Dallas Zoo What will happen to the Africa exhibits on monorail tour once monorails are gone?

DavidBrown

DavidBrown

Well-Known Member
15+ year member
Someone who visited the Dallas Zoo recently mentioned that the monorail system that takes people on a tour of a large part of their Africa exhibit complex is nearing the end of the line. As with the soon-to-depart Minnesota Zoo monorail and the much-missed SDWAP monorail there are no parts available for the Dallas monorail apparently as the Swiss manufacturer has closed.

I'm curious if they have any plans for how the exhibits that are now only viewable from the monorail will be accessed by zoo visitors once their monorail system finally croaks? Does anybody know or have informed opinion about this?
 
what happens to the poor drivers (also known as "mono-thingy guys")? Do they get another job at the zoo (maybe a tour guide type position, sans monorail) or do they get the boot?
 
Arizona Docent said:
That monorail is great! Please do not even hint that it will close. :(
Click to expand...

Apparently it is only a matter of time before it goes kablooey for good - they are cannibalizing parts from some trains to keep others running.

I would think that they would find some way to access these exhibits, but wanted to know if anyone has heard what their contingency plans are.
 
Why don't they get a slow bus? I have wondered that about the SDWAP as well. Monorails aren't the only means of transportation on the planet. Even a gutless electric bus/trolley system would work alright, and prob. be cheaper than a monorail.
 
I would say less. Now you get to see maybe a fourth of the exhibits of yore at the SD Safari Park. I would like to see them re-open the entire chain of exhibits again, along the old monorail route.
 
I was at the Dallas Zoo on Wednesday, and the monorail was running (although delayed the first few hours due to rain, so I didn't get to ride it). I was a bit surprised by this since I recall seeing a date for when it would be shut down, but I cannot find that post now.

I asked one employee and one docent, and neither had even heard a rumor that it might be shut down. A Google search just now turned up nothing on the topic other than some vague comments that the monorail would be revamped (reported in the news stories about the monorail getting stuck last February).

Does anyone know any more details about the plans for the monorail? I think it is great, and I'd love to see it survive in one form or another.
 
I don't have any news to report, but I just rode it earlier today and kept an eye out for possible exhibit revamping. There are several concrete roads/paths that the staff use to access the exhibits... I like the monorail, but it is very noticeably aging.
 
I think the closure date you saw may have been referring to the Minnesota Zoo monorail, which shut down at the end of this summer.

There is another article that says Dallas will redo the monorail into an entirely new monorail (though no details given).
 
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