"Por Favor Mantengase Alejado De Las Puertas"
Even if you do not speak Spanish, just hearing this saying puts a smile on your face because you know you are traveling on one of the best forms of transportation offered in Walt Disney World: The Monorail! It's sleek, smooth and probably my favorite way to travel in Walt Disney World! We are not on the monorail loop, but staying at Wilderness Lodge makes us close enough to it that we will be traveling on it at least a few times throughout the trip!
Here are a couple videos of Monorail rides: Both are from 2007 and both are taken from the cockpit of the monorail, a seat that is no longer allowed due to the unfortunate July 2009 crash that killed a cast member. The first video is of the Express Monorail to Magic Kingdom and the second video is of the monorail from Epcot to the Transportation and Ticket Center.
Showing posts with label monorail. Show all posts
Showing posts with label monorail. Show all posts
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Sunday, July 10, 2011
DDL News Post
News has come out about changes being made to the monorail system and to the parades in Magic Kingdom. Read more about it in my Disney Driven Life article.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Hershey Vs Disney: Numerous Similarities
I have been working on this post for a while, but I have finally been able to write it now. This past summer, I had a season pass to my local amusement park, Hershey Park. I have gone here for years, ever since I was little, but this was our first year going as annual pass holders. Since we had these, we went more frequently than usual and I was able to notice more of what happens in the park, what they added and that, surprisingly, there were quite a few similarities to Disney parks. Here is my list of some of the similarities I have seen:
Characters: While there are not princesses or Mickey Mouse at Hershey Park, there are interactive characters that you can meet, including some singers in shows and candy characters that will pose for pictures with you.
Country Name Tags: This has happened in the last few years, but on the bottom of the name tags that the workers wear is the name of the town or country they are from, like on the bottom of the Cast Member name tags in Disney.
Buses to Resorts: Another addition that has been fairly recent is the bus transportation to the two resorts and the campground directly to the park, smaller but much like the Disney Bus transportation.
Pin Trading: Yet another new feature at the park, just within the past year actually. The parks sell lanyards and they have about 20 or so total different pins that are for holidays, a couple rides and characters. Not nearly as elaborate as Disney pins, or much variety, but they are around the same price. The workers in the park all have lanyards as well and will trade with guests for different pins.
The Smell of Turkey Legs: Ok, odd similarity, I know, but this smell hits me every single time I go past this restaurant that is in the Pioneer Frontier area of the park. The restaurant is called Freeman's Texas BBQ and every time you walk down this hill from the roller coaster Storm Runner, you smell the sweet smell of Turkey Legs! I always am taken back to Frontierland when I smell this. Sidenote: We did try the turkey legs before and they are not a terrible substitute for Disney Turkey Legs, though they are smaller and have less meat. Disney still has the best by far though, of course.
Sneaky Queues: Some people may know what I am talking about with this, but others may need an explanation. You know how the Disney queues are designed so that you look like you are nearing the end, but then they take you into a whole separate room with 15 more switchbacks before you get to the end? I refer to these as sneaky queues and there are a few of these in Hershey as well.
Photographers: At the entrance of the park, there are photographers that will take your picture in front of a statue of Milton Hershey and you can pick it up at a special photo are later. Not as technical as the Photo Pass system with the portable cards, but still the same general idea.
Package Pick-Up: You are able to buy something in a store and have it sent to a store at the front of the park to pick up as you leave. As far as I know, they do not have the package service to send them back to the resort as Disney does, but they still have this convenient first part.
Similar Attractions: Roller Coasters aside, there are a couple specific rides in the park that remind me of Disney attractions. The first of which is the monorail, which is not a form of transportation as in Disney, but just a relaxing ride through the park and zoo to show off what there is to do. The other that comes to mind is Reese's Xtreme Cup Challenge, a ride that is similar to Buzz Lightyear in that you use lasers to hit targets to try to accumulate points.
If you have ever been to Hershey Park and have more to add to this list or you have any questions about Hershey, feel free to ask! Want to learn more about Hershey from a Disney-lovers prospective? Tune into Inside the Magic, episode 289, where host Ricky Brigante talks about his experience at Hershey, including a look at the resorts which I have never had the opportunity to experience.
Characters: While there are not princesses or Mickey Mouse at Hershey Park, there are interactive characters that you can meet, including some singers in shows and candy characters that will pose for pictures with you.
Country Name Tags: This has happened in the last few years, but on the bottom of the name tags that the workers wear is the name of the town or country they are from, like on the bottom of the Cast Member name tags in Disney.
Buses to Resorts: Another addition that has been fairly recent is the bus transportation to the two resorts and the campground directly to the park, smaller but much like the Disney Bus transportation.
Pin Trading: Yet another new feature at the park, just within the past year actually. The parks sell lanyards and they have about 20 or so total different pins that are for holidays, a couple rides and characters. Not nearly as elaborate as Disney pins, or much variety, but they are around the same price. The workers in the park all have lanyards as well and will trade with guests for different pins.
The Smell of Turkey Legs: Ok, odd similarity, I know, but this smell hits me every single time I go past this restaurant that is in the Pioneer Frontier area of the park. The restaurant is called Freeman's Texas BBQ and every time you walk down this hill from the roller coaster Storm Runner, you smell the sweet smell of Turkey Legs! I always am taken back to Frontierland when I smell this. Sidenote: We did try the turkey legs before and they are not a terrible substitute for Disney Turkey Legs, though they are smaller and have less meat. Disney still has the best by far though, of course.
Sneaky Queues: Some people may know what I am talking about with this, but others may need an explanation. You know how the Disney queues are designed so that you look like you are nearing the end, but then they take you into a whole separate room with 15 more switchbacks before you get to the end? I refer to these as sneaky queues and there are a few of these in Hershey as well.
Photographers: At the entrance of the park, there are photographers that will take your picture in front of a statue of Milton Hershey and you can pick it up at a special photo are later. Not as technical as the Photo Pass system with the portable cards, but still the same general idea.
Package Pick-Up: You are able to buy something in a store and have it sent to a store at the front of the park to pick up as you leave. As far as I know, they do not have the package service to send them back to the resort as Disney does, but they still have this convenient first part.
Similar Attractions: Roller Coasters aside, there are a couple specific rides in the park that remind me of Disney attractions. The first of which is the monorail, which is not a form of transportation as in Disney, but just a relaxing ride through the park and zoo to show off what there is to do. The other that comes to mind is Reese's Xtreme Cup Challenge, a ride that is similar to Buzz Lightyear in that you use lasers to hit targets to try to accumulate points.
If you have ever been to Hershey Park and have more to add to this list or you have any questions about Hershey, feel free to ask! Want to learn more about Hershey from a Disney-lovers prospective? Tune into Inside the Magic, episode 289, where host Ricky Brigante talks about his experience at Hershey, including a look at the resorts which I have never had the opportunity to experience.
Thursday, December 31, 2009
2009 in Review
What a year, what a year!!! This has been a huge year in the World of Disney (and no, I don't mean the store). This year has brought us what I would like to call "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly".
"The Good": One huge good thing I would say would be the introduction of D23. This club was a great addition to the Disney Company. While I do believe that the club is slightly o
verpriced, I believe the perks that you get from a membership are completely worth it. In connection with D23, the major D23 Convention in September was another "Good". The experiences provided at that convention had never been seen before from Disney and there were some amazing announcements, including some of the other "Goods", including then announcement of the Fantasyland Overhaul, Star Tours 2, Cruise Line Announcements and so much more! This convention had many exciting and big pluses for this year.
This year's celebration and promotion "What Will You Celebrate?" seemed to come as a good success to Disney. Not as big as the "Year of A Million Dreams" maybe, but it still seems that many took advantage of the Free admission on your birthday or at least the "Birthday Fun Card". As for this coming year's celebration, "Give a Day, Get a Disney Day"...Well, I'll get to that in a little bit.
I cont
inue with the good by mentioning the return of The Muppets to popularity! From being a part of the new Disney celebration, to the rumors of a future refurb of MuppetVision 3D, to their hilarious Youtube videos, you cannot deny that the Muppets are back and ready for action! Definitely what I would call a "Good".
My final mention is the return of hand drawn animation to the Disney Company with the movie release of The Princess and The Frog. This movie not only brought back an art thought lost by computer animation, but also brought a new princess to the collection to be loved by all!
"The Bad": In some way, this category should be called "The Tragic". Many tragedies befalling the Disney Company this year. They say that things come in 3's and that was certainly pro-+by+Chris+Reid.jpg)
ven over the summer! First was that terrible monorail crash that killed a driver named Austin right after the 4th of July. A few weeks later, we had the sudden death of an actor named Mark Priest, who died after a fall he had while doing the Pirate Tutorial in Magic Kingdom. The third would be the accident during the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular practice that killed one of the actors of that show. Three tragedies that hit the company in less that 2 months.
Unfortunately, this would not be all of the deaths that the Disney family would have to endure this year. The final blow for the year came just a mere 2 weeks ago with the death of the beloved Roy E Disney. Crucial in many decisions in the Disney Company since the death of his uncle and father, Roy cared deeply about the family business and took pride in seeing that Disney kept the quality it has always been known for. He will be sorely missed.
The safely of the transportation has been questioned this year in Disney. Between the monorail crash, bus problems and a total monorail shutdown just the other week, it has many people worried, wondering if it is alright to use and questioning whether it is worth using. I personally think such issues can happen to anyone and it is just a bigger deal because it happened to Disney.
"The Ugly": There were some pretty ugly things that happened in regards to Disney, though we hat
e to admit it. The first would be the collapse of Stitch's Supersonic Celebration in Tomorrowland. While Stitch is cute and fluffy (though I know some people that would disagree on that), his show that lasted a mere 6 weeks is what I would definitely call "Ugly". They did not plan well for the show and spent a lot of money on something that will probably not get used often. A big blunder on Disney's part.
Another "Ugly", also from Tomorrowland, would be the new audio for the Tomorrowland Transit Authourity. The Space Mountain Refurb went pretty smoothly from what I know, but all did not go well with the TTA. The audio has been changed with a new voice and new sayings. The audio has been described by many as just downright boring! There is no talk whatsoever in Space Mountain and the famous reference to Tom Morrow has been cut completely, angering many veteran guests. It's really a shame.
The final under the "Ugly" category is Captain EO. Well ok, this is more of a personal preference for the "Ugly" category...let me explain. I do not know much about Captain EO, what I have seen seems very cheezy, I am not sure it will really work for today's audience and the only reason they are bringing it back is because of the outcry that was given for its return after Michael Jackson's death. I personally find this a ridiculous reason to bring back an attraction. There was no outcry for the Walter Cronkrite audio for Spaceship Earth after his death, why bring this back?
The fate of Sounds Dangerous in Hollywood Studios: This is pretty self explanatory. An attraction on seasonal operation, closed for 11 months and opens just in these last 2 weeks planning to close again on the 2nd of January...why waste the space on it? If you are going to close it Disney, just do it! There are not too many people who will miss it, honest!
Studio Backlot Tour: This is supposedly going down for refurb in February to reopen again in March, but there are many rumors flying around that when it does go down, it will not come back. Ideas and concept art for a Monsters Inc. roller coaster have been circulating for a while online and it is utterly convenient that Backlot happens to be located smack at the end of Pixar place.
Fantaslyand Overhaul: Yea, we know, its happening, but when?? I would absolutely
love to see a timeline for this. It is just a little broad for people when you say by 2012. I know I would like to know what will be closed, if anything, on my trip in June. The railroad is scheduled to be closed in 2010 for a few months because of this overhaul, but we don't know when yet. Will I be able to see Mickey and Minnie's house for the last time on my trip in June? Even just a brief idea of what is going to be tackled first would be great to have!
Marvel/Disney: I did not put this acquisition in the 2009 part because I am not honestly sure if this is good, bad or ugly. I will be very interested to see if anything happens with this combination in 2010.
Monorail/Transportation Safety: I will assume that Disney is and will be taking a good hard look at what happened this year in the way of Transportation around the park and will look into some safety features and updates that are needed to ensure that calamities like this year do not happen again.
So much of this and more is to happen in 2010, the only word of advice that can be followed is words from the great Walt Disney himself: "Keep Moving Forward!"
Thank you all so much for reading this blog and giving me the feedback that you do! It really makes it enjoyable to write and I hope you will continue to come here to The True Disney Fan for Disney news in 2010!
"The Good": One huge good thing I would say would be the introduction of D23. This club was a great addition to the Disney Company. While I do believe that the club is slightly o
verpriced, I believe the perks that you get from a membership are completely worth it. In connection with D23, the major D23 Convention in September was another "Good". The experiences provided at that convention had never been seen before from Disney and there were some amazing announcements, including some of the other "Goods", including then announcement of the Fantasyland Overhaul, Star Tours 2, Cruise Line Announcements and so much more! This convention had many exciting and big pluses for this year.This year's celebration and promotion "What Will You Celebrate?" seemed to come as a good success to Disney. Not as big as the "Year of A Million Dreams" maybe, but it still seems that many took advantage of the Free admission on your birthday or at least the "Birthday Fun Card". As for this coming year's celebration, "Give a Day, Get a Disney Day"...Well, I'll get to that in a little bit.
I cont
inue with the good by mentioning the return of The Muppets to popularity! From being a part of the new Disney celebration, to the rumors of a future refurb of MuppetVision 3D, to their hilarious Youtube videos, you cannot deny that the Muppets are back and ready for action! Definitely what I would call a "Good".My final mention is the return of hand drawn animation to the Disney Company with the movie release of The Princess and The Frog. This movie not only brought back an art thought lost by computer animation, but also brought a new princess to the collection to be loved by all!
"The Bad": In some way, this category should be called "The Tragic". Many tragedies befalling the Disney Company this year. They say that things come in 3's and that was certainly pro
-+by+Chris+Reid.jpg)
ven over the summer! First was that terrible monorail crash that killed a driver named Austin right after the 4th of July. A few weeks later, we had the sudden death of an actor named Mark Priest, who died after a fall he had while doing the Pirate Tutorial in Magic Kingdom. The third would be the accident during the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular practice that killed one of the actors of that show. Three tragedies that hit the company in less that 2 months.Unfortunately, this would not be all of the deaths that the Disney family would have to endure this year. The final blow for the year came just a mere 2 weeks ago with the death of the beloved Roy E Disney. Crucial in many decisions in the Disney Company since the death of his uncle and father, Roy cared deeply about the family business and took pride in seeing that Disney kept the quality it has always been known for. He will be sorely missed.
The safely of the transportation has been questioned this year in Disney. Between the monorail crash, bus problems and a total monorail shutdown just the other week, it has many people worried, wondering if it is alright to use and questioning whether it is worth using. I personally think such issues can happen to anyone and it is just a bigger deal because it happened to Disney.
"The Ugly": There were some pretty ugly things that happened in regards to Disney, though we hat
e to admit it. The first would be the collapse of Stitch's Supersonic Celebration in Tomorrowland. While Stitch is cute and fluffy (though I know some people that would disagree on that), his show that lasted a mere 6 weeks is what I would definitely call "Ugly". They did not plan well for the show and spent a lot of money on something that will probably not get used often. A big blunder on Disney's part.Another "Ugly", also from Tomorrowland, would be the new audio for the Tomorrowland Transit Authourity. The Space Mountain Refurb went pretty smoothly from what I know, but all did not go well with the TTA. The audio has been changed with a new voice and new sayings. The audio has been described by many as just downright boring! There is no talk whatsoever in Space Mountain and the famous reference to Tom Morrow has been cut completely, angering many veteran guests. It's really a shame.
The final under the "Ugly" category is Captain EO. Well ok, this is more of a personal preference for the "Ugly" category...let me explain. I do not know much about Captain EO, what I have seen seems very cheezy, I am not sure it will really work for today's audience and the only reason they are bringing it back is because of the outcry that was given for its return after Michael Jackson's death. I personally find this a ridiculous reason to bring back an attraction. There was no outcry for the Walter Cronkrite audio for Spaceship Earth after his death, why bring this back?
This finally brings us to the future segment:
What Awaits us in 2010???
What will happen with Captain EO: They are closing Honey I Shrunk the Audience in California on the 4th of January to bring this back in February and I cannot wait to see what happens to this attraction. It is suppose to only be a limited engagement...it will be interesting to see exactly how limited.What Awaits us in 2010???
The fate of Sounds Dangerous in Hollywood Studios: This is pretty self explanatory. An attraction on seasonal operation, closed for 11 months and opens just in these last 2 weeks planning to close again on the 2nd of January...why waste the space on it? If you are going to close it Disney, just do it! There are not too many people who will miss it, honest!
Studio Backlot Tour: This is supposedly going down for refurb in February to reopen again in March, but there are many rumors flying around that when it does go down, it will not come back. Ideas and concept art for a Monsters Inc. roller coaster have been circulating for a while online and it is utterly convenient that Backlot happens to be located smack at the end of Pixar place.
Fantaslyand Overhaul: Yea, we know, its happening, but when?? I would absolutely
love to see a timeline for this. It is just a little broad for people when you say by 2012. I know I would like to know what will be closed, if anything, on my trip in June. The railroad is scheduled to be closed in 2010 for a few months because of this overhaul, but we don't know when yet. Will I be able to see Mickey and Minnie's house for the last time on my trip in June? Even just a brief idea of what is going to be tackled first would be great to have!Marvel/Disney: I did not put this acquisition in the 2009 part because I am not honestly sure if this is good, bad or ugly. I will be very interested to see if anything happens with this combination in 2010.
Monorail/Transportation Safety: I will assume that Disney is and will be taking a good hard look at what happened this year in the way of Transportation around the park and will look into some safety features and updates that are needed to ensure that calamities like this year do not happen again.
So much of this and more is to happen in 2010, the only word of advice that can be followed is words from the great Walt Disney himself: "Keep Moving Forward!"
Thank you all so much for reading this blog and giving me the feedback that you do! It really makes it enjoyable to write and I hope you will continue to come here to The True Disney Fan for Disney news in 2010!
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Monorail Austin
The tributes continue in the Disney community to the pilot of the monorail who lost his life a week ago in a tragic crash. Austin Wuennenburg has had his name on Twitter and all over the websites of the Disney community and now, the next step is to get his name in a permanent place in The World. Admiral Duke of The Disney Fan Review (click here to see his website) has made a petition to get a monorail named after Austin and is looking for some help! Please go to http://www.petitiononline.com/austin09/ or click here and sign the petition for this lasting tribute to a man who brought magic into the hearts of visitors!
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Tributes through the Tragedy
The Disney community was shaken early Sunday morning by the news of a tragic monorail crash that took the very young life of Austin Wuennenberg, 21. Since hearing the news, Disney fans around the globe have pulled together to show their support for the family and friends sh
aring in the loss.
Disney fans on Twitter pulled their powers together and made a tribute tha-+by+Chris+Reid.jpg)
t fitting for the site; they got Austin's name on the Trending Topics board (started by the one and only DisneyFrankness). The feat was actually written about by Central Florida 13 News. Also in this article is a pictoral tribute to the monorail pilot that was made by the host of the Tiki Room Morning Show, Chris Reid.
After seeing the outpouring of love that was shown by all of the Disney fans out there, I decided to create my own kind of tribute. I have recently gotten interested in making knot friendship bracelets. It is a very fun and cheap way for me to be creative, and the hand motions that are used in making these bracelets are good to keep my hands loose. My tribute, as modeled by my little sister in the picture, is a bracelet design that I am calling Austin. It has purple and pink in it for the colors of the monorails that were involved in the accident, black as a sign of mourning for the loss that we all feel and white for the peace that Austin is at now. Every time I see this bracelet, I will remember the loss felt by all Disney fans.
aring in the loss.Disney fans on Twitter pulled their powers together and made a tribute tha
-+by+Chris+Reid.jpg)
t fitting for the site; they got Austin's name on the Trending Topics board (started by the one and only DisneyFrankness). The feat was actually written about by Central Florida 13 News. Also in this article is a pictoral tribute to the monorail pilot that was made by the host of the Tiki Room Morning Show, Chris Reid.After seeing the outpouring of love that was shown by all of the Disney fans out there, I decided to create my own kind of tribute. I have recently gotten interested in making knot friendship bracelets. It is a very fun and cheap way for me to be creative, and the hand motions that are used in making these bracelets are good to keep my hands loose. My tribute, as modeled by my little sister in the picture, is a bracelet design that I am calling Austin. It has purple and pink in it for the colors of the monorails that were involved in the accident, black as a sign of mourning for the loss that we all feel and white for the peace that Austin is at now. Every time I see this bracelet, I will remember the loss felt by all Disney fans.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Monorail Accident Information
At about 2 am Sunday morning, an accident occurred between two Walt Disney World Monorails on the Epcot track at the Transportation and Ticket Center. According to current reports, a purple monorail was sitting stationary in the TTC and a pink one coming from Epcot slammed into the back of the purple one at what seems to be about 15mph.
There were only about 6 people on the monorail plus the two drivers at the time of the crash. The driver of the pink car was killed on impact and his body was pinned in the car until emergency personnel came and cut his body out of the car. The driver was a 21 year old male.
You can view an article about the crash from the local Florida news station by clicking here.
You can also view a video that was taken right after the crash by a tourist by clicking here, but I do warn you that this video is very upsetting as the people are trying to make contact with the male driver.
This is a horrible tragedy at the Walt Disney World property and I would like to send my condolences to the Cast members and the family of the driver.
I would also like to let everyone know that this is not a typical occurrence at the Disney parks. This is the first fatality on a monorail at the Florida property and only the 5th problem with monorails throughout the 38 years of WDW (See list of the other 4 problems on the website above). The monorail system is a very safe mode of transportation and I do hope this does not deter people from trusting the Disney Transportation.
I will have news updates as more information becomes available.
There were only about 6 people on the monorail plus the two drivers at the time of the crash. The driver of the pink car was killed on impact and his body was pinned in the car until emergency personnel came and cut his body out of the car. The driver was a 21 year old male.
You can view an article about the crash from the local Florida news station by clicking here.
You can also view a video that was taken right after the crash by a tourist by clicking here, but I do warn you that this video is very upsetting as the people are trying to make contact with the male driver.
This is a horrible tragedy at the Walt Disney World property and I would like to send my condolences to the Cast members and the family of the driver.
I would also like to let everyone know that this is not a typical occurrence at the Disney parks. This is the first fatality on a monorail at the Florida property and only the 5th problem with monorails throughout the 38 years of WDW (See list of the other 4 problems on the website above). The monorail system is a very safe mode of transportation and I do hope this does not deter people from trusting the Disney Transportation.
I will have news updates as more information becomes available.
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