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Epcot Monorail Question

Posted: Fri Apr 17, 2009 9:15 am
by mechurchlady
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php ... st31383523
Can someone help out on this question? I am not sure the answer so I was hoping to get an answer here to tell them over at disabilities.
Mom and dad will be going to Disney with us in November YEAH!! Dad has a wheelchair and mom a scooter. My question is do they have some sort of cross over from the Resort monorail to the Epcot monorail? If not does that mean down the ramp back up the other ramp to get on the Epcot monorail?

Is there anyother way to get to Epcot from Contemporary via Disney Transportation? All I see is monorail service with no bus transportation listed.

Re: Epcot Monorail Question

Posted: Fri Apr 17, 2009 11:43 am
by BRWombat
mechurchlady wrote:http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php ... st31383523
Can someone help out on this question? I am not sure the answer so I was hoping to get an answer here to tell them over at disabilities.
Mom and dad will be going to Disney with us in November YEAH!! Dad has a wheelchair and mom a scooter. My question is do they have some sort of cross over from the Resort monorail to the Epcot monorail? If not does that mean down the ramp back up the other ramp to get on the Epcot monorail?

Is there anyother way to get to Epcot from Contemporary via Disney Transportation? All I see is monorail service with no bus transportation listed.
Well, I don't know about the bus service, but there is a ramp from the Resort monorail platform to the Epcot platform. The problem is that it's not much better than just exiting like everyone else and going back up the Epcot ramp. The "direct" ramp descends to the right -- away from the plaza -- turns and goes under the two Lagoon loop tracks, and the ascends to the platform level between the Epcot loop and the Lagoon loops.

Re: Epcot Monorail Question

Posted: Fri Apr 17, 2009 7:20 pm
by Big Wallaby
Unfortunately, as Wombat says, you do have to go down and up. There is no other way, unless they want to make things really complicated.

Re: Epcot Monorail Question

Posted: Fri Apr 17, 2009 7:44 pm
by Monorail_Red
mechurchlady wrote:http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php ... st31383523
Can someone help out on this question? I am not sure the answer so I was hoping to get an answer here to tell them over at disabilities.
Taking a different approach...are they wondering if there is a direct ramp from the Resort Monorail to Epcot Monorail...or if they have to go out an exit and back into an entrance? If so, then yes, like Wombat & BW had said...there is a "direct" ramp.

Or are they just wondering about the grades in elevation from the Resort platform over to the Epcot platform? From walking that many times...I can say that the grade isn't too bad.

:shrug:

Re: Epcot Monorail Question

Posted: Fri Apr 17, 2009 9:12 pm
by GRUMPY PIRATE
I answered that this morning with the "walk under" route. DW and I use it all the time we are there and need to transfer.

Someone did post that they should "roll" over to the MK and take the express to the monorail transfer, then just "cross" the platform. Not sure if they can do that. Don't remember if the tracks are situated so there is a common area between them.

It would seem to me that would be a big waste of their time to leve the Contemporary, go all the way to MK to board an express that goes BACK to the transportation center.

Re: Epcot Monorail Question

Posted: Fri Apr 17, 2009 10:02 pm
by February
I can tell you from experience, having pushed Bru up and down the ramps many times, that there is NO easy way to do this. You have to exit the monorail from epcot, go all the way down the ramp, and back up the resort monorail ramp. It is QUITE a haul and we've actually written Disney about what a pain this is for their disabled guests. Same if you are going from the resort loop to the Epcot loop... all the way down and back up.

We've lobbied Disney to install an elevator here, like they have at the Epcot station, but they've said they "can't do it". Which means they won't do it.

Basically they force everyone up and down the ramps for crowd control. and unfortunately even if they did install the elevators, the handicapped would probably never have the chance to use them... since perfectly healthy people have no compunction about clogging elevators meant for the disabled (I speak for experience on that too, I'm sorry to say.)

-Bru's husband

Re: Epcot Monorail Question

Posted: Sat Apr 18, 2009 12:19 am
by mechurchlady
Thank you so much. I think they were hoping to avoid having to go down the ramp then back up again.

Bru has a very special husband and she is mightily blessed to have him.

Re: Epcot Monorail Question

Posted: Sat Apr 18, 2009 12:25 am
by mechurchlady
GRUMPY PIRATE wrote:I answered that this morning with the "walk under" route. DW and I use it all the time we are there and need to transfer.

Someone did post that they should "roll" over to the MK and take the express to the monorail transfer, then just "cross" the platform. Not sure if they can do that. Don't remember if the tracks are situated so there is a common area between them.

It would seem to me that would be a big waste of their time to leve the Contemporary, go all the way to MK to board an express that goes BACK to the transportation center.
The problem is the steep ramp at TTC which I tried once and will never do again without an ECV. Many disabled guests have written Disney and they will not change and put in elevators. AT Contemporary they put a tiny elevator in after years of complaints.

I would rather walk half a mile each way instead of doing that ramp.

Re: Epcot Monorail Question

Posted: Sat Apr 18, 2009 6:02 pm
by reendan
Sometimes I have actually taken the monorail to MK then gotten a bus to Epcot when I was at one of the MK resorts and needed to get to Epcot. I agree..that ramp is awful! I have avoided it when I used a wheelchair and DH had to push. Now that I have switched to an ECV it is less of an issue.

Re: Epcot Monorail Question

Posted: Tue Apr 21, 2009 5:11 pm
by felinefan
Have you tried filing a complaint with the ADA?