Monorail door falls off

[arminnie]

A guest utilizing an ECV with a child in their lap lost control coming up the ramp and hit the door full speed.

A person in an ECV is directed to a car to enter by a CM. What idiot CM let an idiot guest enter with a child in their lap? I'd fire that CM. And fine the guest who deliberately chose to operate an ECV so unsafely.

fyi - I am an ECV user. I just cannot understand the utter stupidity of some people.

 

[snappy]

It’s a blessing there were no injuries.

 

[rteetz]

A person in an ECV is directed to a car to enter by a CM. What idiot CM let an idiot guest enter with a child in their lap? I'd fire that CM. And fine the guest who deliberately chose to operate an ECV so unsafely.

fyi - I am an ECV user. I just cannot understand the utter stupidity of some people.

Obviously we don't know exactly what happened but its possible the CM didn't know better. I know I have seen numerous times in the parks a child on the lap or standing on an ECV while an adult is driving.

 

[fla4fun]

It's also a violation of every rental contract that I've seen.

Has it been confirmed that the ECV was a rental? It may have been privately owned. I am not aware of any rules regarding children on ECVs in the parks/resorts that apply to privately owned ones (although it should be common sense in my opinion).

 

[arminnie]

Obviously we don't know exactly what happened but its possible the CM didn't know better. I know I have seen numerous times in the parks a child on the lap or standing on an ECV while an adult is driving.

I don't buy the "CM didn't know better" excuse. They should know better. That would be like a CM letting people smoke anywhere and saying they "didn't know" that smoking was not allowed.

I don't have a problem with a child sitting in the lap of someone in an ECV if the ECV is turned off. Like waiting for a parade. But a child in the lap of someone trying to drive an ECV (particularly an inexperienced ECV driver) is just a disaster waiting to happen.

 

[rteetz]

I don't buy the "CM didn't know better" excuse. They should know better. That would be like a CM letting people smoke anywhere and saying they "didn't know" that smoking was not allowed.

I don't have a problem with a child sitting in the lap of someone in an ECV if the ECV is turned off. Like waiting for a parade. But a child in the lap of someone trying to drive an ECV (particularly an inexperienced ECV driver) is just a disaster waiting to happen.

Like I said previously none of us were there to witness what happened. We don't know if the CM said something or whatever. There are some CMs though who do not know better.

 

[middlechild]

There is a difference between authority and responsibility. The CM has the responsibility (I assume) to inform the guest the child may not ride, but they lack the authority to remove said child. The guest driving has the responsibility to remove the child, but what if they choose not to? The CM has a choice, to shut down all operations while a higher up comes, which may take a long time, or CYA with repeating the statement that a child may not be a rider too, then standing out of the way.

 

[snappy]

Could the CM in this situation refuse to let the guest board in the first place? Nothing to be done if the kid gets on it on the way out since the doors open automatically but Disney organized it to be automated so in my mind it’s on them on the departure.

 

[mom2rtk]

There is a difference between authority and responsibility. The CM has the responsibility (I assume) to inform the guest the child may not ride, but they lack the authority to remove said child. The guest driving has the responsibility to remove the child, but what if they choose not to? The CM has a choice, to shut down all operations while a higher up comes, which may take a long time, or CYA with repeating the statement that a child may not be a rider too, then standing out of the way.

That's true. But it's still ultimately the responsibility of Disney to make sure they have staff in the area trained and equipped to handle stuff like this.

 

[DisneyDude71]

Like I said previously none of us were there to witness what happened. We don't know if the CM said something or whatever. There are some CMs though who do not know better.

and how many people have just outright ignore the castmember!

 

[arminnie]

As far as the monorail - it is really a no brainer. A CM should NOT set up the ramp for an ECV driver who has a 2nd person on the ECV. I hope they also would not let someone drunk out of their mind drive an ECV onto a ramp into a car.

 

[mom2rtk]

As far as the monorail - it is really a no brainer. A CM should NOT set up the ramp for an ECV driver who has a 2nd person on the ECV. I hope they also would not let someone drunk out of their mind drive an ECV onto a ramp into a car.

Totally agree.

 

[arminnie]

I may be mistaken but I cannot imagine a bus driver letting an ECV driver load with someone in their lap. I have never seen that happen.

 

[rteetz]

I may be mistaken but I cannot imagine a bus driver letting an ECV driver load with someone in their lap. I have never seen that happen.

A Monorail is not a bus. Once again we were not there we just have reports of what happened.

 

[cranbiz]

I may be mistaken but I cannot imagine a bus driver letting an ECV driver load with someone in their lap. I have never seen that happen.

A bus driver wouldn't allow this (at least I never did) but the act of loading an ECV on a bus is more CM/Guest interactive. The driver needs to kneel the bus, prepare the tie downs and space, deploy the ramp, direct the guest up the ramp and into the space, ask the guest to transfer to a seat and tie down the ECV. If a guest didn't appear to have full command of the ECV, many times the guest would be asked to transfer first and then the driver would move the ECV into position. Almost none of this happens on the monorail. The monorail the ramp is deployed by the CM and the guest is then directed to proceed into the car. Nothing else other than securing the ramp happens. It's much harder for a guest to ignore the bus driver than a monorail CM.

 

[manning]

Well you see they didn’t account for the bubble gum on the hinges. Lesson learned

Should have used double bubble

 

[EveDallas]

I'm not saying that people shouldn't jump on Disney for the state of the system that used to be the flagship of the Transportation System, that criticism Disney deserves but as we agree, it's not the case here. My beef is that before the facts came out, multiple people immediately jumped all over this, blaming Disney for lack of maintenance on the system, saying the monorails were unsafe. As we have found out, it was directly due to a guest striking the monorail door with significant force, while on an ECV, damaging the door mechanism.

So yes, those people should man up and apologize.

I disagree. Yes, the guest hit the door, but if the cars weren't already showing their age, it probably wouldn't have been this much of an issue. Disney knows the monorails are past their prime, but they keep patching them up and putting them back in service.

 

[k5thbeatle]

They should have some kind of drivers license test for people who have ECV's!

 

[Emily Gilmore]

On our last trip, we watched someone go up the ramp into the monorail with such a high speed that she flew through the monorail and out the other side almost taking out an entire crowd of people who had just exited. It happens whether they have someone sitting on their lap or not.

 

[tlmadden73]

I am not blaming the ECV driver here, but after my recent trip I was shocked at how many ECVs/scooters there were all around.

Personally, it feels like there should be separate/special transportation options for those ECV riders. They take up a lot of space, don't work well in the congestion of trying to get on/off a transport and really slow down the other 99% of the people waiting to get on the bus, boat, monorail.

Or there should be at least a dedicated person (at the point of entry/exit) to help those guests on/off the transportation without getting the boat captain or bus driver to do it.

I understand that some people need them, but they seem really tough to use in the ever increasing tight, cramped spaces of the theme parks. As much as I tried to stand aside and clear the way for ECV riders (in the parks), someone else would just fill in the space in front of them . .and just increased the congestion. I had to continually keep my son from walking in front of them since they can't stop/change direction as quickly as a walker. (his fault (not theirs) .. he is in the "oblivious to the world around him" stage).

I wonder how less crowded the parks would feel if vehicles of any kind were in there (strollers, wheelchairs, ECVs). (NOTE: I am not advocating a ban, I am just curious how much space they take up).