monorail resort because it is a monorail resort. I'm paying for a monorail resort. I don't want to deal with buses and I plan to drive to AK. On our last trip I was on a packed bus and the guy standing in front of me was texting and when the bus turned he landed on the woman sitting next to me. What if that was one of my kids? So the monorail is my preferred mode of transportation for which I paid greatly.

[Aurora]

I still would like to know what has happened in the past. Does anyone remember? In other words, the MK sometimes closes at 7 or 8 p.m., the MK monorail runs until one hour past closing (say, 9 p.m. or so) and Epcot closes at 9 p.m. and so the Epcot monorail runs until 10 p.m. or so.

Anyone who's been there in the slower months, what usually happens? Did the resort monorail continue to run during the Epcot closing hour, and just go past the MK?

[LisaP]

I agree. This policy change throws my monorail resort plans right out the window. I am traveling with a double stroller and precisely why I stay at a monorail resort ... I do not want the hassle of unleashing two kids and folding up the stroller to ride a bus (same for ferry). For that aggravation I will rent a car and stay at Swan/Dolphin. Poo on you Disney, bad decision!

[SBETigg]

I still would like to know what has happened in the past. Does anyone remember? In other words, the MK sometimes closes at 7 or 8 p.m., the MK monorail runs until one hour past closing (say, 9 p.m. or so) and Epcot closes at 9 p.m. and so the Epcot monorail runs until 10 p.m. or so.

Anyone who's been there in the slower months, what usually happens? Did the resort monorail continue to run during the Epcot closing hour, and just go past the MK?

I'm not exactly sure what the official policy ever was, but we've almost always stayed monorail resorts, and we've come back from Epcot at all hours and have never taken anything but the monorail, Epcot monorail to resort monorail. So obviously, either a coincidence that both parks were still always open or they kept the resort monorail running for guests like us.