Headlines: OrSen: Disney's monorail procedures changed in years leading up to accident

Originally Posted By AutoPost

This topic is for Discussion of the headline: <a href="http://www.LaughingPlace.com/News-HID.asp?ID=31524" target="_blank"><b>Headlines: OrSen: Disney's monorail procedures changed in years leading up to accident</b></a>
The <I>Orlando Sentinel</I> updates its article on three Disney workers paid leave with details about changes that have occurred to monorail operations over the years.

 

Originally Posted By Westsider

Interesting quotes from the CM's about changing old policy because Guests were "upset" about seeing empty trains backing up into the station while they waited.

There are direct correlations to things we do at Disneyland now simply to put on a show for the guests who have to wait, or make their wait shorter. It's not as safe, but it looks better, so we do it.

Old timers have a fit as Safety used to trump Show, but we do it to try and placate dozens of guests staring at you and ready to rip into you with their well-polished opening line "I'm an Annual Passholder, I come here ALL THE TIME, and this is ridiculous!".

 

Originally Posted By sjhym33

Well Disney has catered to America's impatiance starting with FastPass.

 

Originally Posted By Sport Goofy

<< Interesting quotes from the CM's about changing old policy because Guests were "upset" about seeing empty trains backing up into the station while they waited. >>

I'm not sure I buy this reasoning. The times when these sorts of events might occur on the EPCOT loop are usually well after park hours and when there should be few guests waiting on the platform. I just don't see a groundswell of guests getting antsy over this considering how few guests would actually ever be impacted and the delays only being 5-10 minutes based on a description of how this process should work.

While guest satisfaction might be a good cover story for this change in procedure, I also speculate that monorail cast members were only too happy to suggest the change since it saved a few minutes for them as they would wrap up a late evening shift and get them home earlier.

This cover story also doesn't ring right with me since none of the former monorail workers quoted in the article seemed to have direct knowledge of why the change may have been made, but they speculated it was for guest satisfaction. All the monorail workers quoted were either working before the change was made or after it occurred, but none seemed to indicate work experience during the time the change happened. It would be good to have a firsthand account from someone present in the organization when the change was actually made.

 

Originally Posted By ImaginingDisney001

>>>> It would be good to have a firsthand account from someone present in the organization when the change was actually made. <<<<<


That is very true, but, Hasn't Disney put a gag order out to the CM's??

the most valuable eye witness reports will be the ones at the scene of the accident. But the investigators have time against them. These CM's are exposed to news and papers and other Cm's and will easily become tainted.

The investigators surely have already recorded their testimonies already.

The procedure change does not sound right but may be a court test.

ID

 

Originally Posted By Westsider

So, they open the day at 7AM with all the monorails on all three lines, and then they keep that full fleet of monorails running for the next 17 hours until its time to put them away at 2AM?

I doubt that. Just like any operation; monorails, steam trains, parking lot trams, canoes, jungle cruise boats, smalll world boats, submarines, streetcars, etc. they add and subtract vehicles regularly as the days demand waxes and wanes. And while guests are standing there watching.

 

Originally Posted By Sport Goofy

<< So, they open the day at 7AM with all the monorails on all three lines, and then they keep that full fleet of monorails running for the next 17 hours until its time to put them away at 2AM? >>

Absolutely not. I got stuck sitting on a monorail for 30 minutes while they added trains to the system on the MK loop.

However, the change in procedure we're discussing is on the EPCOT loop. Adding trains during the day shouldn't cause any substantial delays there since the switch from MK to EPCOT can be done in the normal forward direction without any reversing. It's the removal of trains from the loop that causes the issue, and I have no idea how often trains are removed during the course of the day before closing. I would expect that it is infrequent.

 

Originally Posted By iluvdisneyland

"While guest satisfaction might be a good cover story for this change in procedure, I also speculate that monorail cast members were only too happy to suggest the change since it saved a few minutes for them as they would wrap up a late evening shift and get them home earlier."


You don't actually know any reason at all. Why don't you stop speculating (and blaming the Cast) until the facts are truly known.

 

Originally Posted By Sport Goofy

<< Why don't you stop speculating (and blaming the Cast) until the facts are truly known. >>

I doubt the facts will ever be truly known.

I think there is plenty of blame to go around for lots of folks, but I see a tendency for people to try and blame a detached corporate entity or management regime for this accident when the facts don't suppor that either. Is the hourly cast member never wrong? Is there some rule that says no blame can ever rest on an individual cast member? Regardless, management will ultimately be held accountable no matter what the root cause of the accident might be. That's the nature of those leadership positions, you live and die by what happens on your watch whether you have anything to do with it or not.

Here's an analogous situation: I live next door to a horse stable where they train people to jump horses. The owner of the stable is a totalitarian ruler and imposes strict rules on what the riders are allowed to do in the riding ring, what they are allowed to wear, and how they conduct themselves on the property. It doesn't look like a whole lot of fun -- strictly business. Well, the owner was off the property yesterday and the horses immediately came out with riders wearing shorts and Crocs sandals and breaking every other rule that the owner has in place. What if someone got hurt yesterday, maybe got their foot smashed by a horse that stepped on the Crocs sandals? There's a lot of liability there and the owner would have a lot of questions to answer. But was it the owner's fault that the employees relaxed all the rules on the one day the owner wasn't around? Bottom line: it's always the owner's fault.

So, whether I speculate on how different aspects of the organization are to blame for any part of this incident, I'm not dumb enough to think that Disney leadership won't take all the blame and the shareholders won't have to pay a hefty sum in future court proceedings. That's ultimately how it will all pan out.

 

Originally Posted By iluvdisneyland

"Is the hourly cast member never wrong? Is there some rule that says no blame can ever rest on an individual cast member?"

Absolutely not, but your earlier statement makes us all seem like lazy, underworked, corner-cutting people who don't take the safety of our Guests and fellow Cast Members seriously. And I assure you, that is simply not the case.

 

Originally Posted By MPierce

>> Well Disney has catered to America's impatiance starting with FastPass. <<

Didn't you get the memo? Guest now run WDW. That's why they can't do maintainence, and refurbishments. Guest don't want them during their vacation. The guest want higher prices. The guest want dumb down menus. The guest want shorter park hours. The guest want cheap generic merchandise. All along we've been blaming TDO for this. Guess what, we've been blaming the wrong people because, the guest run WDW.

 

Originally Posted By ORD84

>>Didn't you get the memo? Guest now run WDW<<

To a certain extent I believe that your right, however somethings like safety should never be compromised...I work for an airline(not saying which one) and if we accomadated every single problem that a customer or "guest" as Disney calls them then we'd be out of business...

Some changes WDC makes to serve their own ends exclusively to save a buck(not saying this is completely true so before you go blasting me for my thoughts here me out)...for instance if the monorail going into the maintanence bay takes two pilots to switch back and it costs you an extra 30$ to pay that extra pilot for that little work that they are doing than your not getting "value" for your dollar in the airline they call that CASM (cost per availible seat mile: basically the cost to fly one person one mile on one plane) which leaves you 30 less dollars to put towards something else and they obviously changed something or have gotten too lax on the procedures they do have in place to allow this to happen..

Not sure exactly what happened but I'm confident that the NTSB OSHA Sheriff's Dept. as well as WDC all putting their heads together can overall turn this negative into a positive so that this kind of tragedy never happens again...

 

Originally Posted By bobbelee9

MPierce, what are you trying to do to me? I'm a wife, mother, grandmother, employee, co-worker, homeowner, taxpayer, I use to be a daughter and daughter-in-law. Don't you think I carry enough guilt on my shoulders? Now you're blaming me for everything wrong at WDW. I can not bear all this pressure. Bring on the Stoli.

 

Originally Posted By MPierce

>> I can not bear all this pressure. Bring on the Stoli. <<

At least you know how to properly cope with all of life's little burdens Bobbelee!