Transporatioan rides...why have so many gone away?

[Electerik]

Oh and there has been a new transportation ride to open this year.. hello Driving Machines

 

I guess that depends on your definition of "new" (although, technically, I never claimed that there weren't any new ones, just that there were far fewer being built than removed). At any rate, McBean/Suess Trolley was supposed to open with the park, so it's obviously a special case.

 

But that does lead to another interesting question: What was the last already-existing park to add a (new) transportation ride?

[mcjaco]

^^ Bombardier typically build monorails from whatever specs are given to them from a customer (like Disney).

 

That $100 million cost figure per mile was from 1982. I did a little searching. Yikes!

[BrownStreak]

One thing to keep in mind with the "cost per mile" is that is an average- a mile which includes the construction of a station is going to cost A LOT more than just a mile of straight track- also every few miles they need to add in the cost of adding another train.

 

That said- if WDW improved their track switching technology they could use either one of the TTC stations or the EPCOT station already in place and just add one station to AK for example- the "per mile cost" would be a lot less.

 

And of course every city that is considering one or has recently gotten one knows- light rail is one of the cheapest transit options by its "per mile" cost- with the exception of a wheelchair platform, these trains don't really even need stations- they could use the bus loops!

[thomas2]

What I think is also a cause of this "transport ride-breakdown" is that trains and monorails are pretty useless these days. One of their original purposes was to take people through the park since rides were scarce and often far away from eachother. But now that most parks are full with rides, you just enter the park, walk 10m to the first ride, 10 to the next etc. Nobody want to ride a slow train unless you're really tired.

[arrowfanman]

You cant market these things anymore. Most people dont look at them as "a ride".

[SLUSHIE]

Monorails are no longer being manufactured, so parts need to be custom made and cost a fortune.

 

Thier not?

 

I wounder how the Las Vegas monorail was built then.

[ebl]

^ Bombardier (previously mentioned) built the Las Vegas Monorail.

 

SFMM had a good transportation system at one time. The Metro monorail, the Eagles Flight tramway, the Orient Express funicular, and the Dragon on the back side of the mountain. Over the years, one by one, they've all disappeared (with the exception of the Orient Express, which is still down following the construction of Tatsu).

 

Orient Express should reopen at some point, and it'd be nice for SFMM to at least look at replacing Metro (doubtful, though, because its manufacturer is out of business).

 

Eric

[SLUSHIE]

I liked the SFMM monorail, but the stations are in pretty poor locations.

 

If it ever getts runing again the route should really be changed.

[ebl]

^ Agreed. The original Metro was designed for a much smaller park.

 

SFMM also needs a good train ride. They've had two, but both of them didn't last very long.

 

Eric

[GAcoaster]

Monorails are no longer being manufactured, so parts need to be custom made and cost a fortune.

 

Thier not?

 

I wounder how the Las Vegas monorail was built then.

Let me clarify...PARK monorails are not being built anymore. For a while there were manufacturers building them for parks/zoos everywhere, but they have since gone out of business.

[mcjaco]

^ Bombardier (previously mentioned) built the Las Vegas Monorail.

 

SFMM had a good transportation system at one time. The Metro monorail, the Eagles Flight tramway, the Orient Express funicular, and the Dragon on the back side of the mountain. Over the years, one by one, they've all disappeared (with the exception of the Orient Express, which is still down following the construction of Tatsu).

 

Orient Express should reopen at some point, and it'd be nice for SFMM to at least look at replacing Metro (doubtful, though, because its manufacturer is out of business).

 

Eric

 

Let's not forget the first two trains of the Las Vegas Monorail were two of the WDW Mark IV trains.

[bratman]

My $0.02 about skyrides:

 

At BGA, I made use of theirs to get from one end of the park to the other on a day where I was getting tired and didn't want to walk the whole way across. I was in a coaster mood and Montu is really separated from the rest of them. Their skyride gives great views of the park.

 

Here in Toronto, there is one on Centre Island. It is an out-and-back, but is a nice chairlift style ride going over Centreville, Far Enough Farm, and the parkland. A nice relaxing ride.

 

The CNE here still has theirs in storage...it was dismantled years ago, but if you drive by on the Gardiner Expwy, you can see the cars and pieces of the towers.

 

At Indiana Beach, once again a great way to cross the boardwalk...but the two tiny steel bars that serve as "restraints" were a little flimsy for my liking. I wouldnt want to put a kid on this. That said, the skyride was a great photo opportunity.

 

These skyrides and transportation rides might not be thrilling, but for me they are a nice addition to a park.

[bgwfreak]

 

These skyrides and transportation rides might not be thrilling, but for me they are a nice addition to a park.

 

I agree. Plus they make a nice break from walking and give you a rest as well. Plus it's a different way to see the park.

[scruffy]

Monorails are no longer being manufactured, so parts need to be custom made and cost a fortune.

 

Thier not?

 

I wounder how the Las Vegas monorail was built then.

Let me clarify...PARK monorails are not being built anymore. For a while there were manufacturers building them for parks/zoos everywhere, but they have since gone out of business.

 

Disneyland is getting 3 new monorails next year.

[BrownStreak]

As far as skyrides- I don't see why parks don't switch to the newers models like the ones on ther Heavenly Ski Resort Gondolas- they move off the cable and move around the load/unload area at a slow pace and the loading platform is level with the cabin! They are even wheelchair accessable- one of the reasons given for why DL's was removed. Without the need for manpower to catch the cars and manually swing them around to the other side (it sucks- I worked at MK's for a short time) they could add more cars and make them line eaters!

[Calvin]

I always thought that skybuckets/chairlifts made a great addition to a park. For example, Cedar Point has them going down the main midway which is really nice-looking, and gives the park a sense of symmetry, in a way. Then again, what do I know, I was there in 2001 and waited two hours for Millenium Force...twice. And back then, Wicked Twister wasn't there and the whole kiddie area around by Disaster Transport was sort of ugly and deserted. I think Maxxair is there now. I just remember wandering around looking for the Schwabinchen (or the Hurly Burly Boob Lady ride), and how everything back by the Space Cabin thing was empty. Woo, tangent.

[BrownStreak]

For example, Cedar Point has them going down the main midway which is really nice-looking, and gives the park a sense of symmetry, in a way.

 

They used to have a 2nd one. It ran from near where Coasters is now back to near where SkyHawk is now- that station building is still there. Some may not know this- but back before Gemini was errected (hee hee) there was no patway back to the western area of the park- you had to either ride the train back or take the 2nd skyway. Although it would be a capcity nightmare by todays standards I think that's kind of cool to have a section of the park that is only accesable by train.

[Calvin]

That's kind of interesting. I can tell that it would give that area a sense of detached wonder, almost. Kind of like the elevators that take people to the different areas in that book, Utopia.

[ScottBrown]

Skyrides are vanishing for a number of reasons IMO, one due to the way the cars enter the station and need to be caught by a person and there is always a risk of employees and or guests getting hit, two the cars swing and roll durring loading and unloading and there is a risk of guests falling, and three stupid people nowadays find it amusing to spit and throw things at people on the ground and parks probably don't want to deal with the liability and find it is much easier to eliminate the problem as opposed to stopping it

[BrownStreak]

Skyrides are vanishing for a number of reasons IMO, one due to the way the cars enter the station and need to be caught by a person and there is always a risk of employees and or guests getting hit, two the cars swing and roll durring loading and unloading and there is a risk of guests falling, and three stupid people nowadays find it amusing to spit and throw things at people on the ground and parks probably don't want to deal with the liability and find it is much easier to eliminate the problem as opposed to stopping it

 

That was exactly my point- the newer models move into the station slow down automatically and move through the station at a slow pace- and the cabins do not move when you board them.

[speedracer]

Monorails are no longer being manufactured, so parts need to be custom made and cost a fortune.

 

Thier not?

 

I wounder how the Las Vegas monorail was built then.

Let me clarify...PARK monorails are not being built anymore. For a while there were manufacturers building them for parks/zoos everywhere, but they have since gone out of business.

 

Companies like Chance, Intamin, Mack and quite a few others still manufacture monorails:

 

http://www.intamintransportation.com/

 

http://www.mack-rides.com/en/products/people-mover/Monorail.php

 

Bonfante Gardens has what is probably one of the last park monorails built, the hugely popular Sky Trail:

 

http://www.bonfantegardens.com/images/bg02_16.jpg

 

http://www.bonfantegardens.com/images/bg02_17.jpg

 

Not so much an issue of the product not being available anymore, just transportation rides in general are not something most parks feel a need to add in this day and age. Bonfante's Sky Trail and IOA's Suess Trolly are great examples though of how a monorail ride system can be used instead as a scenic ride to showcase other attractions in the park from an elevated perspective, rather than just for transportation use which is what most park monorails were used for before.

[BrownStreak]

^True but I always though GL's monorail was kind of strange- because it doesn't go anywhere. Why my ex and I went to La Ronde (he wasn't my ex at the time) we used their monorail quite a few times

[bgwfreak]

The one at Carowinds didn't go anywhere either. Just a big circle.

 

It was actually planned to tie into an on-site hotel, but the hotel never happened.

[truepolak90]

Credit to Negative-g.com for the pic.... Its a shame that metro is sitting there in rust. It looks like it can have good use still... talking about transporation rides.