Aaaah, the infamous monorail ride, you either hate it or you love it. Some say we want to see more of the animal, some say we think it's perfect. What do you think makes the perfect monorail ride such as at the Bronx zoo or Dallas zoo?
When I was a kid, I would go to the monorail at the Minnesota Zoo. Since the zoo was so massive, the monorail was a good way to get around. Disappointed to hear they took it down a while ago, ah well.
The design of the Minnesota zoo monorail was to see the Northern Trail animals in winter without having to even go outside. I remember it did give a nice view of some of the larger fields (especially the musk ox). Zoo Miami also has a monorail mainly used for transportation. I actually like the monorail rides since the kids love them. And for large field exhibits it can give you a high up vantage point. But i do prefer if there is a walking trail as well so you can spend time watching favorites.
I think the narration helps. The driver and tour guide can help make the ride fun and informative. I also think it helps the views you can get and I prefer one sided viewing (like in Bronx and Dallas) as opposed to the old San Diego Wild Animal Park where you sometimes had to keep shifting back and forth. I think Dallas and Bronx have it right in regards if you are going to have a monorail that is the main way to do it; focus on a certain area and not be longer than 20-25 minutes.