We just returned from WDW where we had the opportunity to ride with the monorail driver from Epcot to the TTC. During our ride I casually asked the driver if he knew of any plans to expand the monorail lines.
The response I got was very similar to rumors reported here before....with a few variations. He stated that before 9/11 they had been ready to begin expansion to the other 2 major parks.....but that was held up by the drop off in tourism. (Personally I feel this was at least a bit of stretching of the truth....) He stated that the master plan is to connect all the 4 main parks and the Wide World of Sports (? I questioned this as it seems to be an odd place to expand.....the driver didn't seem to know much beyond that he had heard that they were considering this...) He also mentioned that they probably wouldn't be using monorails in situations like they have along the seven seas lagoon with very short trips and lots of stops because that seems to be much harder on the trains than the longer trips like they have between Epcot and the TTC or on the express MK monorail. He said that they were looking to use systems similar to the Peoplemover (Tomorrowland Transit Authority) for the shorter trips, like to hotels or at Downtown Disney. He did mention the concerns about traffic congestion and pollution from the busses as the major factors in considering monorail expansion.
I know cm rumors are often much of "tell the folks what they want to hear" but I figured I'd throw this out there for consideration. So, what do you all think?
The response I got was very similar to rumors reported here before....with a few variations. He stated that before 9/11 they had been ready to begin expansion to the other 2 major parks.....but that was held up by the drop off in tourism. (Personally I feel this was at least a bit of stretching of the truth....) He stated that the master plan is to connect all the 4 main parks and the Wide World of Sports (? I questioned this as it seems to be an odd place to expand.....the driver didn't seem to know much beyond that he had heard that they were considering this...) He also mentioned that they probably wouldn't be using monorails in situations like they have along the seven seas lagoon with very short trips and lots of stops because that seems to be much harder on the trains than the longer trips like they have between Epcot and the TTC or on the express MK monorail. He said that they were looking to use systems similar to the Peoplemover (Tomorrowland Transit Authority) for the shorter trips, like to hotels or at Downtown Disney. He did mention the concerns about traffic congestion and pollution from the busses as the major factors in considering monorail expansion.
I know cm rumors are often much of "tell the folks what they want to hear" but I figured I'd throw this out there for consideration. So, what do you all think?