[20XX]: Rulantica Monorail

[Poisson]

I wouldn't be surprised to see the main monorail refitted in such a way. Still find it odd there's no connection between the 2 so to get from park to Kronosar/Rulantica you still have to change

 

[IanB]

I like the ideal of a single monorail, but one of the issues with having a single monorail is how do you stop people getting in to the park.

And its not really needed, as once you get to the main hotels, you can enter the park from there. Its not like you need to go to the main entrance. It would be a nice way to start the day though.

There is still the issue of getting from the Camp Sites to Kronosar/Rulantica, as the main monorail to the hotel is not an option. I quite like the idea of self driving electrical cars, bit quirky and different but still a few years away.

I also wonder if they have plans to extend the line at some point in the future to the campsite/main entrance?

Are the plans from Dec 2021 still the latest plans available, or is there anything slightly newer anywhere?

 

[Graeme]

I believe that a second hotel next to Kronasar was planned.

I don’t think we will see the monorail until that hotel is built and Rulantica expanded a bit more. Perhaps they’d open the new hotel with the monorail?

 

[Poisson]

If they know where the hotel is going, monorail can be whenever finances permit. Would be preferable before the second hotel opens though

 

[venny]

It’s slightly disappointing it’s taking this long. I know covid etc, but the last major news we’d heard was that Michael Mack had told Mack Rides to get on with it.

From a resort perspective, you’d imagine this would have been a priority, to improve the resort’s integration. The current bendy bus arrangement feels quite unsatisfactory.

 

[Graeme]

I see why it has taken this long.

Last season saw a lot of outlets closed and staffing numbers were a big issue.

This season they seem to have recovered somewhat and the park is pretty much as it should be. Hopefully the park will have high gate numbers and good levels of staffing this year, then they can look at the monorail.

As it stands, to service Kronasar with a monorail doesn’t seem “worth it” right now. I appreciate they’ve got Eatrenalin and Yullbe pro there too.

I’d love to be able to skip the bendy bus as much as the next person. I like to go to Kronasar on my visits just for a drink.

I don’t think the monorail is in any doubt, it just doesn’t make sense right now for them.

Also, it’s a heck of a project. Digging up a lot of public roads and footpaths to install all the pylons and track. Certainly won’t be cheap.

Build a new coaster - boost gate numbers - consider new hotel/monorail.

 

[venny]

Agreed, except for the monorail not being worth it right now. At the moment, staying at Kronasar can feel pretty isolated, especially so in the evening when you have such a limited selection of bars and restaurants (and I’d also argue the bars they do have are the least good of all the hotels).

The monorail would add to the feel of integration and I think make Kronasar a more attractive proposition for people - at the moment it seems it’s regularly the one hotel that has availability when the others don’t.

 

[Graeme]

Agreed - I don’t stay at Kronasar for that very reason.

However, occupancy rates are still very high at Kronasar. I prefer a bigger selection of bars and restaurants.

I think we forget that the hotels are used a lot of the time for 1-2 night stays for locals so they aren’t really that fussed.

The buses aren’t generally crowded as it stands. Even in the mornings for early Rulantica opening and at Rulantica close.

 

[Poisson]

Personally, might be massively unpopular, but I'd scrap the current EP Express and make a new system that runs Main Entrance - Andaluz - Colosseo/Bell Rock - Kronosar - Andaluz - Main Entrance and replace the small Monorail with a more park wide system so Spain/Portugal, Scandinavia, Luxembourg, Greece, France/Germany, Arthur, Spain/Portugal

 

[MattyH]

Unfortunately the Mack's don't have a bottomless pit of money....

I'd argue that Bar Erikson at the very least is superior to say El Circo or the bar of last resort....

 

[Llama]

Nice to hear that it's still being planned. It would seem that an autonomous monorail rules out an interchange with the existing monorail, unless that system was changed dramatically.

The bus system is more or less fine at the moment, but there's something psychologically easier about a monorail. I imagine this will be a normal shuttle monorail system like at an airport, with two trains that go back and forth, one in each direction. If that's the case then the max wait, assuming no or very little queue, is the length of one trip, which based on the distance would probably be under five minutes.

I have nothing against bus travel, it's a wonderful form of transit and a necessary part of most decent public transit systems, but when I'm at a theme park, I'd much prefer to be riding through the sky in a monorail

 

[Tim]

The more I think about it I do wonder if a system like Heathrow's Pods would be preferable.

Cons - at peak times they wouldn't be high enough capacity to replace the Shuttle Busses. Meaning that while the park is open I'd expect them still to need to run the busses.
Pro - no matter how good a Monorail is you'd still have to wait for it while going between hotels. And it's likely that during the night they'd reduce the frequency. But with the Pods it'd be a guarantee all night that you'd have one available. Truly making the 2 parts of the resort (3 if it can be extended to the camp) feel connected. No need to worry what time you leave the bar at Bell Rock, you'll still be back at Kronasar in 5 minutes. Ultimately that feels like the real goal!

If they get really creative I'm sure a system that can support both is possible. Design 2 types of vehicle to use 1 track. run the lower capacity but on demand vehicles in the evening.
That might be an innovation too far? Then again Mack know how to design unique transit systems when it comes to building rides.

 

[venny]

If it’s an automated shuttle system, would they reduce the frequency though? I can’t see there being any more than a couple of minutes wait for a monorail if that’s the case. Even if they shut one track off, you can only be looking at 5-ish minutes at the worst of times.

 

[Poisson]

Omnimover. Best of both worlds.

 

[Sam]

Personally, might be massively unpopular, but I'd scrap the current EP Express and make a new system that runs Main Entrance - Andaluz - Colosseo/Bell Rock - Kronosar - Andaluz - Main Entrance and replace the small Monorail with a more park wide system so Spain/Portugal, Scandinavia, Luxembourg, Greece, France/Germany, Arthur, Spain/Portugal

It’s slightly disappointing it’s taking this long. I know covid etc, but the last major news we’d heard was that Michael Mack had told Mack Rides to get on with it.

From a resort perspective, you’d imagine this would have been a priority, to improve the resort’s integration. The current bendy bus arrangement feels quite unsatisfactory.

The all-round quality of EP is so high that people's expectations for what they should do – or what they can afford and are willing to do – become slightly ludicrous.

Animal Kingdom gets well over ten times the visitors that Rulantica does and that's only had bus transport for a quarter of a century!

I also can't see why they would just lob two perfectly functional, useful and popular ride systems in the bin.

 

[Poisson]

Age? The rolling stock is a fair age despite it being well cared for.

 

[Craig]

I wouldn't want the EP "Express" to change in all honesty - I like it ambling through the park at a slower speed. It's an attraction in its own right, rather than the planned monorail, which to me is purely a practical thing to get guests moving from a to b. Once you start integrating it into an all in one system you risk bigger issues if the system breaks, not to mention the additional requirements for larger capacity turnstiles/entrances at every one of the stations. I much prefer them as two separate systems

My feeling is the Rulantica monorail will only be built once the buses become unsustainable. That is, the number of guests they need to transport results in the frequency of buses through the village becoming annoying for residents. That'll likely only happen once we have either:

• Further expansion at Rulantica
• Extensions to the current hotel, or a new one altogether in the Rulantica area
• The car parks move up that way to allow expansion at the theme park, although that would require turnstiles or perhaps running to the main entrance as well as the hotels

 

[Poisson]

Fully remote car parking would be an interesting setup, especially with a direct junction off the autobahn. Could end up with a system almost like Farup where they don't have turnstiles at the park entrance.

 

[venny]

The all-round quality of EP is so high that people's expectations for what they should do – or what they can afford and are willing to do – become slightly ludicrous.

Animal Kingdom gets well over ten times the visitors that Rulantica does and that's only had bus transport for a quarter of a century!

I also can't see why they would just lob two perfectly functional, useful and popular ride systems in the bin.

My expectations were set by the park themselves applying for permission to build the monorail and several reports that the project was progressing. I don’t think that is in any way ludicrous, quite the opposite in fact.

I make no comparisons to Disney and I certainly would not want EP to follow a large amount of Disney’s recent operational decisions.

The submitted plans are for an entirely separate system to the EP Express at a separate station, so I don’t expect, nor would I want, that current system to be effected by this development.

 

[Ramius]

If it’s an automated shuttle system, would they reduce the frequency though? I can’t see there being any more than a couple of minutes wait for a monorail if that’s the case. Even if they shut one track off, you can only be looking at 5-ish minutes at the worst of times.

I don't think the monorail will run every 5 minutes. Especially in the evening the monorail will run less frequently, probably more every 20 - 30 minutes.