Monorail Schedule Changes

If you are headed to Epcot or the Magic Kingdom Park for the Extra Magic Hours via the Monorail, you will need to find a different way home.  Disney has announced new operating hours for the monorail system starting on August 1, 2011.  

The current schedule has monorails running about an hour and a half past the park closing time and throughout the Extra Magic Hours.  The monorail will now only operate one hour past the scheduled park closing, not including Extra Magic Hours.  But, there is a rumor of the monorail trains running until 11:00 pm too. 

A Walt Disney World spokesperson has said that this schedule change is for "planned maintenance" for the 20 year old monorail system.  And since Extra Magic Hours (EMH) extend the monorail running time to 3:00 am, it leaves only a little over an hour for schedule maintenance. 

Whether or not this will effect the extra ticketed events, such as Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party and the Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party is, as of now, unknown.  

There has been a lot of talk of the premium price of staying at one of the monorail resorts, (The Grand Floridian, The Polynesian, The Contemporary, and Bay Lake Tower) and how guests will get home.  Don't they pay to be on and have use of the monorail whenever like chose?  The deluxe resort price difference is only partly because these resorts are on the monorail.  There are plenty of other Deluxe Resorts that are not on the monorail and still have their Deluxe Resort price points for good reason.  The room sizes are bigger, the decorations and restaurants tend to be a bit better, they are in walking distance to a park or Downtown Disney, they may also have a spa, lake and beaches, etc....

All guests will have the option of either riding the boats or taking a bus to their resort.  The Bay Lake Tower and Contemporary guests can also walk the short distance from the park to their resort as well.  Unfortunately, the Polynesian and Grand Floridian Resorts do not have walking back to their resort as an  option because the walkway does not go over the service and boat entrance water way.  

Of course, if Disney decides to go with the 11:00 pm monorail closing time, it will make things a bit easier for guests,  but that is still unknown.  

I like to think of Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom Parks.  They clear out the parks without the use of the monorail and it does seem to work out.  Yes, you may need to think things through a little bit, but a little planning can go a long way in keeping your Disney trip magical.