Monorail closures/maintenance

[pixie08]

Hi all,

We have a GF/Poly split stay in 12 days and I have been hearing that the monorail is operating on modified schedule? I thought this would be done by now? This is a bummer because we booked these resorts (as I am sure many others do) because we do not like using the buses with our little toddler.

Anyone been to GF/Poly/CR recently and can confirm this or give some insight?

 

[_auroraborealis_]

There is no set end date for the monorail closures. Current schedule only covers June 2016, but they've been doing versions of this for nearly 2 years and there's no end in sight.

Current closure times:

• Express Beam Overnight Closures- 11:30 PM Sundays - 9:30 AM Mondays, 11:30 PM Mondays - 9:30 AM Tuesdays
• Monorail Shutdown- 11:30 AM - 6:00 PM on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Starting 4/12/2016 on Thursdays
• Resort Beam Overnight Closures - 12:00 AM - 8:30 AM Mondays, 12:00 AM - 8:30 AM Tuesdays

So, basically, on Mondays and Tuesdays, the express to Epcot is not available for park open, there will be a bus instead. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday there is no monorail at all from 11:30-6PM. And the resort bean is shut down Mondays and Tuesdays for early park open.

So yeah: The monorail is going to have a lot of disruption for you in 12 days.

 

[WEDWDW]

Here is this week's schedule.

(Image courtesy of OTPN)

 

[JPDtheJD]

Wow. That stinks for monorail resort hotel guests. Nap time anyone? The wonderful thing about the monorail with a toddler is letting that sleeping baby keep sleeping in the stroller while you take the monorail home. I guess as long as it is not Tues-Thurs.

 

[TsLoveMickey]

So on Tues 6/21 I would not be able to take the monorail from MK to Epcot around 12:30 to catch my Frozen FP?

 

[Dave006]

No, you can still take the Monorail resort line to the TTC and switch to the Epcot spur or you could always catch a bus. The express line is expected to be down on 6/21 between 11:30 AM and ~6:00 PM.

Dave

 

[hamilkm]

I have a question along these same lines. We are staying at the Poly July 7-11. If the monorail is still running this same schedule, how is the best way to get to Epcot for our 8 am Garden Grill ADR. Will there be buses from TTC to Epcot, or would we need to catch the bus from the Poly bus station? My mom will be on an ECV, so Disney transportation will be better for us than a cab or Uber. Thanks!

 

[WEDWDW]

So on Tues 6/21 I would not be able to take the monorail from MK to Epcot around 12:30 to catch my Frozen FP?

Just hop on the RESORT Monorail at Magic Kingdom(Only the EXPRESS Monorail will be down.).

It will make one stop at the Contemporary Resort and the next stop will be the TTC.

Exit at the TTC,walk down a ramp and then up another ramp and you will be at the Epcot Monorail boarding platform.

 

[WEDWDW]

I have a question along these same lines. We are staying at the Poly July 7-11. If the monorail is still running this same schedule, how is the best way to get to Epcot for our 8 am Garden Grill ADR. Will there be buses from TTC to Epcot, or would we need to catch the bus from the Poly bus station? My mom will be on an ECV, so Disney transportation will be better for us than a cab or Uber. Thanks!

There "should" be buses from the Poly and/or TTC,but reports about their reliability vary.

I would go to the Front Desk the night before and ask what the "plan" is for the next morning.

Be sure to speak to someone who has a DEFINITIVE answer.

I would stop by the front Desk again that Morning to confirm what you were told the night before.

GOOD LUCK!!!!

 

[Dave006]

I have a question along these same lines. We are staying at the Poly July 7-11. If the monorail is still running this same schedule, how is the best way to get to Epcot for our 8 am Garden Grill ADR. Will there be buses from TTC to Epcot, or would we need to catch the bus from the Poly bus station? My mom will be on an ECV, so Disney transportation will be better for us than a cab or Uber. Thanks!

What day is your Garden Grill ADR, need to know if it is an EMMH for Epcot day?

The general suggestion for all resorts when trying to get to a park for a pre-opening ADR is to catch your resort "Breakfast" bus to the specific park. Make sure to ask specifically about a pre-park open "Breakfast" bus time from your individual resort. Normal resort bus service is regularly scheduled to begin 45 minutes before posted park opening hours and 2 hours after park close. The current plan is to have buses available from/to all Monorail resorts when the Monorail service is scheduled to be down.

Note: When checking, be clear you have a pre-park open ADR and indicate the specific park that you need transportation to!

Dave

 

[WEDWDW]

The current plan is to have buses available from/to all Monorail resorts when the Monorail service is scheduled to be down.

Since the Monorail automation project began,there seems to be some inconsistency in the availability of EARLY ADR/Tour buses to Epcot from the Monorail resorts on the days when the Epcot Monorail is opening late(as well as when the Epcot Monorail is running a regular schedule since it doesn't start until 8:00 AM).

 

[Dave006]

I agree with your post about the inconsistency in the early buses currently and that's why I stated "plan" and noted the need to ask specifically about a pre-park ADR and to indicate the specific park concerning the transportation request.

Dave

 

[Masonmj84]

I remember reading somewhere that on days where the resort monorail is not running early, that the Yellow Flag boat (that goes between MK, GF, and Poly) starts operating 90 minutes before park opening instead of the usual 30.

So if this is true, it provides an additional option to the bus.

 

[heath92681]

Wow. That stinks for monorail resort hotel guests. Nap time anyone? The wonderful thing about the monorail with a toddler is letting that sleeping baby keep sleeping in the stroller while you take the monorail home. I guess as long as it is not Tues-Thurs.

I'm now leaning towards saving $350 per night and staying at a mod. We are going Sat-Wed and have 3 ppo breakfasts. Between breakfasts and not being able to hop back to the resort for a mid afternoon break, I'm doubting it's worth the extra money.

 

[Dave006]

The only challenge with using the Monorail might be your PPO ADRs that might be on Mon-Tue. Only the Express line is scheduled to be down the Tue-Thu, 11:30AM - 6:30 PM!

The resort beam is scheduled up through the day, you can hop back to the resort all day. If there are impacts to the resort beam, there is always the motor launch to the GF and Poly or a short walk to the CR, and as a backup a bus if weather or unexpected issues with Monorail service.

Update: See post 3: http://disboards.com/threads/monorail-closures-maintenance.3516937/#post-55888259 for the correct Monorail schedule, post 2, above it is "Incorrect".

Dave

 

[pixie08]

Wow. That stinks for monorail resort hotel guests. Nap time anyone? The wonderful thing about the monorail with a toddler is letting that sleeping baby keep sleeping in the stroller while you take the monorail home. I guess as long as it is not Tues-Thurs.

uggh don't remind me. Yes this is the MAIN reason for our split stay MONORAIL decision. We could have spent less elsewhere but I won't let it ruin my trip. I will just try and make do!

 

[hamilkm]

What day is your Garden Grill ADR, need to know if it is an EMMH for Epcot day?

The general suggestion for all resorts when trying to get to a park for a pre-opening ADR is to catch your resort "Breakfast" bus to the specific park. Make sure to ask specifically about a pre-park open "Breakfast" bus time from your individual resort. Normal resort bus service is regularly scheduled to begin 45 minutes before posted park opening hours and 2 hours after park close. The current plan is to have buses available from/to all Monorail resorts when the Monorail service is scheduled to be down.

Note: When checking, be clear you have a pre-park open ADR and indicate the specific park that you need transportation to!

Dave

Thanks for this information. Our ADR is not on an EMH day. It is on a day the Epcot monorail is scheduled to open at 8am (normal start time). Normally I would just take a cab/uber and not worry about it, but with mom's ecv this trip that will be hard. It was so easy a couple of weeks ago to catch a bus from POFQ to my PPO ADR's. It's such a shame that I am paying double the price for the POLY but won't have the same easy transportation for PPO ADR's.

 

[pixie08]

Which Beam is the EPCOT monorail considered? We could walk to TTC from Poly on that Weds but I cannot figure the schedule for that one. It seems from some above replies the EPCOT beam may not be affected?

 

[Masonmj84]

As a Poly lover, these ongoing Monorail closures are making me re-think my traditional pre-park opening character breakfast plans for our upcoming trip next spring (we usually do both CRT and CP). We'll have 8 day tickets, which will allow us have 3 MK and 3 EP days. This will basically save us from having to RD at EP at all and, if we do later character breakfasts at MK, we can still use the Resort Monorail to at least get to the park by RD.

Taking the Monorail into MK and EP is one of the Poly's big perks and I don't want to lose that.

 

[Dave006]

Which Beam is the EPCOT monorail considered? We could walk to TTC from Poly on that Weds but I cannot figure the schedule for that one. It seems from some above replies the EPCOT beam may not be affected?

Only Mon-Tue have a 9 AM start for the Epcot Monorail Transportation between the TTC and Epcot. So just look for the Epcot Monorail Transportation ( aka the Epcot Loop ) information on the weekly published "Times Guide".

Dave