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The Monorails Must Roll

The monorail station could be looking like this a lot more when Disney institutes its new reduced hours for the trains.
The monorail station could be looking like this a lot more when Disney institutes its new reduced hours for the trains.

One of my favorite Robert Heinlein short stories is “The Roads Must Roll.” Written in 1940, it speculates about a rapid transit system that would move people across the country in speed and comfort. The high speed nature of the rolling roads meant that maintenance was a huge deal. When the employees decided to organize for better working conditions, well, the shit hits the fan. In some ways it foretold the air controller strike of the Reagan era. These days there is an odd tie-in to the Walt Disney World monorails system too.

Walt Disney World just announced they would be reducing the operating hours of their monorail fleet. They used to run 1.5 hours after the parks closed or after the last scheduled event (extra magic hours, christmas party, etc). Sometimes these hours were stretched even further on the EPCOT line. Now they will all shut down 1 hour after the posted closing time for the park with no allowance for extra magic hours or other events. Guests will be placed on buses or water craft to be returned to their hotels or the TTC and EPCOT parking lots.

Initially, there was a lot of outcry directed at Disney for reducing benefits to resort and park guests at the same time they are raising prices, but soon word leaked out that there was an important reason behind the shift. The reason? The monorail fleet is just breaking down under the strain.

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Promotions Shake Up Disney Parks & Resorts under Tom Staggs

In a long internal memo today, Tom Staggs made official the organizational shakeup everyone knew was coming after Staggs took over the Walt Disney Parks and Resorts division. It’s nothing earth shattering, but it does flatten some of the levels of hierarchy that were said to have frustrated Staggs since he took over.

In short, current WDW president Meg Crofton expands to oversee all the domestic parks and the two parks in France. Karl Holtz, who a few years ago was rumored to be leaving Disney, is instead adding DVC to his DCL and Adventures by Disney responsibilities. Leslie Ferraro becomes executive vice president, Global Marketing and Sales combining those two closely related departments and Erin Wallace, executive vice president, Operations Integration also adds revenue management to her desk. The move also creates a new executive council under Staggs.

While Staggs’ reorganization did not cut any of the deadwood certain segments of Disney fans wanted to see go, I believe the general movement here is a good one. It will allow for efficiencies where they need to exist and independence, with oversight, as required for the parks. Combining marketing and sales is a no-duh in my book, they are both measured by the same final metrics (butts in beds and asses through the gates), so unifying them is good. The only move that looks questionable to me is giving the extra power of revenue management to operations. However, they are the yin and the yang of theme park operations. Having one person keep a close eye via her myriad of spreadsheets and minions (and I mean that in the nicest possible way), could be very positive.

Let’s keep a watch on this for the next 3-year planning cycle and see if there really is any improvement. Meanwhile, the pressure is kicked up a notch for these people to get things done or they too could be reorganized right out of a job.

The full text of Tom Staggs’ announcement is below the jump:

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Magic Kingdom Update – July 2nd, 2011

It’s the holiday weekend, but I have time for a quick update. Took a walk through the Magic Kingdom on July 2nd. Main Street was decorated for the Independence Day holiday. Although the banners may have been few in number, the spirit was there. View… Read More »Magic Kingdom Update – July 2nd, 2011

Massive Motel Fire near Disney World Closes 192, Injures 12

The Vacation Lodge Motel, near Disney’s Animal Kingdom, on the 192 caught fire around 10:45pm last night and is still burning strong right now. All three wings of the sprawling motel have burned to the ground, displacing 150 guests. Although it was an operating motel,… Read More »Massive Motel Fire near Disney World Closes 192, Injures 12

Dan Wheldon 2011 Indianapolis 500 champion feted at Magic Kingdom

I’ve been a fan of Indy Car style racing since watching my first Indianapolis 500 on TV back in 1978. That race holds a special place in my heard and the hearts of millions. For race car drivers nothing matches the feeling of winning an… Read More »Dan Wheldon 2011 Indianapolis 500 champion feted at Magic Kingdom

Magic Kingdom Update – Part II

Tonight I’m continuing my walk through Magic Kingdom and a bit of Downtown Disney. Part One covered much of the Fantasyland Expansion, problems with Splash Mountain, Skyway Station Removal, and more. Part two looks at some of the details that Disney is getting right.

When the Fast Pass for Mickey & Minnie and The Princesses first opened there were signs over head indicating which of the four machines gave out tickets for which queue. However, the machines themselves had no signage. This led Disney to a very simple indicator. Just place a Princess Mickey Hat on the Princess machines and a regular black Mickey Mouse Ears on the Mickey & Minnie machines. While cute, that was probably not the most effective way to do it. They’ve finally added new permanent signs to the FastPass machines.

As nice as these signs are, they’re still not doing much for traffic to the Town Square theater. Both fastpasses were running barely 40 minutes into the future and the wait times for the Princesses were never longer than 35 minutes and Mickey never much longer than 15.  I’ve heard that they’re already considering adding a tent to Storybook Circus for Mickey and Minnie and returning Town Square theater to meeting space for special events.

A new food cart appeared in Fantasyland a bit ahead of schedule for its eventual location in the Beauty and the Beast section of the Fantasyland Expansion. Maurice’s Amazing Popping Machine is great because it tells the story of Maurice being an inventor. It also has a wonderful specially themed menu and other fun touches. If they have to have outdoor vending, I hope it looks like this instead of…

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Magic Kingdom Update – Part I

Since moving here in 2005, I can’t remember a busier time for construction at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom. I’m always happy to see tarps up around a building because it means that building is getting some much needed TLC. But buildings have two sides and it seems the insides of certain attractions are being allowed to fall into disrepair. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Here’s part one of a two part pictorial romp through the Magic Kingdom and Downtown Disney this weekend.

The tarps are down around the Main Street Confectionery. It features a new red, white, and blue scheme, which works well in Town Square. The roofing appears to be more detailed as well.

There is some art deco/nouveau work on its neighbor facade that’s evocative of the seaside pier. I like it, but the bright colors really stand out considering its pale green neighbor.

I always keep my eyes open for new t-shirts and such. I really liked this new one from Space Mountain.

And this one from Splash Mountain caught my eye as well (although it may not be exactly new). There was a time not too long ago when Disney was ending all the attraction specific merchandise. But it’s back and better than ever.

Lots more below the jump:

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Star Tours 3-D – A Very Special Promo Video

Star Tours 3-D has now opened at both Disneyland and Disney’s Hollywood Studios and the crowds keep coming to see the 3-D attraction with over 50 possible ride combinations. Disney has just released this special promotional video that highlights the different destinations Star Tours guests could visit. They’ve even added a special cameo appearance by yours truly. Keep an eye out around the 1:04 minute mark:

Join me below the jump for the secrets of how this video was made:

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